Soren hesitated opening the sack. They had walked only a short way before she noticed something was wrong with the weight. It was too uniform. And something about it seemed to move around like sand. So Soren wasn’t completely surprised when she opened the sack to reveal said sand, only appalled. She looked at Coratel and made a sound somewhere between a squeak and a groan. He turned immediately, thinking something had stung or bit the girl. She opened the sack showing Coratel who made a groan of his own but only with his stomach. Soren heard Caracara chuckling in her head.

"Did you do this?" she asked him.

"Me? definitely not. But maybe..."

"maybe?"

"Well, that connection of ours may be doing some weird stuff, especially when it comes to other dreamers."

”weird stuff?”

”ya know, like when two dreams overlap.”

”no Caracara, I do not know.” The Huella-cull sighed in her mind before replying,

”When two dreamers are interacting in the same dream, sometimes what one dreams can distort what the other one is dreaming of. For instance, if one dreamer was attempting to send a giant pack of food with another dreamer, any interference at all, could change what ends up coming out of Enki’s house. Who knows maybe you were thinking about sand when they tried to send the food with you.”

”I was thinking about sand. I’m ALWAYS thinking about sand Caracara. I’m in the middle of a desert!”

”Well, there ya go.” He said obtusely.

"Great. what good is any of this then?!" she shouted. completely forgetting Coratel for the moment.

"What good is what?" he asked.

“Huh? Oh nothing. It, it just, it was full of food in my dream. I don’t understand it. I know it was, it had all kinds of stuff! Nuts, dried berries and all kinds, I remember.”

“I believe you. I’m sure its not an exact science, bringing things back from Enki’s house.” Coratel said. She eventually emptied the sack of sand and put it back on her back utterly dejected. A feeling of complete hopelessness threatened to take over her as they began to walk again. What was she doing? she thought. Following an old woman's directions in her dreams into the desert and likely her quickly approaching death? It was a fools errand and on top of that, she probably got Coratel mixed up in it as well. She planned on having some choice words next time she saw Litaelim.

Hours of walking in hunger and ever-increasing thirst followed. The suns slowly heating the world around them. The two suns combined heat and color cast a golden greenish brilliance like poorly kept copper on the desert. Hot winds blew through Soren’s ever stiffening hair and she had to squint to keep the silicon bits from getting in her eyes. Coratel had taken them in a general if southerly direction from where they started, the wind blowing consistently from the east. Soren had broken the news to him that they would not find a waypoint for the next two nights.

His look had darkened noticeably at the news. She felt a wariness in the big man and worried that his faith in her was slipping just as hers was of Litaelim. Just yesterday he had seemed so astonished by her Control Markings. It was like he was looking at a prophecy, Soren thought. Now, the big man looked hungry and thirsty and tired. Soren knew what animals did when they got like that, possessed of survivors strength, feeling the death jaws of Bakara. She didn’t know what humans did, but she could guess.

Coratel stopped at the bottom of a particularly large dune they had just spent the past couple hours circumventing. He'd managed to stab a scorpion that had appeared out of the sand intending to sting Coratel. He managed to dodge the things tail before bringing the heel of his foot down on it. It all happened with impossible speed. Soren hadn’t even reacted before the creature was dead. He had put the smashed arachnid into the empty sack with a small smile on his face. Soren let him carry the sack after that. Soren hadn't looked at the horizon much during their trek, mostly because it made her feel completely lost and if she wasn't careful she'd lose control to terror. So it came as a surprise that she'd spotted the massive dune while it was still miles away. it looked the a rogue wave cresting just above what was visible if you got to just the right height.

Later that evening, they finally rounded the massive dune Soren had seen. The shade around it was a blessed change. She took off her sandals and appreciated the cool sand. She had a good feeling that there were plenty of creatures likely hiding from the heat in the dune and likely some just under her feet. Yet her feet felt tough, tougher than they'd ever been. She really wasn't too concerned about things stinging or biting her. They'd also only come across the one single scorpion in the entire time they'd been walking. Her feet had always been tough. Soren had been barefoot whenever she wasn't doing her chores or out in the fields. Yet walking through the scorched desert had already toughened them further. Coratel handed her the waterskin and she noticed it was still more than half full. She looked at the big man. He was sunburnt and in some places the skin was beginning to peel. They decided to sit and rest near the middle of the dune.

