Kills a sand wurm

"Raaaaaargh!" The yell tears out of my throat as I channel power into the inferno, engulfing one of the wurms in a billowing pyre. It finally falls, torched and charred, sand spraying wide.

My breath heaves heavy and ragged. "Who's next?" I shout, more for my own benefit than the wurms because they're wurms and probably don't speak any words and what do they know anyway. A blur of motion to my right and a bellowing roar—I leap out of the way as one of the wurms dives at me. How the hell does a giant wurm sneak up on a person?

***

IMPACT