After several hours of walking, the sun begins to rise. In the light, the desert was a tan void. The caravan path was the only landmark. As the minutes passed, the air became a little warmer. Though it was still very cold.

“What the Hell is with this place. The sun's up. So why is this desert still so cold?” Robert said.

Earlier completely tried of holding the sword up, Robert had decided to let it start dragging along the ground behind him. A few minutes ago, He had started swapping the hand that dragged it. He was now debating if he should just let it go.

I wonder what my agent's doing right now. Robert thought, happily. He trying to push through the exhaustion. He hadn't slept in hours and his body was letting him know it. Probably panicking. I can imagine the news right now.

"Rising star Robert Price is missing. The twenty-seven years old actor. Was last seen leaving Logan's grand theater." Robert mumbled to himself. He was getting a little bored at this point. "Ha, he's hard to spot as he's the most average-looking man alive. He gets all the average roles. If you've seen this man or someone who looks like this man. Call one eight hundred now.

Damn, it all feels so distant now. So unimportant. Robert thought as he licked his cracked lips. I should have looked for water on those guards.

Robert paused mid-stride. He just had a wonderful idea.

“They could control water. Couldn't I just magic up some? It's magic after all.” Robert muttered, as He raised a hand and imagined a floating ball of water. Nothing appeared. “Damn, it was worth a try.”

Robert tried to relax his nerves before continuing. But found it impossible.

What's this creepy feeling? He thought, as all the hairs along his neck stood up. It's like I'm being watched.

Casually scanning the desert. Robert noted nothing strange. But as he was about to turn back, he spotted a pair of red standing wires coming up from behind a dune. They are a few yards away. He noticed a faint tapping sound. It was slowly replacing the silence.

What are those things, some kind of power lines? Robert thought as a giant red centipede head rose up from behind the dune. The standing wires were attached to the thing's massive head. Its giant mandibles twitched hungrily, while its pure black orb eyes stared at Robert, intensely.

Screamed Robert and dropped his sword. He turned and ran. The taping sound of the thing's mandibles, exploded into a thunderous screech, as the massive bug gave chase. Robert had distance on the monster, but the thing was scarily fast.

As Robert ran. The yellow cape he wore was shining like gold in the morning light, and waved like a flag, as it flapped crazily behind him.

Robert couldn't keep this up, he was quickly running out of steam.

As he ran. Two black towers came into view over the dunes. The centipede was too hungry to realize its mistake and Robert was too panicked to look up. But around the towers, flew little black dots.

The dots then grew larger, and larger as a faint buzzing sound overpowered the centipede's thunderous noise.

Robert hearing this looked up in horror, as the black dots became huge black hornets. The hornets flew over Robert and went straight at the centipede. Robert tried looking back, but tripped on his cape and landed on his side.

The four hornets begin stinging the centipede and where they stang, flames appeared. The centipede lashed out, biting one of the hornets and cutting it in half. A hot, orange liquid gushed out of the hornet's body thus covering the centipede's eyes.

The centipede was writhing in pain before finally becoming completely motionless. Robert couldn't move either, he was paralyzed with fear.

The hornets begin cutting into the centipede's flesh, making smaller parts. Instead of blood, red sand spilled from the wounds. When the pieces got small enough to carry.

The hornets would then fly the pieces back to the towers. Those remaining would slowly carve away at the rest of the body. Even the dead hornet was taken apart.

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Four more hornets flew in, to carry things off.

After a few minutes, the body of the centipede was gone and the last few hornets flew away, leaving Robert stunned and alone.

Aw? Robert thought, frozen.

A few minutes more passed by before Robert could even think straight. After the initial shock, He turns his head to look at the black towers. The skies around the towers showed no signs of any hornets returning for him.

Robert slowly stood. As he scanned the area of the battle. He noted that the place where the hornet had died had turned to glass.

Molten Glass? Robert thought. He walked over and felt the heat radiating off from the hardened glob. It is still hot.

Next, Robert moved to the place where the Centipede of nightmares had dead. The place was covered in red sand.

Does it bleed red sand? Crap, doesn't this look familiar? Robert thought, as he pulled out the tub necklace, he got from the guard. It was empty now. What the hell? It's empty!

