Mother of Stars

Radioactive - Connor

The sandstorm raged. Sand whipped my side as I got to my feet with an unconscious Neila in my arms. The brown orange dunes stretched hundreds of feet in every direction before blending into the storm, though from the view I had seen from above the planet, I suspected they went on for hundreds of miles beyond that.

I flared a wing to block the sideways sand from getting in my eyes. My back had already healed from the entry burnup, and I had just over seventy five percent left in my energy reserves.

The northern hemisphere of the planet was the closest escape from the sandstorm, so I trudged north using the compass in my interface. I was tempted to fly, but the gusts exceeded sixty miles per hour. There was no way I'd be able to stay in the air long enough to get above the storm.

I stared ahead with a blank expression as I crested another dune. There was something far in my peripheral vision again, and I didn't need to look to identify it this time. Neval's red skin stood out just enough from the blurred background of the storm, just like the last few times the hallucination had appeared. I stopped, overtaken by the lethargy of grief again.

Don't look. Don't look. You know he's not there, I told myself. But the urge overpowered me again. My eyes slid left to where Neval should've been, and like the past few times, Phobos stood in Neval's place giving me a taunting grin. I tore my gaze away, still unable to look at that ugly thing for more than a couple seconds. At least Neval hadn't called my name. It really hurt when he'd done that last time.

A sad moan escaped my throat as I forced my legs to walk again. I wished Neila were awake so that she'd cheer me up. For once, I craved her boundless optimism that had only annoyed me before. She would figure everything out easily and find a way off this planet without much of a hassle. At least, that's how she would put it.

A great roar broke through the storm from somewhere in front of me. I stopped again and scanned the dunes in front of me. Then, my interface turned red as it went into Combat Mode. It outlined a moving mass no more than a couple hundred feet ahead. It estimated the weight to be a couple tons, then gave me a "Species Unknown" message.

I took a step back as the creature faded into view. It charged toward me on four bulky legs that carried a body as thick as a bus. The spines running down its back gave it the appearance of a stegosaurus, while the huge tusks jutting from its bottom jaw made it resemble a triceratops. Another roar revealed hundreds of tiny, sharp teeth. Its beady black eyes were filled with rage.

Keeping my eyes locked on the beast, I set Neila down as gently as I could and edged away from her to keep her from getting injured in the inevitable fight. Fear closed in around me, though not as tight as when I had witnessed Hurdi's death. It seemed a bit transparent, like I still had some room to make my own decisions. I dug my feet into the sand and replied to the beast with my own roar.

Sand splashed into the air with each impact of its feet. It leveled its tusks at my legs as it closed the last of the distance between us. I latched my hands onto the enormous spikes just in time, but I started sliding back as a result. The sand provided poor footing, so the beast used our weight difference to bulldoze me a dozen feet before I shoved myself away.

I ignited my plasma claws and waited for it to attack again. Its scaly hide looked thick, so I had to find a weak point. It turned away, seemingly uninterested in the fight. I relaxed until I saw it was turning toward Neila.

"No!" I lunged forward and dug my claws into the base of its stubby tail. The thing cried out in pain as my plasma claws sizzled into the flesh under its scales. I promptly deactivated them to conserve energy.

The beast tried to twist its head around at me, but its body was far too bulky. I squeezed harder and lifted up with considerable force until its hind legs dangled in the air. I twisted my body under its tail, putting one hand on its belly and the other on its chest. My feet sank into the sand as I hoisted the thing into the air. It squawked something that sounded like surprise.