The two friends stood frozen to the spot, their backs to the rest of the forest. The needle dog stepped onto a fallen blue log at the forest’s edge and lifted its two front paws. Its long, curving claws cut into the tree trunk. The dark fur along its neck stood up, making it seem even bigger. Then it growled again.

“Should we run?” Katie muttered through clenched teeth.

“No. Yes,” Francisco replied. “What if we…?”

He stopped because two more needle dogs appeared alongside the first one. They snarled at the two kids and drool hung from their open jaws.

“The alarm!” Katie whispered. “Press the alarm on your suit.”

“The distress signal?” Francisco whispered back. “No one will hear it, we’re too far from the colony.”

“They will,” she replied, her eyebrows raising as she stared at the growling beasts.