The yellow sands glowed, hot enough that they distorted the air above them, making it appear as though the sands danced in the distance.

Everywhere where the sun could touch, was only quiet and stillness. Whatever few creatures could survive in this sort of habitat have long since hidden themselves underground, away from the deadly heat.

Amidst the scalding sands, and silent winds, a distinct loud sound filled the silence, causing the sands to shiver slightly.

Making its way through the golden sands, and leaving a deep trail in the sands behind it, was a large loud Jeep.

Or rather, it wasn't the Jeep that was loud, it was the people riding inside the Jeep that were creating most of the noise.

"But i wanted to ride the caaaamels!"

A high pitched cry caused everyone onboard the jeep to flinch slightly, covering their ears.

"Now Niko, i doubt even the camels could handle this kind of heat, we can look at the camels when we get back, for now how about we focus on this..let's see..adventure!"

Hannah rubbed Nikos back as she consoled the crying child.

"You honestly thought we would ride on camels, through the desert, in this heat?"

A lawyer clad in a business suit which looked very strange during the current circumstances, chimed in, adjusting his tie uncomfortably.

"This isn't some terrible biblical movie, we would all dry up and shrivel up, and not to mention my suit would get sand all over it!"

He complained, wiping the sweat collecting on his brow, knowing fully well that his actions were completely useless as more sweat would just collect there a few moments later.

"Gary, you're an idiot"

Niko said offhandedly, touching her large safari style hat that covered most of her face in a pleasant shadow.

Nikos clothes, and everybody elses for that matter, except for Gary, were made of very thin material, and covered most of their body, so as to protect the wearers skin from the extreme sun.

Niko was wearing a long white dress that covered most of her arms, and reached down to just slightly over her knees.

Niko had wanted to wear the full Safari set, with the brown pants, yellow coat and iconic hat. But was forced to settle for just the hat after Hannah gave her a harsh scolding about how that kind of clothing would do more harm than good in the heat.

Hannah was wearing a simple white blouse, with loose long pants, and a summer hat on her head, which she had to hold onto as it would blow away in the hot wind if she let go.

Zatoichi was driving the Jeep at the front, still wearing he iconic loose Kimono, which fit remarkably well in the desert, as it was made of both thin cloth and loosely covered most of his body.

Shoki sat beside him at the front, his clothing has similiarly changed to a loose shirt and a pair of loose pants, with the exception of his black trenchcoat, which sat loosely around his shoulders, like a cape, as he hadn't bothered with the sleeves in this heat.

"How am i an idiot, it's not my fault that the damn desert is so hot, and that they don't have Jeeps with good air conditioning!"

He huffed and continued wiping his face with a tissue, causing it to become soaked almost immediately.

"You could have just, you know, worn other clothing, you suit wearing monkey!"

"Are you joking, i am a lawyer most and foremost, without my suit, i'm just another middle aged guy!"

"You mean you're not..?"

"I'm not damnit, i will be the best lawyer you've ever met!"

"Whatever you say, best lawyer that has ever sweat"

"Damnit Niko, want me to throw this wet tissue on you!?"

"No wait, get that away from me, no, gross, noooo!"

The back of the jeep shook violently, Zatoichi trying his hardest to not get distracted while driving, remembering that he was driving in the desert, and that there was absolutely nothing he could collide with.

"Hey, be calm back there, if you jump much, then car will flip, then we stuck in desert, that not good, ok?"

Zatoichi looked back through the window sperating the back seats from the front seats in the Jeep.

He slowly turned his attention back towards the "road" with a sigh.

Niko was crying in the corner of the Jeep, with a small wet tissue resting on her head, as Hannah consoled her, quickly removing it from her head and throwing it over Gary, Who was laying face down on the floor, a large glowing bump on his head.

"This clan so strange..but not bad strange"

Zatoichi sighed with a smile, Shoki abscent mindedly, his mind focused on something else entirely as they neared their destination.

--

"Come on let's go, you're taking way too long!"

Delighted laughter pierced through the shining rays of the summer sun.

"Alright alright, just calm down, i'm sure the bus will wait a moment if you really wave your arms around"

A stylishly dressed man walked up from behind the curtain of light, a black coat jacket tied around his waist in a fashionable manner.

He adressed the person infront of him, walking at a pace between a half run and a leisurly walk as he attempted to catch up without putting too much effort into it.

"You really think i would do that, i would look silly!"

The person infront of him said in a shocked manner, her voice unmistakenably feminine.

"Oh, it seems as though the bus is leaving"

"Huh? No, wait, WAAAAIT!"

The man approached the figure that was now coming to a stop, tired from running and waving around her arms, attempting to catch the attention of the driver.

"Ahhhh, look we missed it, i told you we should have just ran!"

The woman collapsed on the grassy ground, next to the small platform with a bus sign attached to it.

