Excerpt From a Hard SF Novel in Progress

They stopped just short of the border of the dry lake where their ship had landed, which here was formed by a low, steep slope. 

"Come over here. I want to show you something," Goose called out, as he climbed out of the tractor's seat. "I was higher than you folks and had a better view."

He walked onto a slightly raised patch of ground a lighter color than that around it. Goose scuffed the surface with the toe of his boot as the others joined him. 

"Sandy, rather than salty," he said, lifting his gaze to peer around. "This was probably washed in here during a Spring flood, left behind by an eddy."

He lifted his arm and made a sweeping gesture. 

"You can see other places like this all through the area. Elevated mounds, slightly different in color from what's around them. The shape gives an indication of both typical flow velocity and direction. The dark lines show flood level. All of which are worrying."

He turned and took three steps to the west. The sand under his feet abruptly erupted, almost knocking him over. There was a loud buzzing sound as something which looked like an overturned, flattened kettle scurried away on blurred legs. The sound followed the creature as it raced to another of the mounds Goose had mentioned, stopping as the animal reached the top. Another eruption of sand accompanied a frantic digging operation, and within seconds of the beginning of the disturbance it was over, with no sign of the creature. 

"What was that?" said Goose, his tone surprisingly mild.
 

"We have to catch it!" said Caitlin, excitedly. "It's the first large animal we've seen!"

"Be my guest," said Goose, still eerily calmly. "I'm going to go change my shorts, now."

"I have to admit, that was rather startling," said Thomlin, weakly. "I wonder if that's an anti-predator mechanism."

"I wonder if those things are the cause of these mounds... or the mounds are the reason they're here," said Caitlin, taking several steps in the direction the creature had gone.

"Regardless, this place isn't a good location for the camp," said Goose, almost recovered. "Too much water moving too fast. Let's try further east."