Chapter 165
"Tempest!" She heard Rynax roar but to her amazement he wasn’t right behind her as he had been. In fact it sounded like he was far away and above her.
She couldn’t understand what was going on. She blinked a few times but every time she did all she could see was darkness and all she could feel was the grit of sand.
Tempest was in shock for a second at the speed at which everything was happening but there was one thing that she picked up on right away. She was being pulled downward.
There was something under her that was dragging her deeper and deeper into the sand.
As it stood it was hard for her to take a breath and she couldn’t hear anyone calling for her any more.
She tried to reach down but the sand beneath her was too tightly packed so she reached up. The sand slipped through her fingers.
Panic begun to sink in as she fought to get a better grip. She clawed with all her might and realized that whatever was holding on to her ankle had either given some slack or had let go completely. He kept trying to climb upward even though she couldn’t see.
Her mind flashed back to that terrible day she decided to walk into the ocean. This time there was no doubt in her mind. She needed to get out of here. Needed to find the air so she could breath again.
Tempest kept fighting until just barely she could see some light filtering down. She shoved her hand up, the tips of her fingers feeling the air.
One more push up and she could feel more of it. Followed by the death grip of someone from above pulling on her.
The sand around her started shifting and she realized that Rynax and the others must be trying to dig her out.
The hand attached to her yanked hard and she felt like her body was being torn in two. She tried to move her legs and it was only then that she realized the rope had reattached. She kicked but that did nothing. Instead she used her other foot to press down hard on the rope and she felt the exact second it let go.
Tempest had managed to hurt whatever it was underneath her.
With that the yanking from above was much easier. A moment later her head broke the surface and she tried to take in a deep breath. Dry gritty sand coated her mouth and Tempest hacked up as much as she could. Still she didn’t stop trying to get out of wherever she was.
"Tempest. I’m here. Hold on to me!" Rynax shouted and Tempest was relieved to hear that he was so close to her. She clenched onto his hand as if he were a life line.
Another few short tugs later and her body was being hauled out of the large sand pit that she’d just been in.
"We have to move!" Aliq yelled out but Tempest was still reeling from what had just happened. Confused and unsteady.
Rynax didn’t hesitate, once Tempest was completely unearthed he picked her up into his arms and began running.
"What’s going on..."Tempest tried to talk through bouts of coughing and trying to spit the sand out of her mouth. "What was that?"
"It’s a Magnis." Aliq yelled out as he kept pace with Rynax. Gerax was right by there side to though he was already out of breath while Aliq and Rynax looked like they could run for at least another mile or more without getting tired.
"There. Get to the rocks. It won’t be able to break through that." Aliq pointed to the side. Rynax took one step before he lept with Tempest still in his arms on top of a small island of rocks.
"Tempest, look at me!" He ordered before he grabbed her face and forced it up so she could look at him. She was still in shock but was beginning to realize that it wasn’t just a random sand pit that she’d fallen into but instead a beast’s hiding spot.
"I’m okay!" She shouted back, not in anger but just to be loud enough to get through the cacophony going on around her. She slipped from Rynax’s grasp making sure to stay on the rocks as Aliq had ordered.
"What is that?" Tempest asked again even though Aliq had already told her. She was about to pull up her wrist device to search but she didn’t have to.
The ground rumbled around them, the sand rippled and one by one, tentacle after tentacle shot out of the ground and into the air before a large beast pulled itself out of the sand.
Tempest gasped and tried to back away but Rynax held her steady so she wouldn’t fall off the edge of the rock.
"How are we supposed to get past that?" Gerax questioned. His eyes were wide and Tempest noticed a slight tremble in his voice.
She couldn’t fault him for being scared. She was scared.
The animal looked like a cross of a worm and an octopus. It was massive. It’s skin was a light tan color. The large tentacles were bumpy and where she would’ve thought there would be suckers were lumps that sort of looked like rocks. It must be how it camouflaged with the world around itself.
"Rynax can you shot?" Aliq turned to look at him.