The woman was wearing a sunny white dress, with small sunflower patterns all over it, that reached just over her knees.

Her long bright hair that was carefully combed, now lay scattered around her head, almost in the shape of a halo, now that she was laying down on her back.

"Well, guess there's nothing we can do except wait for the next bus, which arrives in around an hour"

The man sat himself near the woman, a melancholic expression on his face.

"You just didn't want to go home yet, so you made us miss the bus...and wipe that fake bored look off your face, i know you're enjoying this, ahh..now i'l miss my favourite show..."

She complained, uselessly flailing her arms above her.

"Atleast the weather is nice..."

Looking around, the only things surrounding them was the bus sign with the small platform, and endless plains of lush green grass, that seemed to stretch past the horizon in all directions.

The grass shifted slightly, a slight gust of wind making the man shut his eyes.

"But you know, there could be worse ways to spend an hour.."

Opening his eyes, again, he was met with a warm smile, warming him more than the soft summer sun ever could.

"Yeah, it sure is nice out today.."

Smiling back at her, he grabbed a fistful of grass from around him, scattering it in the light breeze, the torn strands of grass floating softly along the wind in calming patterns.

The grass petals darkened, gaining a terrible glow, becoming embers of light, that scorched the earth slightly as they lost their heat into the ground.

The grass fields were replaced by barren land, scorched with flames and decay. Whatever plantlife left was painted with a sickly grey as they rotted atop ground, the very earth itself refusing to accept the decay that has Penetrated them.

The man stood up, shaken at the sudden change of his surroundings, and the contrast between the two.

Looking back towards where his companion was laying down only a moment ago. Instead of his companion, what he instead found was a pile of maggots in a loosely human shape, thrashing wildely about, fighting over access to something beneath them.

"YOU FUCKING BUGS, GET AWAY FROM HER!!!"

Attempting to swipe the maggots out of his way, for some unknown to him reason however, his limbs would not obey his will.

"WHAT, NO! MOVE DAMNIT, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE MOOOOOOVE!"

His mad yell filled the dead silence, the only other source of sound being the countless maggots squirming infront of him.

Yet no matter how hard he yelled or strained, his limbs would not move a single inch.

The maggots slowly began sinking into the dead earth as he struggled, taking whatever was underneath with them.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING, COME BACK, NO NO NO, DAMNIT, STOP SINKING, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

His desperate cries were not heard, the maggots quickly descending into the earth as if sped up many times over.

Only once they and whatever they were surrounding were completely submerged in dirt, only then was he able to move.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

All he could do however, was helplessly sink to his knees, desperately clawing at the dirt infront of him, digging frantically.

"If i just dig enough, then i can...yes then i can..."

His fingers turned grey with blood and dirt which had mixed together, covering his hands in dried mud.

After what seemed like an eternity of digging, he finally came across something, a single piece of cloth, no larger than his fist.

It was dirty, making it hard to see its colour, but one could still see traces of a large symbol of a sunflower covering most of the cloth.

The cloth looked like it had been decayed out from the rest of the dress, rather than torn away.

The mans face was covered in shadow as a sudden glow from behind him came to life.

"Yet another gone, and another one to join the masses"

A raspy voice filled the place of the mans frantic digging, which had now stopped.

"You shouldn't have done that you know, some things are best left alone.."

The voice sounded sincere and even slightly apologetic, as the man felt a hand extended towards his shoulder.

"Don't touch me.."

He stood up, the dirty cloth clutched tightly in his hand.

"...You tricked her...of course she couldn't resist, her lifes work revolved around you..."

The mans voice was devoid of any emotion, an almost robotic and eery sound, that made the owner of the raspy voice hesitate slightly.

"Trickery is such a harsh word, she simply wanted to learn the secret of the dead, running all around, poking her nose where it didn't belong, so instead of her messing up, i simply offered her a chance to learn whatever it is she wanted. She naturally accepted my generous offer"

"...Generous...offer...?"

"Yes, generous, she wanted to learn the secret of the dead, so what better way to do that, than to become one of them, hahaha!"

The raspy voice cackeled wildely and ominously, the air crackling with energy.

"Why don't you also accept my generous offer, it's a two for one deal, and you get to be with your beloved, for a veeeery long time!"

One could almost hear the crooked smile in the raspy voice.

"...Sure...i'l accept..."

The man slowly turned around.

"Good choice, now just take my hand and-"

The owner of the raspy voice was cut off as the man leaped forward, a small penknife in his left hand, aimed towards the source of the voice.

"You honestly thought that would work?"

The man looked around, noticing that the owner of the strange voice was nowhere to be found.

"You fool, you just wasted your single opportunity at being together with your beloved, but if you still want to be together with her, you are welcome to come find me at where the dead meet, and i'l happily give you another try, maybe then you won't be as rude!"

