"Dead?" Thomas blinked in disbelief, eyes wide. He hadn't even seen Ethan make a move.
And just a second ago, there'd been this overwhelming pressure coming off him—like running into a natural predator. It hit so hard, it made your soul want to crawl out of your body.
What the hell just happened?
Was he hallucinating?
But the mutated vultures weren't imagining things. Their danger sense was way sharper than any human's. The mont Ethan took down that massive vulture, the rest of the flock slamd on the brakes mid-air, wings flaring wide as they froze in place, too scared to co any closer.
So even let out eerie cries and shot back into the sky, flapping away as fast as they could.
Just one move from Ethan, and the whole swarm scattered.
The pressure on Mia and the others instantly lifted. With their weapons at the ready, they quickly took down a few of the stragglers.
"Damn, we eat one vulture and suddenly the whole damn family shows up," Sean said with a grin, clearly enjoying the mont. "Ethan, bag these suckers up—we've got dinner for days."
After a short skirmish, the remaining mutated vultures circled high above, screeching but keeping their distance. They didn't dare dive again.
Once they left the Domain of the Dead, Ethan couldn't reach them anymore.
Not that he needed to wipe them all out anyway.
Finding the stone tablet was the real priority.
"Let's move," Ethan said.
"Yeah," Mia nodded.
The rest of the group agreed, their voices low but steady.
"Phew—" Thomas let out a long breath, trying to shake off the tension still clinging to his chest.
He looked up toward the peak. They were almost there.
Hard to imagine what kind of monster might be waiting at the summit. If anything was going to claim the top of this place, it'd be sothing terrifying—sothing apex.
Mia led the way, as always. Her bloodstained tachi strapped to her back, she leapt upward, scaling the rocks with fluid, practiced ease.
Sean and the others followed close behind.
The wind at the summit was brutal, whipping their hair around and howling through the cracks in the rocks like wolves crying in the night. It made everyone's nerves tighten.
But aside from the wind, there was nothing. No movent. No sound. Just silence.
Mia was the first to reach the top. What she saw was... nothing. Just a barren stretch of yellow-brown stone, jagged and cracked, stretching out endlessly.
The rocks had been weathered by years of rain, carved into deep grooves and ridges. Anyone with trypophobia would've lost it on the spot.
"No monsters up here?" Thomas asked as he climbed up behind her, scanning the area with a puzzled look.
It was desolate. Not a single sign of life.
Chris scratched his head. "I an... who says there has to be a monster at the top? Maybe they all wandered down the mountain."
"Huh. Yeah, that makes sense," Thomas said, nodding like he'd just had a revelation.
Maybe there was sothing up here. Maybe not. It was just human instinct to assu the worst. After all, they were the first people to reach the summit since the world went to hell. No one really knew what to expect.
Chris chuckled. "Let's just say the monsters are on vacation."
Ethan stayed quiet, tuning into his senses. He didn't pick up any signs of life either—but sothing still felt off. Too quiet. Too still. If there really was nothing here... that might be the most dangerous thing of all.
He took a step back, falling in behind the group.
They kept moving forward, wanting to get a better look, figure out what was going on.
Just as they disappeared over the ridge—
Another figure scrambled up the cliff behind them. Covered in soot and dirt, soaked in sweat, barely able to breathe.
"God... I'm gonna die," Logan gasped, collapsing against a ten-foot boulder. He'd been running nonstop since Albuquerque, constantly on the move, constantly looking over his shoulder.
He hadn't eaten. His body was running on fus.
He glanced around, heart pounding—no monsters in sight.
A wave of relief hit him so hard he almost cried.
Up ahead, he spotted Ethan and the others scouting the area.
"Finally... no more running," he whispered, voice cracking with emotion.
He slumped against the rock, letting himself rest for the first ti in what felt like forever.
Not far off, Ethan and the others were spread out, scanning the area. Towering boulders lood all around them—so over a hundred feet tall. Compared to these stone giants, they felt like ants. The sheer scale of it all left them in awe of nature's raw, untad power.
The ground beneath their feet was solid rock, but scattered across it were massive impact craters—evidence of past teor strikes. Jagged cracks spiderwebbed outward from the blast zones, like the earth itself had been shattered.
"No monsters? Really?" Jenny said, eyes wide with wonder. The summit of Mosca Peak looked nothing like what she'd imagined.
"Don't be so sure," Ethan replied, his tone calm but alert. "So creatures are masters at hiding. You won't sense them until it's too late."
"Oh..." Jenny and the others imdiately tensed up, their earlier ease vanishing. They moved more cautiously now, eyes darting around.
"Pfft."
Back near the edge, Logan scoffed from where he was resting. He always had a knee-jerk reaction to anything Ethan said. Now, looking around and seeing nothing but rocks, he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, right. Monsters. Sure."
He flopped back against a massive boulder like a guy settling into his couch for a lazy Sunday, arms spread, legs out, totally relaxed.
But he'd barely gotten comfortable when a strange cracking sound echoed beneath him—like stone grinding against stone.
Then, eight gleaming eyes snapped open on the surface of the "boulder," glowing with a bloodthirsty light.
"Huh? What the hell is that?" Logan froze, sothing in the sound making his skin crawl. He turned his head—and locked eyes with the eight glowing orbs staring straight at him.
All of them. Focused. Unblinking.
The sight was pure nightmare fuel.
"OH HELL NO!" Logan scread, scrambling to his feet and stumbling backward in a panic.
The "boulder" beneath him rumbled, then began to shift. Two massive pincers unfolded from its sides, followed by a gaping, jagged maw. A long, curved stinger rose high into the air, gleaming with venom.
In seconds, the rock had transford into a monstrous scorpion—ten feet long, its armored body as solid and heavy as the mountain itself.
The creature let out a piercing screech that echoed across the peak, then lunged straight at Logan.
"Are you kidding ?!" Logan yelped, diving to the side as the beast ca crashing down like a boulder with legs.
But he was running on fus. His body was sluggish, his reflexes dulled. He couldn't move fast enough.
The Stone Scorpion's claw slamd into the rock where he'd just been, sending a shockwave through the ground. The impact blasted Logan off his feet, launching him several yards through the air. He landed face-first with a grunt, skidding to a stop in a cloud of dust.
"Pffft!" He spat out a mouthful of grit, coughing and groaning. "I'm so done... I can't run anymore... Can't you just leave alone?"
But the mountain had other plans.
All around him, the ground began to rumble. The rocks shook violently, like the whole peak was waking up.
A small stone—barely the size of a fist—tumbled from above and smacked him right on the ass.
"Ow—what the—?"
Then it started to crack.
Right there on his butt, the little rock split open, revealing tiny pincers and a twitching tail. It was a baby Stone Scorpion.
It hissed—and bit down.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
Logan let out a blood-curdling scream and shot straight into the air like a cartoon character, then took off running like his life depended on it—because it did.
"HELP! MONSTERS! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"
Ethan and the others had already turned at the first scream. Now they watched as Logan sprinted toward them, flailing wildly, a tiny Stone Scorpion still clamped onto his backside.
Chris shook his head and muttered, "See? I told you. Always poking the hornet's nest. One day it was gonna bite you in the ass—literally."
...
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