The Woman who Conquered The Desert.

The world slowed.

Its massive head slammed toward the gap, teeth glinting. I was close enough to see saliva whip from its jaws, it bared its teeth at me, endless rows of them.

I bared my teeth back.

Grinning.

The V2 howled.

I blasted through the gap, a hair’s breadth ahead of the worm’s closing maw.

The last thing I heard was a voice from behind me.

“SYLVA—“

Metal shrieked.

The tail of my hoverbike clipped the jagged edge of its mouth.

The bike spun sideways violently. My body twisted, weightless for a split second.

I tried to counter, leaning into the spin, but the drag was too strong.

The hover field collapsed. The V2 slammed belly-first into the sand, sparks exploding outward like molten glass. A brutal flip tore it from under me.

Sky.

Sand.

Sky again.

The bike cartwheeled away, vanishing in a cloud of dust.

I hit shoulder-first, the impact ripping breath from my lungs. I tumbled, body rolling hard across the dunes.

Sound vanished.

Only the thin, high-pitched ringing in my skull remained… and the distant, earth-shaking hiss.

Meanwhile…

I screamed her name as the monster closed in on itself.

I couldn’t help but extent my hand, but she was already gone. I watched as she jumped the gap between salvation and death.

My V2 screeched to a halt. I had nowhere to go, the circle was completely enclosed trapping the rest of us. I couldn’t follow her, I couldn’t go anywhere.

Is she even alive?

I just stared, the monster continued its circular motion around us.

One of the racers pulled up beside me,

“What the hell just happened.”

I didnt answer, nor did I look at them, I continued staring at where the gap once was.

I let out a deep sigh, looking at them and shrugged, taking off my helmet and leaning back.

I didn’t even get the chance lay my back down fully because the creature let out a blood curdling scream.

I covered my ears, it was so intense I lurched back upright on my bike.

The worm wasn’t circling us anymore, I watched as it shook, then re-dove into the sand.

“AN OPENING!” I heard one of the racers shout, the worm released its coil on us revealing the horizon. We all wasted no time and zoomed towards it. We passed through with no retaliation, I looked back to see the worm sink into the ground until it was out of sight.

After a few moments of riding we made it to the outskirts of Solaris, where medics were waiting for us, we were frantically rushed inside Solaris.

I was crammed into a floating vehicle, I sat directly across from— I recognize him, he’s the host from the gala, but he didn’t carry a smile, not this time.

“What’s the situation.” He glanced up to the front seat, where 2 people were, a driver and one on a tablet, he responded.

“We were unable to stop the broadcast of the race into Solaris. The carnage was on full display and tossed the place into chaos. No monster has ever been within the Solaris Radius, why now?”

The host began to tap his foot on the steel floor. “Our authority on the drones were completely overridden. Whoever did it, they wanted everyone to see what happened out there.”

After a moment of silence his eyes widened, and he lurched up, “What is it broadcasting now?”

The person up front held up the tablet, handing it to him. “Look.”

“Someone is still out there? I thought there were only 5 racers left?”

“Six racers left sir, it seems that one fell behind, crashing their bike,”

I froze.

“Sylvaine!” I yelled out instinctively.

The hostess looked up at me, “You know the person?” He held up the tablet in my face, I yanked it out of his hands.

In the center of the desert, she laid there unconscious, her bike not too far from her, her crash left trails in the sand when it slid across it upon impact.

I stood up, but he put his hand on my shoulder.

“Sit.” He said firmly.

“But she—“

“I said sit.” it wasn’t a suggestion.

I had no choice but to comply, he took back the tablet and stared at the display.

“It’s too risky,” he said flatly.

“Excuse me? You expect me to just watch her die—“

“What are you going to do?” He yelled back at me, “best you’ll do is die with her.”

He shifted his gaze back at the tablet, Sylvaine was laying in the sand, unmoving.“We might already be staring at a dead body.”

Meanwhile…

“Syl… Syl… Syl… Sy…”

It was faint at first. Almost soft. Like a whisper bleeding through the static of my own thoughts.

My eyes fluttered open to a sky that wasn’t blue, wasn’t gold—just white. Bleached and endless. My goggles were cracked down the middle, sunlight splitting my vision in two jagged halves.

I tried to lift my head but something heavy pinned me down—sand. It clung to every inch of me, pressing against my chest like it wanted me to stay buried. I forced air through my teeth, each breath sharp and dry, tasting of rust and grit.

“Juno…?”

The name left my throat like a prayer, broken and frayed. I coughed and spat out dust, vision swimming.

“Syl… Syl… Syl…”

The voice was clearer now.

I clenched my jaw and reached up to tap my earpiece.

Click.

The faintest glint of light entered my eye.

“Juno? Hey… what’s going on?” My voice cracked. My hands shook.

No response.

Just static.

“Syl… Syl…”

My breath caught. Slowly, with dread curling in my gut, I turned my head.

It wasn’t even working.

The earpiece wasn’t on my ear.

It lay half-buried a few yards away, glinting into my eye.

I stood up, almost stumbling over.

I’m so…

so dizzy.

I reached up for my cheek, my palm was turned into a crimson red.

Blood.

I looked around, my bike was in ruins a few feet away from me.

In the complete opposite direction, was the ear piece.

Then I finally heard it.

A low hum was the only thing audible now, I looked upward.

A drone.

I stared at it.

it stared back at me.

I grinned, waving at it.

It just watched.

I started waving both hands.

It just watched.

My hand slowly lowered as my smile faded.

I just watched.

As it turned, and flew away into the direction of Solaris.

I just stood there.

My boots crunched in the sand as I staggered toward the wreck of my V2. Every step sent a bolt of pain through my shoulder. The desert was silent except for the whisper of the wind dragging fine grains over the dunes.

Where did the worm go?

I froze mid-step. My breath hitched. I’m surprised I’m not even moving.

The dunes weren’t moving anymore. It was peaceful like before.

I glanced back at the earpiece, then toward my mangled bike.

Do I walk toward the earpiece or the bike?

Then I glanced at the horizon.

Nothing.

“DON’T MOVE.”

I whipped my head around, heart pounding, but the desert was empty.

I froze.

The sand under my boots vibrated. Just slightly.

The world slowed.

I looked down.

My boots were trembling, sinking by fractions of an inch into the soft, shifting grains.

It wasn’t gone.

I shut my eyes, forcing myself still. My pulse roared in my ears, but the voice came again, overlapping with my breath, jagged and broken.

“Syl… don’t move… don’t move… Sylvi…” I could barely stand, I looked down at my shoulder.

I chuckled, “I guess I have to apologize to Juno after this.” I grabbed my aim, but I didn’t even feel my own grip.

“Your cloak, it’s all—“ I stumbled.

“It’s all red now.”