"Hot." Flan whined for the tenth time that hour as they stepped through the sand, the uneven ground slowing them down and keeping them at a pace they could only dream of after the one from the forest. Two whole days of collecting supplies and now on their third day, water was getting worse as Elliot held the container, his lips burning for it yet he hadn't taken more than a sip that day, forcing himself to let Flan to get more with her being young.
"Just a bit further." Elliot said shielding his eyes and looking, a large rock near by could mean a reprieve from the heat, even if only for a few moments. Holding her hand, he lead on towards the rock with a smile on his face and soon they were at the rock.
"Still hot." She whines louder with Elliot kneeling by the rock, putting his hands on the burning sand and pulling it away from the rock. The burning heat soon became cool and Elliot waved her onto the spot she lay on the now cool sand, a sigh of relief answering Elliot if she liked it and he fell back to a matching spot next to her. "How long?" She mumbled and Elliot panted, eyes closed to protect from the sun.
"Three days," Elliot answered.
"W-water?" She asked with Elliot placing the water container in her hand and she drank it, gulping down the cool water when he pulled it from her, "More, please."
"No," Elliot said firmly, not knowing if they would find a village soon. He had heard about some living in the Wasteland in small villages, yet how they live and move through the village was kept a secret of the desert people, "We need to keep some as long as we can, since we'll be in trouble if we run out too soon." He turned from her pleading eyes, she wanted more and if he could she would have downed it on the first day, but he couldn't do that, "Let's rest for a few hours and then continue." A huff and soon light snoring said all he needed, slowly closed his eyes as he tried to think of a way to get through here safely with Flan, but not now.
"ELLIOT!" Flan's screams pulled Elliot from his slumber and he jumped up, looking to the goblin girl. It took a second for Elliot to see it was night, the cool air touching his sweaty skin and forcing him to shiver looking at her, "You okay?"
"Y-yeah." Elliot rubbed his head, "Why didn't you wake me."
"Flan tried, you wouldn't." She sounded scared with tears forming in her eyes, "Thought you'd leave me alone here." Elliot pulled her into a hug, rubbing her head as he looked at the night, noting the cooler air could help, but the temperature dropped so fast without a fire, and soon they would freeze. Elliot got a fire going with the dry wood they had brought and they ate some fo the fruit jerky that they had made, Elliot noted how much was left and that they had, one day left before their food was gone and their water would follow sooner.
"I'm sorry about not waking up." He said making her look at him, swallowing it down and she smiled at him, "We'll find a place where we can really rest soon, promise." Flan smiled and continued to eat with Elliot nibling, he was starving but forced it down while enjoying the moment they had.
"Huh?" Flan said, her ear moving around and turned to look out into he desert with Elliot following her gaze, yet he wasn't sure what she was looking at.
"What is it?" Elliot turned to looking out, thinking he'd see a torch being carried by someone, or a band of bandits on some weird desert machine that allowed them easy moving, yet when he looked, he saw. Nothing, just the desert sands moving from the now cool winds and nothing more then that. Turning back, he saw Flan's ears twitch more as she continued to look, "What kind of movement?"
"Not know, but big." She answered her eyes watching whatever it was moving across the desert with her ears moving more and more like scanning with Elliot lost as to what she was searching for. Yet his stomach turned with fear and stood, his eyes looking to were she was staring focused on it.
"See, see." Murming over and over, Elliot pushed what he hoped would help him find what she was hearing, and then his eye glowed bright right. Dark energy filled the air as Elliot stared and then tackled Flan away from the fire. She struggled in his arm but he held her and jumped with a turned a large thing burst out of the ground.
"Wha?" Flan couldn't see more, staring in Elliot's arms at the thing that had burst from the ground. It wiggled to and from, it's body clearly armored with hard plates and towering over them as if it was a moving tree.
"Not sure but we need to move." Elliot said charging out into the night, the breeze hitting him and forced his body to freeze. Yet the cool air seem to have harden the sand ever so slightly and he moved on, holding Flan who was looking back from where they had come from.
"Coming." She screamed and he knew what that meant, pushing out Elliot looked for a place to get away, yet the speed the worm moved was beyond him and the sand moved under him.
"Crap." Elliot yelled stopping and without even a thought, threw Flan out from where creature would attack, "Run Flan, now!"
"Elliot." She yelled when the sand gave way and armored flesh separated them with Elliot looking up to the creature over him, allowing him to see rows of rows of sharp teeth. Elliot grabbed the teeth on instinct, stopping going too far down with the walls moving around in waves, leading downward, allowing Elliot to figure out what this was meant to shread one to pieces that were unforrent enough to fall victim.
"I won't be enough." Elliot said punching the wall, feeling it give like mud and keeping his fist. Forcing his hand free, he looked for anything that would help with making sure this creature had something on its mind other than food and it caught his attention when he saw it. Grabbing the closes tooth and pulling until it broke, Elliot looking to the fleshy wall, "Take this." One thrust sand deep into the flesh and green blood poured from the wound, joined with a painful wale from the creature. Elliot gripped the tooth harder as the blood washed over him and pulled back, cutting again and forcing more blood to pour into the beasts stomach. Elliot continued this, using his energy to cut the creature and the wales grew louder, more vile until they began to grow lower, and the walls of flesh began to move less. Even so, Elliot continued to stab the wall at even a slight movement, his mind clouded on Flan and what would happen if she was swallowed. Soon, he was the walls stopped and Elliot took deep breaths, sweat dripped from him and his hand holding him up was bleeding, yet he never noticed. Finally feeling ready to pass out from exhaustion, he let go of the tooth and landed on flesh under him, the wall haven stopped moving long ago and Elliot was finally able to see the damage he had done to the creature, "Damn, that must have hurt." Slowly Elliot caught his breath and looked around for any chance that of it sleeping, ready to continue his attacks. Feeling it was dead, Elliot looked the way the blood didn't fall and began to trek over the fleshy body of the worm, sinking like sand so slightly, making moving hard. TIme was hard to tell without the stars or sky, yet his mind was set on getting back to Flan and before sunrise.
"Come on, move." Elliot pushed his body, aching for rest and nourishment, but he threw them away as he needed to get free from this creature and get back to Flan before too long. Slowly, Elliot moved forward, hoping to find the mouth soon with which he could get out, though how deep he was under the sand did slowly get into his head, he was pretty much buried alive in this creature and now he needed to dig out or suffocate. Worry filled his mind, on the world and of Flan if he never gets out of here pushed him forward, stepping through the flesh on with his feet seeping deeper into the sand with deep breaths each moment. Elliot noticed the teeth moving closer and closer the more he moved, and they came to the outer teeth with large rows pointing out, allowing it to push through the sand with ease. Looking at the teeth larger than a tree added more problems than he wish. Looking to his hands and remembering the sharp teeth he was clinching in his hands, Elliot moved to the side of the mouth where the large teeth protruded from the flesh and dove it through the tough flesh, twisting it over and over, sweat pouring with the air slowly leaving the dying creature. Breathing slowly, Elliot cut around the tooth and pride it open, using what little strength he had left to dislodge the tooth and felt cool air hit. Breathing in the fresh air, Elliot slid the teeth he had as weapons in his belt and climbed out, seeing small bits of light with darkness hiding any more. Sliding down the creature, Elliot laid back, enjoying the fresh air he was getting when the sound of move meant entered his ears and he opened his eyes to see spears pointed to him with cloaked figures hiding themselves.