My heart slammed against my ribs, every beat so hard it felt like it might tear through my chest. My breath came in short, uneven bursts, and no matter how much I tried to steady it, my body wouldn't listen. The heat pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating, but it wasn't the sun that made it hard to breathe.
It was what lurked beneath the sand.
The desert stretched endlessly before me, a graveyard of cracked earth and swirling dust. It should have been silent, lifeless. Yet, the longer I stayed still, the more the silence felt wrong, like the air itself was holding its breath.
Then I felt it.
Not heard. Felt.
The vibrations were faint at first, barely there, but once I noticed them, I couldn't unfeel them. Something massive was moving beneath the surface, gliding through the sand like a shadow, more presence than creature. It shouldn't have been real.
And yet, here I was.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to focus. The sand shifted in small, deliberate waves. Tiny pebbles rattled softly against one another. That was its trail.
A ripple.
A whisper of disturbed dust.
My throat tightened. I knew what it was now, but knowing didn't make it any less terrifying.
I pressed my back against the boulder, the stone scorching hot beneath my palms. My breaths came shallow and uneven. If I moved, it would know. If I made a sound, it would find me. If I ran...
No. I couldn't panic.
I forced my eyes across the dunes, scanning for any sign, any small clue that might give me an edge. But under the harsh glare of the twin suns, everything shimmered and warped. The sand seemed alive with mirages, shifting shapes and shadows. If not for the boils on its back, glowing faintly beneath the surface, I wouldn't have seen it at all.
The damn boils.
Each one flickered with light, pulsing in and out like fireflies trapped beneath its translucent skin. They were the only thing keeping me from losing track of it completely.
If I could see them, I could guess where it was.
I exhaled slowly, barely making a sound. I wasn't too late. Not yet. But if I made the wrong move, if I waited too long, the worm would sense me-or worse, trap me.
I bit down hard on my lip, staying perfectly still, every nerve screaming at me to run.
Then, the tail moved.
I froze.
Unlike the dim, flickering boils, the tail was different. It burned bright, so bright that it made the surrounding sand seem darker by comparison. It wanted to be seen. A lure. The light pulsed in an erratic rhythm that sent a chill crawling up my spine, its glow far too deliberate to be natural.
I clenched my fists. "Just my luck," I muttered, eyes fixed on the beacon of death swaying in the distance. Even with both suns blazing overhead, the tail's glow cut through the light like a signal in the dark.
And just as before, other creatures were falling for it.
I watched in disbelief as three crab-like beasts scuttled toward the glow, their shells glinting under the harsh sunlight. Their small, beady eyes were locked on the shimmer, jaws twitching with hunger or desperation. They rushed forward without hesitation, kicking up clouds of sand that caught the light like sparks.
The ground shuddered.
Then it struck.
The desert exploded as the worm erupted from beneath the surface, its massive translucent body bursting upward in a violent surge of sand and light. A deafening roar tore through the air, so deep it rattled inside my chest. The crabs did not even have time to scatter. In one swift, horrifying motion, the worm's jaws clamped shut around them, swallowing them whole.
I pressed myself tighter against the rock, heart hammering so loud I could barely hear over it. This was madness. How could those things not see it? How could they not realize the trap staring them in the face?
The light was too perfect, too controlled. It was bait, a predator's trick, and they just kept running to their deaths.
My jaw tightened as I gripped the edge of the boulder. I was not like them. I was not some mindless creature drawn to the glow. But that did not mean I could escape it either. The truth gnawed at me. I was still trapped here, surrounded by sand and death, and every second I stayed put brought me closer to being next.
I forced myself to think, to plan, even as the heat clawed at my lungs. The desert stretched flat and merciless in every direction, nothing but dunes and shimmering air. Then, just beyond the rolling sands, I spotted something. A shape, dark and solid, cutting through the glare.
A boulder.
It was not much, but it was something.
My chest tightened.
If I could reach it, if I could just make it to that boulder, maybe I could lose the worm. Maybe I could survive this.
But how was I supposed to get there without being seen?
The tail flickered again, its glow pulsing brighter, almost as if it could sense my thoughts.
I tensed. The ground rumbled beneath me.
Before I could move, something else appeared-a massive, scorpion-like creature crawling out from the rocky outcrop in the distance. Its body shimmered with the same pale light I had seen before, wings twitching restlessly at its sides. Then its gaze locked on the tail.
I already knew what was coming.
The scorpion hesitated for only a heartbeat before its wings snapped open. It launched itself forward, sand scattering beneath its legs as it charged toward the glow.
The worm reacted instantly.
The earth erupted again, sand exploding into the air as the creature tore free from beneath the surface. Its jaws split open, wider than should have been possible, rows of serrated teeth glinting in the harsh light. A guttural roar thundered through the desert, deep enough to rattle my bones.