“Where did all the sand go?” Robert asked as he unscrewed the tube. A few red grains fall from the opening, to join the rest on the ground. Robert picked up a handful of the red sand.

This can't be the same stuff, right? Robert thought, Why would they put blood sand in these tubes, It can't be for decoration, can it?

A change in the wind, made Robert jump like he'd been stung by a bee. He looked around panicked. But nothing was there luckily. He was alone, the only thing that moved was his cape. Softly blowing in the wind. He swallowed back dryness.

I need to get away from those towers. Robert thought as he glanced back down at the red sand. Well if this stuff is somehow valuable. What if is this the Cinta stuff they were talking about. It would be a waste to leave it here.

Looking around again, Robert then scooped up a handful of the red sand and slid it into the tube. It was mixed with other sand, but most of it was red. Without looking back Robert, slowly continued down the path, heading away from the black towers and towards the unknown.

As the black towers fell from view. Robert calmed down a bit but held a watchful eye on his surrounding. He looked back every few minutes to see if anything was following him but found nothing each time.

After an hour of walking, Robert felt the familiar call of nature. He walked to the edge of the trail and checking for dangers, relieves himself.

Whoa! Now that feels better. Robert thought as he kicked sand over the spot. Ugh. I'm dreading when I might have to do number two. Wait what's that?

Far off on the side of the path was a very large brown something. It moved like a flag would, waving in the wind.

How did I miss that? Robert thought. It doesn't look like a giant bug? I might be wrong though. Or it could have water. I could not? Alright, I'll risk it.

Robert stepped off the path and slowly approached the object. As he got closer. he noticed that it had a symbol on it. A pure blue circle with a brown triangle inside the circle and there was some marking that looked like writing below the triangle.

Hey, isn't that the flying ship!? Robert thought. Wow, it survived? I wonder if there could be something useful in there I can use, like water or food.

The front of the boat came into view. It was wrecked, holes everywhere. Bits of wood scattered across the sand and the balloon was in knots.

Approaching the first available hole, Robert paused.

Hold up, I don't have a sword anymore. Robert thought. What if there's some giant spider in there, just waiting for someone like me. Someone's who's unarmed and helpless to fall into its' web.

Robert stared into the blackness, imagining it was staring back at him. He licked his dry lips.

Ok. He thought as he entered... Here goes nothing.

The interior was littered with boxes and broken wooden beams. the floor was a mass. The whole ship was tilted at an angle, so everything had slid to one side.

This must be their storage. Robert thought as he walked over to the nearest box labeled munitions.

It contained crossbow bolts and arrows. Most of them were broken. Probably from the crash. Robert moved to a second box.

This one contained uniforms. The kind the Podor soldiers wore.

Well, at least I know where the arrows are. Robert thought. But they're useless to me without a bow.

A fallen support beam blocked the other half of the room.

“Up and over I guess,” Robert muttered, as he began climbing over the beam. On the other side, stood a ladder. It was fixed to the ground. The ladder went to the next floor, through a small hole in the ceiling. “Hum, more climbing.”

The next floor was a hallway, with doors on both sides. When Robert reached the top of the ladder. He heard a scuttling sound come from one of the doorways. He froze.

As he watched a giant ant appear from the darkness. It held an apple gently in its mandibles. Robert practically fell down the ladder.

He leaped over the support beam and ran outside. Only stopping when he had to catch his breath.

“Holy Crap!” Robert barked “It's infested. There could be hundreds in there.”

The ant soon appeared from the ship. It ignored Robert's presence on the dune and turned away, heading into the desert. It soon vanished over another dune.

It's gone now. Robert thought. Should I chance that again? Wait, maybe I should watch and see if there are any more in there.

So Robert found a nice spot on the hill to watch the ship from away and set down. As Five minutes pass, nothing else happens. Then ten minutes. Slowly losing his adrenaline high, Robert realizes that he can't move.

When was the last time I closed my eyes? Robert thought, yawning. No, I might stay awake! If I fall asleep here I'll be killed for sure.

He shook the gruesome images from his mind.

After another five minutes, still, no ants appeared.

Was that the only one ant, in there? Robert thought, as his view of the ship split in half. Crap! My vision's going funny. I can't wait anymore.

Robert stood up and approached the ship again.