22 Episode Ten - To The Oasis (Part 2)

Bracing for impact, Eira ducked and rolled, landing with nimble grace while Lars landed flat on his back. "Oof!" he grunted.

"Are you two alright?" Florian shouted, firing at the sand driller while running up to them.

"We're fine!" Lars spat out a mouthful of sand. "Kill this son of a bitch!"

Anaelle galloped over, giving Eira a hand. "Ride with me. It'll give your reaper the advantage if we move around."

Baring her teeth fiercely, Eira hoisted herself up.

"So, what's the plan?" Anaelle demanded.

"Sand drillers are naturally blind and deaf. They rely on the microscopic hairs on their bodies to detect heat and movement. With our numbers, I'd say we can ambush it or, we can catch it unaware."

"I vote for the first option." Koga came up to offer the Captain a ride. "That's one ugly worm I'll be happy to slice into pieces."

As if it understood Koga's intention, the sand driller cut to them, showcasing a terrorizing view of its salivating mouth – rimmed with hundreds of tiny, serrated teeth. Its most prominent feature were the four protruding claw teeth curved towards the middle – almost conical when the tips touched, making its head.

Lars imagined that was how it got its name – by drilling.

Koga hopped off his humpback. "She's all yours, Captain. Shisui and I work better on ground." Drawing his katana, Koga charged at the sand driller. "Argghhhhh!" Florian immediately moved to cover his back.

"Try to locate its weak spot. It may be huge, but it's driven by instinct, not intellect." Lars checked his reaper. "This won't take long." He joined Koga in the ambush and fired notoriously, not giving the sand driller a moment's rest.

"Let's circle around it," Eira urged Anaelle.

From afar, Florian created a succession of holes in the creature's underbelly, causing it to squirm and plunge back underground.

"Where did it go?" Koga eyed his surroundings vigilantly.

For a split second, everything went quiet.

Blood pounded in Eira's ears, her breathing shallow and fragmented. It was as if time had slowed down. And then, she felt it – the slightest bit of tremor from below. "It's underneath!" Brusquely, she shoved Anaelle off the humpback and dove off to the side. The ground beneath caved in and their humpback disappeared into the abyss of the sand driller's belly.

"What the fuck!" Someone shouted and more gunshots fired.

The predator emitted a deafening roar and lashed out with its tail, creating a massive whirlwind of sand. Coughing wildly, Eira couldn't see pass the floating granules until its massive mouth hovered over her head, casting a shadow of death.

"Eira!" she heard Lars and Florian echoing each other. Wild terror strangled their voices as they raced to save her.

Eira's teeth clenched hard. If she was going down, she would fight until her last breath! Raising her reaper, she fired relentlessly into the chasm of it's pitch-dark mouth. She released a frustrated roar when the sand driller was a second from swallowing her whole. Unexpectedly, a series of supersonic air pockets slugged the predator in the side, sending it crashing and rolling sideways.

{Friend! I am here.}

That voice! Eira whipped around. A gust of strong wind pulsed as a white dragon-like creature landed gracefully, its wings flapping to purify the dirt-ridden air.

Delight bubbled through her bloodstream. "Xue Long!" She ran to greet it, but Lars was beside her at once, stopping her with a fierce scowl on his face.

"Stand down." He bit out harshly. The intense fear and horror of witnessing the sand driller nearly eating her alive was forever carved into his mind. His heart was still stuck in his throat. "You were almost killed!"

"It's alright, Lars. I'm fine." She touched his arm, and he noticed the slight tremble in her hand.

He wanted to argue that she wasn't but, Eira was a survivor — like him. To fear, was to be human. He clasped his hand over hers, sending her his strength. "Are you sure?"

Eira knew she couldn't hide anything from his discerning eyes but, she truly was fine...a little shaken but, it wasn't a new experience. "Yes, I'm sure." She turned her attention to Xue Long. "This is the little one I was telling you about. It saved our lives in Craole."

Lars eyed the unknown predator. He wasn't certain if it was ally or foe at this point but, he was grateful for its intervention. Eira wouldn't be standing here otherwise. "I believe you. But first we need to finish off that sand driller."

"You're right." She glanced at the wounded sand driller. Just how powerful was Xue Long for it to heavily damage a secondary class predator — one level below an apex predator? "What do we do now?"

Before Lars could speak, Koga charged forward and sank Shisui's tip all the way from the sand driller's mouth to its underbelly, cleaving it wide open.

"That does the trick too," Eira concluded approvingly, taking in the spilled guts and undigested humpback carcass — the poor animal.

