The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

(Planet Vrean)

Cleo closed her eyes and saw hundreds of invisible tendrils slowly extend outwards from her mind.

It had been quite some time since she had used mental techniques, so she feeling was a bit rusty.

Psychic Art- Mass Backlash!

Pulsating waves of energy burst out of her mind and headed right towards the horde of flying monsters swarming towards their location.

The creatures froze in place as their minds were overloaded with numerous thoughts, sensations and emotions that made little sense.

The dendrites in their neural networks burst under the pressure and one by one the creatures fell out of the sky.

Cleo opened her eyes and hissed softly in pain as she felt a raging headache begin to form.

Sophie glanced down at her girlfriend and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead.

"Don't hurt yourself babe…" Sophie gently whispered as she continued to direct the qi in her dantian towards her leg meridians.

The hybrid girl's speed rapidly increased as her figure became a blur. Horrific screams and cries of pain echoed through the open desert.

Sophie felt a chill run down her spine as those sounds were often accompanied by the noise of something chewing.

Cleo's wrist communicator continued to project a holographic screen with the current distance between themselves and the teleportation launchpad.

Thirteen more kilometres… twelve… eleven…

The desert was a harsh and lonely environment. Massive sand dunes rose up from the ground almost like waves on an ocean.

But perhaps the most unpleasant part of travelling in a desert was the dust.

Sophie was forced to narrow her eyes as she bravely ran headfirst into an incoming dust storm.

There was no other option.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

More silvery needles were shot in her direction from the thousands of pursuers that still persisted in their hunt.

Fortunately, they had not narrowed the gap between themselves and the two girls, so their attacks landed several feet away.

Sophie growled hoarsely and for a brief moment the corners of her golden eyes started to turn red.

She was suddenly struck by an overwhelming urge to drop Cleo and turn around to fight the monsters that were hunting them down.

Kill them… kill them… KILL THEM ALL!

Sophie gritted her teeth in pain as she used her sharp fingernails to dig into the soft fleshy underbelly of her palms.

Blood dripped down from her palm and landed on the hot sands where it quickly disappeared amidst the dust.

No… Cleo's safety took priority over everything.

Sophie did not realise it at the time but as her desire to protect Cleo filled her mind, her left eye turned completely pink.

She discovered that running became a bit easier as if the weight of her body no longer applied.

Sophie was now moving even faster than before.

The hybrid girl focused on the floating map and mentally counted down the number of kilometres left as they neared the teleportation site.

Ten kilometres… nine kilometres… eight kilometres…

The end was near…

Screech!

A deafening roar came from the direction of the swarm and Sophie could not help but turn around to take a quick glance.

What she saw sent shivers down her spine...

A massive creature kept slamming against the barrier until the remaining part of the dome shattered into tiny pieces almost like glass.

This beast had an identical appearance to the other monsters with a slender whip-like body that was covered in heavy black scales that resembled armour.

Except there was one crucial difference…

This creature was over seventy feet tall. It was a colossal titan unlike anything that Sophie had ever seen before.

The swarm of monsters immediately flew over to the giant version of themselves and used their needles to tear out their own throats in some bizarre ritual.

Screech!

The creature opened its mandibles and unleashed a series of guttural cries that made the ground itself shake under the pressure.

Sophie wobbled slightly and barely managed to avoid falling over as she almost lost her footing.

She met Cleo's eyes and both girls exchanged silent looks that basically translated to…

What the actual fuck?!

Every single flying creature returned to the colossal beast and tore out their throats.

Their greenish-yellow blood stained the desert sands and their bodies crashed to the ground motionless.

The gigantic beast roared once more and then positioned itself with its crotch pointed in a certain direction.

Before Sophie and Cleo's horrified eyes, a feminine slit opened up just at the bottom of the creature's nether regions.

Screech!

The monster cried out in what appeared to be a mix of both pain and pleasure as hundreds or maybe even thousands of eggs shot out of its slit.

These eggs had rough, bumpy outer surfaces and were purplish- grey in colour. Each egg was around the size of an adult human male.

These eggs piled up into large mountains and were covered by a sticky green mucus that coated each egg in its slime.

"Gross… I'm going to be sick…" Cleo gagged as she turned away from the disgusting sight.

Even Sophie was not doing much better as she continued to look with an almost morbid fascination.

The colossal monster lay down on the sand and closed its eyes as it seemed to be exhausted from giving birth multiple times in the space of a few minutes.

Crack!

One of the eggs at the bottom of the pile gradually broke and one could see a fully formed creature crawl out from behind the eggshell.

Its body got covered by the mucus and it moved unsteadily as it took its first steps outside and saw the sun.

It sniffed the air twice and then unfurled its thick translucent wings. The mucus coating its body fell off as the creature trembled violently.

Sophie wasn't sure what happened next as she turned around and continued to run in the direction of the teleportation site.

All she knew was that as the first creatures hatched from the eggs… her danger sense activated immediately.

Goosebumps appeared on her arm and the heavy scent of death lingered in the air. Sophie narrowed her eyes and just focused on running.

She needed to make sure that Cleo was safe…

She needed to protect her girlfriend…

Sophie ran up a massive sand dune and when she got to the other side, she finally saw the teleportation site in the distance.

It was a massive metalloid ring surrounded by a series of tents and vehicles. Dozens of employees were running about in a seemingly panicked state.

Some of the guests who had chosen to stay behind and not go on the tour to the hidden valley looked a bit confused as they were rushed into the teleportation launchpad.

Their bodies gradually disintegrated into golden particles as they were teleported back to the starship.