Page 110 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

Again, that rumble, stronger than before, as if the worm is daring me to move. To give away my location.

It works. I stagger back. It’s only a small movement, but enough to betray me.Fuck.

Against every instinct, I force myself to stay rooted, silently counting to three. Then I turn on my heel and sprint back the way I came, trying to make my moves as unpredictable as possible.

Kayne once taught me how to dodge a sniper in the woods. They hid behind trees, shooting at me. The essential lesson was to move randomly and unpredictably. So I had sprinted and slowed, zigzagging, dodging, pivoting, and running off in random directions.

I know I’ve failed when the worm comes shooting out right behind me, sending me airborne, flinging me through the air as if I weighed nothing. My cry gets stuck in my throat when I hit the ground hard. My skin rips open, my bones sing from the collision; the pain nearly robbing me of my senses. Dust fills my mouth, coats my tongue, for a moment blurring my vision.

Breathe! Just breathe and focus, die later!

When I turn my head, the worm’s horrific brownish body writhes in the air, then comes surging for meaboveground. Fast.

I’m dead.

I know I am when I stare down that gaping hole full of horrible, shredding teeth right in front of me. Its rotten smell slams into me while those bizarre, ghoulish pincers snap for my body. Desperation and panic claw at me.

No, Iwon’tend like this! I can’t!Breathe! And get up!my inner voice yells at me.

Those pincers close around me—

And again miss me by an inch.

I’m already on my feet again, throwing all my remaining strength into my legs. The Fortress is farther away than ever, so I veer right,running for the lights I’ve watched from my room on so many evenings.The town.

I don’t turn back to see the massive body slamming back into the ground again.

Run. Run. Run!

I need to be faster, stealthier. There is that strange silence again before the rumble shakes the ground all over, more aggressively now, as if the creature’s gotten angry.

Impatient with hunger. Probably spurred by the smell of my blood.

Again, I stop dead, panting heavily before sprinting off to the right. Again, I’m sent flying as those vicious teeth rear up out of the soil right underneath me.

I hit the ground, only to feel it sagging toward the massive hole that has opened right behind me, the tunnel ready to suck me in and bury me alive.No! Not like this!

My fear becomes wild.

My fingers dig into the soil, fighting the pull as hard as I can. In vain. I feel the lower part of my body being pulled down.

I mash my eyes shut, expecting certain death. Expecting to be shredded into mincemeat. The atrocious stench so immediate it’s overpowering.

But suddenly—

It stops.

I gulp down precious air, my brain trying to catch up.

It stopped.

I’m still alive, still breathing.

I dare to open my eyes again. Blinking against flying stones and sand, I risk a glance over my shoulder. That ghoulish body of the worm and those pincers are so close behind me I could touch them. But the worm’s not moving.

No, it’s trying to... sense me.

Blind. Itisblind. Relying solely on movement and vibrations. Unable to see what’s right in front ofit.

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