I wake up to the desert sun. My head aching and my vision blurry, I immediately clutch my head to ease the pain. I feel a drip. Looking down, I realise I am bleeding from my forehead. Watching more blood trickle to the ground, I can't help but feel nauseated by this sign of my pitiful weakness. My clothes stick to me, and I start to break the new layer of skin forming. The sweat will eventually cool me off, but I will have to do something about it soon. I walk around in a circle, looking for any signs of civilization.
I'm in a desert somewhere, but I'm not sure where. I see rock formations and cactuses in every direction. There is no sign of people in the area, and I realise that my only hope is to follow the sun all day and then retrace my steps with the stars. "If I can't find people, maybe I can find water", I conclude. I start to walk forward and to the right. The crossbeams of the sun will keep me headed in the right direction, and I will steer clear of the huge suns that I know could burn me if I get too close.
I move at a steady pace. At this velocity, it shouldn't take me too long. I'm dressed with multiple pouches and bundles around my waist and shoulders. I have a long sword sheathed and hidden under my clothes. My bag has a little food, and my deerskin cape is over my shoulder. I roll it out to shade me from the sun. I have been walking for a while, and I pitch my tent and lay down.
I wake up when the sun is starting to set. I should still have a good amount of time to reach my destination. I can't wait to get there. I hope there will be a village with a family who is willing to help me. I haven't had a good meal in weeks. The plants didn't taste so bad (although I still had to wash them about 50 times), but they won't keep me alive. I think my feet could use some land too, but I don't dare ask for help. I know if I show them my gun, every man in the village will want to come out and fight. It's a fight I want no part in. And if they do somehow bring out their own gun, I intend to fight them. They better have plenty of guns.
I walk forward, looking for some kind of landmark that will give me a direction to go in. There are no signs of civilization. I find a rock column sticking up from the ground a few yards ahead. I take a look around, then walk towards the column. It takes me a few minutes to climb on top of it. When I look around, I see the sun setting back where I came from.
I will probably have to stay on the same desert mountain to survive the night. I make some noise, kicking some rocks into the valley. I see a few cactuses facing the same direction. I can't figure out if it's my imagination, but it looks like they are upright and staring at me. I can feel the sweat burning my eyes, and I rub my face with the back of my hands. I reach for some water and pour it onto my skin. It cools me off and makes my shirt stick to me more.
I drink the last of my water. I hear a sound. Is it from the rocks? I don't hear any other noise. I try to go to sleep, but the sun's heat has gotten to me. I roll up my tent, hoping it will create a little shade. As I lie on my stomach, the cactuses slowly face the same direction. I can feel the silence from the desert. I don't know if I should continue going or lay here and wait for the night to end.
Night feels boring, so I try to sleep. I must have dozed off for a while, because I'm suddenly stopped. The rock is now facing me as the cactuses. I feel as if I'm ready to pass out, so I lie down and try to sleep. I start dreaming. I don't know what it's about, but I wake up soon enough. The mud on the ground is moving. I can feel the ground begin to shake under me. I see a large lizard. I take my sword out and try to control my shakes. The lizard is coming up towards me. When it's close enough, I notice something else. There are legs coming out from under the lizard's body. It looks like the ground has broken open and a lizard has been thrown up from the center of the earth.
I can see a man behind the lizard. My eyes move back and forth to the man and the lizard. I must look like a fool standing here with my sword, staring at the lizard. I'm not sure if I should attack. I look at the man, who seems to be smiling at me. I put my sword away. I walk slowly towards the man. He smiles and lets me walk closer. We're a few feet away from each other. I'm still not sure what's happening.
"Good day", he says to me. His voice is lower than I expected. He has a medium build, and he makes every move casually, as if they didn't mean anything. He has wild black hair that reaches almost to the bottom of his shoulders. He is dressed in a green jumpsuit. Cactuses can be so pretty when they are green. I look back at the lizard. The lizard cares nothing for the man or me. It has one of its legs on the ground and continues to watch me like a predator. "You're safe", he continues. "Don't be afraid", I hear him say. I don't know what to do. My mind is racing back to my days in the slums. I have no idea what is happening to me.
"We are under attack", I say. "Who wants us dead, and why?", he asks. I don't say anything else, and he doesn't say anything more. I can't keep still. "You are warm", he says. "I think your mind hasn't been working for a while. We figured as much. I'm sorry I got you into this mess. I know you don't deserve it. We both know that." I don't know what to say. Are we enemies? Does he know how I'm able to survive? I think we both do. We both know it's unlikely we'll survive.
"Why are you doing all this?", I ask, almost apologizing. I want to seem to understand why he is doing this. I don't want things to get weird. "Because I'm the only one who can", he answers. I look at him again. He doesn't seem bothered by what he said. I decide to be honest with him. "I don't know much about you. I just know that, our paths have somehow crossed. I'm grateful for the help you offered me. I hope we can get out of here okay." He just looks at me, hoping I won't say anything else.
"How do you kill the lizard?", he asks me. I look at the lizard. It doesn't show any signs of being scared or hurt. I notice it has two extra legs on its back.
