(An excerpt from Chapter 7: Something Unexpected Happened)
Despite their numerous arms, the mysterious starfish also bore two shadowy spheres that eerily resembled eyes on their forms. "What in the Hell are those?" I asked, my eyes wide with a mix of amazement and dread as I watched them leap in and out of the water. Mr. Smith calmly aimed the scanner in the direction of the enigmatic creatures. "Fascinating. It appears that these peculiar creatures are some kind of parasite,” his brow furrowed, while he pondered the situation. “It would be wise to avoid this area. “Let’s go girls," he declared, turning to lead the way.
I watched in awe
as the strange creatures glimmered under the rays of sunlight filtering through
the dense canopy of the forest. In an instant, Leila's piercing scream
shattered the tranquility, prompting me to turn and discover one of the
creatures leaping toward her, striking her arm with surprising force.
“Those things are not starfish,” I commented as I gulped. He kicked it back into the pond. The creatures were all in a frenzy as though we disturbed them in some way. “I feel that they are attracted to our body heat, we should go,” he said.
Just as we were ready to depart, I glanced back at the pond, only to be seized by a man in armor who yanked my hair and forced my face perilously close to the water's edge. Leila's scream pierced the air, followed by Mr. Smith's frantic shout as he fired his weapon at the shadowy figure. Desperate to escape, I attempted to stand, but then one of those grotesque starfish-like creatures lunged at me, latching onto my face, and darkness enveloped me.
(Images used in this blog are for the readers entertainment.)
