Yet Another Fantasy 2.0/Chapter 2

(♫ Heilung – Traust)

Chapter 2: Desert of Ash

Tag: nosex

Darkness, silence, the lack of sensation. Leroy’s awareness pushed out from nothingness as he realized he was experiencing none of his five senses. He was no stranger to the effects of a concussion, or being medically unconscious. This was different, each passing moment his awareness was stretching out, desperately trying to gain any sensory input, but he was utterly cut off, He could not even feel his heart beating, a heart he was sure was racing. Leroy was uncertain about his sense of time; he had no frame of reference, being alone with his thoughts in the void. Panic rushed through his mind, he wanted to experience some sensation, any sensation; not this unending nothingness!

As if in response to his thoughts his senses returned to him in a flash. He was face to face with the yellow rotary snow blower of the second train, and it felt like the central axle was pressed to his chest, pinning him to a solid surface like a bug in a collection. The running lights of the locomotive where on at full blast, right in his face, drowning out everything else. The pressure against his chest was unbelievably painful, while the side of his skull was pure white agony. He tried to scream, but something was wrapped tight around his throat. He tried to move his arms and legs, to get away from the multi-ton mass of steel and oil that seemed about to crush him, but his limbs too felt like something was binding them. Leroy continued to struggle and flail and scream in his mind, but his body could do nothing. There was the groaning sound of metal on stone, the pressure on his chest increased, the ribs in his chest felt like they where ready to crack at any moment. His mind could take no more of this and he blacked out.

The sound of metal creaking against stone snapped him back awake some time later. The first thing he did was draw in a lungful of air. It sounded wrong to him, but the pressure against his chest was gone, and the taste of air was sweet relief. Opening his eyes, he was no longer blinded by the locomotives lights; they had dimmed down, just enough light to show the edges of the locomotive dangling above him. Yes above, his back was pressed to the ground, that was the direction gravity was pulling him. But how could something so heavy and massive dangle above his body? Panic like ice water ran down his spine as his muddied mind brought up the memories of the trains, the tunnel, and his sister. He tried to call out for Elisabeth, but his throat wouldn’t work. His arms flailed about, he could move them at last! Strips of cloth slid against his body. Was that it? Did his cloths get shredded? He looks around in the dim light. There was inky void beyond the radius of light, no sign of the girl that had been with him.

The sound of metal shearing apart snapped him out of his search, the front end of the locomotive starting to slowly swing above him. He tried to call out for his sister once more, all he could hear was muted breath. Grimacing, he began crawling, trying to move out from under the tons of steel and oil. He felt weak, he was so tired, so sluggish; almost like he was suffering from the flu. The strips of cloth slid against stone, and slipped off his body piece by piece. Dust fell from above, making the dim light cloudy. He wanted to cough, but his throat was too dry.

Leroy kept crawling away, inch by inch, out past the edges of the dim light, trying to clear the area. Something fell away from his head, it felt like a piece of metal, likely from the locomotive. That gave him a surge of energy, his limbs cooperating more, pushing him further. Hands touched a piece of stone that was not the floor. Feeling about, it felt like a step, then another another it, and another. His limbs were shaking with effort as he crawled up those stairs in the darkness. Perhaps a dozen rises later, he came to a landing. His arms gave out then, and he slumped to the floor, barely able to look back whence he'd come.

Gazing across to the area he'd come from, he could make out the surface he had been pinned to. Uneven stones that were mortared together with a large circle of what looked like chalk. Four sets of thick chains had gone from hammered-in metal posts into that circle, the free ends...

Before he could process what he was seeing any more, the locomotive dropped suddenly, smashing into the floor, and punching through it. A thundering roar of metal and stone, sparks and shrieking metal fell deeper into the earth below, and then Leroy was once more in darkness.

For a few brief moments Leroy felt he was going to be senseless again, but he could feel the press of cold stone against his aching body, feel the air moving in his lungs. A few rocks thudded against the crashed train. Shaking his head wearily, he started to feel around once more, then to crawl.

Away from the steps and the pit of stone and broken steel, he reached a wall, and felt up it, searching for a sign, something to tell him where he was. What he found was a thumb-width gouge scraped into the stone wherever he touched. Was this wall carved from living stone? Still in the darkness he crawled along the edge of the wall, legs too weak to hold him upright. Minutes past and he finally found a corner of the room.