“We should wait here, walk at night. It’ll be easier walkin’, in the cool. Plus, maybe we can find some more of these.” She said pulling out and dangling the crushed Scorpion. He looked as if to protest or vomit, then hung his head in-between his knees and nodded. Soren was certainly exhausted but she felt confident she could go on if needed. She didn't even need to think about it really. Yes the desert was hot. Clearly it was too hot for someone like Coratel. She was used to the dry heat and cold nights. Though the desert was certainly a lot more of both those things than she was used to, it wasn't nearly as much of a change as it was for Coratel. Looking at him, Soren didn’t think he'd be getting up and moving anytime soon. After sitting a moment and watching the suns make their descent in the evening sky, she stood and looked down at the haggard man.

“I’m gonna go look around, make sure we’re headed in the same place.” The man didn’t stir and for a moment Soren was worried he'd gone to sleep. She went down to touch him on the shoulder. Before she could, he raised a hand without raising his head and said,

“Just give me a-, I’ll come with you.”

“What? No. Sleep a bit. Drink more water. I’ll be fine.” Again, he looked like he would protest and again he just lowered his arm and nodded low. Soren began walking backwards saying,

“I just want to explore a little, you rest, uh sip water. I’ll be right back.”

Soren felt something breaking in the man. She couldn't explain it, there was an exhaustion that wasn't physical that she could sense but couldn't relate to. Maybe he can’t feel the deserts emotions, she thought. It was so easy for her to feel its devotional embrace, she forgot others couldn’t. She reveled in its sandy conflagrations and dry winds. The suns heat was still intense and the sands difficult for Soren to navigate. Though, she felt the desert a loving if stern mother. Not unlike her actual mother, Soren thought. The thought of her mother brought an ache with it and she turned and intentionally walked facing away from Coratel, streaks cleaning lines in her face.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

She walked around the other side of the dune they had just skirted. Soren looked into the sky and saw an odd colored cloud rising in front of her. Any cloud in this desert was odd, but this one was coming from the ground and it left a strange tinge in the air as it rose. She stared at the rising plume a moment before continuing forward, determined to at least see what it was. Maybe there was a village up ahead, she thought. It wasn’t long before she noticed something underfoot. With her sandals off she felt the slight vibration that had nothing to do with wind or heat. Still, she walked on a ways, trying to ignore the ever-increasing rumble she felt or the terror seemed to accompany it. Finally she froze, feeling the vibration growing strong enough to shake her whole foot then, legs. Out in front of her a couple hundred yards away, an impossible amount of sand dislodged itself from the ground. Something massive moved underground and it moved with astonishing speed. Her mind didn't react like it was supposed to. She suddenly realized the cloud was following its movements through the dunes. By the look of it, the thing had been traveling towards them for some time. Her perception snapped back down at the rushing rumble at her feet and with terrible clarity she began to run. It was headed directly for her.

A huge mass of dirty fur crested the surface of the desert. It splashed onto the surface and waved its snout about and into the air. Then the giant thing turned sharply to the left, directly into the side of a dune as if it were water. It was massive yet it moved faster than should have been possible. As far away as she was, the giant dune still threatened to engulf Soren in a wave as it began to topple behind her. The creature moving through the sands was at least sixty feet long. Large flapping paws that ended in very long claws lined either side of it. They were not claws for killing but for digging, though Soren reckoned they probably worked well for both. One of the pairs of claws were smaller and looked to be growing out of the creatures head. The head itself ended in a long snout filled with thick bristled whiskers Soren could see from where she was. There was a second larger pair of clawed hands next, followed by a third set and then its hindquarters. As its back end quickly disappeared into the dune Soren ran with utter abandon.

He met her running towards her and the huge plume of dust erupting from the cracked surface.

“RUN!” she screamed pointing in the opposite direction.

“OTHER - WAY!!” she said between breaths.

As if waiting for her signal, the monster exploded out of the dune off to their left, less than thirty yards away. It turned midair with incredible speed, its body snaking towards them before crashing into the ground and nearly knocking Soren off her feet. She grabbed into Coratel as he tried to change directions. The motion turned her around and she saw its snout, longer than she was, warp left and right sniffing at the air. Soren knew this thing was some kind of giant mole. She'd never seen anything quite like it but she'd seen smaller moles and voles before. Its long whiskers the width of her fingers seemed to buzz with every beat of Soren's heart.

Coratel came to an abrupt halt, skidding and falling down as he tried desperately to turn around and the two began running as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Only once, in that insane retreat did Soren chance another look behind her. She saw the thing dive up and down out of the ground, slowly gaining ground on them underground, then trying to pop up and catch them in its open maw. Its teeth were fused together like chisels and the mouth was wide enough to swallow Soren whole. It would need two bites to finish of Coratel, her exhausted mind thought wryly. Soren suddenly realized, it didn’t exactly know how far ahead they were, only the direction they were running.

“It’s – following – our - footsteps!” She said between breaths to Coratel who looked down at her and said,

“How – does – that – help us?” he replied sounding exhausted.

