Sitting around the empty hole we are still confused. The car engine rev is slowly fading in the distance.
After a few more moments we can’t hear the car engine anymore. Only the pile of sand and dust is left, which is still settling down.
Astrid lies on the ground, legless, seeing even less.
Mike looks at me, confused, with his one uncovered eye.
I look in the distance and the more the car engine sound fades, the more both worried and sad I feel.
We don’t speak, only wait.
Do they think it’s embarrassing to be suspicious openly, yet? I speculate.
Why would he do this, what''s the outcome? Using us to get safely here and using me to lift the car? Why on earth?!
I keep staring, not blinking, ignoring the fact that dust gets in my widely opened eyes. Or maybe it''s the acid. I don''t feel anything.
What an uncomfortable tension, this whole situation.
Show up old man! I keep repeating in my head.
“Maybe he’s in trouble? What if he ran over some more of those acid creatures?” Astrid says, supporting herself on her elbows.
“Ah, yes. Yes, of course, that might be it!" I suddenly cheer up.
Why wasn’t I thinking about this at all and instead assumed right away that he abandoned us? Is it because I had similar thoughts not too long ago?
"We will follow the trail. It’s toward the forest we came from anyway,” I answer cheerfully again, throwing the possibility that he left us for good out of my head.
<hr>
Standing up and dusting myself off, I have the urge to offer to carry Astrid, but I know Mike wouldn’t like that, despite his wounds and overall lack of strength.
I nod at them and decide to lead the way.
Mike picks her up with a slight grunt and they chit-chat on the way, but I completely ignore it and focus on the slightest wind that occasionally blows. Despite feeling no pain, I can still feel uncomfortable.
My forehead isn’t even covered in sweat anymore. My water levels are far too low, yet I don’t feel any pain or exhaustion and that is probably not good, as the old man said.
After a few minutes of mindless walking through the heat my feelings are getting mixed—I don’t feel deceived or disappointed. Anger is slowly taking over as the rollercoaster of emotions goes through me.
I clench my fist and I feel the energy automatically bursting from my core.
"Shit."
They will notice. I look at my fist and it’s already swollen, the effect fading up to my elbow.
"Hush!" I keep gazing into the distance, focusing on the goal of getting out of the sun.
I envy the couple a bit, as Astrid pulls out the wing from the giant rhinoceros beetle and holds it above them both, shielding them from the sun.
<hr>
We continue walking through the dense sand, and my sneakers keep sinking almost completely into it. Each step feels exhausting, but mostly for Mike, as he pants. I can hear him struggling to carry her, but I’m battling an inner struggle to offer my help.
After a few more steps, I decide to give this an ultimatum.
If he doesn’t show up in thirty seconds, I’m going to blow up! Maybe I’ll start jumping around with my Focus again to reach the forest faster, the one we came from. Or maybe... maybe it’s time for the little Jerk.
I think angrily in my head, even catching myself clenching my teeth.
"Astrid?!" I almost raised my voice at her.
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She has her hand poised, ready to snap, and nods at me. One glance, and we both know what’s coming.
"Give it thirty seconds, then snap," I tell her, slightly passive-aggressively.
She nods.
I start counting. Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight. Twenty-seven...
Sixteen. Fifteen. Gosh! Fourteen. Thirteen. I pause the count. The wind carries a faint sound with it, amplifying.
*Vrooooooooom*
I immediately look back at the couple. Mike’s headscarf is wet and he seems more than exhausted. Astrid looks directly at me with a wide smile.
The struggle is finally over.
I would never have guessed that an engine rev would be the most liberating sound.
We stop walking and sit down, gazing at the car’s headlights as they approach us.
The cloud of sand rises and swirls turbulently behind the approaching vehicle.
Our weapons are hidden in our inventories while I scroll through my items, wondering if it’s even safe to take out the acid bottle with my bare hands, without touching the cork.
Astrid leans her back against Mike’s, and we peacefully wait.
<hr>
The almost invisible yellow hummer in the middle of the desert starts honking its horn suddenly.
“Uh, yeah. I’m not sure why he’s so excited,” Mike says, looking at me.
“Like, well, how much gas could he even have?” he adds, raising an eyebrow.
“Old men and their cars,” I say.
*Honk. Honk.*
*Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.*
“Seriously, what the heck,” Mike says again.
*Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.*
“Is it just me, or is he coming faster?” notes the immobilized Astrid.
Harald continues honking furiously.
We quickly realize it’s time to get up. To ease the hardest part, which is lifting from the ground, I boldly decide to lift Astrid.
With such ease I almost threw her up in the air, helping Mike get her into his arms.
She looks surprised and amused by the brief look in her eyes, or so I assume.
We gather up and wait.
The furious honking continues, and I honestly don’t know what to expect. I have a suspicion, but I really hope it’s not the truth.
In addition to honking, Harald starts blinking his distant lights on and off. From that, I know one thing: we need to get to the car as fast as possible.
“Mike, give her to me. We need to move fast. You go sit in the passenger seat, but open the back door for us first.”
He gives me a confused look and hesitates for a second. Then, he carefully hands me the girl.
I hold her rock solid and stable. It feels like I’m not holding anything at all. Maybe it’s due to the acid effect or my muscle mass combined with my high strength level getting used to the weight of my hammer.
<hr>
The car is nearby, and the cloud of sand swirls around the area, rendering our eyes useless.
“Get in, quickly!”
"In! Now!"
Mike barely manages to open the back door, and I throw myself inside, smashing my back and head against the car’s interior while protecting Astrid from even the slightest bump.
The engine revs, and Harald makes the quickest U-turn possible.
His driver-side window is still slightly open, letting in sand and dust, and the old man screams. I’m not sure if it’s from pain, fear, or excitement.
He immediately closes the window gap and drives as fast as possible.
*Bang*
The car stutters for a moment.
<hr>
As we finally gain some distance from the point of the U-turn, the surroundings come into focus.
A vast desert stretches out, with tire tracks and strange veiny marks surrounding it.
“Did you just wake up all the acid bugs?” I yell at him from the back.
“Apparently.”
He turns his head toward me. Astrid and I flinch.
At first, I thought it’s dirt or a scab on his right cheek, but I can see clearly now—a white tooth is visible through a hole in his cheek.
“How much gas do you even have, man?” Mike asks angrily with his one eye.
“Enough for a few more trips. If we don’t find an alternative, that is. Now let’s head back to known territory, the canyon.” He yells back.
We sigh.
What else can we do?
<hr>
I decide to lighten the mood. “Welcome to the club of eternal painkiller users!”
Harald scoffs.
“I never thought I’d feel so rejuvenated.” He glances back at us while driving fast and straight toward the forest.
I take a peek at Astrid, she’s lying there relaxed, meeting my eyes for a second. I quickly look out the window again.
The trilobite-like creatures with flat tops are roaming the desert, scouting. They seem fast, but not fast enough to outrun the car at full speed.
We approach the forest, and the old man finally slows down, testing the brakes after a long sandy drive.
He carefully navigates through some bushes and into the forest where we fought the scarabs.
“Darn, I had a feeling these hard-packed soil roads after the dung balls would work for us,” I say to the old man.
He smiles widely, and the burnt circular wound on his cheek stretches slightly.
“Jeez,” Mike says loudly.
Harald quickly pulls down the mirror to check.
“Tsk,” he mutters.
“Could’ve been worse.” He adds while checking his face in the mirror.
“It IS worse!”
I open the car door while the car is still moving and jump.