Between The Crystals

Ch 1 Run

Here is a line for those who like to note if they are First Time Readers (FTR) or Re-Readers (RR).

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I warily eased through the undergrowth, finally spotting the apple tree I'd come to check on. My shoulders slumped when I saw every apple was gone. Another village must have picked them even though they were only half ripe.

I examined the forest around me, hoping to find something worthwhile to take back or report. Apart from a handful of dandelions springing back up, there was nothing edible. My trip had come to naught. With a sigh, I turned to go back.

The birds above stopped singing. Even as I froze, faint rustling in the shrubs sent my heart racing. I furtively glanced over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of blue reptile-like scales stalking through the shrubs about a hundred paces away.

A Saursune. There was no way it didn't know I was here. Not at that range, not with its sense of smell. Abandoning any attempt at stealth, I bolted back the way I'd come.

My hand-stitched leather shoes thudded against the forest leaf litter as I careened full-tilt down the trail. A faint hiss and heavier footsteps followed. I didn't dare look back.

I rounded a bend, skidding on the loose forest debris as I desperately raced back to the crystal formation. A rumbling growl came from the side—the Saursune was circling around to cut me off—toying with me like a cat with a mouse. Preparing to pounce, or perhaps just chasing me off to send a warning. There was no way to know unless I escaped alive.

Fear goaded me to even greater speeds. I didn't reach for the knife on my belt—I didn't dare. Unarmed, it might be content with chasing me off. Brandishing a weapon in any form was certain death. My small flint knife would be as useless against a Saursune as against a grizzly bear.

Through a gap in the bushes, I spotted a lithe form far to my right. On four feet, the dark blue reptile's back was almost chest-high on me. The longer horns marked it as a male. His bared teeth glinted in the sunlight as he glared at me. This Saursune wasn't wearing armor or a belt. No phasers or other weapons—not that he needed them when his claws were as long as my small knife.

With a hiss, the adult male began bounding through the bushes toward me, covering the distance between us far too quickly. My heart hammered in my chest as my eyes locked onto the waist-high bluish-green crystal spires growing out of the soil. I was almost there!

With a soft cry, I dropped to my knees and skidded across the grass as I clapped my hands onto one of the spires, desperately visualizing a similar crystal in the desert while whispering the location name.

It felt like sunlight was shimmering through my veins, and my vision blurred like I was caught in a heat haze. Within a couple of seconds, the forest greens turned to desert tans, then cleared. The Saursune was gone, left behind in the forest.

Keeping my hand on the crystal, I swiftly scanned the area to make sure nothing dangerous was nearby. As per usual, the desert and nearby cliffs were desolate. I let my legs give out and sprawled on the sand, gasping for breath.

That had been way too close! Even if the Saursune had chosen to run on its hind legs like some ancient dinosaurs, it could have easily caught and killed me. On all fours, they were deadly quick. The close call made me shiver despite the intense desert heat.

I'd have to warn the village when I went back. That location hadn't been near any of the Saursunes' farms or towns, at least the ones we knew about, so the alien's presence was unusual and worrisome. If the Saursunes discovered our village, they'd destroy it and kill as many as they could get their claws on.