The voice flickered like an old recording and disappeared, leaving the man alone, a single piece of torn cloth in one hand and a tiny useless knife in the other.

--

"Shoki, Shoki, Shoooooookiiiiii"

Shoki was awoken from his daydream by Nikos incessant screaming, normally he would feel slightly melancholic and nothing else when he woke up. This time however, he looked visibly relieved as his thoughts were gratefully diverted to another task.

"Shoki..you alright, you seem tired?"

Niko asked with some concern in her voice.

"...I'm fine...simply had sand in my eyes..."

"Ah sand, that's pretty annoying, whenever i get sand in my eyes i always just blink really hard over and over, and that does the trick, maybe you should try it?"

She suggested whilst demonstrating, blinking wildely at Shoki.

"...Yes, i will try that..."

He rubbed his eyes, not because he had gotten actual sand stuck in his eyes, but in an attempt to get the last of his nightmare away from his eyes, the visions of the sinking maggots still replaying infront of his eyes, over and over again.

--

"Well, we're here, did anyone bring an English to Arabic wordbook?"

Niko asked, stretching herself whilst stepping out of the jeep.

"No worries, i've got that covered!"

Gary stepped forward, approaching a nearby Nomad, who was busy feeding his camel.

Niko used this opportunity to look around the place, burning all of the details into her memory. Not that there were many details to begin with, which made her job that much easier.

The small collection of nomad tents that passed for a village, was just that, a small collection of tents stood in the middle of the desert, the only difference that made this spot have any value over any other spot in the vast desert, was the fact that this one contained a single needed resource.

It contained a small water hole. Which meant that the nomads were able to let their camels replenish their water supplies, and the people themselves could relax and fill their supplies back up as well.

Not finding anything of any particular interest, Niko decided to snoop around the nomads tents, looking for anything useful, although she was doing it mainly to alleviate her boredom and as a warm up.

"Let's see here..."

Muttering to herself she sneaked into a tent she suspected was currently empty, the soft sands covering her footsteps combined with her natural sneaking abilities making her virtually invisible.

The Tent was very similiar inside to how it was outside, with sand covering the ground inside as the tents were simply erected atop the spot with no serious consideration to any insulation or good footing.

All around the inside of the tent lay sacks of various sizes, which Niko immediately began riffling through.

Most of the items she found were completely useless to her, coming across items such as spare robes or ropes, Food and equipment that was seemingly glued together, letters and sweaters, as it can get quite cold during the nights, candles and a mass of strange handles.

'Wait...Handles?'

Looking closer at the handles that she had taken out of a particularly lonesome looking sack, she discovered that the handles were made out of various kinds of wood, which was strange considering that were barely any trees around, especially with that sort of exotic variety.

The handles seemed to be made with the intent of being slotted inside somewhere, and all had various texts snaking their way around each handle.

Nikos treasure senses were tingling, making her quickly stuff one of the peculiar handles inside her pocket before quickly placing everything back so it seemed as if it were never touched, which was quite easy for Niko, who had actually bothered to memorise the entire image of the room when she first came in. Again, not that there was much to remember either way.

She made her way back towards the rest who were resting near the jeep. Hannah had folded out various blanket onto the sandy ground upon which she sat together with Zatoichi. Gary being busy speaking with the locals, whilst Shoki was being Shoki.

"Where have you been, young lady, i was all over looking for you!"

Hannah immediately stood upon noticing Niko approaching in a half crouch from the side.

"I..uh...was just looking around, since i got so bored"

"Well no more looking around, something bad could have happened to you, we are in the middle of the desert, after all!"

She grabbed Niko and sat her down infront of her, like how one would normally do with a small child.

"Well might as well relax..."

Niko sighed, drifting off into a light slumber.

"Alright, i'm back, i found out where we should head to next!"

Gary loudly announced, causing Niko to turn in her sleep.

"Shhh..she's sleeping, she hasn't had any rest since she was so excited so don't be too loud!"

Hannah whispered as loudly as she could.

"Oh sure, sorry, anyway we should probably head now if we want to make it before sunset, unless we want to spend the night here"

Gary lowered his voice into a whisper as well, motioning towards the Jeep and the dirty tents.

"Let's stay the-"

Hannah was interrupted by Shoki who picked up the still sleeping Niko in his arms.

"...We should not waste time for no reason...

He muttered, closing the case as he secured the sleeping girl into the back of the truck, securing her safety belt and putting a light blanket over her body.

"Guess that's settled then, let's go!"

Gary clapped his hands, before remembering to lower his voice.

Hannah sighed in defeat as she packed up the Blanket with the help of Zatoichi.

The jeeps engine came to life, Nikos body shaking slightly in rhythm with it, as they set off towards the mountain.