The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

(Northern Region- Base Camp)

Rustle… rustle… rustle…

Rustle… rustle… rustle…

Qiana kept her back against the side of the tent and waited as she heard the noise appear again.

She could see a long shadow moving outside and the cold chill of death made goosebumps appear on her arms.

The monster was back.

The young woman waited patiently and mentally counted out two minutes. Just as before… the rustling sounds vanished at the two-minute mark.

Qiana let out a heavy sigh of relief and cautiously stuck her head outside the tent to observe the nearby surroundings.

The mysterious creature had left no trace of its existence.

The tents were completely undisturbed and there were no footprints or markings on the sand that indicated that another living being had been here seconds prior.

If it weren't for the recordings that Qiana had managed to take on her wrist communicator, she would have assumed that she was going insane.

What the hell was going on here?

Every hour since she returned to the base camp, the monster would randomly appear within that time frame.

It would move around the campsite for roughly two minutes and then it would vanish into thin air as if its presence was just a bad dream.

"No… I can't stay here…" Qiana muttered quietly to herself as she glanced at the timer on her wrist communicator and saw that there were thirty-five minutes left in this hour.

She was reluctant to leave the relative safety of the tent, but the monster was getting closer and closer to her position with each appearance.

How could it sense her?

Qiana wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence, but she refused to take any chances.

The heiress to House Abazin reached into her storage ring and pulled out a dark cloak that was long enough to cover her body.

She flung the cloak over her body, and it concealed most of her features. Qiana reached for the blades attached to her hip and held one in both hands.

She cautiously walked out of the tent while keeping a close eye on her nearby surroundings. Night had fallen and a full moon could be seen hovering high above in the sky.

There was an eerie quietness in the base camp.

The sounds of dozens of people moving, living, and eating in their tents were completely absent.

The only company that Qiana had were the tiny grains of sand that brushed against her body before falling back to the harsh ground.

She looked around the campsite and suddenly the shadows darkened. Hundreds of mysterious eyes surfaced on the sides of each tent.

Each eye was around the size of a dinner plate. Their pupils were completely vertical and sat in the middle of a sea of yellow.

Qiana froze for just a moment before flinging her dagger at the nearest eyeball without hesitation.

Her blade sunk into its soft fleshy exterior and blue blood began to leak out of the open wound.

Qiana clenched the second dagger in her left palm and prepared to activate her movement technique in order to escape.

Then just like that… the eyes vanished.

The tents returned to normal and the place where the injured eyeball had been now only showed a tear in the fabric of the tent.

Illusion? Hallucination? Or another trick?

Qiana hesitantly approached the hole in the tent and took out her knife that was embedded inside.

There was not a trace of blue blood on the edge of the weapon. Qiana furrowed her brows as she did not know what to make of the strange situation.

She could feel a warmth in her pocket and without even looking down she could tell that the mysterious ring had once again escape from her storage bag.

Great… another headache to deal with…

Qiana took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled. She needed to compose herself and then stick to the original plan.

There were now only twenty more minutes until the next hour begun so she needed to move quickly in order to escape.

"I'm not going to die here… I'm not going to die here…" Qiana muttered quietly as a determined expression flashed across her face.

She circulated the qi in her dantian to the meridians in her legs and then dashed forward at an incredible pace.

Qiana's figure turned into a blur as she quickly made her way across the camp to a small warehouse in the back.

The young noble placed her hand on the scanner and a green light shone over her fingertips before verifying her identity.

The large mechanical doors slid open to reveal a miniature garage with transportation vehicles to get the workers to and from the mines around the planet.

Qiana checked her wrist communicator and saw that she only had fifteen minutes left.

She could feel her heart begin to race as the timer slowly ticked down with every passing second.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

She rushed into the garage and headed for a lightweight single person cruiser in the middle of the room.

It did not contain any weapon systems because it was purely built for speed. Its purpose was to shuttling a high-level worker to the mines in case of an emergency.

Qiana opened the cockpit and slid inside. She activated the vehicle and the engine soon began to throb and hum with power.

The walls of the garage shifted slightly and once again the yellow eyes appeared but this time something was different.

The eyes on the sides of the tent remained fixed in place but these new eyes followed her movements.

Qiana could see their pupils dilating and a heavy pressure appeared that send her sprawling to her knees.

She felt weak and helpless as if in the presence of a creature or a being much greater than her.

The floor shook slightly, and cracks began to appear as the pressure intensified.

Qiana felt the warmth of the ring in her pocket intensify and knew that the entity was urging her to use its power.

"I told you already… I will not be your slave…" Qiana spat out as she reached for the steering device with trembling hands.

With strength and determination that even she did not know that she possessed, Qiana slammed her hand against the device and inputted a set of coordinates.

"Work… work… come on you stupid thing…" Qiana whispered desperately as she gritted her teeth.

She collapsed on the ground and a groan of pain leaked out of her mouth as the pressure made her feel as though her body was about to be crushed.