Surviving Paradise

Chapter 4

ANU'S POV

"Did you feel that?" Nia's voice is barely a whisper, but I hear the fear in her voice.

She has every right to be scared. What the hell is that? What's happening?

Toby snorts "Maybe it's just—"

"Not the time, Toby," Chris snaps.

Nia clutches my arm "What the hell is that?"

The sand shakes again. This time, the sand moves in a wide arc, as if something huge is shifting just beneath the surface. The desert suddenly feels alive.

Then we hear it—the first scream.

Then another.

I turn around to see what's going on. People in the distance are frozen in terror, staring at the ground. A man stumbles forward, trying to run. But before he can take more than three steps, the sand beneath him erupts.

Something too fast to be real, swallows him whole. One moment he's there, the next, he's gone, devoured by something we cannot see.

Screams fill the air.

Panic explodes like wildfire. People run blindly. But where? The sand is no longer stable. More people vanish into the earth, pulled under by whatever is down there. I see it all before my very eyes.

Justin murmurs something under his breath, something close to a prayer, but I can't focus on that now. My legs tremble and my instincts scream at me to move, but toward what?

The oasis is in the distance is our only chance.

I glance back at Femi's group. They have water. They have shelter. But can they be trusted? Can we risk running toward them?

"We need to act. Now." Chris says.

The ground beneath us shifts violently. The thing beneath the sand lets out a deep sound. It's close. Too close.

"Run!" Chris shouts.

We bolt.

Sand flies in every direction as our feet pound against the unstable ground. I don't dare look back, but I hear the screams—people being ripped away, sucked into the earth by whatever monster hunts us. The sound of shifting sand, the horrifying crunch of bodies being swallowed—it's everywhere.

Chris is ahead. His breath is ragged as he leads the charge toward the oasis. My lungs burn, my legs ache, but I push forward, because stopping means death.

Toby stumbles beside me, nearly falling. I grab his arm, pulling him forward. "Move, damn it!"

"I'm trying!" he gasps, barely keeping pace.

Nia is an athlete. Running is no problem for her. She manages to run in a stable form, even with the shaking sand.

The oasis grows closer, but the monster beneath the sand is not done. Another tremor—stronger than before—sends another wave of panic through the group.

"We're not going to make it," Nia sobs. Tears fall down her dirt-stained face.

"Yes, we will!" I yell back "Just keep running!"

"Don't stop! Keep running!" Chris shouts.

I push my legs harder. My lungs are burning and my heart keeps hammering in my chest. Every footfall sends up sprays of sand. Every step feels like I might be the next one to vanish. Screams rise and fall—people behind us, beside us,. They're yanked under as though the desert itself has turned against them. A man to my left stumbles. Before he can even cry out, the sand beneath him explodes, and he's gone. No blood, no remains. Just... gone.

"What the hell is happening?!" I gasp, struggling to keep up with Chris.

"I don't know, but we have to reach the oasis. MOVE!"

We run. Each of us dodges the tremors beneath. The oasis is so close now. I can see the silhouettes of palm trees. The shimmering water reflects in the sun. the sight of it looks like safety. Or at least, something that resembles it.

Then—

Shouts. Not from our group, but from ahead.

A group of men stand at the edge of the oasis, raising makeshift weapons—spears and clubs made from debris. Their clothes are ragged and they look violent. Femi's men.

"Who be dis?!" one of them sneers in thick Yoruba. He steps forward with a rusted pipe in hand. "Wetin una dey find for here?"

"Abi una wan die?" another says/

"Go back," another says "Go back make that ting chop una."

"We don't have time for this!" Nia cries, clutching my arm.

Chris steps forward "We just need water and safety! Let us pass—"

A laugh cuts him off. "Pass go where? You tink say na charity we dey run for here?" The man spits into the sand. "If una near here, we go kill all of una before dat ting reach!"

I step forward before Chris can argue further "If we die, so will you. Look around, fool! You think your little weapons will stop that thing?"

The men exchange looks, then burst into cruel laughter.

"See dis one!" one says. "E go talk till e die! Abeg, shift."

The sand beneath us quakes.

A terrible loud sound rumbles beneath, growing louder, deeper. It's a loud growl that seems to vibrate through our bones. The laughter stops. Eyes widen. Someone mutters a prayer.

Then the ground erupts.

A massive, segmented creature bursts from the sand. I look at it in horror. It stands at its towering height. It's body is made of sand. Its gaping maw is lined with rows of jagged, uneven teeth. It's mouth opens in a nightmarish, hungry scream.

"Jesus" someone mutters from behind me.

"Mogbe" another says.

I stare at the creature in horror. I'm frozen in place, unable to move.

Its eye are pure black and lifeless. It growls as it stares blankly at the chaos it causes. Its body is impossibly long, disappearing beneath the sand like a monster that's been finally freed.

If people were panicking before......omo.....they were panicking even more now.

Some people even faint at the sight of it.

Screams. Panic.

Femi's men scatter, dropping their weapons, running for their lives. One of them isn't fast enough. The creature lunges and right in front of it, its large mouth swallows him whole.

"This is our chance!" I shout. "Get the supplies and RUN!"

Everyone moves at once. We sprint into the oasis, grabbing whatever we can—canteens, torn bags of food, anything useful. My hands shake as I fumble with a container of water, stuffing it into my pack. Around me, others do the same. Bodies are still being dragged beneath the sand. Their screams fade too fast.

"MOVE!" Chris yells.

We bolt toward the farthest edge of the oasis. Everyone in our team seems desperate to put distance between ourselves and the nightmare hunting us. Sand sprays behind us as the creature moves. Its mouth snaps at anything still in reach. My heart slams against my ribs as we climb to higher ground.

Just as we reach safety, I glance back.

Femi stands there, staring at me. But why? His face is unreadable—shock? Hatred? Something else? We stare for what feels like eternity. Then, the sand beneath him collapses.

He vanishes.

I don't move. I don't breathe.

And then, silence.