The trip was slow going. The oppressive heat, unfamiliar terrain, and the need to take frequent breaks to fend off heat exhaustion, stretched each mile into infinity.
After about half a day, they crossed into an area that showed signs of life.
Different types of cacti and desert blooms dotted the landscape.
Una came to life here as well. Quiet up until this point, she began to point out which plants were poisonous, which were edible, and which held water reserves.
She and Samantha quickly began to bond as they discussed the different properties of plants, which ones would enhance potions and which ones could be made into salves and tonics.
The whole group felt more alive as they were able to snack on sweet and tangy desert fruit and were even able to catch a rather large sand rabbit for lunch.
Raymond noticed Una seemed to be lost in thought while she ate. He thought she looked worried.
"What's up Una?" He asked. "What's on your mind?"
She looked up at him and shook her head looking back down at the rabbit carcass.
"It could be nothing." She began. "But, I feel like something is off. The fact that there are plants here is a good sign, it means there is water, an oasis, nearby."
"The problem is," she continued, "there is too much variety. These plants usually grow in specific regions, it's how we used to navigate, seeing them all here is…concerning."
"Also, this rabbit is huge. This kind doesn't usually get this big, plus they normally live much further north."
A thought suddenly dawned on Raymond, he furrowed his brow. "Varied plants, bring varied plant eaters."
Una nodded. "And large prey brings large…"
A loud rumble cut off her statement. She looked past Raymond and saw a large mound moving through the sand at an incredible speed.
She leapt from her spot, quick as a hiccup.
A creature burst out of the ground looking to pounce on Raymond's back.
Before anyone could register its presence, its head was separated from its body and they both rolled to a stop in the middle of the party's circle.
All eyes moved to Una as she stabbed her sword in the ground just behind the hole that the creature left behind.
A muffled, high-pitched squeal came out of the hole, then silence.
Una stood then flicked the green blood from her sword before returning it to its sheath on her back.
"Ground hawks." She spat in the hole. "Reptiles that look like birds but live underground. They always hunt in pairs."
Everyone looked at the body that lay bleeding in the sand.
The head had a short, fat, hooked beak and bulbous eyes on either side.
Its arms ended in short fat claws and were connected to its flank by punt scaly wings.
The tail was wide and flat, its legs were short and muscular with three wicked talons on each foot. At full height, it would have barely stood three feet.
Raymond shook his head. "Nice save Una, that thing would have caught me completely off guard."
Nikki sniffed. "Crazy, it only smells like heat and sand, even its blood doesn't have a distinct smell."
"Devious little buggers." Alecia said, disgust all over her face.
"Oh no!" Una started. "I forgot about the…"
Just then the ground exploded beneath them.
Everyone was thrown in different directions.
Astonishment washed over every single face as they regained their bearings.
Above them, thirty feet out of the ground, screeching like a banshee, was a fat grotesque sand worm, nearly twenty feet wide, with rows upon rows of serrated teeth.
"UNA!" Raymond bellowed over the screeching.
"Sand worm." she yelled back. "Apex predator, blind, hunts by smell and vibration. Watch out for the tentacles!"
Tentacles whipped out from the monster's body, flailing about violently.
Alecia took to the sky dodging the whip-like appendages.
Nikki shifted into her wolf form, air-stepping away.
Raymond flew and grabbed Una, swooping away, following Nikki.
Samantha ran frantically, hoping to put some distance between herself and the monster.
A tentacle whipped out and wrapped around her ankle, snatching her foot out from under her.
Her face slammed into the ground, breaking her nose. "Raymond!" she tried to scream but blood filled her throat causing her to gag and choke.
Another tentacle gripped her other ankle and lifted her high in the air. She thrashed wildly in pure panic as she was dangled over the maw of the giant beast.
More tentacles snaked under her clothes, ripping them as they explored her body. Samantha coughed and screamed when they came in contact with her most sensitive bits.
She opened her mouth to scream for Raymond, but was silenced by a tentacle shoved down her throat.
Raymond watched in horror, frozen for a moment as the monster's tentacle inched closer to her holes.
"What's it doing to her?" He screamed.
"It's going to tear her apart before it eats her." Una's voice was shaking with terror.
'LIKE HELL!" Raymond took off like a rocket, summoning the Double Dragon to his hand, headed straight for the giant worm.
He poured fire magic into the blade as he came to a stop over the monster's maw.
He waited as dozens of tentacles reached for him, then spun like a top from hell releasing the fire.
Every tentacle was obliterated in the blink of an eye, burned to ash by Raymond's rushing flame.
He shot skyward, catching Samantha's unconscious body as she fell. He held her close in one arm and raised his weapon high with the other.
The worm screamed in pain and anger, creating shock waves that shook the earth.
The heavens grew dark as black clouds manifested out of nowhere.
The ladies on the ground stared at Raymond in awe as he floated in the sky beneath the storm looking like an angry god.
"Oh shit!" Alecia screamed. "I recognize this! We need to move now!"
Alecia grabbed Una, they along with Nikki turned and bolted as fast as they could away from the doomed creature.
Raymond roared in pure anger as he dropped his hand, pointing his weapon at the creature.
A column of white hot lightning, brighter than the noonday sun, and twice as big around as the sand worm, slammed into the ground, sending rocks and debris into the air before disintegrating them.
Several seconds passed before the lightning dissipated. It would be several minutes before the electric charge could no longer be felt in the air.
Rain began to fall, sizzling as it hit the ground.
All eyes went to the spot where the monster caused so much terror.
There was nothing left but a smoking crater large enough to hide a house in, lined with glass.
The rain pinged and sizzled as it fell on the glass like the ground itself was whispering as to not offend Raymond.
Raymond floated toward the ground slowly, surveying the area, face unreadable.
As he approached the crater he finally saw what he was looking for.
Behind the glass, on the east side of the crater, was the severed, charred remains of the giant sand worm, still twitching.
Raymond floated past the glass and willed the ground around the worm's body open. Only half of the monstrosity had been above ground.
He reared back, inhaling deep, and exhaled a torrent of flame that completely engulfed the body of the sand worm.
The desert wind took care of the ashes.