"We're lucky to have as many as we do," Re-l said, her voice tight as she focused her aim. Three more beasts fell, but from the corner of her eye she could see the first animal twitching slightly. The stun guns didn't last forever.

"The terrain around here is fairly inaccessible," she said to the man beside her, "but I did see a canyon some way back. Do you think we could engineer a rockfall?"

It sounded desperate, even to her own ears, but if they didn't do something soon, exhaustion alone might bring them down.