Caspian’s eyes fluttered open, his eyes looking at a wall of stone. Groaning, he shifted around, aches permeating his body. Trying to make himself comfortable in his makeshift bed, his brain gave him a slight nudge. Frowning, he tried to dismiss it, wanting to go back to sleep, only for the feeling to redouble its efforts to get his attention. Letting loose a yawn, he sat up, his senses waking up. Sounds were emanating from his left. Something that sounded like scratching.
His body still half asleep, he turned his head to see what it was. Oddly his bag lay on its back in the middle of the cave. Focusing on it, he thought he saw it shift slightly. “That’s weird,” he thought rubbing his eyes. The bag moved again, the sound of plastic crinkling. “What the?”
Slowly creeping over, he tried to be as quiet as possible. Reaching forward with a shaky hand, he held the bag, trying not to startle whatever it was. Trying to position himself better, a small rock got knocked by his foot. Holding his breath, he watched the bag go completely still for a moment.
A high-pitched hiss emanated from the bag, the sound reverberating in his ears. In an explosion of movement, the bag started to jerk about violently. Caught off guard, Caspian fell back landing on his ass as the bag continued to writhe. Clawed feet scrambled out, a lizard emerging, hissing at him. Looking at him warily, it flicked its tongue. Slowly, it inched towards him curiously, a long tail dragging behind it.
“GET OUT OF HERE!” Caspian yelled, throwing his arms up. The lizard froze, its cold unblinking gaze piercing right through him. “GO ON GET!”.
Sending sand and rocks flying, the lizard turned and bolted. It was out of the cave in an instant, Caspian jumping forward to the edge. The dark brown shape scaled down the rockface in an instant, hightailing it out of there. As it made its way onto the dune, it turned and looked back at him, letting out another hiss, and then it was gone.
“What the hell was that,” he said, his grogginess completely gone. Approaching the bag again, he picked it up and peered inside. It was a total mess, the trail mix and MRE packets were shredded, and what was left of their contents coated the inside. To his dismay, the bottom of the bag was also full of water. Reaching in, he pulled out a now empty bottle of water, a large hole torn in the side of it.
Caspian stood there, just looking at the bag in his hands. Numbness consumed his mind, as he just stared into the bag. He started to shake, the bag dropping to the floor as he fell to his knees. “Why is nothing going right!” his mind screamed.
He looked down at his hands, the red welts covering his palms. “Just more failure,” he thought. Stabbing his nails into them, the all-consuming pain causing him to gasp. Through watery eyes, he looked out over the sun-scorched sands. The shadows had grown a lot longer while he slept.
Caspian sat there a moment, just breathing. Every time negative thoughts threatened to take hold, he’d clench his fists again. The pain kept them at bay, giving him something to focus on. He remained like that for a while, his chest rising and falling.
Eventually, he let out a weary sigh. “I’m such an idiot,” he muttered, flexing his hands. An infectious smile started to form, and try as he might he couldn’t help but laugh. Ever since the day began, things had been going awry. One thing after another, and now this.
Emptying the bag onto the floor, the water went everywhere, bits of food and sand mixed in with it. Picking up the last bottle of water, he clutched it to his chest. “Good thing I already ate,” he muttered. He’d only been out here a few hours, and all his food and half his water was already gone. Checking the other compartment, he was relieved to see that the rest of the bag contents were still intact. Losing the compass would have been a death blow.
“Guess I really do have to finish this quick.” With his water supply so limited, he didn’t like his chances with tomorrow's heat. “Night travel it is. Good thing I’ve napped so much today,” he thought, stretching his body.
Stuffing the torn packets into a side pocket, he cracked open his last bottle. Savouring the small drink he allowed himself, he double-checked checked the lid was on tight when he put it away. He couldn’t take any risks. Checking the time, he decided to get a move on. The hottest part of the day was over, and the temperature had taken a noticeable dive. Rolling up the tarp, he’d packed up in short order. Doing a quick once over to make sure nothing had been left behind, he glanced at the corner of the cave that was still damp.
“A lizard. A goddamn lizard, just my luck,” he said, trying to stay positive. He had to focus if he wanted to complete the trial. Feeling sorry for himself would just slow him down.
Carefully descending the rockface, he couldn’t help but wince as the hard stone dug into his hands. Jumping the last half metre, he landed on the cool sand. A quick check of the compass and he was back on his way east.
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Progress was slow going even though he had just rested. The sand felt softer here, his boots sinking with each step. The minutes stretched on into hours as he put one foot in front of the other, the sun sinking in the sky.
His breathing heavy and his body weary, he stopped to take a well-deserved break. Focusing on controlling his breathing, he looked up, the sky awash with colours. Vibrant molten oranges intermingled with soft pink hues, dyeing the clouds.
