Mask of the Wizard
YA epic fantasy
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Xenotroph
An alien eater. And we are the aliens.
T minus 4 hours and 1 minute
The force field collapses, and we run.
My first instinct is to sprint into the hills, but a boy in front abruptly stops at the top of a rise, and a spinning cloud of reddish sand envelops him, stripping flesh from bones.
Upon seeing this, the crew bolts into a forest of giant ferns, and I might have chased them had I not glimpsed the crimson flash of something lurking beneath the fronds.
I should feel remorse for the dead boy, Santos—remorse because I stole his brother’s ride to this planet. But Santos was the one who discovered me in the cryo tank when we arrived, yanking me out too quickly, hurting me, screaming curses and spittle into my face. He deserved punishment.
I have mere seconds to decide, so I turn in the opposite direction, where barren plains provide no cover. I’m out in the open, exposed and vulnerable, feeling eyes on me…
