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Lady Railly

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Lorja’s instructions kept replaying in Emma’s head, from when she was creating the rather shallow holes, to when she was cutting the plastic bag with Scarlett’s penknife and spreading it out with two rocks on either side. There were several of these, enough to last her up to a maximum of twenty-four hours. The cave floor was rather deep in the ground compared to the desert’s surface so Emma did not have to dig much in order to reach the moisture.

It was now turning sundown and Emma was exhausted. Gladly accepting the fact that it was time to sleep yet hoping that no-one would find her, she drifted into slumber.

She woke up a couple of hours later, sweat beginning to drip down her face and being absorbed into the ground beneath where she was seated. Why did she keep having these strange dreams?

Emma had experienced a second date-related dream. They looked delicious this time – ripe and tender. There seemed to be a hole in the distance from her point of view in the dream, but other than that there was nothing in sight.

Glancing upwards, she realised what a foolish mistake she had made to try and create water at night. The method had produced a little of the liquid, perhaps just enough to keep her going for a day. However, it had not created much.

Accompanied by a sigh, Emma poked her head up and froze. A creature was lurking just steps away from where she stood inside the cave; she could almost touch the fur. Its back was turned so with no time to lose she darted back into the cave. What was that thing? It seemed as though it was some sort of mythological creature that had been moved to the wrong time period. From what she could see, it had black fur that almost blended into the darkness of the night. The back of its head resembled neither a dog’s nor a bear’s; it was shaped like a cow’s. Its giant, slightly pointed ears were tilted upwards and its tail was swinging gently in the breeze. Even from the rear point of view it looked hostile.

13-May-2012 08:37:35 - Last edited on 16-Jul-2012 19:54:05 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Why did a cow need fur in the desert? Why did it have fur? Why was it in the desert in the first place? Where did it come from?

Emma shook a little as she sat down once more, still trembling as she searched her bag for weapons. There were none but there were the necessary tools for creating some, such as a stick and the penknife Scarlett had shown her. Clutching them as if they would disappear at any moment, she began to form a spear.

Grasping it firmly, she poked her head out of the hole for a second time. The creature still had its back turned, almost as if it was inspecting something. Emma quietly raised the spear so that it was level with the animal’s head. It was quite big, so she had to stand on her tiptoes and stretch her arm out fully. That was when she lost her balance.

The abrupt noise immediately alerted the cow-like creature, making it twist its head around. For a brief moment she took in the details of its face. It had black, beady eyes with red irises which seemed to stare emotionlessly at her. Its face was covered with fur like its body – and the most surprising thing about it was that it did not have a nose. It only had a mouth containing sharp, tawny teeth. The animal’s ears were now almost vertical and Emma could see only a small patch of navy skin inside each.

She didn't have long to register this – in fact, it wasn’t important to her at all anyway – before it frightened her with a deafening growl. It bared its teeth and clashed its jaw before racing towards her. Emma darted back into the safety and comfort of her cave, seconds before the head of the animal appeared. Its eyes had a hint of hatred and anger as it tried to break through the cave opening, but it was too big; only its head could fit through.

Emma trembled with fear as the small amount of moonlight illuminating the desert and pouring into the cave disappeared in an instant. It kept growling and snapping at her but in the meantime she was safe in a dark corner of the cave.

13-May-2012 08:37:41 - Last edited on 08-Aug-2012 22:36:51 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

All that she could see were the glowing red eyes.

She wiped the sweat off her spear onto her shirt, all while keeping her eyes fixed onto the creature’s. It had quietened for now but its actions were still threats. Emma was oblivious to the small cracks forming around the cave exit where the cow-like creature’s head was. A sudden realisation was distracting her at that moment.

Did this thing kill Scarlett?

That thought alone was enough to trigger her next movement. Within seconds Emma had raised her spear and thrust it towards the head of the animal. It flew through the air separating the two and jammed itself into the creature’s left eye. It screamed painfully, filling the area with the horrible noise as it disappeared out of Emma’s sight. She had enough courage to walk over to the hole and look up. The animal had retreated.

The traveller sighed with relief as the moonlight filled her cave once more. Again she ignored the now larger cracks in the sandstone as she popped her head out yet again. There was only an empty desert stretching out before her – and a small piece of paper.

Curious, she got out of the safety of the cave and strolled over to the paper, watching every movement around her. There were few, only nocturnal desert insects scuttling about. As she picked it up and scanned her eyes across it, she realised she had found a map.

--

13-May-2012 08:37:47 - Last edited on 10-Aug-2012 22:36:57 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

As quick as a flash, she grabbed the map, making it crumple a little, and headed back to the cave. Emma managed to clamber down the steep slope of the exit and get herself to safety seconds after the opening gave way. The cracks fell to the grip of gravity and the comforting glow of the moon vanished from her sight as the overhang collapsed.

