Chapter 5: Bad to worse

Rising once more above the horizon, twin stars revealed themselves, casting rays of light across the desert, illuminating the world, and warming the sands.

'I've been exhausted the past few days. Think it's best if I rest til' evening and then figure out what im gonna do next. Still should keep an eye out though, they say that the only the desperate roam during the day, and right now i'd rather not encounter anyone.'

Looking around, Raze looked for a boulder or a lone tree, anywhere with shade that he could rest more comfortably in.

Seeing nothing, Raze sighed, laying back down on the sands, still cool despite the rising suns.

With nothing better to do, Raze decided to re-inspect the ring he he had put away yesterday, holding it up to the sky, he looked primarily at the inscription on the inside, hoping to get a better look at the symbols inscribed, hoping he could recognise them.

All he saw was the light shining into his eyes.

'What was i expecting...'

However, on an even closer look, he noted that one of the symbols almost looked like an eye, a pupil-less one, but its shape was somewhat recognizable. Despite that however, he still had no clue what it represented.

Fiddling with it, he considered using his knife to scrape away at the corrosion layer, but quickly decided against it, concerned that it may damage the engravings.

Placing the ring back into his pocket once more, he took a swig of water as he pondered the events of the last few days, especially the ones leading up to his arrival in Rot.

His body still ached, his legs were run ragged, and his cuts seemed to alternate between throbbing and itching.

'Fuckers caught me by suprise, most of em were after my bag, but one of those crazy fuckers wanted my life, only thing that one got though, was a dagger in the gut before they all fucked off. S'pose that was my saving grace really, couldn't spend time beating me to death when your mate's been shanked.'

'Maybe if i had a few friends, somethin' like that wouldn't have happened, but how would I know that i wouldn't suddenly end up with a dagger plunged into my neck anyway?

Raze spoke from experience.

He was aware that not everyone was a snake, that not everyone would backstab him the moment he was in dire straits, but how would he know who would and wouldn't without risking himself?

A dark mirror reflects a dark world.

A life of killing, betraying others, and taking what was not his. He felt no shame living the life he did, but he couldn't say he felt boastful about being a desert rat.

Not quite sure what to do with himself, he alternated between resting his eyes, looking around to ensure that he would have no suprise visitors, and fiddling with his posessions.

A wind picked up, a gust of hot wind shot into Raze's face, causing him briefly shut his eyes.

Opening his eyes once more, he looked west, in the direction of the gust.

 Raze's face went through a series of expressions.

Confusion, shock, disbelief, before settling on utter dread.

A far off windstorm had carried itself across the desert, bringing with it a wall of destruction and boiling winds.

Seeing only the approaching sandstorm, Raze panicked briefly, before picking up his things and running east, praying that he could find some shelter, all while making some rudimentary preparations.

Cursing his bad luck, Raze unfurled a strip of bandage, wrapping it around his mouth and nose, in the hopes that the slightly thicker cloth could provide some protection, all the while wishing he had brought some eye protection.

'Not far off now huh? only a minute or so at most. Why does this always happen to me? Hate my damned life...'

Approaching a mound-shaped dune, Raze circled around it, before clawing away at some of the sand on one side, hoping that he could create a hole, that he could shelter from the brunt of the sandstorm in.

He failed.

In desperation, he continued to dig at the dune in vain, the sand he cleared being replaced by falling sand.

After a few more seconds of trying, he realised that his plan wasn't working, and that he needed to do something else.

Checking his clothes and ensuring there were no large holes, Raze wrapped yet another strip of bandages around his eyes, and then lay face-down in the sand, ensuring to dig a small crevice to comfortably put his face, and allow the passage of air.

Face-down in the sand, Raze prayed to whatever he thought could help, the desert, the suns, the void itself. He prayed for safety, survival and maybe a little money.

Feeling something brushing his hair, crawling on his scalp, Raze knew.

It was here.

Blotting out the sun, a gargantuan storm descended, whipping sand into a boiling maelstrom of chaos.

While being low let him avoid the searing winds in some capacity, it did not protect him from the sand particles bombarding him.

Instead of piling onto him, the sand seemed to have a life of its own, snaking into small tears of his clothes, and stuck to his skin, stealing the moisture from his sweat, making his skin itchy and dry.

'What a waste...'

His face fared better. Protected by the bandages and the small pit he had managed to dig, little to no sand had attacked his eyes, at the cost of the rest of his bandages.

He wasnt particularly excited by the idea of having sand-coated bandages wrapping his cuts, so he decided to shake it off best he could, and then try and wash them.

'Fucking hell, if this keeps up i'll really be in for it. Just gotta hope that nothing happens to stumble across me.'

A deafening howl continued to ring in his ears, his body was continually pricked by the sand and his skin was burning from the sand wicking away his sweat, causing salt crystals to form on his skin which dried him out even further.

'Ahh, im thirsty, need a piss too. Fucking hell. Shouldn't've left Rot, could've stuck it out after robbing that prick. At least til' this damned thing passes.'

Raze briefly considered bringing his head up, in order to take a drink, but decided against it, fearing that he may lose his direction in even the briefest of moments

Enduring the discomfort, he simply lay there, silent like a corpse.

He wasnt sure how much time had passed when he heard it.

Amidst the endless howling of the desert, Raze heard a faint disruption.

"-P!"

"-NE?

The noises slowly began to grow louder.

"HELP!!!"

He couldnt see who it was, barely able to see a few metres in front of him, but judging by the sound, they weren't too far away.

"ANYONE?! IS ANYONE THERE?!"

Raze said nothing, seeing no purpose in responding to an unknown person, especially in conditions where survival is both paramount, and at a great peril.

Calling out to an indifferent world, cries for help rung hollow.

Ideally that is.

In the vast expanse, the lonely cry that would normally go unheard, subsumed by an endless, desolation, was indeed heard.

And whatever heard it, answered.

A ghastly cry split the skies.

For a brief moment, the sandstorm, once roaring deafeningly loud, was practically blown away, an eerie silence weighing heavily in the darkened skies.

But that opressive silence did not last long.

Mixed with the suprised cries of the caller, the ground itself shook, and the sand once more returned.

'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!'

Despite feeling numb and lethargic, Raze was trembling uncontrollably, and his body, which seemed to have no moisture left, was covered in a slick, cold sweat.

His vision blurred, his breathing quickened to the point he was practically hyperventilating, and he could feel his heart pounding.

Breaking from his temporary paralysis, Raze staggered to his feet, vision spinning, as he quickly tried to comprehend what was happening.

His mind went blank, save for a single thought.

He wished he had never looked up.