Chapter 13: Ally
1179 Words
Am I in hell?
Howling of the strong wind wakes me, all curled up from the cold.
No, this can't be hell - I feel frozen.
Nothing else.
I pop an eye open.
The rough sand instantly enters. Goddamn it, it's scratching my cornea.
My eye starts watering as the body's protective mechanism. My hands run to help, one covering my eye from the wind as I gently wipe it with the other.
Okay. Definitely not frozen anymore. Now I'm in deep pain. Pain that reminds me of my fresh wounds that need clean dressings.
"Om, where are you when a girl needs you?" I mutter.
If I were in the Block, this would be so much easier. Not more than a layer of healing ointment and my wounds would feel like nothing more than scratches.
Only then, everyone would see the real color of my skin.
There.
The grain of sand leaves my eye.
I collapsed last night the moment I reached the first sand dunes and fell asleep before I took out my lenses.
I tuck a hand in my pocket now to retrieve the disinfectant and my lens container.
Then I force myself to sit up.
I grunt as if I were dying.
Am I?
The blood color on my dressing sure doesn't look healthy.
And even though I can't see my eyes in a mirror, I would bet my life that my sclerae are more red than they're white.
I lean onto one dune and take my lenses out with now clean hands.
Oh my God.
They feel so sore.
I won't be able to re-insert them until my eyes have recovered.
But how can I go out with green eyes?
Can I just stay here and sleep all day?
The sharp pain in my leg responds to my question.
Time to make fire and clean my dressings. I have to find an Aloe Vera plant.
Alright, be damned. I stick an angry hand into my backpack and take out my hat.
I'll just have to wear it real low and avoid all eye contact.
Keet should see my wig condition now. If he thought it was bad yesterday, what would he say now? My hat barely fit over it.
I use the wooden cane as I shakily stand on my feet, then limp my way out of the valley I slept in, between two sand dunes - it keeps me hidden from other rogues.
The Sun's almost out. The wind always stops before it rises.
Thank God for that.
There're not many perks in the Wild.
I look around me to detect the closest tree set where I could start a fire.
My stomach growls from hunger.
What's it gonna be first? Catch a phigee, change a dressing or check out what the hell that is?
A distant block catches my attention. I almost forgot I saw it last night.
It definitely wasn't there before. Someone built a new one.
Who? When? What for?
I swallow hard and limp my slow way towards it.
Hunger I can quench, curiosity never.
If I'm lucky there'll be some phigees on the way.
Another set of trees is nearby.
How come there are so many out there now?
Who planted them? The Wild looks so different - I don't even feel like I'm familiar with it at this point.
I pull my hat as low as possible to still be able to see squinting.
The pain seems even worse than yesterday, but I know that in reality it must've gotten a tad better.
We people are too spoiled to notice small improvements.
What is my plan when I reach the block, anyway? Should I be scared?
No, I decide. There's no place for fear in the Wild - this is the life I've chosen. So now I better be suited for it.
There's some squeaking sounds under the sand.
Phigees.
My stomach does feel pretty empty.
Alright, you poor thing. It's your unlucky day.
I take my walking cane out of the sand and hold it high. Multi-purpose I suppose.
I haven't killed a phigee in so long. Have I lost the skill?
I squint at the edge of my cane. The tip seems pretty spiky to me. Good.
There's few worse feelings in the world than when you stab a phigee too shallow and it hurts before dying.
I'm grateful for the food I eat. The only thing I miss from the block are nutrition pills. Feeding myself without harming a living being definitely feels more appealing right now.
Ok, don't be a little coward. Nutrient pills don't grow on trees.
"Huh!" I gut as I cast my cane into the sand as fast as I can.
Missed.
"Damn it," I whisper, surprised. I really lost the skill. Or is it because of my wounds? Yes, it feels better to blame the current fragile state of my body.
Another one. My eyes run towards a sand digging phigee.
Now!!
Missed again.
Guess it's their lucky day after-all.
I inhale slowly, but deeply, clenching myself above the knees. I'm in an even bigger pain now.
I start coughing.
Is it from the sand, the cold, or exhaustion?
What was I thinking escaping the block?
I'm not fit for this.
Screw phigees. Screw the robots.
Screw the Wild, period.
I collapse onto the ground.
I should've changed the dressings first.
I've always been impatient - a bad planner.
I turn my head around to see how far the set of trees really is.
Doesn't seem too far.
Either way, I got to reach there.
I crawl my slow way there, approaching the tree set and the block both at once.
I breathe controllably, knowing it's the only way to focus on something else but the pain.
Wait a minute.
I lift my hat up, stopping in my direction immediately. Is that a fence?
I stare at a massive construction in front of me. There's no doubt now - it's a block.
Housing who, though? The fence is so damn low one could almost walk over it without jumping.
No, no, no. This can't be.
But I'm not mistaken - I actually see people in there.
Change of dressings is erased from my mind at once and I stomp towards the fence at full limping speed.
I am close enough now to see they're all of the mixed race, so I know better than to come any closer. Not with my eyes anyway.
Why are they not guarded?
Better yet, why aren't they escaping?
Or is there nothing here to escape from? It's a dangerous thought and this might be the loneliness and exhaustion speaking, but if they don't wish to escape, maybe this place is livable?
I lean on my cane and observe people interact with each other in an unprecedented way. It almost makes me want to join them.
"Hope you've been loyal to me in my absence."
I'm frozen at once but my head still shoots back.
Oh, God.
It's Koben.
- Writer