"Yes, but I didn’t bring any long ranged weapons with me." Rynax replied. He was tense. He had his body between Tempest and the beast but even she knew that if it came down to it there was no way Rynax would be able to defeat the mammoth beast in close combat. It was like a man trying to fight a dinosaur. It just wouldn’t work.
"I have an extra but we’ll need to make sure every bit of ammo hits the mark." Aliq quickly started rummaging through his pack. He pulled out what looked to Tempest like a foldable walking stick. When Aliq unfurled it though she realized it was a very long bow. She watched helplessly as Aliq handed the weapon to Rynax along with three small balls. She didn’t know what they would do with that.
Aliq took three of the small balls for himself and set up his own bow.
Tempest tried to process everything that was going on. She kept still and quiet as she watched the two alphas in the group gear up.
"Right between the eyes is the most sensitive. We won’t be able to kill it but it will retreat to safety if we hurt it enough. Careful of the tentacles, they’re hard as steel on the bottoms." Aliq quickly gave instruction. Rynax grunted before he gently pushed Tempest off to the side next to Gerax.
Gerax was quick to take up the mantle of protector as he put his body between her and the enemy in front of them.
Tempest watched as Aliq knelt while Rynax stood straight up. Both of them placed the small ball against the string of the bow and pulled back.
From what Tempest could see there was a small pouch in the center of the string making the bow more like a slingshot then an actual bow.
"Steady!" Aliq called out.
Both he and Rynax took a breath as if they’d trained on this. Both being soldiers Tempest assumed they had.
"Loose!" Aliq shouted and at the same time both he and Rynax let the small ball fly toward the beast.
A tentacle swiped at the air knocking one of the balls to the side but the other hit exactly where it should of, right between the eyes.
The monster screeched and started moving erratically. Tentacles slicing in every direction.
"Get down!" Gerax yelled just as one of the tentacles smashed into the rocks above Tempest’s head.
She ducked and Gerax through his body over hers. A few stones tumbled onto his back and he grunted with the force of the blow but he didn’t let go of her. A second later he released her and they were able to stand up straight again.
"Steady!" Aliq ordered. The two alphas already were ready with their second round. "Loose." He shouted. This time both of the balls missed there mark. The animal was moving too much for them to aim correctly.
"Last shot, stagger the ammo." Aliq said, his voice determined.
"Heard!" Rynax replied.
They were moving as a synchronized group. It was impressive.
Still, Tempest knew that it would be pure luck if they managed to be rid of this monster.
"She held her breath as she first watched Aliq’s ball fly like a missile in the direction of the Magnis. Aliq’s shot hit dead center in the middle of the monsters eyes and it cried out in pain. Before it could reset Rynax shot his ball and it hit the same spot.
The monster flopped to the side for a second before his tentacles pushed up into the air, and Tempest watched as the large body quickly began to descend back into the sand.
She nearly cried when she realized what had just happened. She’d been moments away from being devoured whole, Rynax had saved her life again and they defeated the animal all without anyone getting injured.
"It’s done. It won’t be back for a while." Aliq expeled a breath before turning to Rynax. "You’re quite skilled. A valuable asset to the team." He shrugged his shoulders once before slightly bowing in Rynax’s direction.
"I was only doing what needed to be done."
Tempest didn’t know all there was to the mannerism of these people but it looked as if Aliq was paying Rynax respect. Rynax didn’t look to be gracious about it.
She reached over and jabbed him in his side reminding him to be polite.
He grunted at the blow before he returned Aliq’s bow.
"Alright, we can go now."
Aliq jumped off the rock and back onto the sand.
Tempest looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. "Um... are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean what if there are more of those things under the sand?"
Aliq replied as if he didn’t have a care in the world. "Not possible. Magnis are very territorial and they are too large for more than one to occupy the same space at any given time. "
So far Aliq hadn’t lied to her, he hadn’t steered her wrong. But then again, he told her that it wouldn’t be too dangerous.
Seeing that huge beast explode out of the sand taught Tempest one clear message. Even the smartest of them could be wrong.
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⏸ PAUSE■ STOP