LAND OF CONFUSION
The smell of fire and cinders, the wind gushing between the sandy dunes, the silence… deep, complete silence. And cold metal against her cheek.
She slowly opened her eyes, shivering, in spite of the heat, under her heavy coat. It was hot - hot and dry, all around her, the air thick with dust, the darkness oppressing. Her blurred vision wouldn’t adjust, only letting her discern shadows and shapes. Stiffling a whimper, she raised a trembling hand, not noticing that this movement caused grains of sand to rustle between the folds of her coat. Shattered glass under her fingers, too; the absence of pain made her realize that she was wearing gloves. Oddly enough, the idea of having blood on her hands distracted her a little from the terrible headache, from her pounding temples, from the cold that seemed to come from inside her now. Blood on her hand, when she had passed it on her forehead…. why was that? Another long shiver ran down her spine, making the thought disappear; she let her arm fall again, numb with pain and tiredness, her right shoulder oddly stiff, and stayed unmoving, unblinking eyes staring at the darkness. Drawing short breaths was all that she was able to do at the moment.
After a time that seemed an eternity, she finally managed to sit and look around her, trying to clear her thoughts. Her head was hurting so much, the world beginning to spin around her if she moved too fast, forcing her to stay quiet for a long moment again, queasy, waiting for the nausea to pass. She couldn’t remember where she was, nor why she was in this ‘where’. A cavern? A small room? Darkness. Metal. Grains of sand. And no hint of why she had been lying here, on metal and shattered glass, with blood on her forehead and in her dishevelled hair, her eyes unable to focus on anything for more than a few seconds. Why did it hurt so much… why did she have the feeling, the growing feeling, that she was dying in here… the air so thick and so dry that her lungs were refusing to breathe it any longer…
Panick rolled over her in a sudden, unexpected wave; in a rush, she jumped off where she was sitting - and fell heavily on the floor, feeling so dizzy that her legs gave way a second before she could realize it, unable to carry her further. She had been half-sitting, half lying on what now appeared to be a seat, and acting that quickly hadn’t really been a good idea. Fortunately the vertigo was fading a little now; crawling on her elbows, her blood-stained fingers looking for something, anything, that would help her, her attention span now narrowed on the only idea of getting out, she began to search. Something. Anything! And then her hand met a wall, sooner than expected; if she was in a room, then it was a really small one, for she hadn’t even enough space to stretch her arm now. Panick, panick, over and over again; another whimper began to raise in her throat, before, all of a sudden, the wall gave way under her hand, a heavy curtain of sand fell before her eyes, and the bright light of the twin suns blinded her, forcing her to back up and to raise her hands in a sheer reflex to shield her face and her head.
For a long minute, she kept her eyes closed, the only idea of looking around her frightening her now even more, gasping for an air that was even dryer than the one she had been breathing inside. At least, in the darkness, she knew where she was; she hadn’t to face the brief but terrifying vision she had had before looking at the suns. The vision of void, of emptiness, of solitude. Violently shivering now, she grinded her teeth, forcing herself to at least look at her hands, at the odd clothes she was wearing. It looked like a dark coat; it looked, also, as her other clothes were way heavier than it. Armor? Her head felt so empty, as empty as the sky above her. Gathering her wits as best as she could, she looked around her this time, blinking in the violent light. At least it was allowing her to look at what was in the room behind her. A few backpacks–a few packs of dried food, maybe–then, a few steps further, a small canteen, the likes of which were used to carry equipment. Moved by a growing curiosity now - anything, anything that would allow her to focus on something else than pain!… - she took a closer look at it, and at the small screen near the lock. The thing was seemingly broken now, and no sooner had she touched it that it suddenly opened, revealing an item carefully packed… an item that appeared to be a gun. Odd-looking, and making her feel at unease. Quite bulky, yet appearing lighter than expected, when she hesitantly took it. Was it hers? She wondered how the heck she could carry something like this, and the only thought of using it made her feel dizzy again.
Hell, but her head hurt!…
She slowly got back on her feet, staggering, almost falling on the ground again; it was hard standing up, she could only walk carefully, not too fast, not too far. The crude light of the suns made her blink again, and she wished she had something else than her hand to shield her eyes. Sand was all around. Sand, dunes, the yellow immensity of the sky above her. Sand, as far as the eye could see. She felt like crying. This could only be a nightmare. What was she doing here… Why was she here? She wiped her forehead, wincing, feeling weaker than she’d have thought; another wave of nausea made her fall on her knees again, a hand pressed against her mouth, eyes shut on the flashing colors dancing in her head now. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe she was hurt. What was certain was that if she stayed here, standing in the sun, she would very likely faint again; and it was a very bad idea to faint in the middle of the desert.
For a few more minutes, she considered her situation. She couldn’t seem to think very quickly, as if she needed long seconds to figure out anything that came to her mind. Yes… gathering thoughts was hard, harder than expected. Her frown slightly grew, as she wondered for at least the tenth time why she was in the desert. Not any desert, but one so big, so wide, that wandering in it on foot would be signing her death. Nobody would go to such a place without a mean of coming back to where they went from. Another thought worssed her mind, hard to catch. The place she had been lying earlier on… She slowly turned to the door again, trying to discern in the half darkness what kind of place it could be. Buried in the sand, certainly looking like but another dune from the sky; odds had been that she had opened it from the inside, and this was a chance, for she wasn’t sure she could have found the metallic panel under the thick layer of sand, nor have the strength of forcing it.
The suns were becoming hotter and hotter, the atmosphere really burning her lungs this time. A vehicle, maybe? She staggered to the hatch, outstretching a hand not to fall, her mind so clouded that all the she could think of now was to find shelter from the sun and air again. Then, all of a sudden, the Soldier appeared on the top of the dune, facing her. Their eyes met for a second, a second of eternity, wary, but also surprised looks. She felt a tight knot in her guts, recognizing his bulky frame as one of an Atrox, and knowing by instinct that he wouldn’t let her free, nor alive. This very thought filled her with a deep, terrible fear, yet she was completely unable to move.
When he raised his gun, she gasped for air, and simply closed her eyes shut, too frightened to do anything else than awaiting the lethal shot…
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