They stood there for a moment, two legends amidst a wasteland, basking in the intoxicating rush of a hard-won victory. They were beginning to celebrate, the adrenaline receding to leave only the warmth of survival.
CRRRRR ACK...
The sound was subtle. It wasn't the sound of a body moving; it was the sound of mineral grinding against mineral.
Aurelia froze. The smile died on her face.
She looked down at the "body" of Rex lying at their feet. The crimson pool of blood wasn't flowing anymore; it was hardening.
The skin, once warm and bruised, was turning a dull, matte grey.
CRUNCH! SHATTER!
With a sudden, violent structural failure, the corpse of Rex didn't just move; it disintegrated. The "flesh" splintered into jagged shards of granite and sedimentary rock.
The blood turned into a dark, viscous sludge of wet clay and crushed garnet.
"What... what is this?" Aurelia gasped, stumbling back as the man she thought she had killed crumbled into a heap of lifeless stone.
SHRRRRR!
