If there was one thing Dash purposely avoided in her daily life, it was physical activity. Not that she was out of shape or anything. To the contrary, she maintained a healthy body weight for her height. She just wasn't a fan of muscle soreness. Or sweaty armpits. Or smelly clothes. But if there was one particular exercise she avoided the most, it was running. Not that she couldn't run. When she served in the Astro Force, she usually scored above average on her PT tests. However, no one ever accused Dash of being an athlete. But back then she never had to run in pitch black of night, or in the mud, or in a thunderstorm. And if there was anything she hated more than running, it was sprinting--especially in mucking woods. Unfortunately, that was her current predicament. Nevertheless, Dash could have overlooked all of those negative aspects, if she wasn't also being chased by a wild animal at the same time.
Dash crouched down.
A rustling came from the woods.
What in the realms was that?
She remained perfectly still.
Crackle.
Crackle.
Twigs snapped in the underbrush. Maybe it's Astrea. Dash considered calling out, but she heard heavy breathing through the raindrops.
No.
Not breathing.
Panting.
Definitely not Astrea. Some sort of animal lurked nearby.
What was it? A wolfcat? A crockagator? A pantra?
Sunspit.
Have to do something fast.
Two options.
Run.
Or fight.
She wasn't exactly a fighter. But could she really outrun a wild animal?
The panting got closer and the hairs on her neck tingled.
She had to move now.
Sprint it is.
Dash lunged forward, moving her feet as fast as she could. And she was quickly reminded why she did not play sports. As with other feats of physicality, running required a certain amount of athleticism. In particular, it required a level of coordination that Dash found herself desperately lacking. Something swiped at her heels and she fell into a pile of leaves.
In that instant, she realized three unfortunate truths. First, running had been a poor decision. Second, the creature definitely knew where she was. Third, it had very sharp claws.
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Realm Wars
Science FictionATTENTION SCIENCE FICTION READERS: If you're looking for a space opera story with a techie heroine, space battles, and supernatural powers, this is the book for YOU! BUT FIRST A WARNING... This story is PACKED with page-turning scenes. So if you lov...
