The never-ending desert. As silent as those buried beneath it. Yet somewhere amid its wavy dunes, something rages to be set loose. 

"AAAAWWUUOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!" A far cry reverberates farther than the eyes could see.

Its origin? A group of ravages riding through the sand. The face each one wore sends shivers from a mile away. Their eyes' stare craved a feast for blood, not once losing sight of the prize ahead.

The "prize ahead" was a rackety wagon, if it could even be called that, carrying four individuals. A brown-haired young man, acting as the wagon's driver, whose salient quality was those eyes of his that only peeked open from time to time. Given that the desert had no rocks or slabs on its surface, it's safe to assume the shakiness of the wagon came from his ass. Next was a light blue-haired little girl, no older than four, whose undeniably pitiful appearance could make a grown man cry. So much so, even she couldn't help but bawl to and for herself. She was dressed in makeshift clothing of rags and sacks, as well as long bruises that scattered throughout her limbs. And finally, two red-haired teenagers, one a girl, the other a boy. You could smell the shit coming from the expression the boy wore as he frantically pointed out directions to the wagon driver. What the two did not know was that neither of them knew where they were heading. The girl, on the other hand, was wearing a smile on her face, so wide that even her eyes were smiling. No one could tell what she was seeing in their current situation. A silver lining, perhaps? Or maybe a form of escapism? Doesn't matter, they're all still fucked. These four individuals are painfully distinct from one another, which begs the question: How were they even brought together in the first place?

The horded galloping of horses left their marks on the desert that losing track of them would be a greater challenge. Yet, what seems to be a very ideal situation becomes the complete opposite if the ones being tracked were you. And, well, like I said... Fucked.

"Who thought abducting this kid was a great idea?!" The boy screamed to the girl firing Fire projectiles at their pursuers, as he pointed at the little girl who was still crying her heart out.

"Me!!" Without a hint of hesitation, the girl firing at their pursuers shouted at the top of her lungs.

"I knew that!!" The boy shot back a smug look.

“Then why’d you ask??” The girl "respectfully" returned it. By flipping her middle finger at him.

“‘Cus I wanted you to admit it!!” He flips her back as well.

"Well, what else do you want me to say?!”

“That you’re sorry!!!”

“What the hell am I supposed to be sorry for??”

“No way you just asked that question...”

“What???”

“THAT ISN’T OBVIOUS???”

“NO!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Before being able to respond back, a Lava projectile grazed the boy squarely on his left shoulder. 

“OWW! GODDAMIT!!”

A graze doesn't seem like a lot but that much dosage is enough to be fatal if left untreated. His skin started bubbling as the Lava ingrained itself into his flesh. 

Noticing his damage, the blue-haired little girl crawled out of her corner and came in close to aid him with her Element. She forced herself to shape up a bit for she knew how grave his predicament was after hearing the boy cursing non-stop. She wiped the tears off her eyelids and proceeded to assess the damage.

“W-what..?”

“Don’t worry. I, uh, think I can help...”

She formed a fist-wide bubble of Water from thin air and poured it all over the boy’s shoulder. But-

“Hey, wait, wait!!-- AGGGHHHHH!!!!”

The boy screamed even louder as his left arm was doused in Water.

The girl sat there beside the boy, unsure what to make of the situation. After a few seconds, realizing her mistake, the little girl put her hands to her mouth as more tears streaked down from the corner of her eyes.

“I-I’m so sorry...” She, then, retreated back to her corner.

Rather than pouring Water to neutralize its effects, leaving the Lava burning through his skin unattended would have been more beneficial for him, more specifically for his Kind.

“Sir?? Are you okay??” The wagon driver turned his attention to the boy.

Seeing the boy’s shoulder bubbling as the skin and blood involuntarily disintegrated, he couldn’t help but retch on the uniform desert. As if not satisfied with all the quivering his legs were causing, he decided to share his shaky nerves with the boy.

But, funnily enough, it worked like a charm, “Fuck! Shit! I can’t feel my arm. I CAN’T FUCKING FEEL MY ARM!!”

As he writhed in pain, the boy tried clenching his left fist, being reciprocated with only a soft tickle on the tip of his fingertips. The little girl kept crying, covering herself with her arms, shaping up into a ball, knowing full well she was to blame. The wagon driver jumped to the boy’s side and began to try his hand as the makeshift medic this time. But despite changing his field of work, he had no idea what he was doing in this field either.

“Not good. Not good!” 

Adding to the scorching heat of the desert, the excessive sweating was enough to light open the wagon driver's eyes, perfectly summing up the circumstance everybody in the wagon was feeling. Well, everybody but one.

“Shut the fuck up, damnit! All of you!! I can’t hit them from all the damn noise.”

Element projectiles continued flying from both parties.

She turned and looked at the boy, grimacing at his pitiful state. "Bro, stop actin' like a baby! T-that shit's just like a tiny open wound!!" She did a double take and tried shaping him up some more. “Well, a tiny, very open wound.” Not that it helped.

“Don't talk to me! This is all your fault, damn it! You had to stick your nose where it didn’t belong!!” He wanted to stick his middle finger out but gradually losing feeling in his arm prevented him from doing so.

After throwing another Fire projectile, the girl pointed at the sobbing little girl in the corner.

"And what?? Leaving her with them was a great idea?!"

"YES!!!"

“You were supposed to say ‘NO!!!’”

“NO!!!”

“YEAH!!!”

“WHAT???”

“WOAH––!!”

Their wagon suddenly grew turbulent but grew dormant just as quickly afterward. The girl, who was standing, waved her arms around, trying to find her balance. Grabbing onto the wagon's sideboard, she noticed something out of place.

“Wait...the hell are you doing here?!”

“Huh?”

She pointed out the makeshift medic applying first aid to the injured boy.

“T-treating your boyfriend?” His answer sounded more like a question.

“No, I get that but, like, who’s driving the wagon??”

Silence filled the air. The four stared at each other more than once before it hit them. The wagon has been motionless for a good minute now.

All four exclaimed in unison, outdoing even the loudest flock of gulls. Their overlapping voices rang throughout the desert, rudely disturbing its tranquil nature. And as if to smite them of their discourtesy, long, overbearing roots sprung out of nowhere beneath the sand, striking the wagon directly in the back, toppling it over. The four screamed even louder than before as they all tumbled off the wagon.