Zarda heard the sizzling sounds of burning flesh. The sun was intensely bright and scorching hot. Osborn was weakening as he slowly faded, due to the loss of blood causing his knees to give out. Zarda glanced over and gently lowered his friend onto the soft sand.
"Dane, did you pack medical kits or tarps by any chance?" He asked curiously.
The grey wolf nodded in confirmation. He had carefully packed a medical kit in each bag and had tied three large tarps to three separate backpacks. Unfortunately, one of the bags he had tied to, was Randolph's backpack, Which did not make it off, but at least Randolph's body did.
The intense heat above was scorching their skin, while the smell of the dead bodies was becoming unbearable. Oridian thought everything was too hot and dusty for her liking. She couldn't bear the feeling of the sand under her toe pads. Annoyed, she rocked back and forth on her feet.
Oridian stated, "We must search for stable ground. Surely, there is dry land somewhere beyond this desolate place."
As Zarda searched his backpack for the medical kit, he couldn't help but smirk at her comment. He found the kit, quickly calling over to Dane to help unfold his tarp.
"Dane, Vulpix, come help me hold up the tarp to shield us from the heat. Oridian, take care of Pipsie, give her water, and make sure she stays in the shade. We can't afford for anyone to become dehydrated," ordered the lion.
Zarda unpacked the kit, removing bandages, a needle and thread, as well as rubbing alcohol and wipes.
Oridian sat beside Zarda under the tarp, holding Pipsie in her lap. The young skunk watched in horror as Zarda began to work on her bear friend. He needed to clean Osborn's wound before infection set in. His hands worked quick threading the needle into his thick flesh. Blood would squirt out every now and then as the needle penetrated the skin. It oozed into his fur. Not able to watch anymore, pipsie snuggled into Oridian's chest. The bear winced as the alcohol stung the gash, previous blood loss had dried onto his pant leg. Zarda carefully finished stitching up the wound, warning Osborn not to move. The bear gritted his teeth in pain as Zarda poked through the last stitch. He then cleaned the area and applied a bandage to keep safe from sand entering the wound.
"There, that should suffice for the time being. Your leg can heal now. It may not feel great for a while, but at least you won't have to worry about losing it. We should continue on and find a better area with shade to make camp. Each of us needs water and rest. Our bodies need time to recover after the traumatic crash we just experienced. And if we don't bury those two bodies, they will start to rot and stink up the area. Our friends need a proper burial," Zarda explained.
Everyone concurred that the odor of swiftly cooking corpses had the potential to attract unwelcomed attention. Vulpix folded up the tarp hastily, while Dane helped Zarda. Before walking Osborn further on. They decided to bury the bodies first. Osbirn hung out a little longer with the sand sticking to his sweaty fur. Zarda and Dane began rapidly digging into the sand, but their progress was hindered by the difficulty of the shifting sand. Despite their efforts, the hole kept filling up as the sand slid back down. Frustrated, Zarda chose to simply cover their friends' bodies with sand instead of burying them. Exhausted from the heat, everyone desperately needed to rest. The two of them had learned a valuable lesson in that moment, that sand is not like dirt back home. One thing Zarda noticed was the sky above the sandy horizon seemed to shimmer with the heat radiating from it. Occasionally, a refreshing breeze would carry sand across their path to ease the sting of heat off their bodies. The intense waves was draining their energy as they pressed forward. Pipsie held onto Vulpix's back, while Osborn embraced both Dane and Zarda's help. Oridian scouted ahead, searching for any signs of life among the endless sand dunes.
It had been hours since the crash and even more hours since they had begun seeking shelter. The desolate, sandy landscape was starting to take a toll on their mental well-being. Emotions were running high, tempers were fraying, and Zarda was too exhausted to even call out to Elohim. When he had cried out for help after the crash, there had been no response, leading him to question if he had somehow displeased or offended his deity.
'Surely not, I've done all he required of me' -he thought to himself.
