apparently not
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Should I continue this? Seems kinda lame to leave the story on a cliffhanger.
you should definitely continue it at all costs
how else are we going to get our out of context goodness
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YesâŚ
Give us more storyâŚ
And also what Mongolia said.
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Some slightly serious advice- give it a proof-read. Get someone else to read over it first(Your Grandma, Grandpa, dog, selfmoc, Sleep Paralysis demon) to prevent these awkward Innuendos.
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hold on donât volunteer me
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ok so I used a lot of effort in this chapter. Also we get to see some native wildlife as well.
Chapter 15
âI donât think weâll be able to get out of this one.â Trinos said to Nardus. Having lost a fight with a group of enhanced Vacans, they had been captured by Kanar and while Nardus proved immune to the scientistâs mental probing, Trinos was not so resistant. After the mad scientist had concluded his search for knowledge, he decided to dispose of the two by having his servant Verac seize Nardus and Trinos and throw them off the cliff. Currently, the four-armed creature had made it to the edge. All the while, Nardus had been trying to use his mind powers to take control of Veracâs motor functions, but there was some sort of mental barrier which blocked his efforts. Meanwhile, his companion Trinos stared down at the base of the cliff, which appeared to be some type of lake, but it didnât look like any liquid he had seen before. This lake had had a strange silvery sheen, and even from this height he could tell that it wasnât a calm one, what with giant waves and other disturbances on its surface.
âAny last words?â Nardus said to the Tainian.
âNot really.â Trinos replied back. At that moment, Verac decided it was time to fulfill his masterâs objective and relinquish himself of his captives, hefting the two high into the air with his arms, and then flinging them with great force towards the base of the cliff, where the silver lake lay.
Wind rushed past Trinosâ and Nardusâ faces as they fell through the air, both beings resigned to their fate. Nardus looked half-heartedly at his friend, the heavy weight of responsibility affecting him more than anything physical could. So this is how I die, he thought. Strangely, Nardus felt almost⌠apathetic about his death. But Trinosâ was another matter. He felt a tear form in his eye, but it was quickly blown away by the wind. How high is this cliff? Nardus asked himself, for they had been falling for almost an entire minute. He spared a glance at the ground, and found it was startingly close, the silvery liquid of the lake rushing up to meet him. Reaching out with his mental abilities, he tried to give Trinos a few more seconds of life, but instead found that he sensed an mysterious presence within the lake water.
âThis doesnât make any sense-â Nardus mumbled, but his musings were cut off by the impact. Oddly, it didnât seem to hurt as much as he wouldâve expected, the resulting thud much quieter as he slammed into the lake. His entire body in pain, Nardus remained conscious to see Trinos impacting next to him, but then he sank below the water and blacked out.
âŚ
Meanwhile, three of his friends were in a very different situation, as Suged, Wardi, and Kekris had finally reached the rocky range of the Taina Mountains.
âWeâre almost there!â Suged called to his two companions over the whirring of the Stonecrawlerâs many mechanical legs. Night had fallen across the landscape, and Suged had turned on his headlights so that he wouldnât crash, as the Taina terrain was quite treacherous. Two of the planetâs three moons had risen, but the Azurin knew they and the stars didnât reflect enough light to see by, so he kept the lights on anyway. One of his passengers, Kekris, had noticed the moons, and pointed out the window at the larger one to her cousin.
âLook Wardi! Thereâs Vetus!â she said, shaking Wardiâs shoulder to get him awake.
âHuh? Hmm? What?â the Yroi said as he emerged from the realm of sleep. âOh, uh, nice.â he continued tiredly, and then went back to sleep. Kekris sighed fondly and let her cousin slumber on. She knew that the trip had been particularly hard on him, as he wasnât used to traveling long distances like she was. Sugedâs driving hadnât particularly helped matters either. After so long without proper practice, the Azurin medic was a bit erratic, and Kekris also knew that Wardiâs stomach did not agree with fast-moving transports. She gazed out the window once more, the many legs of the Stonecrawler visible as the vehicle made good time across the jagged and rocky landscape.
Back in the driverâs seat, Suged sighed contentedly. The Stonecrawler was easy enough to control, with Suged only having to keep an eye on some gauges and toggle a few switches to keep it up and running. Seeing as the ground was beginning to increase in elevation, he flicked another lever, which activated the machineâs sonar scanning device. To his surprise, he found that there was a large mass due north ahead of them. Worse than that, Suged swiftly learned that it was moving. Suddenly, a large tremor shook the vehicle, and more rumblings of increased intensity gave the Azurin and his Yroi passengers reason to worry. The terrible shaking even awoke Wardi, and he grumbled about not being able to get a proper nightâs sleep. However, his annoyance was swiftly replaced with fear.
âWhatâs that?â Kekris called to Suged worriedly. Even though she couldnât see it, Suged gritted his teeth. He knew of only one creature native to these parts that big, and he didnât like it one bit.
âTrouble.â the Azurin called over the Stonecrawlerâs intercom. The quakes became worse, and then the vehicleâs headlights illuminated a massive body and a multitude of legs belonging to what looked to be some sort of great centipede creature erupting from a fissure in the ground.
âLeft! LEFT!â Wardi screamed at Suged. The driver quickly swerved to the left of the monster, avoiding being crushed by its gargantuan bulk. The creature let out a loud roar as it finally surfaced, its distinctive bioluminescent markings revealing its identity to Wardi.
