Page 6 of King of Serpents

She shivered a little and drew back further as its mandibles opened wide and it hissed aggressively at her. Definitely a predator. Not only that, it was disturbing to look at. The best comparison she could make was that it looked like some kind of giant mutated splice between a centipede and a spiny caterpillar. Yet even that didn’t go far enough because it was somehow a hundred times more horrific with its monstrous serrated mandibles jutting from an eyeless head, and numerous long, insectoid hairs jutting from its body. The hairs were a mixture of hard spines and softer, flexible strands that seemed to move randomly on its body in a creepy fashion.

“Gross,” she muttered. “I swear this desert produces the weirdest shit. Go away... shoo!” she shouted as she yanked off a loose piece of metal and threw it at the creature.

It dodged. Its entire body twisted out of the way in one fluid, whip-like motion, only for the creature to raise the front segment of its body and hiss again before delivering a shrill and angry clatter of its mandibles as it shrieked at her. Alex’s hands slapped over her ears as she grimaced at the terrible noise it made. Giving her a final hiss, it scurried around the wreckage she was perched on, its legs skittering for purchase on the metal. Alex turned her body slowly in place so that she always had the thing within sight.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to have the ability to climb up the side of the wreckage. That observation eased some of her concern, but not enough to give her back to it. And so, she sat, slowly moving in place as she followed its movement while the sun marched its way across the sky. The thing was nearly motionless for long periods, but then would erupt into sudden, frenzied movements around the wreckage that would send adrenaline spiking through her once more. She tipped her head back, her eyes narrowing on the descending sun. Her skin felt tight and raw from sand and sunburn, her throat dry, and her head was pounding with the onset of a headache.

Dehydration would soon set in. Oh, joy of joys.

Sighing heavily, Alex rested her arms on her knees as she watched the menace below twitch and whip its body as it chittered.

“You’re just not going to give me a break, are you?” she asked it.

As if in response, its upper body rose, and it lunged forward against the wreckage, its claws scraping wildly before it dropped once more into the sand. It gave a shrill sound and began to writhe in one spot, tossing sand everywhere until it was half buried within the sand. She snorted to herself, her eyes drifting from the odd insect out across the desert. The red did look majestic in the fading daylight. She hadn’t seen this sight the previous day because the flyer had been brought down late in the afternoon and she’d lain unconscious until sometime after sunrise. It was breathtakingly beautiful. More than that, it seemed to slowly come alive in ways that she hadn’t unexpected as tiny, withered-looking brownish-red plants suddenly bloomed as the sun sank lower in the horizon, and the distant sounds of active wildlife drifted across the sand. She shivered in response. Damned if wasn’t luck that she survived the previous night.

She wrapped her arms around herself as the evening air began to cool, but the sound of the creature lurking below drew her gaze in time to see something fat and furry with four big saucer-like ears creep out of a hidden burrow. Alex watched it curiously. It was almost cute. The general shape vaguely resembled a chinchilla except that it somehow had a more exaggerated roundness, especially in its ears, it had no tail visible outside of its extreme fluff, and there was a smattering of protective scales on its nose and face around its eyes as well as on the tops of its paws and forelegs.

“Aww. Who would have thought something so cute lived on this hellhole?” she observed as she leaned forward to watch it, a smile on her face.

The little floof nibbled on the blooming desert flowers, slowly drawing closer to the wreckage as it worked its way from one little patch of growth to the next. Its ears twitched as it busily ate, and Alex was just wondering if she could hand-tame it when the sand suddenly exploded within feet of the animal as the insectoid leapt at it, its body coiling around it as its pointed tail segmented. Alex jerked back in surprise as the tail repeatedly stung the fluffy beast, her mouth gaping in horror as she watched the predator drag its prey beneath the sand.

“Fuck that,” she whispered. “Oh, hell no. I didn’t sign up to be in an episode of Interplanetary Geographic. Someone get me off this fucking rock!” she shouted to the uncaring heavens.

She groaned, her eyes slowly closing as she dropped her head and allowed it to hang. Who was she kidding? She was stuck on the planet just as much as any other sucker who got assigned there.

The repetitive sound of loud, leathery snaps shocked her from her pity-party as she became aware of something larger circling her. She focused on the barely visible shadow shifting over the ground. Wide wing-span and long tail. Did she dare hope—

“The vawenda took is prey quick and clean. Is it the reason that you a perched here?” a feminine voice inquired from above.

A female Seshanamitesh? Alex’s heart dropped into the vicinity of her stomach. Fuck. Nothing good came from the shinara.

Slowly she raised her eyes and caught a flash of blue scales before the female dropped, her massive coils folding and curling as she settled on the wreckage just a few feet from where Alex sat. They regarded each other silent for a moment, and the female cocked her head, the numerous almost pearl-colored blue fans of her gavo rising in an expression of curiosity.

“You are oddly very red. I did not know humans could come in this pigment,” the female said, her amber eyes openly scrutinizing Alex.

“It’s the sun,” Alex croaked in reply and winced at the roughened sound of her own voice.

“The sun,” the female repeated, and a look of comprehension spread across her face. “Oh yes. Your flesh burns in the sun.” She leaned forward and studied Alex a bit closer. “You also require food and water more regularly than those of the Aglatha.”

Alex nodded. It was easier than forcing another word out.

“I see.” The female glanced back toward the sand. “You are far from Raza. It is not safe for a human to be out here, especially not at night. I shall take you to the shinara. My sisters will know what to do.”

Alex hid a grimace. The last place she wanted to go was the shinara, but she didn’t want to get left in the desert to die either. She doubted that the female would be willing to carry her all the way back to the colony. At least there was a chance she could arrange communication with Raza about the flyer and the unknown whereabouts of Vi and Ehsash.

“I don’t suppose you saw another human out there while you were flying?” she asked hopefully.

The female frowned and dipped her chin in a stark negative. “Just you. Are there others out here?”

Alex nodded grimly. “Vi Harris. She was with me when the flyer went down.” She refrained from mentioning the male with her friend. She recalled that the relationship between the females of the shinara and the male hunters was a strained one, and she didn’t want to risk any potential delay in starting a search.

“Very well. We should return to the Aglatha immediately then,” the female said as she moved forward with surprising speed and gathered Alex into her arms. She looked down at her curiously, her gavo rising slightly. “What do I call you?”

“A... Alex Taylor,” she replied.

“Alex,” the female hissed, and she smiled. “I am Kitanara. Do not worry. You will be safe soon. I will report your companion’s disappearance to my sisters, and then we will see to it that you recover well. Do not worry, Alex Taylor. All will be well,” she said almost sweetly as she spread her wings and sprang into the air, carrying Alex over the darkening sands of the red to the uncertain dangers that awaited her.

Chapter 5