N.T. is in trouble. Her ship has crashlanded. Her captain is gravely injured. When a group of native aliens kidnap one of her two remaining crewmates, it's up to her and Danielle to figure out how to rescue him and keep the captain safe at the same time, with only a single antique weapon between them. On top of that, the aliens are not quite what they seem...
Alien life, space exploration, planet, planetary survey, alien intelligence, sea life, crash landing, stranded, marooned, rescue, short story, scifi, specfic, speculative fiction, alien civilization, man vs. nature, human vs. nature, woman vs. nature, escape, kidnapping, kidnapped, cattle, captured, stone ax, axe, mating dance, dancers, alien wildlife
S.A. Barton lives in coastal Virginia with his wife, teen stepson, two little ones, and demanding cat (as they all are). His path to the present was a strange, sometimes harrowing, and winding one; you may find this reflected in his writing. He has previously appeared in the pages of Penumbra magazine, in Daily Science Fiction, and in OMNI Reboot.