Was it alive?

The craft picked up pace, the sides shifting again. The same panic from before gripped her. Whatever it was, organic or man-made, it was heading right for her.

She turned to run, racing for the metal bones of the launch tower. The pain from her foot shot up her leg with every step. She had to push on.

The launch tower rose above her as she got closer. She was almost there—almost to safety. The humming increased behind her, and she risked another look over her shoulder to see the craft getting closer. It was almost on top of her.

She ran faster, the dust of the red earth coughing out from under her shoes with every stride. The skeleton of the tower was now above her. She searched it for a place to hide from the craft, her desperate eyes darting through the shadows.

A deafening noise ripped through the silence, bringing her to her knees. She yelled, gripping her ears in pain.

The sound was unlike any she had ever heard, a totally different wavelength. It was almost like the whistle of a dolphin, but at a higher frequency—much higher, as if someone had taken a pod of dolphins, combined all of their cries, and amplified it with the biggest speaker in the world. It was like one of the sonic weapons NTC had designed to stun or disable enemies.

Sophie moaned. She could feel liquid seeping out of her ears. Even as the blood filled her eardrums, she wondered what could have made a sound like that.

She turned to run, forcing herself up, but the craft was now above the tower. Hovering, it transformed itself into a sphere. The engine inside had stopped throbbing, and the veins protruding out of it like cobwebs no longer pumped the blue fluid. The craft appeared to be evolving, forming into a solid, like water into ice.

Water, she thought. The craft was made of water, and the veins were carrying it to the engine. Whatever the ship was, water was its lifeblood.

Suddenly the noise stopped, and the craft completed its solidification. She stood staring at it in awe, her fear washed away by pure admiration. The nose of the craft began to open, and a beautiful beam of blue light shot out at her. It was calming, almost like a cold shower after a long run in the heat.

But the sensation didn’t last. The light quickly began to burn. Her skin felt like it was being penetrated by the beam. She tried to look down at her arms, but she was paralyzed, her eyes locked onto the light that was consuming her.

“No!” she tried to yell, but her tongue wouldn’t move.

The beam tore deeper into her skin, reaching inside her flesh. She could feel her heart beating faster. She could feel the blood pulsing through her veins, and with it adrenaline.

She tried to move again, but the light seemed to squeeze her even tighter, preventing her escape. She gasped for air. Her lungs were being crushed, and she was beginning to suffocate.