Perspective, pt. 1.

There was no wind. Orange sand extended in every direction. The sky was dark and oppressive, as though a great seal had closed up the world.

Nothing moved on the desert. Then, on the horizon, there was a puff of dust. In the middle of the puff there was a single black dot. The cloud grew steadily larger as the dot came closer. After a while the roar of the dot's engine became apparent, and the dot grew to become a sand buggy.

"It's a six-seater with plating and two gun turrets," Thobas muttered to himself as he watched the buggy through his scope. "Not much considering what is inside."

Eventually the buggy came to a stop and the occupants climbed out. Five men, one small girl. Several of the men stretched as though they had been travelling for some time. One looked like he was saying something to the girl.

Chow-chow-chow-chow-chow. Blood poured into the sand and turned into a ochre mud. He could hear a single scream. Thobas reloaded his rifle.

As he walked over to the girl he pulled back his orange hood so she could see his face, but she clearly didn't remember him. She shrank away from him as he approached. She began to climb back into the buggy, but Thobas grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her down. She struggled, but he held her tight.

"Princess," He said, "I've come for you."

The sound of his voice calmed her, and he put her down onto the ground, avoiding setting her in a pool of blood. He looked around. The whole scene stank of iron, death, and the dirt. The sand always stank when it got wet, and it was especially bad considering what was mixed in it.

He produced a small orange fruit from his bag. "Have you eaten?" He asked her.

She shook her head.

He peeled the rind off with a knife and held the fruit out to the girl. "Eat this, it tastes like dirt, but it will keep you alive."

She wrinkled her nose at the fruit, but her hunger gave in and she began to eat ravenously. The juice ran down her face and mingled with the blood that stained her dress.

Thobas stared out across the desert, wondering if he would be able to get the Princess to the rendezvous point in time. He only had three days before the Great Train would stop in Union, and if he wasn't there by then the two of them would be stuck on this side of the desert for another three years.

This side of the desert was not where he wanted to be.