Out of nowhere, a peculiar sonic blast echoed through the sky above them. All they could see was a trail of smoke in the clear blue sky. The distant sound of grumbling noises soon reached their ears. Zarda halted and signaled for his companions to stop as well. They stood still, listening as the roar of powerful engines and gunfire was hastily approaching.
" I don't like the sound of that boss, what do we do?" Asked Dane.
Zarda responded, "We have no plans to take action. Our only desire is for this to be our opportunity to find a place where we can finally relax, even if it means being in a prison. I would welcome anything other than this unbearable heat."
The noise of the machines grew louder as they emerged out of nowhere, resembling large moving shadows racing towards them. Sand flew up behind the metal vehicles as they drew near. As Zarda focused more closely, he recognized them as the trucks Soldier Gibbs used to have, which he called dune buggies. One was covered in copper and black metal with bright orange neon colors on the body, while the other was gray metal with purple and neon green hues. The dune buggies fully in plain view now, zoomed around Zarda's group, encircling them and kicking up sand in a bothersome spray before suddenly halting.
In the passenger seat sat a young lizard, looking tough and rigid. He bore a resemblance to Thurston, the greater short-horned lizard. 'Could this be a member of Thurston's mafia lizard family?'-thought Zarda. Too young to be his brother Zee, he might be a nephew or child. With a pierced nose and purple dyed spikes, the lizard exited the vehicle dressed like a heavy metal rocker in black leather, skin-tight pants, and a neon green mesh shirt. Covered in tattoos and spiked bracelets, he exuded a tough exterior. The other lizards were equally rough, some with white or black lines under their eyes and torn clothing hanging off their lean bodies. Zarda noticed a female lizard with a Mohawk in the orange dune buggy, blowing a bubble from chewing gum as she spectated. The young lizard confronted Zarda, spitting on the ground next to him.
"Names Rez, what's yours? Nevermind, better yet, Why are you on our turf?" He asked bitterly.
Zarda was simply looking for water and rest, not wanting any conflict. However, the absence of both had put him on edge. Despite being hunched over carryingosborns weight, Zarda let go off the bear and straightened up to his full height, towering over the horned lizard by several feet. The lizard appeared intimidated and took a few steps back.
"I'm Zarda. Our plane crashed, and we need rest, water, and shade. My friend Osborn is injured and needs time to recover. We didn't realize we were entering your territory. We need your assistance, please. " he responded.
The lizard smirked, looking back at his friends he turned and laughed at Zarda's response.
"Looks like another lost cause, troops. Sorry, your own your own, ZARDA. Don't worry, if the heat doesn't kill you first, starvation and thirst will, or better yet, the hungry jackals will finish you off. Let's move out troops. Now that we know what that explosion was from earlier." Said Rez.
The horned lizard swiftly turned around and hopped into his vehicle. The driver of the dune buggy revved the engine a few times before putting it in gear to drive away. Zarda struggled to recall Thurston's brother's name, but just as they were about to leave, Zarda finally remembered and shouted it out to them.
"Wait, I know Zee!" he shouted.
The driver switched off the engine and glanced over at Rez with a puzzled expression. Rez quickly exited the vehicle once again and moved back to stand in front of Zarda.
"How do you know Big Zee?" Asked Rez curiously.
Zarda exclaimed, "I only know Big Zee because my friend Thurston told me about his brother!"
Rez glanced back and shouted to his troops to clear some seats for the new riders. He instructed Zarda and his group to load up and ride quietly, promising to take them directly to big Zee. Zarda and his five other companions followed his orders without a word. As they traveled in silence, Zarda felt a sense of relief wash over him. He was grateful for meeting Thurston, who had managed to protect him so far away in this unforgiving desert waste land. Zarda chuckled to himself, reflecting on how he never thought he would find himself in this situation, and grateful that he had made time to meet the old lizard. "So here I exactly am. You were right Thurston," he whispered under his breath.