Courier: 0/20
Like #FlashFiction? Check out this #SciFi story told across 20 tweets!
I have a particular love for dark and gritty art with rough strokes. Ivan Khotenov's Sk_15 fits that perfectly. artstation.com/artwork/L2Zwbw
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Courier: 1/20
Over Talis' shoulder, the storm spanned the horizon. Thick, dark clouds of sand reached up to blot the searing sun from the sky. This wall of death stretched up more than a mile. Her death, if she didn't get out of the Razorsand Sea.
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Courier: 2/20
Jefa's dying screams echoed in her head, even as she gunned the runnerbike and took off. On Toxous' order, she'd been fed to an acidworm for some perceived slight on his part. Seeing her lover's flesh disolve made Talis want to vomit.
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Courier: 3/20
As the leader of one of the largest bandit tribes on Hela 4, Toxous was a cruel man with no patience. She remembered the look his son gave her right before he was beheaded, All on the rumor that Hagen had said he hated his father.
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Courier: 4/20
Hagen did, of course, but he knew better than to say it out loud. Neither would Talis. True, Toxous wasn't her real father, but he'd raised her since she was a child, since he'd found her beside the charred corpses of her parents.
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Courier: 5/20
Toxous said he loved Talis like a daughter, but she knew how far that went. No, if he'd known about the relationship... Talis shivered. Her death would not have been so quick.
Instead, he sent her on a mission to Sovereign City.
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Courier: 6/20
Talis nudged the accelerator. She needed to focus on getting to Sovereign City. She needed to pretend as if nothing had happened. As if the woman she loved hadn't just died a horrific death. Static lightning rumbled in the distance.
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Courier: 7/20
She glanced to her left and right. The edges of the razorsand storm were creeping around her, as if it was preparing to swallow her whole. It was moving fast. Too fast. As fast as she was, she'd never be able to out run it.
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Courier: 8/20
Last year, on her way back, a pack of the flying monstrosities called griffs harried her. She'd found a bunker and hid until the next day. If she could remember where it was and get there before the storm reached her...
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Courier: 9/20
The engine core screamed as she gunned the runnerbike, pushing it to its limits. She scanned the expanse of the Razorsand Sea for any break in the flat terrain. The storm was bearing down on her and she was running out of time.
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Courier: 10/20
Still, her mind kept coming back to Toxous. Rarely were his messages urgent. What were the odds that he'd need her to race against a coming razorsand storm right after killing his adopted daughter's lover?
"Damn near zero," she said.
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Courier: 11/20
No, Toxous knew what he was doing. Sending her out against a storm she couldn't hope to beat... Her heart skipped in her chest. This wasn't a mission, it was an execution. One that kept his subjects from knowing the truth.
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Courier: 12/20
A thought twisted like a knife in her gut, Toxous wanted her dead.
Razorsand pelted her all over. All around, the world darkened. The storm's mouth was closing.
Talis's heart pounded with fear. Then, a shadowy lump appeared up ahead.
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Courier: 13/20
She turned for the bunker. The structure was the size of an outhouse and made of heavily grooved concrete. Jamming the breaks, Talis slid to a stop in front of the bunker's hatch. Scrambling off her bike, Talis lunged for the door.
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Courier: 14/20
She'd never been particularly religious, but she prayed to the Verse that the latch would still work. Wrapping her hands around the scored and pitted steel, she pulled. But it held fast. She stepped back and screamed again.
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Courier: 15/20
As hard as she could, she kicked at the handle again and again. A gust of wind and razorsand tossed her off her feet. She flew through the air and landed face first on the hard ground. Tears streamed down her face inside of her mask.
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Courier: 16/20
Something stung her left arm and she looked down to find a hole where the razorsand had already cut through her clothes. If she didn't get inside soon, the storm would flay her alive.
"No!" she growled. "I will not die here."
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Courier: 17/20
Talis crawled back to the bunker. A fresh wave of tears wetted her face when she found the hatch open. She didn't know how it got that way. She didn't care. All she cared about was staying alive. Inside, Talis slammed the hatch shut.
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Courier: 18/20
Darkness threatened to swallow her, but was held back by the crimson glow of her runnerbike's engine core. The howling wind faded as she moved down deeper into the bunker.
Gravel crunched ahead and Talis's heart thumped in her chest.
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Courier: 19/20
She stopped and primed the tricannon mounted on the bike. "Hello?" Her words quivered.
A woman's voice echoed back, tinged with caution echoed to her. "Hello, Talis. Welcome to The Shelter, we mean you no harm."
Talis swallowed hard.
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Courier: 20/20
"Who...who are you?" Talis asked.
A woman stepped into the crimson glow. She was tall and wore merc battle armor, a blue "A" on her left breast. "I'm with the Amsler Planetary Marines. We know about Toxous, and we'd like to help."
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Courier: 21/20 (BONUS)
This story was inspired by the wonderfully dark art style of Ivan Khotenov's Sk_15. Check out more from Ivan on his ArtStation page: artstation.com/yokell
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