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ugh Catherine Mays's thr
ng against her chest, vibrating through the soles of her boots. She stood in the center of the blinding white sp
ening crack
the sharp, violent shriek of snappit her balance. Her arms flailed, her finge
oor va
dden weightlessness snatched the breath from her lungs. The screams of the fans faded into a di
queezed her eyes shut, bracing for the bo
emotionless voice det
he Oracle sys
snapping open. There was no
ible Host. Enhanced Life-Affinit
over her ears. The wind tore the sound from her mouth. Sh
ing stopped with a br
ent rush. Her teeth clamped down on her tongue, filling her mouth with the sharp, meta
hest spasming as she fought to
f arena smoke and hot metal. It was the thick, suffoca
forced her
crete. No broken
ve her, slicing through the canopy of leaves, hung a moon. It w
s a physical coldness spreading
he Oracle echoed in her head again. Newcomer gift
, her voice a raw whisper. "
sil
eam it in her mi
ds shook violently as she pushed herself up onto her elbows. A sharp
neath her sud
teeth. A deafening crash echoed from the tree line. Entire trunks s
le, she dragged herself backward, her fingernails digging into the damp soil. She scrambled be
upted from t
matted gray fur covered its body, and two jagged horns protruded from
the air. One sharp fragment s
ng so hard her lips bruised against her teeth. Her heart hammered agai
another step, a wall of fi
ual, roaring flames, launched itself from the shadows. Its m
of bone snapping ec
ght next to Catherine's face. The metallic, foul stench invaded her nostrils. Her stomach vi
om the rat. It snorted, sending a bl
beast stop
ted. It locked directly onto the gap i
rned to ice. The dinosaur dropped the meat. It let out
ind screaming at her legs to run, but her twisted
back bumped
It was cold. It was hard. And it was
ked as she slowly, ri
black snake thicker than a r
massive head slowly lowered. Two golden, slitted eyes stared down at her.
abandoned the rat and charged at the black snake,
't even look a
unded like a bomb detonating. The tail slammed into the side of the fl
iant trees before crashing into the earth. The flames extin
eer, impossible violence of it drained th
es grinding against the dirt was deafening. It slith
to crawl away, but her ankle gave out. She
bove her. A cold, hissing breath
t before s
d ankle. It moved with terrifying silence, gliding up her calv
cle con
ng air from her lungs. The darkness closed
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