Where would I run?
The passing of days before the mission…
"It was magnificent like we had been taught, rocks of beautiful colours, stagnant waters with slightly alkaline gases evaporating. All I saw were creeping dark plants, which I thought to be parasitic because of their colour." Sama pulled out her tongue with disgust, "Who chews a black plant." She shrugged her shoulders and then continued with the narration, "Buried within this water log or jelly puddle were robust-looking creatures, quite deformed like a ball but with two large incisors and flapping leathery arms. I doubt they could fly," Sama joked in her last words.
"There were dunes, strong wynv as I wrestled. My eyes were closed. I could feel particles try to find their way into my eyes as I pushed forward against it. Of course, there were the soldiers behind me. Exoskeletal creatures of a finger length scurried out of a hole in the ground. Scary looking, they had tentacles, and their body forms were terrifying. Ladey drew their form with two fingers, creating an hourglass shape. "Their legs were numerous as they scurried to us like we had invaded their land. Guess the fun part of it." Ladey drew everyone's attention with a lowered voice.
Everyone wanted to have an idea of what they might encounter in the future. "They could leap up to the level of your head. I watched one feast on the face of a soldier and wouldn't leave the face of the screaming woman, so we used explosives, but they were more. The sky turned real ancient purple, and they scurried back to their holes like we didn't matter. It sure was scary to them," Ladey concluded.
"We had to float on a disc to avoid treading on the ground; when I asked, I was told when the ground was disturbed, it fell apart, and it was true before my eyes. The soldier threw a pebble, the ground fell apart, and out came a large tail lashing about to crush its assumed enemy. I would have fallen, but I stood my ground. Never am I going to go someplace without testing the ground." Ona had mentioned her part.
"Oh, I'm the last one." Oleila began with dismay at how they focused their gaze on her lips and expression. "Well… all yours sound interesting, but mine was scary because they were just bones scattered all over an arid land. The place was empty, with different broken bones and fossils for many years. Their forms varied from large to medium to tiny. I wondered what people or creatures occupied that land. I was scared to bones; it was like death was lurking, and it was." She didn't hide her terror; her face was ashen as she told her tale like she was there, watching it happen all again.
"Waiting for us was one finchhaq of a monster. It wasn't pleasant, but it interested me. About four people high, teeth the length of half a person, powerful limbs, and stretched out claws ready to pounce with a nasty tail. Sisters, I was told our aim was to get what we were looking for, and they would hold off the creature since it couldn't be killed. There wasn't just one, but many more. We lost some soldiers, and I got this mark from almost being torn by one of them." She showed a scratch on her upper arm, which was long and deep but healed.
Every detail Shyva hadn't unheard. Presently, it felt very true before her eyes; only hers was different.
On this day, mine was different. I was alone and without direction. Of course, I believed in myself, but I needed to apply as many of my lessons as possible, or I'd die just like…
Why do I keep trying to remember something I once knew or experienced? Zixcha.
Since the fall of worlds and its empires, millennials have passed. Many worlds have suffered from the aftermath of its repercussions. Lives were lost in dust and earth, buildings, institutions, and the sanity of an entire world burned not for their meagre atrocities but of the interest of a greater creature who superseded all which had led to his near extinction. His life, all he loved, perished before his eyes as he cowered alone. Evidence in his voice wherever he inhabited: raspy, cold and practical.
The rocks were numerous, and Shyva's every step echoed. The only light that guided her path was from 'muna,' the astronomical body like a purple vessel in the sky. It was present in different colours all over different worlds, but in the Dome, it was white. Its great light offered little illumination to see nearby tracks but not distant ones.
Surrounding her were mountains and rocks of different origins and sizes but dull-coloured. The air wasn't completely breathable, but they had calculated it would take 3 hours for the job to get done. Her breaths were visible, as the air was chilly; even in her body suit, she could feel it.
She had to get herself together before the environment got a hold on her. Breathing out loudly,
You can do this. It's not like any task you haven't done in the institution. You have to stay focused. Employ all you have learned when necessary. Prove yourself to everybody. You are what you are, and you've come this far.
Shyva nodded to herself and smirked at her future victory.
"No communication, no guidance, but I will show them I can do this."
Echoes of disturbed rocks caught her attention. Looking afar, she squinted her eyes to have a clear view of the disturbance. All she could see was blackness. Then the noise came again. By calculating the deflection of the echo bouncing off the caves, she predicted the noise to be coming from the edge of a distant cave. Squinting her eyes to grasp a better image, she saw only a few legs, two heads, and a chest.
"He, I mean no harm. You can come out." She was low on her legs, alert, scared, and confused. She drew out her weapon, holding the laser GH-347 with both hands. They might have been lured by her call a moment after they ran away.
"Very well then." She humphed at her rejected mannerism.
Then, her sisters occupied her thoughts. No one spoke of friendly creatures. What was I expecting? To be different.
Her mind was back to the mission. A wide-mouthed cave was sighted afar. The exact structure she watched arose in a three-dimensional holographic diagram from the watch she wore as a warrior.
She broke glow sticks from her waist holster, dropped two at her feet and threw a few afar to lighten the darkness. Her hands moved over every pocket in her holster to ensure all weapons were intact before entering the cave. Shyva wasn't expectant of good news as she expected the worst, like all her fellow sisters had encountered on their adventures.
Zrrrrr krrrrrr hghrrrrrrr
She turned to her right, assuming the noise had arisen from that distance. The growl or growls were loud, closing up on her. It still didn't provide her with the source, but all of a sudden, it was emanating from everywhere around her. Still rooted to the ground, as she suspected, she could feel a presence behind her.
Then came the growl, in unison, louder than before. She cringed and balled both her hands into fists to calm her fear.
Am I hallucinating, or are they what I think they are?
Taking steps to turn backwards with a foot at a time, she could see with the aid of the glow sticks and the 'muna'. Twenty yards away were numerous heads, eyes and legs similar to the few ones she had seen earlier.
Each creature had a pair of heads and three pairs of legs with pointed ears. Their jaws dropped, saliva drooping down with agitation as they stared at their meal. Their teeth were numerous, serrated, and sharp-edged, as Shyva thought them to be flesh-eaters. Scales covered their bodies, and their eyes were so wide and white that one would have thought them blind.
Her eyes were still fixed on them. She was scared that if she started running, they would follow suit, but what were the odds? Without much time to think about anything, they started running towards her, faster than she had imagined, with six legs closing on her. Shyva raced like her life depended on it.
With great strength, she propelled forward, hands raised high on both sides of her body and legs stretched long. Still, they gained on her, and she could hear them missing their catch as they clenched hard on their jaws very close behind her.
Nothing mattered anymore; I really wanted to die, to end this. What were these anyway? I felt I had lost hope. They were right behind me, and I…