Page 15 of Alien Devil's Wrath
“Then what do you suggest?” His voice had dropped lower, gravelly in a way that made something shift in my chest.
I moved closer to trace the terrain features visible from our vantage point. Near enough to sense the warmth radiating fromhim, near enough to see the way his muscles tensed when I invaded his space. My usual chatter slowed, words catching for just a moment before I continued.
“The long way around would take weeks. Too many variables, too many chances for discovery.” I tapped my finger against my lips, and noticed his attention followed the movement. “But there’s a much more elegant solution.”
His stare fixed on me, wary and something else. Something that made my skin prickle with unfamiliar tension. “Such as?”
“We go through Burrow-Maw territory.”
The look he gave me suggested I’d just proposed we jump off a cliff for the pure joy of it. His hand moved instinctively toward his weapon, then stopped when he realized I was serious.
“That’s suicide.”
“It’s a calculated risk.” I reached out to touch his forearm, caught by the way the corded muscle went rigid under my palm. The temperature of his skin made my hand want to explore further, map every line of him. For research purposes, naturally. “Straight shot to the far side of the valley, bypassing all of Slade’s security networks. We’d be there in two days instead of two months.”
“The Burrow-Maw is a category-five threat.” His voice carried the flat certainty of someone reciting military doctrine. “Subterranean predator, estimated length over two hundred meters, capable of detecting surface vibrations from a kilometer away. Nothing that enters its territory survives.”
“Those old survey reports lack imagination.” I let my touch trail along his arm before pulling away, noting how my breath caught. Altitude, probably. We were in a valley, but still. “The thing doesn’t hunt. It’s basically a giant, lazy earthworm that digs tunnels and waits for things to fall in.”
The expression on his face was worth every moment of waiting.
“But here’s what makes the plan work. It sleeps. Really long sleeps between meals. Days at a time.” I pulled out my small notebook, pages filled with careful observations and sketches. “I’ve been tracking its patterns for the last three years. Right now, it’s in deep hibernation.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve been sharing territory with it.” My excitement made the words tumble faster. “Watching it, learning its rhythms, mapping its tunnel system. Do you think I’d still be breathing if I didn’t understand how this thing works?”
“You’ve been studying it.” There was something in his voice. Not quite admiration, but recognition of competence.
“I’ve been surviving next to it. Much more practical than studying.” I started down the slope, already selecting landmarks and calculating distances. When he fell into step beside me, I found myself oddly conscious of his presence, the way he moved silently despite his size. “The entrance is about two kilometers ahead. Wide opening, easy access to the main tunnel network.”
“The tunnel system.”
“The creature hollows out these massive caves, then sleeps in the deepest chambers while waiting for prey to stumble in. We just use its excavation work like a highway.” I glanced at him, caught him watching me with an intensity that made me forget what I was about to say. I blinked, continued. “Think of it as borrowing infrastructure from a very large, very unconscious neighbor.”
His silence suggested he was thinking of it as something else entirely.
The fissure appeared exactly where I’d expected. A massive crack in the earth that stretched nearly fifty meters across. Periodic gusts of warm, damp air rose from its depths, carrying mineral scents and the faint organic musk of something vast and alive.
I knelt at the edge and placed my hand flat against the trembling earth. The vibrations were deep and rhythmic, like a massive heartbeat slowed to geological time.
“Well, aren’t you magnificent,” I whispered to the unseen creature below. “Such a splendid monster. We’re just going to borrow your tunnels for a bit.”
Zarek approached more cautiously, every line of his body screaming tension. The vibrations were probably triggering every survival instinct he possessed. When he crouched beside me, his shoulder brushed mine, and my concentration scattered for a moment.
“This is insane,” he muttered.
“It’s unconventional problem-solving.” I swung my legs over the edge of the fissure, boots finding the series of ledges I’d memorized years ago. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“We get dissolved alive by a creature the size of a mountain.”
“Only if we’re careless about timing and positioning.” I grinned up at him, already starting my descent. “But we won’t be, because I know exactly how long we have before the next feeding cycle.”
The descent took careful navigation. The natural handholds required precise placement, and the warm air rising from below made the stone slippery in places. Above us, the circle of daylight grew smaller until we were surrounded by absolute darkness.
Halfway down, my foot slipped on a patch of damp stone. I started to fall.
His hand shot out, those powerful fingers wrapping around my waist, hauling me back against the rock face. For a heartbeat we were frozen like that, his arm spanning my ribs, my back pressed against his chest. I could sense his heart hammering. Mine matched its rhythm, though surely that was just adrenaline from the near-fall.
