From Dusk to Dust (Destiny Fan Fiction)

4-Relic of Hope

AN: The next chapter is where Destiny happenings will start! Please don't forget to vote or comment! 

This adventure was turning into a nightmare.

The object was in the sand dunes of the Libyan Desert. The sand rose and fell at great heights, the small breeze causing some sand to stumble down the dunes. Different shades of tan and orange spread across the horizon. The sun beat down on the land, causing Tanis to sweat immensely. He fixed the hat on his head and pushed on, leading the camel to his destination. He remembered to stock up a lot of food and water for this trip, even though he had a little trouble at the shop.

Tanis got bored of looking out into the empty land and silence, so he started talking to himself, "It's great to get out of the house and all, but why couldn't it have been somewhere tropical? Noooooo, this had to be in the middle of freaking nowhere!" He pet the camel's neck and sighed, "At least I've got you. You won't ignore me, right buddy?" The camel made a noise and laid its neck back for a second to feel his touch. Tanis smiled a bit and pet the animal more.

Before he knew it, they were there.

"Too bad there isn't an X to mark the spot," Tanis said lowly as he wiped some sweat away. He put some water in a bowl for the camel to drink out of and then glanced around. Nothing but sand, sand, and more sand.

The object was buried, and he hoped it wasn't too far down. He knelt down and ran his hands through the sand to get adjusted to the heat. He cringed and retracted his hands when it got to be too much, but he continued. He needed this object more than he thought he did. Tanis began to dig down.

This was it. His new future was going to be great.

Malachi peered down from the large sand dune he was on and saw somebody at the bottom. He dropped down immediately and placed his sniper rifle on the very edge. He quickly brushed off some sweat and waited for his brown eyes to adjust to the lens. Malachi zoomed in on his sniper's scope. He watched the person carefully and saw him dig down where the item was located. "Shit," he whispered to himself. If he's here, someone else must be looking for it. This place is desolate. There's no way he'd just be wandering around. He contemplated and peeked up from his gun.

"Damn it." Malachi got up and slung the sniper rifle on his shoulder. He brushed some of the sand off of his white shirt and dark jeans, but some of it still stuck to his clothes. He stepped carefully down the sand dune, making sure the man at the bottom didn't spot him. Tanis was too busy shoveling sand with his hands to notice.

He pulled out his pistol from its holster and pointed it at the guy. "What you're digging for isn't for you," he declared and turned the safety off.

Tanis looked up and stopped his action for a moment. He didn't make a move and furrowed his eyebrows. "No one owns it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be here."

Malachi slyly grinned at his words. "I think we can both agree that the object belongs to me."

"Hey man, if you want it, you can have it. Just le-" Tanis coughed and hacked up some blood. He spit it out in the sand next to him and groaned. He hadn't taken his medicine yet and the heat didn't make his sickness any better.

Malachi's eyebrows knit together and he almost put his gun down. He didn't want to attack a sick person, but if he put the gun away, the guy might attack. Then again, he might be too weak to. "I'll let you go if you dig it out for me."

Tanis scoffed and grimaced. "Do the dirty work and get nothing? Sounds fair to me," he remarked sarcastically. He didn't spend his money to come out here for nothing. The money he could get for this was far more than he could even imagine. But, this guy held a gun to him, so there was no getting out of this. He reluctantly kept digging, the heat licking his fingertips.