Post by Lord Vader on Mar 13, 2007 10:21:03 GMT -5
The Sahara Desert, 12:43 PM, 150 Miles Southwest of Sabha, Libya
Sweat ran down the side of his face like a sheet of water as the broiling Sahara sun rose high into the sky and beat down upon his tiny form. Blindly, with no regard to where he was going or what he was doing, the young boy of only eleven ran for his life. Every ounce of energy in his body was focused into keeping him going as he ran faster and harder than never before in his life. His veins were on fire and his lungs scorched as he ran deeper and deeper into the desert.
Trailing behind the boy were two more. Both of them had the same look of dread on their faces. Both of them could feel every inch of their body aching and begging to rest. And yet the three of them all ran on until they could run no more and they collapsed, falling off the side of steep dune and tumbling to the sands below.
During their exodus, the boy in the lead had clutched the battered body of a chicken in his hands. Wrung by the neck and covered in botched feathers, the lifeless piece of poultry was the sole reason for their fleeing. The two boys turned to the lead, a mix of fear and anger in their eyes. Aziz looked to his brothers-in-arms, still clutching the chicken by the neck.
"You think he'll follow us this far out?" Aziz panted, looking to the two.
"Are you kidding? Old man Omar has never let a thief get away. I told you not to steal the chicken from him!" one of the boys, named Zarin, hissed out.
"Aziz, you've really screwed us over this time. If Omar doesn't kill us, the desert will. And for what? A mangled up chicken?!" the third boy, Ahmed, blurted out with a glare.
"Relax you guys." Aziz began, slowly recovering his breath. "Omar'll never find us. By the time him and his old camel get out here, we'll already be back in town having a chicken dinner. We just gotta wait it out a bit longer. Let's make for those rocks, we'll lose him in there."
Begrudgingly, the other two followed and three now calmly walked for a pair of spiraling rocks. The trio hailed from a tiny village south of Sabha and lucky for them were well acclimated to the rigors of the Sahara. A set of tricksters and thiefs, the trio had decided to steal what would be considered the golden prize of robbery in their tiny village, one of Mr. Omar's chickens. Everyone else who tried had found themselves shot by a highly protective Omar. These boys, however, were determined to break the record.
The pair of spires signalled the entrance to a small valley, made mostly of high sand dunes and rock formations. There looked to be only one out, through the main set of spires and indeed it made for a handsome little natural fortress. If Omar did follow them this far, at least they could maybe ambush him and use his gun against him. Settling into the shade and resting against a dune, the tree waited.
"We shouldn't be here." Zarin sighed as he glanced around the tiny valley worriedly.
"Yeah? And why not?" Aziz hissed, still clutching his victory prize by the neck.
"I've heard of this place. They say it's haunted. People go in, but they don't come back out. The sands eats them up or something." Zarin whispered, growing steadily nervous with each passing minute.
"You still believe in that garbage? How could the sand just eat people up? I mean if you said there was some kind of monster here, maybe I wouldn't think you're a total baby. Even then, you're an idiot." Aziz hissed.
"Well what if it is a monster, hiding in the sands?" Zarin cried out, growing angry from Aziz's angry reaction.
"If a monster lived out here, he'd starve because nothing comes in here often. No monster could survive without anything to eat." Aziz snapped back.
"You're just ignorant! You know there's a chance!" Zarin hissed back, rising to his feet.
Aziz threw the chicken to the ground as he rose up, fists already curled. Ahmed just sat back, smirking, willing to let the other two kill themselves over such a petty argument. Without a warning, the two went at it. Kicks and punches landed every which way as one tried to throw the other to the ground, the pair steadily fighting into the center of the tiny valley.
Ahmed merely chuckled, glancing to the two as he began to pluck the feathers off of the chicken. All the more for me to eat, he thought, not minding the new entertainment either. Suddenly, the sands beneath him shifted slightly and Ahmed turned quickly. Nothing. Maybe just a bit of wind, the boy thought before going back to his chicken. Seconds later, the ground disappeared beneath him and turned into a terrible mouth. Without a sound, the boy was swallowed up.
Aziz and Zarin ducked it out for another minute before they noticed Ahmed was gone. Ceasing their fight instantly, the two began to glance about the valley when the same felt beheld them. Both screamed as they managed to catch on quicker than Ahmed, Zarin trying to run up the sands as Aziz had already fallen in. The boy could still hear his friend screaming in terror and agony as swallowed down by the mouth. With no traction from the sands, Zarin could only whimper in terror as the mouth swallowed him up as well. For a moment, their screams echoed in the valley before dying away.
Hours later, Mr. Omar did indeed show up. Rifle in hand - one of the old combustion kind - and camel underneath him, the old merchant was a good desert tracker. The set of tracks ended in the valley and there was no sign that the trio had made any way out. Confused, Omar hopped down from his camel and walked about the valley, looking over the tracks. His old eyes weren't keen enough to the sand underneath him shift before a monstrous mouth enclosed around him and his camel.
Rising out of the sands, a monstrous snake like head pepped over the side of the valley and released a low hiss. Glancing up to the bright sun and giving a hiss of satisfaction, the monstrous serpent slithered over the side of the valley and made his way towards the village the boys and Omar hailed from.
