Page 55 of Alien Prince's Claim

There was no danger I couldn’t face compared to those grasping, disgusting creatures.

I could hardly bring myself to cast a look over my shoulders to see where the monsters were — if they were giving chase or not.

After I passed a hissing drainpipe, I heard their frantic steps behind me.

They wore boots with metal tips on the soles that made loud clicking noises.

I turned one corner after another, terrified, slipping and missing one step after another, almost crashing to the floor, but each time, I was up again in but an instant and taking off again down another random hallway.

I noticed the clacking heels of the creatures begin to recede into the distance as I outpaced them, gaining a much-needed lead.

It suddenly occurred to me that if I could just keep ahead of them and keep on stretching out my lead, there was a chance I could outrun them and — dare I even think it? — escape!

All I had to do was keep going.

I just needed to outlast them.

I knew what would happen should I fail, if I lost my feet.

They would come crashing down on me again and I would be lost this time, unable to put up much of a resistance as I had expended the majority of my energy in attempting to outpace them.

I couldn’t stop.

I couldn’t fight.

I didn’t stand a chance against four of them.

I just had to keep going.

I turned another corner, and another, and risked a glance over my shoulder to see the little demons no longer on my tail.

I must have lost them!

Maybe… they had given up?

Hope began to soar in my chest and made my heart race with the expectation of finally being free.

I had done it!

I had escaped!

It wasn’t a moment too soon either, as my legs throbbed and my arms ached and I could barely even stand.

My breath rasped painfully from my throat.

It hadn’t yet recovered from my earlier exertions with Yaltah.

Lactic acid had built up and made my arms and legs feel as heavy as boulders.

I had been powered by terror, the sheer fear of what would happen if those creatures were to get their claws on me.

I had once again pushed myself beyond my limit — now much lower than it had been the first time around.

I decided I would find somewhere safe to hole up and hide until these creatures had gone.

They might head back to wherever they had come from and tell others like them of my location.

They might launch a search operation to root me out…

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