Koga bellowed in triumph, shaking the blood off his reaper. "And that's how it's done! All mortal flesh shall yield in the face of Shisui's razor-sharp edge."

"Good job, Koga." Florian approached with his humpback in tow. "But I think the credit goes to our mysterious friend over there."

"What is that creature?" Anaelle unmounted in a flash. "It's extraordinary. I've never seen a predator like it before." The scientist in her wanted so very badly to touch it.

Xue Long raised its head, ears twitching as it listened to their conversation. Excitedly, Eira gestured for it to come closer. "It's alright, they're not going to hurt you. These are my friends."

Brows drawn, Anaelle commented dryly. "I doubt it understands what you're saying."

"As a matter of fact," Florian contradicted. "It's surprisingly intelligent and has amazing reflexes." He frowned at the dragon's larger physique. It stood as tall as the humpback. "And I think it's grown bigger since we last saw it."

Florian was right. Xue Long appeared to have doubled in size, even its features have elongated. Eira walked up to it, extending a palm for it to take in her scent. "What are you doing here?"

Its cold, wet snout brushed her hand. {I am with you everyday.}

She tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

{I followed you. I live with you.}

A pleat formed between her eyes. "You couldn't possibly have."

"What's it saying?" Florian sidled up to her.

"I think it followed us back from Craole. It says it has been living with us."

A sudden thought occurred to Florian. He spun to Anaelle. "Do you have an apple with you?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "And what do you need it for?"

"Do I need to command you as Vice-Captain to hand it over?" he asked sarcastically.

Storming to her satchel, Anaelle retrieved an apple and reluctantly tossed it to Florian.

"What are you going to use it for?" Eira watched as he lobbed the fruit at Xue Long. Like before, the predator cleverly snatched it out of the air and gobbled it down.

Grinning triumphantly, Florian turned to Anaelle. "I think we found your apple thief."

Anaelle's rosebud lips pinched in disbelief. "T-that thing was living in our backyard? B-but…how?"

"It looks like it really did follow us back to Ataxia." Florian concluded. "What should we do, Captain? Trespassing predators are often put down on the spot, but this fellow here would likely be handed over to research and development division. There's no way those old geezers would pass up on the chance to study this fine specimen."

"Vi! No!" Eira protested vehemently, standing protectively in front of the dragon. "I won't allow anyone to hand Xue Long over! I'll fight to protect it."

"Calm down, Eira." Lars felt his blood pressure rising at this unforeseen circumstance. "For now, we have a mission to finish. As long as your friend doesn't cause trouble, I won't haul it in." Besides, it seemed obedient towards Eira, and he wasn't above using that to their advantage. The Oasis was a dangerous place. Having a predator ally wouldn't hurt, although the risks were high too. For now, he would quietly observe.

Eira's eyes shone with gratitude. "Oh, Kaaqa, Lars."

He almost felt sorry for manipulating her new friend. Almost. Pointing to the remaining two humpbacks, he said, "Let's saddle up. We need to keep moving."

"But Captain," Koga voiced out, scratching his head. "We're one humpback short."

Xue Long emitted a gobbling noise from its throat. {You can ride on me.}

Eira's cheeks rounded with undisguised excitement. "Can I?"

"Wait a minute!" Anaelle's palm shot out, her mind racing. "Isn't anyone going to explain how the fuck is Eira communicating with a predator?" Her puzzled gaze volleyed from Captain to Vice-Captain. "Captain, are you keeping a secret from us?"

"It's none of your fucking business," Florian retorted with a hint of protectiveness.

"Florian." A glacial warning from Lars. He had anticipated this confrontation in the future, not now. How had it come to this? "Watch your tone."

"It's fine, Florian," Eira interjected before turning to Lars. "I don't mind if our team knows. I think the truth would make us all feel better too."

Their gazes connected, and he saw the weight of her clear conscience. Respecting her decision, he faced everyone. "What I'm about to share must be kept within the unit. If anyone breathes a word of this, I'll know." He levelled Koga and Anaelle a hard stare. "The effects of Cell II were different for Eira. While we can link with our reapers, she developed an additional ability to communicate with predators. I'll admit, it's a useful ability – one we must protect at all costs and never speak of again. No one else must know, especially not the government."

"This is unheard of, Captain!" Anaelle argued, unwilling to let the subject slide.

"My decision is final, Ms. Rose." Lars's tone brooked no room for further discussions. "If anyone still has doubts, I'll address it after the mission. Right now, I need everyone to focus on what's important. We need to find the Oasis before sunset."

"He's right," Eira agreed. "After dark, the Skocian desert becomes a predator's playground. And the Giant Rochel will awaken."