Drinking in the picturesque view, Caspian felt something bubble up in his chest. For the first time today, he felt at peace, sitting there and gazing up at the firmament in all its glory. All of the anxiousness, the mixture of emotions he had felt, it all seemed so small. Feeling the warmth on his face, he knew he had made the right decision. Even if he failed, even if his dream didn’t come true today, he wouldn’t stop. He’d never be happy for as long as he lived in that hole.
Feeling revitalised, he got to his feet. Up the dune he went, the climb feeling far easier. With a spring in his step, he whistled a cheery tune as he walked. A cool breeze blew in his face, making his hair flutter. Smiling, he was the happiest he’d been in ages.
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Caspian squinted his eyes, some sort of structure in front of him. Drawing closer, it appeared to be some sort of ruins. He had to check it out. How could he pass up an opportunity to explore a genuine old-world ruin.
Steeping under what would have been a doorway, he found himself inside a box of stone just higher than his head. The walls of the structure were covered in a spiderweb of cracks, the stone smooth and discoloured. Running a hand across it, it felt like the rocks they sometimes pull up out of the wells. Testing how sturdy the wall was, he felt it wobble a bit, but it stood firm.
“Man, what a find,” he thought, looking to see if there were anything left behind. Much to his disappointment, the floor was barren. The desert had reclaimed it, sand filling every part. Walking through another gap in the stone to another room, this one was in a far worse state. Two of the walls had crumbled, stones littering the floor. Careful not to disturb anything, he tiptoed around them. The stones were in much the same state.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a bundle of sticks lying up against the wall. “Score,” he said, his eyes lighting up. Picking the largest one up, he held it up, admiring it. He wasn’t 100% sure, but it seemed to be driftwood, the unique smoothness giving it away. He’d seen plenty before, but this was the biggest one he’d managed to get a hold of. Swinging it around, it wooshed through the air.
“A walking stick won't hurt,” he thought, deciding to keep the stick as a trophy. Spotting nothing else of interest in the ruin, he set off again, now with a stick to accompany him. It instantly proved its usefulness on the next dune, as with its help he ascended it with ease. No more scrambling for a foothold constantly.
As he walked, the sun dipped lower and lower, sunset slowly approaching. Now no longer in the direct sun, he took his scarf off his head, wrapping it around himself instead. He knew from experience that the temperature would be dropping soon, bringing new struggles with it. “At least I don’t have to worry about getting sunburnt,” he thought, his legs tired from all the walking.
Checking the time, it was now 7:41. He’d been walking for about hours by now. At a rough estimate, he guessed he had finished about a third of the trip. “I’m going slower than I thought. Damn sand slowing me down,” he lamented. With at least 20km left, he didn’t think he’d be resting all that much tonight.
Taking a rest, he had a swig of water, the bottle still mostly full. He’d made a conscious effort to slow down how much he was drinking. His throat felt raspy, and his lips were beginning to crack, but those were sacrifices he had to make. As darkness began to fall, he realised there was a problem he hadn’t considered.
“I’m not going to be able to see the compass in the dark,” he thought, worried. Without the compass, he might as well be walking in circles. Who knew where he’d end up? He’d been walking in a straight line so far, but if he started to go off track even by a little bit, the difference would start to add up after the km started climbing.
“I need a light. What to do, what to do,” he said, tapping his chin. He had a flint and steel, but nothing to burn. “A lantern would have been handy Percy. Or a torch.”
Looking in his bag, he saw his satchel. Opening it, his eyes lit up. The forms he’d written, the ones that had turned out to be useless and had gone unread, were nestled in there. “Not so useless now haha,” he laughed.
“How do I make this work,” he wondered. He could start a fire just fine, the problem was taking the fire with him. “Maybe I can burn some paper every once in a while, just to check the compass,” he thought, no other real solution presenting itself to him. If it got too bad, he’d either have to think of something else or stop for the night.
Starting up again, he wanted to use what little daylight he had left to make it as far as he could. Pushing himself, he coasted along the sands as if he were made for it.
As the final throes of dusk came to an end, he checked the compass one last time. To his surprise, he wasn’t enveloped in darkness with the sun's departure. Instead, looking up he saw the moon, its pale white face illuminating the desert.
“Hahaha, my god, I’m such an idiot. How did I forget about the moon,” he said, laughing up into the sky. Accompanying the solemn celestial body, were thousands upon thousands of twinkling stars, a vast tapestry woven across the sky. The Milky Way was looking down at him.
Today’s adventure had been stressful, but he couldn’t help but think it was worth it. The beauty he had seen today was priceless. He wanted to look up and see the Milky Way every night.
“Soon,” he promised himself, continuing to stare up at the sky in wonder.