When Lucas finished his moment of emotional release, an unwanted sensation crept up to him.
A sudden chilly wind brushed against his body, causing him to contract into himself from the cold.
'It's getting dark...and cold...' Lucas suddenly sneezed and had a horrible premonition.
"MEOW!" As he was distracted, an aggressive meowing from the sand cat made his body jerk up in surprise.
As he looked down, he saw a strange-looking insect in the cat's fangs.
Upon closer inspection, he gulped in relief and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.
The 'insect' was actually a terrifying black scorpion, and its elongated tail held a menacing stinger that would have caused problems, had it managed to sting him while he was distracted.
"I should be more cautious..!" Lucas looked at the scorpion's body being torn by the fangs of the sand cat.
He also had a bigger worry on hand.
"So cold..." Lucas' body was shivering uncontrollably.
Desert air had very low humidity, so the air didn't hold as much heat, which meant that when the sun didn't shine down on the land, even hot deserts reached remarkably low temperatures.
"Only when you can no longer access them, do those stupid survival guides feel useful..." Lucas checked his pocket but was saddened to not feel the rectangular shape of his smartphone.
'If you decide to bring me over to the desert, at least bring my smartphone too!'
Lucas shook his head repeatedly, still hoping that this was a bad dream that somehow felt more real than reality.
"How do you start a fire?" Lucas muttered to himself, as his teeth ground against each other from the cold.
Then, as if a lightbulb appeared over his head, Lucas exclaimed, "They taught us on the trip in Jordan!"
He rubbed the sides of his head, and very carefully tried to recall his camping trip in the desert back in Jordan.
Their guide used friction from a hardwood shaft, onto a plank of softwood.
Lucas looked around, and the withering palm tree and the roots of the shrubs below it seemed like possible candidates.
Then, another problem arose.
"How the hell will I cut down a palm tree?!" Lucas felt frustrated at this endless cycle of one problem after another and kicked the tree in his frustration.
As he groaned and wallowed in his despair, he saw a tall shadow falling onto him, and instinctively evaded.
*BAM*
Sand splashed everywhere, which made him cough and swing his palm over his face to swish away the sand.
When there was no longer any visual obstacle, his jaw opened wide at the sight in front of him.
An entire palm tree was now laid horizontally on the ground.
"Why am I so strong?" Lucas laughed like a madman.
Though, when he punched the tree, he realized that he was not strong, but that the tree was just...too brittle!
Even though his ego deflated a bit, he nevertheless felt happy at this surprise.
Taking a look at the bark inside, it was dry and brittle, which was perfect for starting a fire.
"Thank god I didn't punch it into the puddle..."
He quickly tore apart a piece of the 'wood' and searched through the shrubs for a straight branch.
...
Lucas did not have that luck, but he tore apart an arched branch of wood, and it would do the job.
Then, he squatted down and pushed his body weight onto the branch, which rubbed against the plank of palm wood.
With both his body weight and arm strength, Lucas began twisting the branch rapidly as to generate friction.
The cat was laying down next to him, and its large pupils stared curiously at his actions.
"If it starts raining acid rain right now agai-" Lucas quieted down as not to jinx himself.
Fortunately, it did not rain again, as was expected of a desert.
Unfortunately, his arms were feeling rather sore, and only slight whiffs of smoke went off from the plank of wood.
"Thank god I wasn't born a hunter-gatherer..." Lucas felt more grateful to his distant ancestors now that he knew their struggle.
Suddenly, the sand cat distanced itself from the plank of wood.
Small sparks were appearing at the point of contact, and he put his last remaining bit of arm strength into a sudden burst of high-speed rubbing.
The sound of crackling came off from the plank, and he exclaimed happily, "YES!"
A small fire fickled wildly on the plank, but he wasn't going to let it extinguish.
By his side, thin pieces of timber were already ready, and he immediately put them one by one over the fire, and it slowly but steadily ignited and grew larger.
Never before has he felt as happy as he did right now.
*Grumble*
His happiness wouldn't last long, as his strenuous physical activity started to show its consequences.
Then...
*Grumble*
Lucas looked around, as his stomach wasn't the one grumbling.
The cat was flexing its body, and it was purring in a hostile manner, though it was not towards him.
Lucas gulped in apprehension and reluctantly turned around.
The black silhouette of a jackal was present near the two, like the Egyptian god of death, Anubis, visiting the two.
The sound of dripping saliva reached the two, and white, sharp fangs were vaguely visible.
Lucas stepped back in terror.
*Thump*
The modern man wasn't equipped to face the wrath of a hostile predator.
A black shadow suddenly charged at them.
Lucas frantically searched for anything he could use to defend himself.
His hand went into the puddle, and he threw the wet sand at the oncoming silhouette.
The jackal howled and moved around frenziedly.
The cat also made its move and threw itself upon the torso of the jackal, and began biting.
The jackal rotated its body in order to throw off the cat, but its fangs remained deep inside the predator's body.
Lucas quickly reacted and formulated a plan.
However, he had to drive off the cat first.
He slowly approached the jackal from the side, avoiding triggering its sense of touch and sharp hearing.
And...
He caressed the cat, and it became more docile and retreated with him.
The jackal felt his movement and bolted in the direction he was in.
However, it has gotten into a trap, and when it felt the heat, it had already burned its front legs, and howled loudly in pain, and stepped back.
Lucas waited for the jackal to be far enough from the campfire, and when that was the case, he stood behind the last standing palm tree, and he...
Kicked it!
*BAM*
The heavy tree fell down on the jackal, who now let out groans of pain.
"Phew...Phew.." Lucas's adrenal glands were on overclock mode, and it didn't do any well for his breathing.
Suddenly, as the jackal's body turned limp, he felt a strange burst of energy reinvigorate his tired body.
His breathing returned to normal, and his energy levels were sky-high.
"Strange."
Many strange matters that happened today were messing with his common sense.
Lucas brushed these all aside and looked at the sand cat on his shoulders.
"Are you hungry?"
It was probably a figment of his imagination, but the cat seemed to nod.
Lucas retrieved the arched branch, to put it to use one final time, and slowly lifted and moved the palm tree from the jackal's body.
He then did a horrible job of deskinning the jackal and got goosebumps as he cut up the edible parts of the animal.
The muscles around the region of its lower legs were fast-twitch muscle fibers meant for quick bursts, so they had more fat than its upper legs, which were leaner due to being useful for endurance.
Lucas carefully got that meat and noticed that it had an unappetizing gray color.
"Let's just cook it..." Lucas skewered the meat and placed it over the campfire.
Fat spilled down onto the flames, making them blaze even brighter.
Even as it cooked, Lucas still thought that the color of the meat was off.
As he handed it to the cat, however, the color of the meat gradually turned more appetizing.
Lucas stared enigmatically at this transformation.
He still did not understand this power of his, and he likely wouldn't for some time.
Putting his thought aside, he looked at the cute cat eating away at the meat like a starved animal.
"What can I call you?" Lucas caressed its head.
He stared at its gorgeous beige fur that reminded him of sand and got an idea.
"I'll call you Sablie..."
"Purrrrr...." Sablie purred in satisfaction as its newfound satiety replaced its perpetual hunger.
_________
"Smoke?" A long distance away, a camel-riding man frowned when he saw smoke rising into the sky.
He looked at his compass, and remarked, "East of the tribe."
"Night is dangerous, I'll go tomorrow."
The man turned around and rode into the distance.