#SampleSunday – Two Moons of Sera Prologue

Nilafayran, slipping on the unfamiliar terrain, desperate to reach water.The rocks dug into the thin flesh of her webbed feet, cutting herskin. This place was so foreign despite being only miles from herhome. Never had she seen the sun so bright or felt the moistureevaporate directly off her skin; she was sure she would die from thecruelty of the atmosphere.

It was difficult to navigate her way through the wilderness, but nowshe breathed in the familiar briny scent of home. She licked herlips, seeking relief from the dryness before stepping out of the treeline and onto the rocky beach. The sun overwhelmed her sensitiveeyes. She slid thin, clear membranes over her eyes. She had alwaysconsidered them vestigial, before coming above water to the Erdland.

She moved forward, wincing as the heat of the sun burned her delicateforehead. Her irises retracted and for a moment she was blinded, butshe could smell and taste the salt in the air, leading her to thewater. The rest of Nilafay’s senses were on high alert, hereardrums straining to feel the vibrations of distant voices.

Frantic to reach the surf, she slipped and ripped open her shin. Shebit down on her lip, refusing to cry out or shed a tear. She was donecrying. Nilafay heard them calling from further back in the forest;the hunters who had seduced her with offers of friendship and a worldunlike any she had seen before. They were closing in, the creaturesthey commanded following her scent, leading their masters closer. Sheshivered at the memory of their strange hair covered bodies. At firstshe had been intrigued by the animals with the eyes of men, but whenshe learned that they were there not to befriend her but to guard andcage her she resented their tracking gaze.

Nilafay stood and resumed her pitch toward the coast line, pressingthrough the throbbing in her leg. The sensitive myomere muscles ofher body were unaccustomed to impact injury. The hunters approachedthe tree line noisily, making no attempt to hide their arrival. Shedropped to her knees. Her iridescent white flesh shone in the morningsun, its lack of pigment reflecting the bright light beating down onher. The rocky beach offered no asylum.

The men grew louder, closer with each passing moment, speaking theirgruff language. She understood only a few words. But what she didunderstand terrified her: “net, experiment, animal, project,cage…”