Page 35 of Xara and the Xenobeast

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Xara’s leg had almost completely recovered, and she was determined to map more of the ruins surrounding their cave. Ash had reluctantly agreed to let her venture further each day, though his silver eyes followed her movements with wary intensity whenever she prepared to leave.

“We’ll be fine,” she assured him, as the pups tumbled excitedly around her feet. “Just going to check out that eastern section we haven’t explored yet.”

He growled softly, his sensory tendrils coiling with what she now recognized as concern.

“I know, I know. Be careful, stay alert, don’t touch anything that looks dangerous.” She smiled up at him. “We won’t go far.”

After their kiss that morning—and his abrupt departure afterward—she welcomed the chance to clear her head. Whatever was happening between them felt both inevitable and impossible. A human and an alien bioweapon. She almost laughed at the absurdity.

The three pups scampered ahead of her, although Soldier kept circling back to check on her, chirping insistently whenever she lagged behind.

“I’m coming, bossy,” she said, picking her way carefully over fallen stone blocks.

The ruins extended much further than she’d initially realized, and parts of it were far more ancient than the scorched tech she’d discovered in the cave system. Stone pillars and indications of previous buildings were hidden beneath the blood red vines. She pushed a curtain of vines aside and paused to examine a section of wall covered in unfamiliar script.

“This place must have been important,” she murmured to the pups, who were busy digging in the soft earth near her feet. “I wonder what happened here?”

A soft chirp from one of the pups drew her attention. It had uncovered something shiny and was batting at it with curious paws. She knelt to examine the find—a small metal cylinder with a cracked display panel.

“Good job, little one.” She pocketed the device. Maybe it would yield more information about this place, about him.

The further they ventured, the more the landscape changed. The jungle thinned, revealing more extensive ruins—collapsed domes and twisted spires. A research station, perhaps? Or a military outpost?

She climbed atop a fallen column for a better view, the pups scrambling up after her. From this vantage point, she could see that the ruins formed a rough circle, with their caves near the western edge. At the center stood what might have once been a control tower, now a crumbled ruin jutting toward the sky.

“That’s our next destination,” she told the pups, who chirped in agreement.

As they made their way toward the central structure, the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. The jungle had gone eerily silent. No distant shrieks or calls, no rustling in the underbrush. Even the ever-present hum of insect-like creatures had ceased.

The pups sensed it too. They huddled closer to her legs, their bioluminescent patches pulsing with anxiety.

“Let’s head back,” she whispered, suddenly aware of how far they’d strayed from the cave.

Too late.

A low, rattling hiss came from behind a collapsed wall. The pups froze, then began to puff up their bodies—a defensive posture she’d seen only once before.

Her blood turned to ice as a massive form emerged from the shadows. It was taller than her by at least two feet, its body a nightmare of chitinous plates and jointed limbs. Glowing green eyes tracked her movements as it advanced, claws clicking against stone.

Unlike the insectoid predator Ash had killed when she first arrived, this creature moved with deliberate intelligence. It tilted its head, studying her with predatory calculation.

She backed away slowly, her hand groping blindly for anything she could use as a weapon. Her fingers closed around a length of metal—part of an old support strut, its end jagged and sharp.

“Stay behind me,” she hissed to the pups, who were now fully inflated, their glow patches flashing in rapid, distressed patterns.

The creature lunged forward with shocking speed, forcing her to stumble backwards. She swung the makeshift weapon, connecting with one of its limbs. The impact jarred her arms, but the creature barely seemed to notice.

It opened its maw, revealing row upon row of needle-like teeth, and emitted a shriek that sounded like tearing metal. The sound pierced her skull, momentarily disorienting her.

The pups darted forward, tiny but fierce, positioning themselves between her and the predator. They flashed their glow patches in aggressive patterns, emitting high-pitched squeals of challenge.

“No!” she cried, terrified for their safety. “Get back!”

The creature reared up, front limbs raised to strike—and then the world exploded into motion and fury.

A massive form crashed into the predator from above, driving it to the ground with bone-crushing force. Silver skin flashed in the dim light, sensory tendrils whipping through the air like living weapons.

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