[ Y/N ]
The sun was beating down on the dirt road I was taking towards the city where supplies from the Human Capitol arrived every week. Trees lined the horizon in the distance and craters from dried up lakes dotted the sandy area around the straight dirt road.
It was hot, about ninety-three degrees fahrenheit if I had to guess. My tongue was prickly with dehydration and my eyes drooped unhealthily from sleep deprivation. I had been awake for the past five days taking this wretched dirt road towards the city, and now more than ever I wish I could just kick the stupid road and arrive at the train tracks instantly.
It was Thursday, the shipments would arrive tomorrow at noon. If I wanted to get there early and get all the good stuff, I'd have to keep going without any brakes. Those are the kinds of things you have to do to survive. I would've liked to go into the woods to hunt, honestly, but the shipments that the Human Capital gave out were much fresher and healthier than any game I would find out there.
So I kept walking, my feet sore in their brown scuffed up hiking boots while my thin grey poncho hood covered my head to keep out the sun. My torn black leggings had no help in keeping me cool since my red shirt underneath my poncho was soaked in sweat. I brushed a strand of hair out of my face and squinted my eyes in the distance, my sight pushing past the heat waves and dirt to see buildings in the distance. From the pace I was going and how far the city seemed to be, I'd say it would take me about another six hours to get there.
I let out a huff and shouldered my dark brown canvas rucksack higher on my back and kept walking. My stainless steel water bottle that I had stolen from an unoccupied market cart had been empty for the past day and the only food I had left were a few strips of beef jerky that looked expired. I also had my long knife in my bag along with a few water purification tablets and a pouch of gold coins, but at the moment, none of those items were much help.
My mind wandered off while I walked along the dirt road, my imagination starting to spark as mirages appeared around me. The illusions were most likely from dehydration or heat exhaustion, so I did my best to ignore the purple elephant chasing the yellow squirrel through what looked like green seawater.
After a few more minutes of insane illusions, I couldn't take it anymore and searched through my bag for the beef jerky, stuffing a strip in my mouth and chewing it in frustration. The mirages slowly faded away and I was alone again—just me, the sun, and the stupid dirt road.
When I get to the city, I thought, glaring at the buildings in the distance. I should be able to get some cash from wealthy citizens. That way, I won't have to wait for the shipments to come with the stuff I need.
A few months back, I used to pick-pocket with a few allies that I had made since I was pretty much defenseless. My hands were trained to skillfully slide a few bills or coins out of a back pocket or—when I was lucky—casually pick up a bag sitting unguarded and hide it in the folds of my poncho. Eventually, one of my allies had been caught and were sentenced to death along with the rest of us. I was the only one who escaped the execution.
Honestly, the punishments these days are so outrageously unfair that it's almost humorous.
I focused back on the task at hand, not letting my imagination escape again and potentially risk insanity, and kept on walking down the long dirt road.
• • •
"Does it ever end!" I screamed, my voice hoarse from lack of water. Screaming was probably a bad move, but I was just so frustrated! The city seemed even farther away than three hours ago! My mouth was parched, I had run out of beef jerky hours ago, my feet and legs were sore, and the sun was not helping at all. At this point, I was seriously considering running into the woods to get some food.
But I kept going, the little sliver of determination I still had left completely set on reaching the city before nightfall. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so stubborn. One day it's going to get me killed.
My brown hiking boots dragged across the dirt road as I glared at the buildings in the distance that seemed to mock me. It couldn't be that far, could it? I mean, I've been walking for the past three hours, it should be a lot closer than it was that long ago. So why did it appear farther away? Was it all a mirage? Was it even real?
No, don't think like that, I scolded myself, not letting my hopes die out in this dusty wasteland. I had to stay determined.
The ground slightly rumbled beneath my feet but I barley noticed it, lost deep in my thoughts. So when a huge worm-like creature broke through the ground with razor sharp teeth spinning around its fourteen foot in diameter mouth, I barely glanced at it before brushing it off as a mirage.
That is, until it roared and lunged at me with full force.
My eyes widened and I threw my body over to the side, missing the monster's gaping mouth as it dug back down into the sand and disappeared. I was breathing heavily now and my eyes were wild as my mind came back into focus and terror sunk in.
A Sand Viper.
I scrambled to my feet and started running towards the buildings in the distance, my breathing becoming labored from the amount of exercise I was getting after being in such a weak state. The ground rumbled again and this time I was prepared. I side-stepped the Sand Viper as it broke through the ground right where I had been standing. I wanted to curl into a ball and cry in terror—knowing what it did to its victims—but the sheer will to live urged me to keep going.