The only source of light that now existed within the cave was coming from the lines of torches on either side of the failed trap, other than the hardly noticeable dot of light coming from the far end of the tunnel where she had entered originally. A nervous expression on her face formed as she gently kicked the fallen sand and sandstone with her now uninjured foot. It did*’t budge. She scraped at it continually, wishing it would soften, but soon gave up.

Eventually, Emma decided to follow the light, and soon she was back in the room with the dispensers and the sensors. She stood next to one of the flaming torches and took a few moments to study the map. At first glance, it did*’t appear to be a map of the whole area, just about half of the land, but as she kept examining the paper she realised it was indeed a zoomed out handmade drawing of at least the area she knew. She wondered how long it took for that man to draw everything.

Further on, she recognised some places that stood out because of various incidents – such as the circle of greenery where she had spied, and the multiple caves she had visited. Other places were completely unfamiliar, and there was no key to explain what everything was. On the other hand, there were some places that looked familiar, but she was sure she had never visited them before.

Near the top-right corner of the map showed what seemed to be a small patch of yellowish plants. Curious as to what it was but deciding to leave the thought alone for now, she decided to look on. Her eyes wandered to the very corner of the beige paper when suddenly her eyes widened.

13-May-2012 08:37:54 - Last edited on 12-Aug-2012 21:37:57 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

What she saw was what she believed to be a huge iron gate, with a tiny padlock in the centre chained to the bars. There was nothing directly around it and the map just ended there. There was nothing beyond that point, for it was the end of the map. Emma had absolutely no idea what this meant. She hoped it was some sort of exit but it seemed to be chained up for eternity anyway. A short sigh escaping her lips, she folded the paper, placed it in her bag and made her way across the trap. To her delight, she heard a faint clicking sound from each of the empty dispensers as she walked across the sensors.

Emma emerged from the entrance of the cave with her auburn hair completely coated in grease, with sand and dirt mixed in. Her face showed signs of tiredness and exhaustion, and her shirt barely touched her stomach. Sighing again, she glanced at the terrain before her. The bright, scorching sun was now beginning to rise but the night still remained. Emma had completely forgotten about the plastic bags still waiting to be collected on the other side of the sandstone wall and this was the time she remembered. She ran round in a vague semi-circle before reaching the very shallow indent.

What once had been a slanted surface was now an almost vertical drop. Some of the sand had collapsed off the slant but luckily not in the water. If she fell in there, she would not be able to get back up. Emma searched the landscape nearby as she retrieved the coil of rope out of her bag. She was pleased to see that there was a rectangular-shaped rock a few feet away, but there was no loop on the end of the rope. The young girl then wrapped it around the rock and secured it tightly with a double knot. Holding the other end loosely in her hand, she jumped down into the hole, underestimating its depth.

Emma dropped down but did not have time to bend her knees properly, and so she strained the muscles in both of her legs.

13-May-2012 08:38:18 - Last edited on 12-Aug-2012 21:38:22 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

A painful cry leapt from her lips as she bent down and enclosed one of her kneecaps in her hands before covering the other up. After a few moments of waiting to let the pain die down, she straightened up and released the rope from her grip. The other end was now swinging in mid-air, parallel to and almost the same length as the steep slope.

Emma now began emptying all of the flasks into one and after doing so she was pleased to find that the water had not only filled one whole bottle up but a second was around one-fifth full as well. Neatly, she packed away her plastic bags and the empty containers as well as the rocks and turned to the only piece of rope in her sight. She tugged on it to make sure it was firm and secure before advancing. Transferring all of her weight to it, she held onto it as her feet were lifted off the ground. Her hands repeatedly climbed further and further upwards and once most of her body was out of the hole Emma pulled herself out completely.

She crawled towards the rectangular-shaped rock – as her knees were still hurting a little – and untangled the rope. Coiling it up again, she placed it back in her bag before retrieving the map. The tiny camera embedded in the rock could see all of her actions clearly, just like the camera that had been buried in the sand where she fell unconscious. As the young traveller smiled at her map and began walking, she was completely oblivious as to what was soon to come.

“She’s walking away now – and I can see the map in her hand. She’s fallen for it,” a man revealed to his assistants. A large group of people were seated in a semi-circle inside an enormous building, their eyes glued to each of their computers. The man continued to examine Emma’s movements as she strolled along the desert plains. As she disappeared from sight, he swivelled around in his chair to see one of his co-workers smiling at him.

“Well, James, I did*’t think it would work at first but it obviously has,” the other man said.

13-May-2012 08:40:36 - Last edited on 19-Aug-2012 12:24:23 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

James smiled, flashing his teeth for a moment before turning around and resuming watching the barren wasteland. Every now and then he wrote something down, before switching to another camera located elsewhere in the environment.

“I can’t believe how she didn't manage to spot the buried camera when she met that other girl,” he mumbled under his breath as he watched a famished male in his twenties crawl along the sand. After a few more moments of boredom he stood up and made another announcement.

“Does anyone have any ideas for her next… encounter?” he snickered.

