West Coast Gold

A/N: This is a story I entered a few weeks back for writingbattle.com. The challenge was to use the prompts pictures above and write a story in 250 words or less. Enjoy, and please consider entering yourself for their next battle!

Terex ran a claw along the ray gun’s barrel and wondered if he’d made a mistake. Nobody beat the Cephs in a gunfight. They could read minds and had four extra arms. But Terex would rather die than let some weird stranger bully him.

This Ceph was naked save for a pair of dusty boots and a creepy translucent bowl circulating slimy grey liquid over its bulbous head. Its bulging black eyes reflected death and golden sand in the sunlight.

“You found something important buried near your well,” the Ceph sent. “You have one more chance to give it over.”

“Once again, fuck you,” Terex replied.

“Then die,” the Ceph stated coldly.

Terex had one gun — one chance to make a clean shot, while the Ceph had six. He swallowed, drew, and shot, then yelped and dove to the side when the beam ricocheted off the Ceph’s helmet toward him.

The Ceph trapped him under a booted tentacle. “Foolish lizard,” It said and drew six guns.

In desperation, Terex whipped his tail around in a horizontal arc. It caught one of the black boots, tripping the Ceph and causing it to fall with a crash. Its helmet cracked and split open. Grey liquid gushed onto the sand. The Ceph struggled futilely to scoop it back into the broken shell. Within minutes, it lay unmoving on the sand.

Terex shook his head and limped away. All this for the tiny, calcified remains of a long-extinct human skull.