Anunon would have himself a feast to celebrate his return to the world.
Sweat ran down the side of his face like a sheet of water as the broiling Sahara sun rose high into the sky and beat down upon his tiny form. Blindly, with no regard to where he was going or what he was doing, the young boy of only eleven ran for his life. Every ounce of energy in his body was focused into keeping him going as he ran faster and harder than never before in his life. His veins were on fire and his lungs scorched as he ran deeper and deeper into the desert.
Trailing behind the boy were two more. Both of them had the same look of dread on their faces. Both of them could feel every inch of their body aching and begging to rest. And yet the three of them all ran on until they could run no more and they collapsed, falling off the side of steep dune and tumbling to the sands below.
During their exodus, the boy in the lead had clutched the battered body of a chicken in his hands. Wrung by the neck and covered in botched feathers, the lifeless piece of poultry was the sole reason for their fleeing. The two boys turned to the lead, a mix of fear and anger in their eyes. Aziz looked to his brothers-in-arms, still clutching the chicken by the neck.
"You think he'll follow us this far out?" Aziz panted, looking to the two.
"Are you kidding? Old man Omar has never let a thief get away. I told you not to steal the chicken from him!" one of the boys, named Zarin, hissed out.
"Aziz, you've really screwed us over this time. If Omar doesn't kill us, the desert will. And for what? A mangled up chicken?!" the third boy, Ahmed, blurted out with a glare.
"Relax you guys." Aziz began, slowly recovering his breath. "Omar'll never find us. By the time him and his old camel get out here, we'll already be back in town having a chicken dinner. We just gotta wait it out a bit longer. Let's make for those rocks, we'll lose him in there."
Begrudgingly, the other two followed and three now calmly walked for a pair of spiraling rocks. The trio hailed from a tiny village south of Sabha and lucky for them were well acclimated to the rigors of the Sahara. A set of tricksters and thiefs, the trio had decided to steal what would be considered the golden prize of robbery in their tiny village, one of Mr. Omar's chickens. Everyone else who tried had found themselves shot by a highly protective Omar. These boys, however, were determined to break the record.
The pair of spires signalled the entrance to a small valley, made mostly of high sand dunes and rock formations. There looked to be only one out, through the main set of spires and indeed it made for a handsome little natural fortress. If Omar did follow them this far, at least they could maybe ambush him and use his gun against him. Settling into the shade and resting against a dune, the tree waited.
"We shouldn't be here." Zarin sighed as he glanced around the tiny valley worriedly.
"Yeah? And why not?" Aziz hissed, still clutching his victory prize by the neck.
"I've heard of this place. They say it's haunted. People go in, but they don't come back out. The sands eats them up or something." Zarin whispered, growing steadily nervous with each passing minute.
"You still believe in that garbage? How could the sand just eat people up? I mean if you said there was some kind of monster here, maybe I wouldn't think you're a total baby. Even then, you're an idiot." Aziz hissed.
"Well what if it is a monster, hiding in the sands?" Zarin cried out, growing angry from Aziz's angry reaction.
"If a monster lived out here, he'd starve because nothing comes in here often. No monster could survive without anything to eat." Aziz snapped back.
"You're just ignorant! You know there's a chance!" Zarin hissed back, rising to his feet.
Aziz threw the chicken to the ground as he rose up, fists already curled. Ahmed just sat back, smirking, willing to let the other two kill themselves over such a petty argument. Without a warning, the two went at it. Kicks and punches landed every which way as one tried to throw the other to the ground, the pair steadily fighting into the center of the tiny valley.
Ahmed merely chuckled, glancing to the two as he began to pluck the feathers off of the chicken. All the more for me to eat, he thought, not minding the new entertainment either. Suddenly, the sands beneath him shifted slightly and Ahmed turned quickly. Nothing. Maybe just a bit of wind, the boy thought before going back to his chicken. Seconds later, the ground disappeared beneath him and turned into a terrible mouth. Without a sound, the boy was swallowed up.
Aziz and Zarin ducked it out for another minute before they noticed Ahmed was gone. Ceasing their fight instantly, the two began to glance about the valley when the same felt beheld them. Both screamed as they managed to catch on quicker than Ahmed, Zarin trying to run up the sands as Aziz had already fallen in. The boy could still hear his friend screaming in terror and agony as swallowed down by the mouth. With no traction from the sands, Zarin could only whimper in terror as the mouth swallowed him up as well. For a moment, their screams echoed in the valley before dying away.
Hours later, Mr. Omar did indeed show up. Rifle in hand - one of the old combustion kind - and camel underneath him, the old merchant was a good desert tracker. The set of tracks ended in the valley and there was no sign that the trio had made any way out. Confused, Omar hopped down from his camel and walked about the valley, looking over the tracks. His old eyes weren't keen enough to the sand underneath him shift before a monstrous mouth enclosed around him and his camel.
Rising out of the sands, a monstrous snake like head pepped over the side of the valley and released a low hiss. Glancing up to the bright sun and giving a hiss of satisfaction, the monstrous serpent slithered over the side of the valley and made his way towards the village the boys and Omar hailed from.
Anunon would have himself a feast to celebrate his return to the world.