The scorpion was there one moment-and gone the next. Swallowed whole.
The worm's tail flared even brighter, as if mocking me, then its enormous body sank back beneath the earth, leaving nothing but a trail of disturbed sand behind.
I squeezed my eyes shut, my stomach twisting with frustration and fear. This was madness.
It was a loop. A pattern. The light flickers, something charges, the worm devours it whole. Then it resets.
Over and over.
Like a broken record. Like a rigged game.
I scoffed under my breath. "Yeah, sure," I muttered. "Run straight at it. That'll definitely work." I shook my head. "Not."
My fists clenched so tightly they ached. I wasn't stupid enough to fall for that trick-but what else could I do? Stay here forever? Wait until exhaustion or the worm found me? That wasn't an option.
I had to move.
I had to try.
I wasn't going to die here. Not like this.
My eyes locked on the boulder in the distance, the one faint sign of hope in this endless sea of sand. I could make it. I had to.
I swallowed hard, waited for the next tremor, and when the moment came, I ran.
Everything else, the heat, the ache in my legs, the tightness in my chest, faded into the background. The only thing that mattered was reaching that boulder before the worm caught on.
The desert wind roared in my ears, mixing with the heavy rhythm of my footsteps against the brittle ground. Every stride sent tiny bursts of dust spiraling into the air. My muscles screamed, but I forced myself to move lightly, careful not to disturb the sand too much.
I wasn't foolish enough to think I could outrun it. If the worm caught me, it wouldn't be because I was slow. It would be because I made a mistake.
The boulder loomed ahead, jagged and dark, the only solid thing in this endless wasteland. Just a few more strides. Just a few more steps and I could reach it.
Then light flared in front of me.
I skidded to a halt, my boots sliding through the sand as my heart slammed against my ribs. The glow hovered there, bright and impossible to miss. The worm's tail.
It had cut me off.
It had been waiting.
A cold shiver crept up my spine as the truth sank in. This wasn't some mindless beast. It was a hunter.
It had studied me, predicted my movement, burrowed ahead, and surfaced right in my path. Now it stood there, unmoving, forcing me to choose between charging straight into its jaws or freezing where I stood.
I clenched my teeth, my fists curling tight until my knuckles ached. Stay calm. Think.
The worm didn't strike. Not yet. It hovered beneath the sand, the glow from its tail pulsing in steady, taunting waves. It was patient, deliberate, watching me like it already knew how this would end.
I took a careful step to the right.
The worm shifted.
Its movement stirred the sand in slow, deliberate ripples. My breath caught, and that was when I noticed something else-something even stranger than the creature itself.
The light was changing.
I looked up, squinting through the haze of heat. The first sun was gone, swallowed by the horizon, and the second one was beginning to sink after it. For the first time since I had landed in this nightmare, I felt a flicker of hope.
If night came, maybe I could use the darkness to my advantage. The worm's glow would give it away, and I could finally see it before it struck. Maybe I'd stand a chance.
But that hope was short-lived.
As I turned my head, something on the opposite horizon caught my eye. A faint, silvery light was spreading across the desert, low and distant at first, but growing brighter with each passing second. My stomach twisted as realization hit me.
Another sun was rising.
The sky never darkened. It only shifted from gold to orange to silver, an endless cycle with no night to break it.
The world here didn't sleep. It never would.
And neither, it seemed, would I.
I froze immediately. The tail swayed, its glowing surface pulsing faster, brighter. A warning.
A test.
My chest tightened as realization hit me. Despite how small I was compared to that monster, it could still feel me. It wasn't sight. It wasn't sound. It was the vibrations.
Every step. Every movement. Every breath that trembled through the ground.
It felt everything.
I drew in a slow breath through my nose, forcing myself to steady the panic clawing at my throat.
Alright, I thought. Time to move smart.
I had two choices. Run for it and die, or figure out a way to break its rhythm.
I took a wide step to the left, and the worm immediately shifted, matching me. I stepped back to the right, and it followed again. My stomach tightened.
It wasn't reacting to the sand. It was reacting to me. Every adjustment I made was answered beneath the surface, precise and deliberate. It wasn't rushing. It was waiting, forcing me to choose, forcing me to make the kind of mistake that only happens when you think you still have control.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my thoughts to focus. I needed to confuse it.
Two steps left. The worm moved left. Two steps right. It shifted right. I changed the pattern. One step back. Three steps forward. The tail flickered, pausing mid-pulse as if uncertain.
Good.
I kept moving, switching up my rhythm-short steps, quick pivots, sudden bursts in random directions. The sand shifted with me, and for the first time, the worm hesitated. Its movements became jerky, unsure, no longer following perfectly. It wasn't tracking me anymore. It was guessing.
