BELLY OF THE BEASTS
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Great Dessert
Despite the dry, hot air the wind that blew over the party now was cold. It blew against them, passed them and blew on to the settlement they had left behind. Small dunes rolled away in every direction, broken only by a slight scattering of dark rocks and long dead trees. Klara lead the way as she always did, hand on her polished hilt. Her cloak had been bundled up into her rucksack along with her uniform's jacket. Under her body armour she wo

TASTE
THE ASHES
CHAPTER
THREE
Darkness.
Hot. Damp. A rhythmic pounding, all around. It was a heartbeat. Hers.
Michelle
kept running, following the sound of Max' footsteps. Distantly behind
them they could hear the echoes of the infected banging on the metal
door they'd barred shut behind them. She had no idea where the tunnel
took them but it was the only way to go. She was tiring long before
Max seemed to be out of breathe but fear kept her moving. Stopping
likely meant death. Then, ahead, a he

BELLY
OF THE BEASTS
CHAPTER
TEN
The
Oasis
The
stars were out in their brightest colours, distant nebula stretched
over the black curtain above whilst the blue moon shone proudly over
the plains. Here the climate was more arid and even at night, the
temperature was warmer. Marshland far behind them, the party had made
their way south, to the rocky plains. From her the Great Desert was a
throw away and at it's edge, their destination. Klara was the only
one awake, on her usual night watch. Her swo

TASTE
THE ASHES
CHAPTER
TWO
Kara
felt a kick against her feet, prompting her awake. She had barely
slept anyway. Max stood over her in dim bluish twilight, a hand down
by her side, ready to pull her sawn off out at a moments notice.
“Dawn's
coming.”
Kara
rubbed her eyes, exhaustion not so easy to shake off.
“Is
the horde gone?” Kara asked, running a hand over her shaved scalp.
Max's
head wavered from side to side, her long bedraggled hair on one side
bouncing whilst the scar on her shav

BELLY OF THE BEASTS
CHAPTER NINE
Pearl of the Swamp
They had left the trading post together, aboard a ferry across the lake. It was an afternoon's journey and little more. The sun beat down on them making them spend most of the trip shifting about under the mast's shade. By the time their destination approached the heat had drained them, leaving them with little energy for the journey ashore. Which would have been fine if it were not for what lay ahead.
At the opposite shore the lake became a bo

BELLY
OF THE BEASTS
CHAPTER
EIGHT
A
Taste Of Magic
The
true red of dawn was still some way off when Mary awoke. She never
slept much these days, her soft body unused to the hard ground,
especially the arid grasslands south of the borderlands. Each day
they got further south and each day the ground only got harder.
Mary
sat up, keeping her blanket close, wrapped up around her. She saw the
others sleeping under their blankets, around their small fire pit,
the embers long extinguished. Standing up

BELLY OF THE BEASTS
CHAPTER SEVEN
Those in Need
With a cloak wrapped around her, Mary helped Klara down the stairs as
she still tried to readjust to her human form. Her pale feet brushed
nervously over the cold, dusty stone unsure of their footing but
grateful Mary was there to hold her. Mary had to constantly fight to
conceal a blush, ashamed to find herself in great admiration of
Klara. She just wanted to tell her she was beautiful, as she would
have any number of noble girls back in Pearl but

OUTMATCHED
Johnny was free again, after
years of helplessness he had managed to gain some kind of autonomy
once more, albeit in a completely unexpected way. The disease had
taken almost everything from him and when it was set to take just
what little he had left, an opportunity emerged. An expensive and
experimental one but when your fate is sealed anyway, anything is
worth the risk and effort. So with little hesitation he agreed.
It was renowned doctor and
robotics engineer who had made the pro