Escaping The Desert 2

"This thing looks very crude. I hope it can traverse the desert. But how can this run without an engine?" Alec asked as he examined the weird-looking vehicle. It looked like a pickup truck with big wheels.

The chief engineer emerged from the stairway, followed by another crew. They carried the engines they had taken from the jetski and the lifeboat.

While the rest of the crew started working on the chassis of the second vehicle, Octavio and Leoric fiddled with the engines and installed them on the first vehicle.

It was midnight when they completed the arduous task of making the engine work. The thirty people on the deck happily clapped their hands when the engined roared to life.

A group of four crew members collaborated to secure ropes around the vehicle. With their combined efforts, they gradually lowered it onto the soft, grainy sand. Finally, the wheels gently touched the ground, bringing the vehicle to rest beside the boat.

Leoric sat in the driver's seat and turned on the ignition. When he stepped on the gas pedal, the vehicle moved smoothly. Since the wheels' paddles were wide, they did not sink in the sand. The speed was only 20 kilometers per hour, but it was still better than walking.

They completed the second vehicle at midday the following day. This time, it was a closed vehicle. They used fiberglass for the side walls, so even if it was closed, they could still see from the inside.

The selected crew members tirelessly worked on the vehicles without taking any breaks. Their hard work paid off on the third day when they finally completed the four vehicles that were designed to accommodate ten people each. The vehicles did not look aesthetically pleasing, but the workers ensured that they were not only functional but also sturdy.

Leoric and Octavio modified the engines of their vehicles to run on both fuel and solar power. They designed a fifth vehicle with a closed container to transport water from the swimming pool. To make it easier to load and unload the water, they added a small door on the roof of the vehicle. The vehicle had a rectangular box-like shape and was equipped with four large wheels.

Meanwhile, Angel and the female crew in charge of housekeeping kept themselves busy. They gathered all the blankets, tablecloths, and linens they could find. They gave the tablecloths to the others so they could use them to bundle their clothes. No one was allowed to carry more than one piece of luggage. 

The chef and his assistant busied themselves drying their meat and turning it into jerkies. They preserved the rest by cooking with vinegar and wine.

On the fifth day, they used the remaining water in the pool to wash their clothes and have a long bath.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, the last of the practical and usable items from the yacht, including one big tent and two smaller ones, were loaded into one of the vehicles. Octavio could not part with his power tools, so he brought a few handy ones, including a rechargeable battery that could be recharged by the sun. 

"Mr. Graystone, which direction do we follow?" Captain Niel asked. For some reason, their compass was not working. They could only use the sun as a guide. They did not go west as that was the direction where the scorpions went.

"North!" said two men and a woman in unison. Leoric looked at Angel questioningly.

"Why North?" Captain Niel asked.

"It is my gut feeling." Mario Diaz said.

"My gut feeling as well. North seems to be the safest." Angel explained when so many pairs of eyes were looking at her.

"I also feel that the North is the safest." Doctor Reeves was the third person who expressed his opinion.

Leoric thought for a while, realizing that no matter their direction, they had no idea what awaited them.

The group left the yacht on their vehicles when the sun was a quarter on its way to its final descent. Leoric, Alec, Captain Niel, the chief engineer Octavio Saner, and the boatswain Mario Diaz took the steering wheel.

No sooner had they traveled 500 meters when they felt the air heat up. A loud sound came from the yacht, and when they turned back, their eyes widened in horror.

Emily, who had been in a daze for the past few days, suddenly cried out, "What happened? How could the yacht just disappear?" Her mind was unable to process what she had just witnessed: a large boat being swallowed by the sand, much like how the Titanic sunk into the ocean when it hit the tip of an iceberg. She was still hoping that her father or her brothers would come and rescue her from the dire situation she found herself in.

However, as the days went by without any sign of them, she was forced to accept the grim reality that they were no longer on earth. The scorching heat made it unbearable for her to be outside, so she resorted to staying cooped up in her cabin for three days. It was only until Leoric barged into her room and urged her to pack her things that she was roused from her despondency and forced to face the harsh truth.

Alec, with a look of confusion on his face, asked a series of questions in a rapid-fire manner.

"Did you see what happened? Was the yacht standing on a quicksand? Alec asked a barrage of questions, but no one answered him. Everyone was lost in their thoughts. His inquiries centered around the disappearance of the boat and what had just taken place.

Doctor Reeves and Mario Diaz stared at each other intensely, their faces drained of color as they broke out in a sweat. Angel noticed the exchanges between the two men and she raised her eyebrows.

"I don't think that the boat was sitting on quicksand. It should have sunk the moment we landed." Angel voiced her opinion. 

"Maybe there is an unknown force in this desert that caused the boat to be buried under the sand."