Then I froze.
The world seemed to hold its breath. For a long moment, nothing moved. No sound. No tremor. Just stillness.
Then the ground exploded.
A massive roar tore through the air as the worm burst from the sand, its enormous jaws splitting wide. Rows of jagged fangs gleamed wet and slick under the light, strings of thick saliva stretching between them. The creature's body glistened as it reared back, its roar shaking the dunes around us.
It was done playing.
It lunged.
I threw myself to the side just as the worm crashed down, the impact shaking the earth with enough force to rattle my bones. A storm of dust and rock erupted around me, the noise deafening.
I didn't stop to look. I hit the ground hard, rolled, and kept moving, pushing myself forward with every ounce of strength I had left.
I ran.
I could hear the worm coiling back, readying itself to strike again, but I wasn't about to wait for a second attack. My feet pounded against the sand, every step sending pain up my legs as I pushed toward the boulder with everything I had left.
When I reached it, I dove behind the massive rock, slamming against the surface hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. My heart hammered against my ribs as I pressed myself flat, panting and trembling, forcing every muscle to stay still.
Then, silence.
The ground stopped shaking. The low rumble beneath the earth faded into stillness.
I risked a glance over the edge, half-expecting the worm to burst from the sand again. But it didn't. Instead, it lingered.
Its massive, translucent form shifted just beyond the boulder's edge, circling, its movements slow and deliberate. Yet it never came too close. It kept its distance, gliding back and forth like it was pacing.
I frowned.
It wouldn't approach the rock.
Was it afraid of it? Or was there something else it sensed?
I placed a hand against the boulder's rough surface. It was solid and cold beneath my palm, the weight of it grounding me. Maybe that was it-the worm couldn't burrow through stone. The rock was too dense, too thick.
That meant I was safe.
For now.
The worm's enormous, eyeless head lifted slightly, tilting as if it were listening for me. But the ground was still. It couldn't sense me anymore. After a few moments, it hesitated, then slowly began to sink back into the sand until nothing but the faint shimmer of its tail remained.
It wasn't gone. It was waiting.
I leaned back against the stone, shutting my eyes for a moment to steady my breathing. The air burned in my chest, every exhale coming out shaky. I couldn't stay here. Not for long.
I opened my eyes and looked ahead. More boulders dotted the landscape-few and far between, but enough. They could be my path forward, my only chance.
I swallowed hard, gathered my strength, and prepared to move. No mistakes. No rhythm. No hesitation.
When the vibrations faded, I broke from cover and sprinted for the next rock, staying low, every muscle tensed and ready to dive again if the ground stirred.
Then another. And another.
Each dash felt longer than the last, the weight of the desert pressing heavier with every passing moment. As I moved from one patch of safety to the next, the sky began to dim, the twin suns sinking lower, casting the world in shades of red and gold.
Night was coming.
The third sun dipped lower, stretching long, jagged shadows across the wasteland.
The light from the worm's tail pulsed brighter, glowing like a heartbeat in the distance.
A breathless laugh escaped me. I had made it to the last boulder. Pressed against the rough stone, chest heaving and hands trembling, I dared to lift my head. That was when I saw it.
A forest.
It shimmered on the horizon, faint and unreal, its outline flickering through the waves of heat rising from the desert floor. My stomach twisted. Was it real? Or was my mind, crushed by exhaustion and fear, conjuring up one last cruel illusion? The thought sent panic racing through me. If it wasn't real, if I ran toward it and found nothing, then this was it. This was where I would die.
My breath hitched. For the first time, I wondered if I would ever make it out of here alive. Would I see my mother again? Hear her scold me for running off like an idiot? Would my friends believe me if I told them I had escaped a monster that could swallow buildings whole? Or would they just laugh, shake their heads, and call me crazy? The absurdity of it all made my throat tighten.
I didn't have time to doubt. Whether the forest was real or not, it was my only chance. The worm couldn't follow me there. It wouldn't be able to move the same way through thick roots and solid ground. That had to count for something.
I pressed my palms against the boulder, feeling the grit dig into my skin as I steadied myself. The ground began to vibrate beneath me again.
My legs felt heavy, slower than my thoughts, like my body was already deciding it couldn't do this again. Every breath tore at my chest, sharp and uneven, and I knew that if I waited any longer, hesitation alone would get me killed.
It was coming.
I drew in one last, shaky breath and pushed off the rock. Then I ran.
I ran like my life depended on it, because it did.
Every breath tore at my lungs, sharp and uneven. Every stride sent fire through my legs, the pain clawing up my spine and stabbing into my ribs. My vision blurred at the edges, but I kept going. I couldn't stop. Not here. Not now.