Soren didn’t reply and realized he was right. It followed well enough and Soren was sure it wouldn’t need to be very accurate if it caught up to them. They ran to where the large dune turned back to the northwest and another dune split the small valley in half. There, the two turned left. They ran through the valley which was easier to run in, compacted as the sand was. They couldn’t make a direct line away from the monstrous creature chasing them. It burrowed through the dune to their right bursting out just behind them and diving straight into the other side of the small valley. Sand and dust threatened to swallow them both as they ran as fast as they could which Soren didn't think was nearly fast enough. She felt something a bit more solid under her feet as she managed to clear a small valley just before it was swallowed in dust and kicked up sand. Coratel ran out with a cloud enveloping him as he too managed to just out run the shifting sands. The two began moving even faster on the more hardened sand below them. The giant mole didn’t slow or even pause when it reached the harder packed sand. Large pieces of the packed sand flew in the air as it burrowed after them, coming closer and closer.

It wasn’t long before Coratel began to slip behind and Soren knew it wouldn’t be longs before she was doing the same. She could see a new range of dunes not far ahead and a plan formulated in her mind.

“Follow – me.” She said heading towards the dunes. She hoped her plan would work, fear and uncertainty ate at her with every pounding step. Yet Soren felt, no she knew this was the right thing to do. The Desert winds whispered it in her ear as she ran. The hard packed sand beneath her feet spoke it with each step. Here the dunes became more like a maze. Soren weaved here and there listening to the desert, listening to the wind. They were able to make some distance in the maze from the creature though as it could sense every footstep they'd taken, there wouldn't be much hiding from the thing.

They turned the corner on another dune, and found themselves facing a massive pit in the scenery. An inverted cone, almost perfectly shaped, descended down more than a hundred feet below them. Coratel nearly fell in the thing before Soren grabbed him by the pack. She nearly fell with him and his momentum yet somehow managed him over to the side where she lay.

The sound of moving desert was growing impossibly loud behind them. Suddenly, a huge force shook the dune they were rested against and Soren felt herself begin to shift downward in a landslide of sand. She tried to claw her way back up, moving with all hands and legs desperately. Just then another explosion erupted onto the open pit below, just to their side. It burst into open air, all eight legs still moving as it vainly attempted to turn its body around. The creature got halfway turned around before it began rolling down the conical impression.

Somehow, just before it reached the bottom, the Giant Mole was able to slow its progress and began burrowing again. It had made it less than halfway when two giant mandibles shot out and snapped together. then after not getting anything they quickly began groping blindly around the pit. The side of one of the giant mandibles brushed along the side of the huge mole. The effect was instantaneous, the mandibles immediately thrust back into the ground then a moment later, burst back out towards the mole. The Mole however, had managed to burrow the rest of its body into the ground. With an audible "snap" the last eight inches of its tail were cleanly cut. The last of its stub of a tail quickly disappearing into the ground as Soren watched. The giant mandibles, each at least twenty feet long, moved around the bottom of the cone again, searching for any sign of the mole before slowly descending back into its trap, waiting for its next meal.

Soren scrambled back up to the top of the dune and laid back on the sand as Coratel came up next to her. He was still chuckling quietly as he lay down, Soren felt his exhaustion in every amused wheeze. They had waited at the edge of the giant conical pit until nightfall. Partly to wait out the day but mostly, it seemed the safest place for them now, however close to the danger. Once night fell, the two slowly made their way around the rim of the giant pit before once again heading south as best they could. They were completely and utterly lost.

The two walked until just before midnight and Soren had fallen more than once. At one point Coratel had threatened to carry her, which got her moving very quickly. She had rarely felt this exhausted. Hunger was a hole in her stomach water could no longer satisfy not that there was much of that left. In the heat of the day, her thirst overcame all other concerns and the hunger, exhaustion and soreness were reduced to quiet angry pleas. As night rose however and the heat of the day turned to the ever-chilling night, her stomach's angry pleas became a cacophony. They had just passed a dune that ended in a dried brush Soren thought she had already seen earlier that day. Suddenly awake with the fear that they were going in circles, she looked down. Sure enough there were tracks just to the side of where they were walking. She raised her head to tell Coratel when a noise stopped her.

A hoarse, chapped sound emanated from Coratel, and he pointed down to the bottom of the dune they had just crested. Below them Soren saw the small flicker of a watch fire casting lights and shadows on the sides of the dune before being swallowed by the night. Soren saw a shrouded figure huddled down there. The hood was off and draped around their shoulders. The two made their way down the crest of the dune towards the person. Soren couldn’t help it, her anger threatened to bubble out of her when she saw who it was. There in the firelight was Freyyala.