Status: Life is happening right now, but I will try to post.
Theophany
Chapter 13: DROUGHT
They moved at Reaper's pace. The desert stretched out before them and the sun beat down their already scorching skin. Scope and Severity had long since lagged behind and lost some layers of their clothing. But Rain and Reaper nevertheless tried to keep them in a solid walking pace.
Rain was extremely tired after the night's events, but she needed to pay attention to Reaper. After all, she wasn't extremely sure about what kind of man he actually was.
Scope called from behind them, "Can't we take a break? My legs are killing me."
Looking back, the child looked pale and haggard, but his eyes had a clear determination to keep up with them if they ignored his request.
"We keep going, runt," Rain replied, but handed him some water they had gotten from cacti a while back. It wouldn't do to have their bodies give out now. Serenity stayed silent. She had been close to mute since they got out of the gates, lost in her own thoughts. Rain let her be. It was a lot to process, and she thought her friend, who spent the majority of her life in the confines of the base, would probably have a harder time adjusting than the others.
Time moved slowly and the ground before them seemed hazy with heat vapors. Still, they pressed on. There were no more bushes or even critters that they encountered, and the meager desert wind died down. They were walking in a basin of endless hot sand.
The horizon was bleak and the heat was eternal. Their clothing was drenched in slippery sweat.
Rain's throat was parched and her lips cracked, showing a bright red line that congealed in the heat, right in the center of her lips. As she licked her lips, she tasted salt and sand, along with the faint copper taste of blood. It was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other without stumbling.
She had some strength in her, so aside from Reaper, the others were worse off.
Severity collapsed with a dull thud behind them. Automatically, Rain mustered her strength and pulled her up, hooking her arm around the girl's waist. "Lean on me, Sev," she said, "We'll find shelter soon enough, we just can't stop right now." Rain made her gulp down the rest of the water, all one mouthful of it. For Rain, it was more apparent now that they could literally be the last four people alive and she would try to keep them alive as much as she could, granted she didn't die first in the sweltering weather. This was why they often scavenged by night; You couldn't shoot your way out of the heat.
Reaper kneeled with his back in front of Scope, "Get on. You look like you're about to drop too."
Scope quickly complied, but still managed to mumble, "I can still walk."
On and on, they inched their way across the desert. Both Reaper and Rain were quiet. It was apparent that the desert was too hot for any human life to survive. They had left heading East, and Reaper's apparent hometown was West. The plan was that they would clear the desert and find shelter for the night, while tackling the journey West after they had regained their strength and hopefully, supplies. Trouble was, the desert never ended.
They had been walking for most of the day, without any food and little water. The sun was directly in front of them and it had no sign of being forgiving. Rain's head throbbed and her muscles ached and her joints creaked. Her breathing became more labored but still she walked, half dragging Sev, who barely had her eyes open. Ahead, Reaper's figure seemed to slouch more and more, with Scope still on his back. The child had long since succumbed to unconsciousness.
As a reply, it seemed like the sun's rays became more intense. After surviving so many things, would the weather really be her murderer? Rain's vision became blurry and she felt herself fall. Finally, she succumbed to the darkness.
Rain was extremely tired after the night's events, but she needed to pay attention to Reaper. After all, she wasn't extremely sure about what kind of man he actually was.
Scope called from behind them, "Can't we take a break? My legs are killing me."
Looking back, the child looked pale and haggard, but his eyes had a clear determination to keep up with them if they ignored his request.
"We keep going, runt," Rain replied, but handed him some water they had gotten from cacti a while back. It wouldn't do to have their bodies give out now. Serenity stayed silent. She had been close to mute since they got out of the gates, lost in her own thoughts. Rain let her be. It was a lot to process, and she thought her friend, who spent the majority of her life in the confines of the base, would probably have a harder time adjusting than the others.
Time moved slowly and the ground before them seemed hazy with heat vapors. Still, they pressed on. There were no more bushes or even critters that they encountered, and the meager desert wind died down. They were walking in a basin of endless hot sand.
The horizon was bleak and the heat was eternal. Their clothing was drenched in slippery sweat.
Rain's throat was parched and her lips cracked, showing a bright red line that congealed in the heat, right in the center of her lips. As she licked her lips, she tasted salt and sand, along with the faint copper taste of blood. It was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other without stumbling.
She had some strength in her, so aside from Reaper, the others were worse off.
Severity collapsed with a dull thud behind them. Automatically, Rain mustered her strength and pulled her up, hooking her arm around the girl's waist. "Lean on me, Sev," she said, "We'll find shelter soon enough, we just can't stop right now." Rain made her gulp down the rest of the water, all one mouthful of it. For Rain, it was more apparent now that they could literally be the last four people alive and she would try to keep them alive as much as she could, granted she didn't die first in the sweltering weather. This was why they often scavenged by night; You couldn't shoot your way out of the heat.
Reaper kneeled with his back in front of Scope, "Get on. You look like you're about to drop too."
Scope quickly complied, but still managed to mumble, "I can still walk."
On and on, they inched their way across the desert. Both Reaper and Rain were quiet. It was apparent that the desert was too hot for any human life to survive. They had left heading East, and Reaper's apparent hometown was West. The plan was that they would clear the desert and find shelter for the night, while tackling the journey West after they had regained their strength and hopefully, supplies. Trouble was, the desert never ended.
They had been walking for most of the day, without any food and little water. The sun was directly in front of them and it had no sign of being forgiving. Rain's head throbbed and her muscles ached and her joints creaked. Her breathing became more labored but still she walked, half dragging Sev, who barely had her eyes open. Ahead, Reaper's figure seemed to slouch more and more, with Scope still on his back. The child had long since succumbed to unconsciousness.
As a reply, it seemed like the sun's rays became more intense. After surviving so many things, would the weather really be her murderer? Rain's vision became blurry and she felt herself fall. Finally, she succumbed to the darkness.