The Algorithm

Chapter ten - Thunder in the Desert

It was a bittersweet feeling when the dark, rolling, storm clouds covered the mix of pink and orange sky. On one hand, Marinette couldn't see the stars anymore and on the other, the storm would bring water which they desperately needed. They had grown used to the roaring of their bellies but their mouths were as dry as the sand at their feet and dehydration was on the verge of killing them. To prepare for the storm, Marinette and Adrien had set up their stolen helmets outside the cave walls to collect the life saving fluid.

After about an hour of heavy downpour, roaring thunder, and flashing lightning, Marinette and Adrien had had their fill of water and it was still being collected. Marinette had scolded Adrien a few times because he was drinking too rapidly and he needed to swallow slowly otherwise his body would reject the liquid. But after the third time of her reminding him, he got the message and took slower sips.

They had to spend the night without warmth, mainly because there were no dry materials for a fire and they couldn't start a flame out of fear that Akuma would be able to see the smoke. Adrien and Marinette never thought they would miss the heat until they felt the bitter cold of a desert night. Water from the storm had dripped through the cracks of the rock formation, making their stolen uniforms damp and all the more freezing. Darkness shrouded them like a thick blanket and Marinette wasn't just shivering from cold, but fear. At one point Adrien figured this out and placed a hand on hers, which stayed there until morning.

They slept for a few hours and when the rain stopped, daylight was beating down on the desert floor. They spent the day regaining the sleep they had lost through the cold night. They took the occasional trip outside the cave to scavenge for food. Marinette and Adrien had ripped off some bark loose from a thin gum tree and chewed the dry tough wood until their stomachs were satisfied. They collected as much bark as they could from the small tree and returned to the cave to await nightfall.

Once night came they instantly started walking through the darkness. It was too humid to travel during the day and they would sweat off all the water they had just been given. Marinette had used the extra socks she had stuffed in her boots to make a sling. She had tied them together and connected them to the helmet so she could carry it like a bag and not have to lug around their water supply. Adrien had a similar strike of ingenuity and made a sling of his and Marinette's belts, making a similar contraption to Marinette's but his was more sturdy which was fair considering his helmet held more water than hers did.

In the middle of the night, they began their long walk to nowhere. The wind made the night even colder but it covered their tracks in fresh sand so Akuma wouldn't be able to follow them any farther than their cave. But Marinette still didn't want to stay there. She couldn't use her powers yet and that was her only defence out here in the dark. Akuma's hold on her powers ranged for several kilometers and she knew that once she got them back she would be hit by a round of dizzy spells as the technology in her nervous system turned on but she knew that the dizziness would be worth it. She felt naked without her ability to protect them and the darkness only made her more uneasy.

After about two hours of walking aimlessly in the sand, the earth started to sway underneath her feet. Suddenly she was laying on the ground, her palms outstretched to catch her fall. Again, with no explanation, she was standing. It dawned on her that Adrien had picked her up. She was confused, cold, dizzy, and wet for some reason. She glazed down to see her helmet filled with the precious water had spilled onto the sand when she fell. She mentally kicked herself and told Adrien to just keep going. "We'll be out of here soon, we just need to conserve that water for as long as possible." Adrien wasn't so sure about continuing their journey with Marinette constantly shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked. She waved to her to dismiss the question.

"Yeah I'm fine, the boots are just too big for me and I tripped." She bluffed.

They continued marching in the dark and Marinette wasn't fine at all. She could see two silhouettes of the blonde standing in front of her that were constantly going in and out of focus, she continuously tripped over her own feet and her now wet uniform was making the already freezing night unbearable. After another hard fall into the dirt, Adrien insisted they take a break. They walked to a tall stack of rocks and leaned up against the stone. It was cold and the sun wouldn't rise for a few more hours so they would have to muscle through the shivering for a while longer. As horrible as Marinette felt now, she knew that soon her powers would return which gave her some comfort in the blistering cold.

"What's going on?" Adrien asked, no longer believing her story about the boots not fitting properly. "Did you get a concussion when you hit your head on the car window?" Marinette shook her head which was a mistake because everything around her started to spin like a top.

"No." She answered. "My powers are coming back and it's making me dizzy." Adrien reached an arm around her shoulder to try and steady her shivering body.

"Your powers are coming back, that's a good thing." He stated. "And Trixx is looking for us so we will be out of here soon." He was trying to stay positive but even he knew that in the heat of the day, their water would be depleted in less than a week, and the next storm might not come for months. They had little time left and the cold was making it all the worse. They still didn't want to risk a fire in fear that the smoke would be visible and Akuma soldiers would see it so they had to live with the bone chilling air.

They rested for over an hour. They agreed to sleep until the sun came up then they would find a place to set up camp and stay there. Adrien had offered to take the first watch while Marinette slept. He scanned the desolate, dusty, earth in front of him for any danger. Nothing had changed his entire shift until he saw lights in the sky. Not stars but lights that were red, yellow, and flashing. He focused on them and finally realized it was a plane. "Marinette." He whispered while shaking her awake.

"What?" Her head had cleared and the earth no longer spinning but she was groggy and wanted more sleep.

"Look." Adrien side while pointing at the plane.

"It's Trixx." Marinette explained happily. "She found us." Unfortunately, Marinette and Adrien did not have a chance to celebrate. From behind them they heard the sound of roaring engines but not from the aircraft in the sky. A fleet of Akuma soldiers on ATVs were approaching them from the left flank.

------------------------------------------------------

Word count: 4773 (Not counting this)

THEY ARE FINALLY SAFE... 

or are they?...

What were your thoughts on this chapter?

Don't forget to vote and comment