Shaking his head to clear the racing doubt over the wisdom of exploring in the dark, he pressed onward; he had no recourse but to see where this wall led. Maybe he could find a pile of stones and scree to climb out of this... this pit? It must be beneath the rail tunnel proper? He turned his head to face the direction he thought the train must be, and hoped his sister was all right. He hadn't seen a sign of her near the circle, nor any trace of his truck.

Maybe what was left of the truck was in the tunnel above? It had air bags, and crash features... features for dealing with other road vehicles, not diesel locomotives with massive spinning blades. He slammed his fist against the wall out of frustration. He couldn't help his sister if he...

The wall seemed to give way under the force of his blow… no it wasn’t a wall, but a large stone slab that toppled out into the area beyond like a domino piece and crashed into the ground with a resounding boom, shattering into thousands of pieces. Hot dry air rushed in, carrying with it dust and.. ash? There was light, above and at an angle, cast down long steps into the room the slab had fallen into.

Excitement filling him, he crawled out over the broken slab, and the stone floor beneath it towards the stairs and salvation. Glancing back, the chamber he had been in was dark. The doorway he'd come through was flanked by two more black stone slabs marked with strange muted silver inlays. He couldn’t make out much in the dim light, but it seemed tribal, or Celtic maybe. Glancing around the chamber he spotted another set of stone slabs, this trio intact. For a moment he thought about testing those slabs, but they were easily fifteen feet high and would crush him if they fell.

With a muted sigh, he turned back to the stairs, and (with much effort) climbed them. They where steep, sand and ash having coated them well, but the higher he climbed, the warmer it became, and the more light could be seen. Ash coated his body long before he reached the top. There, he found a massive angled stone disc made up of two slabs, but one of those had cracked and crumbled sometime in the past, granting him access to what lay beyond, and he took the opportunity as fast as he could manage.

He was caught quite by surprise when he ended up sliding down a sand dune just beyond the threshold, out into a desert landscape. He tried to bark out a laugh, but only a distorted grunt came out. He had been in the mountains, in snow! Now he was in some desert!? Gazing back at the exit, the half disk covering the entrance was engraved in murals and glyphs. It was held in the hand of a metal statue, though beyond a forearm, the rest was buried under the sand. The metal arm and hand looked to be made out of plates, as if the statue might have been of an armored figure. Interesting, but useless information.

He laid down on is back in the hot sand while the sun beat down on him. The ash coating providing some protection and he tried to laugh again, but only a dry cough came out. He had no water, he was in some unhealthy state... he gazed around at the dunes around him, and spotted something green and spiky. “A cactus? Yes!” He thought, as he’d watched survival shows and knew that cacti had water in them! Between the dry unquenched thirst, the desire to push the memories of being dark, alone, and in pain, and the light feeling of being free from that horrible place; Leroy did not take stock of himself.

After collecting himself, his head still feeling off somehow as the blazing sun near blinded him, he slowly crawled up the dune towards the plant. Nearing it, it looked no more then a foot tall, the needles between two to six inches, but rather thick, as if made to irritate the hides of something thicker then fur and feather.

Leroy knelt up and felt around the plant, feeling the ridges and the divots. Lacking a blade, he tried pushing his fingers into the tough skin, and found that there was a slight give, hinting that the insides of the cactus where not quite solid. With dry throat and parching lips he looked around the area, glancing up at the exit once more. There might be some smaller stones there, but he'd barely made it up this dune the first time. With a growl he could barely make out, he grabbed at one of the needles only for the needle to pop off; a fleshy undamaged bit on the root of the needle. Leroy stared at it in silence for several moments, trying to muddle through his sluggish thoughts.

Slowly it dawned on him this may be how it propagated its seeds, with the needles digging into some very tough hide and going for a ride before falling off. Tossing the needle to the side, he dug his fingers into the pit beneath where it had been, and pulled, slowly prying the cactus ridge apart. A sweet fragrance of... melon? wafted out.