Sand Vipers were one of the monsters from the Underground that I really wish would've stayed under that mountain. They were some sort of failed lab experiment, if my sources were correct. Apparently, no one knew they existed—not even the monsters—until the first few humans were killed by them whenever they went off into some field or desert alone. Let's just say, they didn't have a very happy ending.
The Sand Viper roared again and dove back into the ground only to pop out underneath me a second later. I screamed and clung to its head as it shot into the sky, it's momentum sending us a good ninety feet into the air. It tossed back its giant head causing my grip to fail and my body to hover over its gaping mouth.
I started falling towards the gaping pit of death, frantically flailing my arms around for anything to grab as blood curdling screams escaped my throat. My fingers connected to a hand-hold in the Sand Viper's gum and I latched on, one arm having its gum in a death grip as my body dangled over its mouth.
It tried shaking its head to make me fall but I refused to let go, my body starting to shudder in terror. The Sand Viper roared in frustration before tossing its head up again to guarantee my grip to fail. I was back in the air above its mouth from the throw, but this time, I was prepared to evade certain death.
I used everything I had to hurl my body mid-air to the side so that I landed on the Sand Viper's back and slid down its scaly body. My butt hit the ground—sweet, sweet, wonderful ground—and in an instant I was back on my feet and drawing my long knife from my bag. Much use that would be.
The Sand Viper—just now realizing that it's victim had escaped its clutches (if it had hands)—reared back and faced me.
Sand Vipers have very small pitch black pupils that are completely vulnerable to anything that could hit it. They're located on the sides of its head and were rarely ever opened due to how much damage could be done if something were to hit it. Most likely, the Sand Viper would go blind in that eye. And if you were lucky, the pulse that connect to the eye would burst and kill the Sand Viper.
Currently, both of the Sand Viper's eyes were wide open and staring at me as if trying to make me hunch down in fear. It must be working because I really wanted to do that. Instead of choosing the option of death by being a coward, I readied my long knife and scrunched my eyebrows together in determination. I wasn't about to go down without a fight.
The Sand Viper's head shot down towards me to try and swallow me whole, but I was quick enough to dodge its gaping mouth as it sank into the ground and got lodged in between the heavy pounds of dirt below the sand. While the Sand Viper struggled to release its grip of its jaw into the ground, I ran towards it screaming a battle cry and forcefully brought my knife down into its wide eye.
It howled in pain as a black substance burst from its eye, red blood starting to flow from the wound. The Sand Viper finally managed to release its jaw from the ground only to howl again in agony. I scrambled back and fell to the ground, my heart pounding as my wide eyes stared at the wounded Sand Viper.
The large creature seemed to forget that I was there as it thrashed around in pain, unable to do anything to help its now blind eye. It flopped onto the ground and squirmed, my brain finally making up its mind on what to do next. I bolted up again from the ground and ran towards its head, managing to sink my knife into its other eye while it was down.
It howled even louder in pain as its other eye went blind, the Sand Viper's gaping mouth moving towards me as an attempt to try and get rid of the fighting victim. I backed up then started running, leaving the wounded Sand Viper behind me to suffer in its eternal blackness.
I didn't stop running even after the cries of the Sand Viper disappeared when I had gotten far enough. My feet seemed to be full of energy as I sprinted across the desolate terrain towards the city that finally seemed to be getting closer after so many hours of mocking me with the distance.
When I finally stopped running, the outskirts of the city were merrily a few meters away and the sky was darkening with stars starting to appear. I dragged my sweaty, adrenaline-infused body into the safety of the city limits where I could see small stands selling various items for passing travelers. It was one of the main shipment cities, after all. Might as well hurry and sell some of your own things before better ones arrived from the Human Capital.
The exhaustion from the day finally caught up to me as my legs buckled and my knees hit the ground. A human shop keeper that sold food and water glanced over my way with concern before walking out behind his stand to hurry over to me. He crouched down in front of me and appeared to be saying something, but my brain wouldn't function properly and had a hard time focusing. I did manage to say one thing, though, before everything turned black.
I gave a tired smile to the shop keeper, who was probably thinking I was hysterical from the state I was in.
"I'd like to buy half a dozen apples and two waters, please."
And after that, my body slumped forward and the world turned black.
+ + +
How was that for a first chapter? *flips on sunglasses like a boss*
HEY GUYS I'M BACK WITH A WHOLE NEW STORY! YA' MISS ME?
Also, I guess Sand Vipers are a thing now :T ((but I swear they're for a reason otherwise I wouldn't put them in here))
Also! If you missed it in the "Before We Begin" chapter, the songs at the top of chapters will help you feel a lot more emotion and excitement than just simply reading it. You'll understand what I mean in the future ;)
Song: Tritonal ft. Angel Taylor - Getaway [Official Lyric Video]