Under a crimson-shattered night sky, an unfortunate miracle occurred. Somehow, against all odds, a forlorn vessel had managed to crash-land safely. Caught by the mesmerizing waters of a floating lake that now lazily held the charred hull of the ship suspended over the canopy of a blossom-pink forest.

  The ship was long and oblong, its form swaying gently in the crimson-tinged waters of the sky-lake as it slowly sank until its dark form pressed itself against the strange pink trees below.

  As the vessel began to settle, the forest echoed with unknown familiarity. An interplay of flickering pink light pulsed from the blossom trees, illuminating the vessel’s jagged belly. The low pink glow clung to the edges of the dark intrusion, contrasting its alien shape against the organic surroundings.

  The dance of color against the dark vessel shuddered as the weight of the massive vessel became more and more apparent as the skybound lake began to idly separate itself from the vessel. The weight of the dark figure began to strain against the canopy, causing the sturdy branches to crack and tremble. Their low groans protested through the silence, stirring something deep within the vessel.

  The echoes of cracking wood reverberated through the entrails of the dark vessel. The sound bounced throughout the incomprehensible array of black stone chambers, empty and shaped in violent, jagged shapes; it was a senseless expression of esoteric engineering.

  Chambers of all shapes and sizes were spread throughout the strange ship and, at the very least, were separated by some level of logic, allowing the timid human mind to vaguely process the purpose of the organic geometry that looked like the innards of a long-dead leviathan.

  Its blackened insides were painted with an oily, dark liquid that permeated every surface. It clung to the walls in viscous streams that pooled at the base of some of the yawning chambers.

  But there was some sense in it all. Despite the vessel’s irregular form, there seemed to be a rule of duality. From the outside, its jagged shell resembled a misplaced mountain, but inside, the space unfolded into two cavernous chambers bound by symmetry. The disorienting angles and pointless halls all obeyed this simple rule. And between these two main chambers, there was a dead space that was connected by a twisted bridge-like structure. It was worn and scarred hinting at the things that had once inhabited the space. Their presence lingering only as a pitiful liquid clinging to the black stone.

  The bridge glimmered in the crimson and pink hues that seeped through the massive broad windows above and below. The night above was clear, imparting the crimson glow of the shattered sky onto the oily mechanisms of the twisted bridge, giving it the sickly appearance of a freshly gnawed bone.

  From below, the coral glow of the forest fought its way through the lower window mixing with the red in an uneasy shade.

  Desperate.

  The sharp rasp of frantic breath echoed through the dark halls. Claws scraped desperately for a hold against the slick black stone. With a burst of speed, a translucent blue figure darted across the bridge. The creature had six limbs—its front and back legs steady beneath it, while two smaller arms clutched its serpentine abdomen.

  In its frantic rush, it stumbled, losing its grip on the shifting surface. It tumbled and rolled with the momentum, sending its body against the edge of the bridge. In a panic, its smaller arms unfolded as it frantically held onto the bridge.

  It froze. Whipping its head towards the twisted black crevasse it had come from. Its triangular snout trembled as its three vertically slit red eyes widened.

  It saw it.

  The creature choked on its breath as it clambered back onto the bridge in a panic.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  From the yawning abyss, a wet and unnatural sound slithered closer—the slosh of flesh, the rasp of labored breathing echoing against the wet rock.

  The blue creature’s fox-like ears twitched, sensitive to the nuances of the sickly breath. Tensing its muscles, the blue creature put all it had into escaping the gaining darkness.

  A chill ran down its spine—its three vertically slit red eyes staring into the void, its retinas catching the red light from the shattered sky above.

  Panic.

  Something shot out from the darkness: a bladed, bone-tipped appendage, slicing through the air with deadly precision. It grazed the side of the creature’s triangular snout, leaving a thin line of blood in its wake.

  The creature snarled in pain but it did not slow. Every instinct demanded speed. For whatever lurked in the shadows harbored a fate worse than death and to falter meant agony.

  The vessel groaned like an old dragon as its monolithic frame shifted as the trees could no longer hold it. But the blue alien kept moving, its six limbs carrying it deftly across the twisting, chaotic bridge. Expertly maneuvering into the entrails of the opposite chamber.

  From the opposite end of the bridge, a screech split the air—a confusing cacophony of torment. The screech echoed through the vessel, spurring the blue creature forward with renewed desperation. The predatory pursuer was relentless but clumsy—dangerous but slower than its fleeing prey.

  Beyond the vessel’s walls, the forest seemed to respond to the wailing from within. Dark mist coiled around the ship, thickening like sentient smoke, drawn to the pain and fear.

  The blue alien slammed into a massive, greasy stone seal, its body twisting in a panic, claws scraping against the unyielding surface. Pulling itself back, the alien revealed a serpentine tail and sprouting from the expected end was a seven-fingered hand, its movements precise but slightly trembling. It deliberately plunged its hand into an oily black waterfall that cascaded over the stone hatch, the liquid cold and thick against its shaky digits.

  The alien’s chest heaved as it waited, every second stretching painfully long.

  Behind, the wailing grew louder and louder—

  With a sharp click, the mechanism responded. For a brief interlude, the alien’s mouth curled into something akin to a smile—hope flickering through its red eyes.

  The stone hatch slid with a heavy scrape, revealing the outside world with a flash. The maddening pink glow of the alien forest spilled in, bathing the creature in its disorienting light, casting everything in its unnatural hue. There was something deeply wrong in the air—a suffocating sense of dread that caused the blue alien’s skin to crawl, but the clatter of claws on stone left it no time to hesitate.

  Blindly, it leapt just as a mangled, pale hand shot from the shadows, its twisted fingers narrowly missing the tip of its tail. The blue alien’s eyes widened in terror as it caught a fleeting glimpse of its pursuer—a grotesque thing, pale and deformed, something disturbingly alien to an alien. The sight seared into its mind—a vision of horror that sent a jolt of panic through its entire body.

  Driven by blind animal panic, the alien aimlessly fled into the forest. Branches clawed at its limbs, leaves whipped across its snout, but it did not stop. The only thought pulsing through its mind was escape—get away, get away, get away.

  Behind the fleeing alien, the predatory creature floundered awkwardly out of the ship, its twisted body crashing down as it fell onto the coarse roots of a dark blossom tree. Bones cracked and shattered on impact, the sound echoing through the forest, followed by a pained scream—guttural and eerily human.

  It struggled to stand, its twisted limbs trembling under the effort, but they gave way, sending it slumping back against the gnarled trunk of the blossom tree. The creature clawed at the dark bark, trying its best to stand but failing. Collapsing against the tree, the pale creature curled inward, trembling as soft, childlike sobs escaped from its throat. A pitiful sound that was carried through the forest.

  The pink grass beneath the creature stirred, shifting unnaturally as if awakened by the scent of blood. Blades of grass twisted and elongated into fleshy, spiraling tongues, writhing as they reached out to meet the creature’s broken body. The soft tendrils entwined with its pale, deformed flesh, wrapping around it in a grotesque mockery of care.

  The creature shuddered, letting out small, broken sobs as the forest embraced it, cradling it in an unsettling parody of comfort. The pink tongues curled tighter, pulling it deeper into the underbrush as though the forest itself sought to claim it, merging beast and land into one grotesque cocoon.

  And there it lay, its body sinking into the strange, pulsing landscape. Its empty gaze reflecting the crimson-shattered night sky into its Abyss.