Leroy reached in, grabbed a handful of squishy amber mass and pulled it out, stuffing it into his mouth. Sweet juices gushed across his tongue, and he readily chewed and swallowed, too focused on the act of getting some liquid down his throat and easing the burning there, to register the strangeness of this plant, he had his second and then third handful of sweet goo.

Stuffed with gushing cactus pulp, Leroy laid in the sands and ash, head hidden in the shade of the spiny carcass. The sun continued to beat down on him, but it did not feel as hot as before. His head felt even more muddled now. It was only a passing thought as he realized the juices may have been fermented or psychotropic or something, and that he was at the very last buzzed. He was hoping the sensation would fade, but it only got stronger, even as energy filled his limbs.

Leroy laughed at that, well he thought he laughed, in the confines of the cactus it sounded more like a giggle. Oh right, he needed to find someplace safe, find someone and rescue his sister. Rising up he tore the cactus skin from its root base and set it on his head as a makeshift shroud. He nearly fell on his ass as he lost his balance, and he let out another laugh. Then it was one foot ahead of another as he gazed out into the desert. He was too drunk to be aware of his gradual upwards movement, that while there where dunes, he was at the bottom of a massive funnel shaped area. Leroy’s point of focus was another cactus, this one situated on an outcropping of sandstone. He knelt down next to it, and went to work knocking off all the needles and tearing it from its roots. Once more back on his feet, he now had a second source of hydration. He uttered another laughing giggle, he hoped he wouldn’t get dehydrated from the alcohol, but he had no recourse.

That’s when he spotted what looked like a mesa far off in the distance. The desert of sand and ash spread out before him in all direction, endless dunes and a clear blazing sky. Leroy could not make out where the sun was, as the light was simply too blinding. With a sigh he could only just hear, he set off towards the flat mountain, the only landmark he had.

Time passed as Leroy trekked the desert, the mesa gradually becoming larger as he made some sort of progress. He held off as long as he could, but ended up feasting on the second cactus. Like the first it also had a sweet juicy melon flavor. He managed to piece the two cactus skins together with needles, extending the shroud down his back. Leroy looked curiously at his hands and arms, but they where covered in a thick coating of ash, while the blazing sun washed out details. Yet he was positive his arms seemed thinner then before. How long had he been trapped in darkness that his body could have wasted away like this? Though his curiosity melted away as he once more fell into a drunken stupor.

Back on his feet again, he set off in hopes of finding another cactus, mumbling and giggling to himself at how drunk he was. He had no idea how much time had passed since leaving that underground pit, but he was exhausted, it felt like he had been awake for hours now; if not longer. Leroy did not want to to stop to rest, not out in this desert heat, but he had no choice. Falling to the sands, ash blew up in a fountain around him. He tried to keep his eyes open, but between the hours of walking and the fermented cactus juice sleep claimed him.

With a start, Leroy jerked awake in the heat with an aching body. The blinding sun’s light had not waned and he had no idea how long he had been asleep for. With a soft groan he got to his feet, feeling the vibrations of his throat more then hearing the sound. He wasn’t drunk, several hours must have past, but he was thirsty once more. Luck was with him, as another cactus was just a dune away and minutes later he was tearing it open to get at the melon goo within. With a steady head this time, he controlled himself, only taking in a few mouthfuls before he sealed the cactus up with a few needles and continued on his journey towards the mesa. Leroy could do nothing about feeling buzzed, as this cactus and every other one seemed to contain only that fermented goo. But it was enough to distract him.

The shroud had grown larger now as Leroy made good use of each cactus he busted open. He was sporting a cape now along with the shroud, which made it easier when he was forced to rest. He did not have luck all the time with cacti, and had a few days where he had gone without that life sustaining sweet substance. This lead to him making two slings to let him carrying more of the stuff, as he accepted being in a state of perpetually buzzed or drunk. So it was that, with the mesa dominating his view, he couldn’t quite believe his eyes when an auto-gyro, smoking and flaming, came sinking out of the sky above and crashed into the dunes far ahead.

Leroy only accepted its existence when he came across the wreckage, with the acrid smell of burnt wood filling the air. There had been enough time between the crash and coming across it that the fires had burned to embers, but much of the craft was still intact. It resembled a small boat with an enclosed wooden top. There was a wooden door on the side, one that had a metal frame, and there was the sound of thumping coming from within, someone or something trying to knock the door open. What remained of the auto-gyro's flight system was laid over the door. Leroy’s heart raced, someone was alive? Another person!?

