AllFreeNovel
Share Us
From behind the thick tree, I kept my eyes locked onto the hulking beast that rummaged through our crashed pod.
I could feel Riley’s heartbeat against my chest — fast and frantic.
It mirrored my own, though I tried hard to maintain a façade of calm for her sake.
The beast was an intimidating sight: towering over most known creatures, its matted hair obscuring most of its features except for two piercing, red eyes that darted around with frenzied desperation.
Its snout, protruding and filled with jagged teeth, sniffed the air intermittently, probably trying to catch a scent —ourscent.
Muscles rippled under its coarse fur, suggesting raw, primal power.
The kind of power one would be foolish to challenge without good reason.
The sight of this creature evoked memories of tales told around fires on Zorania.
Of monsters that lurked beyond our peaceful fields, where no Zoranian would venture.
But those were just stories meant to scare the young ones.
This was real and far more terrifying than any tale I’d heard.
Its claws — long, curved, and sharp — scratched at the interior of the pod, producing a harrowing sound that reminded me of nails on rock.
I tightened my grip around Riley, urging her to be still with a gentle squeeze.
She understood and tried her best to muffle her panicked breaths.
After what felt like hours, the beast, seemingly unsatisfied with its investigation, emitted a deep, frustrated growl.
With one last glance around, it galloped away, its gait suggesting it was in a hurry, maybe to find other intruders or maybe just to return to its den.
I waited, ensuring the coast was clear, the sounds of the alien forest once again reclaiming their dominance.
The alien chirps, the rustling of unfamiliar foliage, and the distant roars — all painted a sonic picture of a world alive and teeming with mysteries.
Gently, I whispered into Riley’s ear. “I’m going to put you down now. You need to stay quiet and not make any sudden moves. We’re not safe yet.”
I felt her nod against my chest, the soft brush of her hair against my chin sending an involuntary shiver down my spine.
Slowly, ensuring no sudden movements would alert any lurking dangers, I bent down to let her stand on her own.
Her fingers trailed along my arms, lingering for a moment before pulling away.
For that brief moment, our eyes met, a shared understanding of our predicament passing between us.
I couldn’t help but admire her courage.
She was from a different world, thrust into this chaos, chained to an alien, and yet, there was a fire in her eyes — a determination that spoke of her resilience.
It made me want to know more about her, to understand the world she came from and the strength that clearly ran through her veins.
However, any semblance of a connection we might’ve shared shattered the instant her feet touched the foreign soil.
It was as if the ground beneath her burned, making her recoil in shock.
She screamed — a loud, piercing scream that resonated through the dense forest, sending flocks of strange birds into the sky and surely attracting the attention of anything and everything lurking nearby.
I reached out, trying to grasp her, to pull her close and shield her from whatever dangers she might’ve just beckoned.
