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The Xenton Chronicles: The Jenshia Star
Book II: The Invasion of The Coalts

Book II: The Invasion of The Coalts

Ten explorers found themselves in the vast plains of Africa in the presence of an endangered, but familiar species.

“Well would you look at that,” said the voice of a man. “This creature is what is known as the Square-lipped Rhinoceros or better known as the White Rhinoceros.”

The cameraman took out his camera and started to film the wild creature immediately.

“This species is one of the most endangered species on the planet,” The man spoke into the camera as he crouched down into the tall grass along with the crew, concealing themselves from the beast. “The northern subspecies may have as few as thirteen left in the world. Aside from the elephants, it is known as the next largest animal ever known to man.”

The team of explorers started to move in closer towards the animal, creeping up quietly and slowly, being very careful not to startle it. As they did, a stampede of various animals came charging towards the group. The rhinoceros fled and joined the stampede. Fearing its out of control rampage, the team of explorers stayed hidden within the tall grasses as the loud, thundering rushes of the animals passed by. The deafening sounds of elephants, antelopes, zebras and other species were as loud as can be.

“What could have startled them?” Asked one of the team members.

“I don’t know?” replied the frontman, “Maybe they’re being hunted.”

The leader looked toward the end of the thundering herd and saw a pack of lionesses chasing them, but something wasn’t right. The lioness weren’t hunting the zebras or the antelopes; instead, they were joining the stampede. The herd of the mixed animals raced through the fields of the savannah, causing a loud uproar of panic to erupt within other species of the animal kingdom.

“This is quite remarkable!” Said the frontman into the camera. “It seems that the animals are terribly upset about something and are fleeing from whatever it may be together. Maybe there are poachers in the area. We should get a closer loo–”

The man was cut off by a loud popping noise that went off in the sky. The team immediately turned their attention to the atmosphere and saw a cut in the heavens tear open, almost like somebody took a knife and stabbed through the fabric of space. The cameraman pointed his camera upward to film the unexplained phenomenon that was happening as the thunderous sound of the stampeding animals faded off into the distance. The team watched as an object with a tail of red and black fire emerged from the slit and fell towards the earth. The cut resealed itself, and the unidentified object crashed into the plain, throwing dirt and rocks into the air and causing black flames to erupt all around the impacted area.

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“Come on,” said the leader, “Let’s get a close-up of this.”

The team quickly raced out of the tall grass and ran towards the crash site. The cameraman ran as fast as he could, trying to keep up with the group, and at the same time seeking to maintain a steady image. As they drew closer, the sight of the black flames caught their attention along with the large crater that sat in the ground before them. The smoke was too thick to see if anything had crashed within the mysterious hole. The cameraman held up his camera to see if anything was visible. Suddenly, the leader of the group jumped in front of the footage.

“We have just experienced a fabulous phenomenon just now,” said the man, “apparently, some mysterious object has just fallen out of the sky, leaving behind these incredible black flames. We don’t know what is lurking behind this black curtain of smoke but we will–” the sound of growling halted him.

The smoke began to fade, and the rays of the hot sun pierced through the crash site, revealing a dark, thin, shadowy figure standing in the center of the crater. The thin shadow–like exteriors of the unknown being waved about in the air as the body of the creature exposed itself as nothing more than a three-dimensional shadow. The team dropped in fear of the frightening being as the red eyes of the creature turned around to view them. The team grew more frightened by the second as the unknown being revealed its blood red teeth to match its eyes. The phantom growled and flew towards the team, slicing through each member one by one with its sharp, shadow claws.

The team members tried to run, but escape was inevitable. The painful screams of the explorers took to the air as did their blood. The cameraman tried to flee, still capturing what was happening to his fellow team members. One by one he saw them fall with bloody scratch marks on their bodies and a dead look on their faces. The breathing of the cameraman increased dramatically as the shadow creature appeared directly in front of his camera.

“Where is the incarnate?” Said the creature with a dark, cold voice.

The frightened cameraman dropped his camera with the film still rolling. The creature lifted the individual using an unknown force and dragged the victim closer. It took its sharp, shadow hands and reached inside the poor soul’s mind, trying to find the answer regarding its question. There was no blood. It was as though the creature was phasing its limbs through the skull of the man. The cameraman yelled in pain as the strange affliction guided its way through his brain. Disappointed, the creature released his grip, and the cameraman fell to the ground.

“Pathetic,” said the creature. The cameraman quickly got up from the ground and ran as fast as he could away from the phantom–like creature, barely escaping and leaving his camera and equipment behind.

“It’s only a matter of time,” said the shadow being. It took its red eyes and looked into the beautiful, blue sky.

“Disgusting,” it growled.

Wasting no time, the mysterious being took off into the sky, swinging its shadow–like limbs and vanishing within seconds, leaving its calling card in the form of nine dead explorers with the camera still rolling.