[4010] you, me & the void

These are chapters 4, 5 & 6 to my story. It's somewhere between a novella and a relatively short novel. (Estimated reading time: 14 minutes says WordCounter.net.

Here is the link to those chapters: you, me & the void (chapters 4, 5, & 6)

For the uninitiated (and the very kind readers who would become near and dear to my heart should they choose to read it), I will also share the link to the first 3 chapters of my story if you haven't read that and were interested.

you, me & the void (chapters 1-3) (Estimated reading time: 24 minutes)

And that is as long as this submission, four thousand words. Below is a brief summary of the premise.

They hunt in the Slade.

A tribe of warriors are the sworn protectors of a village people who live on the top of trees so densely foliated that the forest floor below is cold and dry. And full of monsters. But down there is a monster of a different sort that can't be killed with a spear.

Questions that I have for this submission:

There is quite a lot of action in this submission and a lot that happens in a short period of time. Does it read in a manner that excites you so to speak? Do you believe that I should write the action scenes in present tense to more clearly illustrate the urgency of the situation?

If you have read from the beginning, does the hook come too late for you to care?

How does the dialogue strike you? Are there any plot holes that you see?

And finally, probably the one I'm most insecure about. Does my female protagonist absolutely scream that she was written by a male author? I suppose this question would go to people who frequent another one of my favorite subreddits, r/menwritingwomen, and I hope this is not the case.

Here are my crits:

1191 (Part 1)

1191 (Part 2)

504

1840 (Part 1)

1840 (Part 2) This post has been marked as a "leech" so I'm not sure if my crits are still acceptable.

1281

1526 (Part 1)

1526 (Part 2)

I will try and post the next 3 chapters in the next 2 or 3 days. Thanks.