Meanwhile, Emma’s eyes darted to and fro across the map as she tried to figure out which direction she was heading. She wanted to reach the iron gate immediately, but knowing her luck she would probably have yet another encounter soon, so she decided to prepare herself. Settling down behind a firm boulder, she began to craft another spear.

The spear-making process was a short yet difficult task to complete. The girl had to continually scrape the wood off the thin stick, which would break if not treated correctly. Slowly and gently, she filed the top of the wood to a tip, before softly exhaling to remove the dust.

Emma then had to test it to make sure it worked. Back in the collapsed cave, she did the experiment by plunging it into the fallen sand behind her. It made a small indent but nowhere near enough to break through – but the stick itself did not break, which was a good thing. Now, she was improving the weapon’s strength by attaching two, three, five identical sticks together with a piece of rope. She clutched it in her hand as if it would disappear at any moment. Then, after taking a good-sized drink of water, she continued on her journey.

Her stomach rumbled somewhat loudly as she ventured on into the empty desert. The last time she could remember eating was when she met Lorja with Scarlett, her only best friend, who was taken away from her-

She didn't need to think about that now.

13-May-2012 08:40:42 - Last edited on 21-Sep-2012 22:00:28 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The unpleasant grumble descended once again and Emma realised she had to get some food soon. It was probably a good amount of time since she last ate, perhaps a couple of days or more. The terrifying thought of her looking like those ravenous children on television made her even more determined to find something edible.

No matter how hard she tried her thoughts were still bombarded with Scarlett, but mainly with one image. Maybe it was the lack of food, but somehow she remembered her palm clutching a small dagger.

Could she have committed suicide?

Emma pondered this speculation as she walked. Surely a dagger that size wouldn’t have been the cause of all that blood and mess around her friend?

Perhaps starvation – and the heat - could have led to Scarlett going crazy and killing herself?

Perhaps the thought of losing her best friend could have made her give up all hope and end her life?

Emma had absolutely no idea.

“She’s approaching it right now,* James murmured, rather to himself than his workmates, smiling slyly as the woman’s body grew smaller and smaller with each step she took. Eventually she was out of sight. “We’ve got the plan sorted; now all that’* left is send a message their way so that they know what to do.”

Beads of sweat dripped down her temples and onto Emma’s blood-stained clothes. Not much further now, she thought hopefully as she glanced at her map once more. Pausing for a moment, she calculated where she was on the map. Indeed, she was probably only a couple of miles away from her destination: the iron gate.

As she strolled along the plains, she wondered what that small yellowish patch on the map was. It could be a fallen cave, it could be an insect's home – and yet it could be simply a stain on the map. The fallen cave would be good; perhaps she would be able to get a few more helpful items. On the other hand, if it were a home for a scorpion family, for example, that would be extremely unfortunate given the state she was in.

13-May-2012 08:40:52 - Last edited on 28-Sep-2012 22:28:00 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Finally pondering the final possibility, she scratched at the thin piece of paper with a slightly long fingernail. As a dried mixture of sand and paper fluttered to the ground in flakes, Emma stopped in her tracks and stared at the words that had now been revealed.

--

13-May-2012 08:40:59 - Last edited on 22-Dec-2012 16:50:38 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“This can’t be true. No... it can’t be.” Emma stared at the map for a few more moments.

“Am… am I dreaming again?” She blinked, and looked at the piece of paper again. The words remained unaltered; she definitely was awake. The look of confusion remained on her face as she quickly folded it up and placed it back in her pocket. After shaking her head slightly she continued in the direction she had been going in for the past hour or so.

“She’s getting closer and closer. Get ready, guys, get ready,” James whispered into his microphone, back at the enormous building. He swivelled in his chair, making a full 360 degree turn before clapping his hands in excitement. “This is going to be amazing!” he shouted cheerfully, before focusing on his computer screen. There was no sign of Emma.

He sighed and flicked around all of the cameras listed on the screen, before settling on one embedded into a tree overlooking the desert. Emma was in the middle of the camera’s view. She was only a miniscule dot compared to the size of the desert surrounding her.

“Are you still there, James?” the voice coming out from the speakers asked with a worried tone.

“Yeah, hold on a second,” he answered as he moved his mouse to click, opening up a window. He minimised it so that it was in line with Emma’s camera, and so that he could see both windows at once. What he had just opened was a program allowing the other people to see him; he had a camera too, placed inside his computer. “Yeah, I’m still here. Just keep waiting for her, and it’ll work. Trust me. You just need patience.”

“All right, we’ll wait,” the voice replied, sounding rather annoyed by this time. James smiled, before minimising the window completely, leaving the program viewing Emma on its own. She was now almost out of sight, and he would have to switch cameras yet again.

About another hour later, Emma crawled along the desert floor, panting as she took her last sip of water from the flask.

13-May-2012 08:41:12 - Last edited on 26-Dec-2012 22:12:17 by Lady Railly

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