Perspective

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.”

Meanwhile…

The V2 screeched to a halt, my boots grinding against rock as I slid off the saddle. I yanked off my cloak, tossing it aside as I dug into my back pocket and pulled out my tablet. The screen flickered in the harsh sun.

This bike wasn’t mine—I stole it after its owner got swallowed whole. Didn’t matter. What mattered was what was on this map.

I zoomed out, scanning the outskirts of Solaris. My stomach twisted. Sylvaine’s bike pinged in bright red, her name flashing beside it… surrounded by a halo of smaller red dots, all moving in rhythmic, perfect unison.

My throat went dry.

Those dots weren’t the other racers.

My hand flew to my mouth. The racers, those dead still transmitted a signal, from inside the worm’s stomach.

And Sylvi’s dot? It wasn’t moving.

I tore my gaze from the map, looking upward. Two antennas crowned the jagged mountain peak, sunlight glinting off their steel. If anything was keeping that beast in the sands, it was up there.

I gritted my teeth, shoved the tablet in my vest, and ripped the handlebars. The V2 roared, kicking gravel as I carved a brutal climb. Every twist of my wrist made the engine scream; every second felt like stolen time.

“Come on… come on…”

The summit neared. I launched off the final ridge, soaring briefly before slamming down on the flat top of the mountain. My boots hit stone hard as I leapt off, sprinting toward the antennas.

I skidded to a stop in front of a weather-beaten control panel.

“Uh… how the hell do I—” My voice cracked. I stared at the mess of buttons and wires. “Why’s there even antennas in this world.”

68%. A meter pulsed yellow, humming faintly.

No time to think.

“Sorry, Sylvi…” I muttered. I lifted my foot back and kicked it.

The machine beeped violently, a shrill alarm that made my ears ring. The meter spiked, shooting straight up to 97%.

I spun, running to the cliff’s edge, heart hammering in my chest. Sweat dripped down my temple.

Silence.

Then—

Miles an miles away.

The ground below split open.

A tower of sand erupted skyward, blotting out the sun. The worm screamed—a gut-ripping, metallic roar that vibrated through my bones.

The entire mountain trembled beneath my sneakers, stone cracking from the sheer force of its anger.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Each quake felt like a cannon blast. The thing lunged toward the mountain, tearing across dunes with terrifying speed, spraying rivers of molten sand in its wake.

I let out a sharp, shaky exhale, my breath fogging the dry air. Relief washed over me for only a second—Sylvi’s dot was still unmoving… but the others around her were scattering. I bought her time.

That’s all I needed to do.

I turned to run back to the V2—

BANG.

I froze. My ears rang again, but this wasn’t metal or machinery. This was gunfire.

Standing directly behind me was a man in a black, dust-streaked brown overcoat that swayed in the wind. His boots were brown, A wide-brimmed hat shadowed his face, but I could see the grin. Slung across his shoulder was a weapon that didn’t belong in this age. A long, rail-thin rifle with glowing blue etchings along the barrel.

“Impressive,” he said, voice smooth, carrying an unsettling calm.

“Didn’t think anyone out here was competent enough to go after the antenna.”

I staggered back, instinctively pressing my palm to my chest. Warmth spread under my fingers.

Blood.

I coughed, it sprayed onto the ground. My vision blurred, the world tilting.

“Unfortunate, though.”

“You won’t get to see what I do to the sanctuary you call Solaris.” His grin widened as he tilted his hat back, revealing eyes pale as bone. “Your death won’t be remembered. Nor will it be mourned.”

My knees buckled. Rocks crunched underfoot as I stumbled, tripping on a jagged ledge.

“No…” I gasped, trying to steady myself. My hand slipped on blood-slick stone.

I fell.

The world spun violently as I tumbled down the mountainside, smashing into sharp rock after rock. Pain erupted everywhere—my ribs, my arms, my spine. I felt my skull crack against stone with a nauseating—

CRACK—

—then everything went black.