He raced over and clambered up onto the tilted hull. He tried to pry the wood and metal device off, but his journey had made him weak. Laying down on the hull, Leroy planted his bare feet and pushed. At first it refused to move, his legs shaking under the effort. But little by little the heavy geared pole slid away and off the door.

The door flew open moments later, and smoke billowed out. There was a roar of flames as the fire within received fresh air. First a canvas sack flew out, followed by a leather backpack. Someone within had a coughing fit.

Leroy got to his knees and crawled over. A hand was pushed up out of the mass of wood smoke. Leroy reached out and, grabbing the hand, pulled as hard as he could. The owner of that hand was surprisingly light, catching Leroy off guard as he'd put too much effort into it. Both he and the person within sailed off the boat onto the sands below, ash billowing out around them.

There was an unmistakable curse from a small throat along with a string of coughs. The next thing Leroy knew, the tip of a crossbow bolt was pressed to his own throat. The bolt was housed in a forearm bracer mini crossbow. Leroy went still as the ash cloud dissipated, face to face with a thirteen year old girl with short strawberry colored hair and light red eyes. She was dressed in some bright skirted Caribbean-styled sailing garb. There was something that nagged the back of his thoughts, but he was too much in a surprised drunk stupor to pay it any mind.

They stared at each other for several moments, until the girl had a coughing fit. Leroy flashed her a nervous smile and held up one of his self made satchels. “Thirsty?” he asked, or at least he thought he did. The girl looked at him in confusion until she spotted what he was offering. A grimace passed over her pretty face, but she accepted it, withdrawing her weapon and figuring out how to open it and scoop out some of the goop within.

Leroy laid there on the sands, much too happy to have finally encountered someone, but not wanting to get threatened again. The girl had two handfuls, clearing her throat, then tossed the satchel back and said something in thanks. Leroy had no idea what she'd said, but gave a smile back. The girl shook her head but gave a returning smile, then went to collect the sack and backpack before the burning auto gyro boat caught them in the blaze. She then stepped away from the boat, while Leroy slowly got to his feet and followed. Once the pair where clear of anything the burning boat could throw at them, the girl pulled a map and strange compass from her sack and spent a few minutes investigating it but looking confused. That did make some sense to Leroy, it was a trackless desert and the girl did just crash here, and may not have noticed the boat blocking the view of the mesa.

“Behind the boat, there’s a landmark.” He waved a hand in her view to get her attention; his voice just a whisper, sending him into a coughing fit of his own until he slicked his throat with a few handfuls of melon goo. The girl looked confused at what he said, but waited for the fit to end before she asked a question that; again, he had no idea what she'd said. Leroy stepped around the boat and pointed off into the distance. With a weary glance at Leroy, the girl followed his arm, then caught sight of the mesa. The girl’s shoulders slumped, hand to her forehead as she shook her head.

Leroy watched and uttered a giggle. Watching a girl just into her teens being so serious was more amusing to him than it should have been in his drunken state. The girl paused and frowned at Leroy, then glanced at what Leroy was carrying and barked out a laugh, saying something again and patting Leroy on the shoulder, then made a gesture with her hand over her shoulder towards the mesa. Putting the map and device away the girl shouldered the backpack and picked up the sack, then offered him a hand.

Not wanting to pass up the chance of potential rescue, Leroy took it and the two of them set off. Not once in his exhausted drunken state did he question or notice how easily a thirteen year old girl was able to touch him on the shoulder without him stooping down; not once.

The trip to the mesa took several hours, Leroy still needed to seek refreshment from his cactus goo, and sharing with the newcomer if she started to look parched. Reaching the cliff side; which seemed to stretch upwards for thousands of feet later, the pair walked along the base until they came across a metal lift built into the massive wall of living stone that rose up over head. Exhaustion finally caught up with him as the pair stepped in, so Leroy slumped to the lift floor sprawling on it with his limbs just left out where they rested, Leroy could only watch as the desert dunes shrunk below as the lift rose higher and higher. The girl with him smiled, the last thing he saw before he feel asleep once more.