Page 40 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin
I rolled my eyes. “Are all Earthlings so shy?”
Geo rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he hopped around with one foot in his pants.
Without warning, the cave shuddered. Pink dust shook loose from the pockmarked holes in the cave’s ceiling, glittering in the early dawn.
Not again.
My muscles grew rigid. “We’re getting out of here, now. Before this cave collapses on us.” I held Geo’s hand for balance as he jammed his feet into his boots, then scooped up his belongings.
“What is it?” Geo latched the closure on his belt, thumbing the knife’s hilt.
“I’ll explain on the way!” The cave vibrated again, and loose rocks showered down on us. My tail wrapped around Geo’s wrist as we ran to the entrance and into the red glow of dawn. Hitting the cooler air was like passing through a wall, and I shivered at the contrast to the humid cave.
Another shudder sent jagged shards toppling over the ground like icicles shaken loose.
“Down on your belly. Now.” I gestured with my tail as I squished myself into the narrow slit I’d occupied two nights ago. “We’ll wait here until all is clear.”
Geo’s breath puffed in front of him in white clouds. “Clear from what?”
“Did you notice the field of massacred mantus when you arrived here?” My voice wavered as I relived the awful night and the carnage of theaftermath.
Geo’s cheeks pinked. “I was a little preoccupied.”
A sharp shriek echoed through the hiding spot, and from our vantage point, a giant worm-like creature slammed its body to the ground.
“Save us, Sola.” I clutched Geo’s hand, my heart racing.
Geo’s eyes widened as his grip grew painful. “Jesus Christ, what the fuck is that thing?”
The enormous worm was nearly translucent. It writhed up on its end before throwing itself over its earlier kill and shredding it with razor-sharp teeth.
“I think it’s mad.”
“You think?” Geo snarked. “That big bastard is pissed.”
Stripped carcasses lay strewn across the plateau. “It must have been planning to come back for its kill.” The enforcers and Rock Dwellers had butchered and removed most of the mantu it had annihilated in its earlier killing spree.
With its meager meal, the night crawler reared up and dove under the ground once more.
Geo muttered something about a movie calledTremorsand his friend Ginger while he rubbed the fur of my tail between his index finger and thumb. Free of his stranglehold grip, I shook my hand out.
“Stop that.” I pulled my tail from his fingers. My body quivered from the aftermath of my heat and the fear of the monster buried somewhere below.
“Do you think we’ll make it back to your hoverbike?” Geo placed a hand on my back and surveyed the area.
My legs were like rubber, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the ring of earth left in the creature’s wake.
Geo nudged me. “Can we make it?”
“D’Rasma thought it was nocturnal.” My lungs heaved, unable to fill with air. “But…this proves it can get us during the sun’s rotation too.” My tail fluttered at the edge of my fraying nerves, and I gasped. My lungs contracted as I struggled to take a breath.
“Makir, I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.” Geo’s voice drifted at the periphery of my hearing, and his pale green eyes narrowed into slits.
My vision dimmed as blackness overcame me.
I awoke cradled in Geo’s arms as he navigated the sharp edges of the rocky outcrop.
“Shhh…rest now. We’re almost there.” He soothed me as I twisted to get free of his arms.