The desert stretched before me, a vast battlefield of dust and shifting shadows. Behind me, the sand erupted again, and the ground screamed under the weight of the monster that ruled it. It knew this place better than I ever could, and it was not finished with me yet.
I forced my legs to move, to push harder, even as every muscle screamed in protest. My lungs burned, my throat raw from gasping for air, but I couldn't stop. Not for pain, not for exhaustion, not for anything. My arms pumped wildly at my sides, my feet barely touched the sand before propelling me forward again. Every part of my body begged me to slow down, but I silenced it all.
Because if I did, I was dead.
The ground trembled beneath me, no longer soft or distant, but violent and immediate, the kind of shaking that split the world apart. It was right behind me now. The heat rising from the desert floor grew suffocating, and the glow from the worm's tail blazed brighter, casting my shadow far ahead, stretched thin and distorted like a ghost running for its life.
Then the sand in front of me split open.
I barely had time to process what I was seeing before the truth hit me. Another worm.
The ground cracked wide, a dark wound in the desert floor, and its mouth gaped open to meet me. Rows of teeth glistened like glass shards in the light, each one slick with some glimmering fluid that caught the glow. The pit yawned wider, waiting.
There was no time to think.
I jumped.
A raw scream tore from my throat as I hurled myself forward, my body weightless for one impossible second. Beneath me, the world vanished into a spinning void of darkness and teeth. The jaws snapped shut just behind my heels, the sound a thunderous clap that ripped through the air. A blast of hot wind followed, scalding my skin and flinging me forward like a ragdoll caught in an explosion.
I hit the ground hard. Pain shot through me as my shoulder slammed into the sand, my arms scraping against the rough earth. Grit tore into my skin, and for a moment, everything went blurry. My breath came out in ragged bursts, my vision swimming, but I forced myself to move.
Roll. Get up. Run.
My knees buckled beneath me, but I pushed through the pain, staggering to my feet. The forest was right there now, close enough that I could almost taste the air beyond it.
But the worms were faster.
They burst from the sand together, two massive shapes against the dying light, their tails burning like molten fire and their enormous bodies rippling with every movement.
They weren't chasing me anymore.
They were racing me.
A shape moved at the edge of the trees ahead of me.
Someone stepped out from the tree line and raised an arm.
"Run," a voice shouted. "Run, run!"
A strangled sob escaped my throat, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. My muscles screamed, my ribs felt like they were splintering from the strain, and every breath tasted like blood. Tears streaked down my face, but I forced my legs to move faster.
I wouldn't die here. Not in this wasteland. Not to them.
The ground behind me exploded in a storm of sand and heat as one of the worms lunged, ripping through the desert with terrifying speed. The impact sent a shockwave across the dunes, a deep, booming roar of hunger shaking the air so violently it felt like the world itself was breaking apart.
Then, in its frenzy, the diving worm slammed headfirst into the second one. The sound was like thunder splitting open the sky. Their massive forms crashed together, a tangle of writhing flesh and translucent scales, thrashing in confusion and fury.
This was my chance.
I pushed forward with everything I had left. My legs burned, my chest heaved, but I didn't stop. Every second of chaos behind me was a gift I refused to waste. The gap between me and death widened, barely, but it was enough.
I could hear them behind me.
The slick, wet hiss of their breath.
The deep, echoing roar that shook through the trees ahead.
The rhythmic crackle of their glowing tails, so bright they scorched the edges of my vision.
They were right there.
One more second, and they would have me.
I lunged.
The forest surged toward me, the trees rising like giants in the fading light, their shadows stretching long and black across the sand. Their leaves whispered in the wind, a low, haunting welcome.
I dove into the darkness of the undergrowth just as the world behind me erupted in a final, thunderous burst. The blast sent me tumbling forward, rolling through dirt and leaves, my body slamming into roots and stone. My chest hit the ground hard, the impact tearing the air from my lungs.
When I finally stopped, I was pressed against the trunk of a massive tree, my head throbbing and stars flashing behind my eyes.
For a moment, I couldn't move. Couldn't even breathe. Every nerve burned. Every muscle trembled.
I lay there, gasping, vision blurred, the forest spinning around me. My whole body ached, but the rush of air against my skin told me one thing.
I was alive.
Then I heard it.
Screaming.
Not human. Not anything human.
I forced my head up, just enough to see through the clearing. Out on the sands, the worms thrashed and coiled in agony, their glowing tails flaring brighter and brighter until the light was almost blinding.
And then, as suddenly as they had come, they sank back into the desert. The ground rippled once, then went still.
Gone.
I leaned my head back against the tree and drew in a slow, broken breath. I forced my eyes open. Someone was standing over me.
Dark skin. Dark scales. A lizard man.
The forest was quiet. The air was cool.
I had escaped the desert, but the trouble didn't feel over.