âMOUNTAIN CRAWLER!!!â the Yroi shrieked, his blue eyes widening as the Stonecrawler careened away from the massive centipede.
âYes, thatâs a mountain crawler alright.â Suged called back as he firmly gripped the controls. âHavenât seen one of those in quite a while, but theyâre rather hard to forget about.â Kekris stared at the creature, having never seen one until this moment. She started shaking, even though it was hard to see in the dark of the night. The mountain crawler roared again, its many, many legs a blur as it rapidly caught up to their vehicle.
The Stonecrawlerâs legs seemed pitifully slow in comparison, and Kekris let out a squeal as the colossal creature slithered right up to the transportâs side, allowing her to get a good look at its strange glowing markings, as well as its mandibles. Why the mandibles? Well that was because the monstrous centipede had decided it wanted to try and take a bite out of their vehicle. Thankfully, Suged noticed this maneuver just in time and quickly swerved out of the creatureâs reach, though with noticeable difficulty as the rocky ground was still as dangerous as ever. Even in the limited light both Wardi and Kekris could tell that it was at least twice as long as the Stonecrawler, if not longer.
âWhy is it attacking us?!â Wardi shouted over the chaos, âWeâve done nothing to it!â
âMountain crawlers are fiercely territorial!â Suged hollered back. âThey have limited eyesight and navigate primarily through echolocation, not to mention they canât stand the presence of others of their species!â
âSo it probably thinks weâre another mountain crawler. Great.â Wardi replied miserably as he sank back in his seat. âThis trip just keeps getting better and better.â He didnât have time to continue his complaints, however, as the crawler attempted another bite at their transport. Suged veered away again, but this time the creature managed to shear off a couple of the Stonecrawlerâs rear legs. Alarms began to sound in the driverâs seat, warning of failing structural integrity, but Suged ignored them as he plowed on, adrenaline levels high. Kekris dared to glance out the rear window, and as the mountain crawler opened its mouth to let out another roar, she got a good look at its massive throat and rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.
âSuged! We need to get out of here NOW!â she shouted.
âWhat do you think Iâm trying to do?!â the Azurin yelled back as he swerved again to avoid a swipe of the huge centipedeâs bladed tail. âDoes anyone recall any sort of vulnerabilities this thing is supposed to have?!â
âNot at the moment! Does this Stonecrawler have any weapons or something?!â Wardi shouted to Suged. The driver replied hastily,
âI donât think it does! This is just a modified civilian model, not a military transport!â
Just then, another round of tremors and quakes vibrated throughout the landscape as a second mountain crawler forced its way to the surface, this one even larger.
âWell thatâs just great! Now there are TWO!â Wardi shrieked over the deafening sound of the second centipedeâs roar. Suged hastily careered to the side of the creature, his nervousness and adrenaline increasing by the second.
âMaybe itâll attack the first one and not us.â Kekris replied hopefully, having remained mostly silent during the entire ordeal. Surprisingly, the second mountain crawler turned to do just that, its bioluminescent markings glowing bright as it roared a challenge at the first mountain crawler. It roared back, and it skittered forward to meet the challenge, slashing its razor sharp tail at the other crawler. Suged took this moment to escape, the Stonecrawler a bit slower than normal due to the loss of some of its legs.
After they had made significant distance from the enormous fighting centipedes, Suged slowed the Stonecrawler down to a stop. All three beings in the vehicle let out a huge sigh of relief, adrenaline levels lowering as they recovered. Suged opened the cockpit and hopped out of the vehicle, smoke rising from the engine.
âUh oh. This isnât good.â he remarked as Wardi went out as well.
âWhat isnât good?â the Yroi replied in a dismal tone. Suged gestured at the engine.
âThis Stonecrawler wasnât designed to go this fast for prolonged periods.â An idea came to him, and he quickly checked the icium batteries. The Azurin sighed thankfully upon learning that they were not fried. Then he got back into the vehicle.
âWell, do you want the good news or the bad news?â he said to his two passengers.
âDo the bad news first.â Kekris replied, completely worn out from the chase.
âThe bad news is that the engine has overheated. The good news is that I doubt weâll find another mountain crawler for the duration of our trip. Territories of these kinds of creatures rarely overlap. The other good news is that we just witnessed a once in a lifetime event! Mountain crawlers only fight each other for dominance every 1,000 years or so!â
Both Kekris and Wardi sighed at that, and Wardi replied,
âGreat. Can we get moving now?â
âUh, sure.â Suged replied. âBut weâll have to take it a bit slower to lighten the load on the engine.â
âSounds good to me.â Wardi replied sleepily, and the Yroi let out a yawn. Unfortunately, he wouldnât get a chance to rest as a gruff voice called out from the darkness,
âHey! Who goes there?â
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more like a lack of motivation
also Iâm going to have to do an information dump at some point
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Iâm workin my way through it, Iâm at 12 now. Kekris is my favorite so far. Gets the job done even when it hurts
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Neat.
Also, if chapters 1-14 feel rushed itâs because I did them for school.
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All progress is good progress. Iâm still trying to get past my perfectionism and let myself make mistakes in wiriting
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How far are you in the story now?
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Still at 12, Iâm reading it one chapter at a time. Harder to get through literature because it takes more time, and my schedule is busy. Easy to pop in and drop a comment, but I gotta sit down for a story, especially if I wanna give it any real attention
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Makes sense.
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