章 4: Wind : Desert Snakes

I've lost track of how long I'd been walking on this desert. It was hours of blistering heat and solitude that I absolutely did not appreciate. Not to mention Max was still bleeding out, but my sweet little boy was hanging on. His dog had to be given credit, the Caucasian shepherd was one of the last full breeds of it's kind left, and it was proving to be more and more resilient than I was; seeing as it could keep up with me and even go further. But it has to be torture moving with that much fur on his body, the hours stretched as the eclipsed sun changed it's position, But finally I was rewarded.

Seven hours into my long walk I was able to notice a gleaming black dot in the horizon. It was the only difference I've seen in this desert apart from the dead trees, thistles and sand. There were no animals; making it seem as if I was still on 12-1.

But the weird solar eclipse was proof that I had left that strange planet behind, left my own bloody universe behind. Fast forward two hours later and you have the makings of a colossal building; i was nowhere close to the structure but I could see it.

The building looked like a medieval castle three to almost four times the size of Hogwarts. The only difference was that this was built from steel and glass, a modern building built in a medieval manner. It gleamed in the sunlight letting out a silver shimmer in the distance that was sure to drag the attention of every living thing within a significant distance. It didnt take long for me to realize that staring at the tower for such a long period of time was not a good idea. On the other hand the discovery gave me the proverbial spring in my steps as I hurried towards it. I had to be careful with my movements so that I didn't aggravate Max's injuries, I had spent a few long hours in this desert that I've become accustomed to the swirling dust and sweltering heat. But that did not change the fact that I was beginning to feel tired, very tired and somewhat on my last legs.

Besides which kind of man would give up when the prize you're searching for is right in front of you; not when my son's life was on the line. I'm not that kind of man, and I'm determined to get to that tower, because quite frankly there was nothing else I could do, or anywhere else I could go; this was the only direction and place to go to, the only bastion of hope in this desolate land.

Eventually the sun began to dip down past the horizon as I slowly but surely made my way towards the castle in the distance. The dog was still close to me, but even it's own gait had become unsteady and slow, but the sun was setting.

The Lack of heat from the setting sun ushered in a cool breeze that almost felt freezing to my skin. I shivered involuntarily and pulled Max a little closer to me. I put more speed into my steps, which was not much considering how tired and drained I felt from this long trek through the desert.

I shuffled about like a spinning top placed precariously on its edge as it prepared to fall. It was a comical sight, but I was not to worried about my image at the moment, but more worried about my son's life.

I stumbled to the ground and got a mouthful of sand in return. I panicked since Max was held so close to me he was accidentally squished too, as I continuously tried to spit out the residue of sand in my mouth, I curled one of my fist into the rapidly cooling earth, feeling the grains of sand escape through the gaps of my fingers.

But I could feel movement, my hands felt like it was holding much more than sand, as it made a twisting and wiggling motions. I paid attention long enough to notice what I had been holding in my hands before flinging it away. It was a snake, but not like anything I've ever seen before, which was nothing mind you. But he knew for a fact that snakes were not supposed to look like that.

Its body was covered with scales, that were very different from the leather like texture all snakes have, this snake however had a skin like those of a fish. It had two slitted yellow eyes and a horn on its forehead. Even more strange was the two scale covered and clawed forelimbs. It had hands that was a sharp contrast to its entire body, as where the snake was brown with a shade of almost rust red, just like the desert floor; its arms were pitch black and glossy.

I took a few steps back in shock and fright as I tried to give myself some distance from the snake. Because I found it strange, however I was terrified of the snake because I still had Max with me. I nudged the dog with my feet and had it move back, it had already Started barking by now. I knew it was a snake, but I had no idea how dangerous it was, but with it's rather strange look, I bet that thing could cause a lot of damage. I was wary about it's presence, the snake however did not seem to care that it was a target of scrutiny as it hissed and screeched, with smoke rising off of its skin as the rays of the setting sun touched it.

The snake rapidly used its thin but sturdy arms to dig a hole back into the sand and nestled itself away from the glares and torture of the setting sun. Leaving me and the dog the only spectators of it's weird reaction.

I felt a wave of horror wash over me after what I had just experienced. I couldn't help the shiver of revulsion that washed through body. I took a step back to properly observe the sand I was standing on. piercing yellow eyes the size of a football stared right back at me. And it was not the only one. As the sun set, more and more of those eyes appeared beneath the surface of the red sand that made up this desert, and along with it came a symphony of hisses like the evening songs of crickets and toads; croaking away the night to herald the return of dawn. But this was a hundred times more terrifying.

RARF! RARF! RARF!

The dog barked at something behind us, forcing me to look back as my eye's widened to a size too big for my face. As the shadow of the setting sun touching the horizon spread, fearsome snakes with forelimbs, black scales, ferocious looking horns and wings burst out of the sand.

They couldn't go out into the sunlight, so they coasted along with shadows as it advanced to cover the land. Looking at their massive sizes I came to a realization that the snake I had actually grabbed was only just a baby, a very tiny baby, because the biggest of this snakes was the size of a plane.

I didn't stop to think or observe anymore. I bent down picked up the dog, and ran like hell was on my tail. And to be honest it was. The strange looking castle was close by now, very close but yet so far away. I was unable to outrun the speed of the setting sun, because for every six steps I took, the shadow advances for a distance of five. I held Max close to me as my heart began to pound in fear, at that moment I regretted everything. It was incredibly stupid to take my son along, we could have just stayed back, it was not as if we wouldn't have been able to survive on earth. But my weakness and inability to save his mother had left me with a guilt I couldn't face, so I decided to run away. It was the easy thing to do, and then I went ahead and took my boy along, I did this to him. I'm a failure as a father.

HISS!

One of the snakes shot forward with a hiss and latched onto my bag pack. It was trying to find purchase but the jostling movements of my running away dislodged it. But then I felt a sharp sting on my left heel, the pain I felt at that moment was almost blinding, so much so that it forced me to stumble giving another one of those snakes a chance to bite me at the back of my thigh. I screamed as venom coursed through my body, wreaking God knows what kind of Havoc in me.

The little dog was barking a lot louder and harder, as more and more mouth and fangs pierced into my body. It was so bad to the point that I couldn't see, or even breath. The only thought I had running through my mind was the fact that I had to get Max to safety. The sand clung to me as my blood blended with it. This desert of red sands began to move and shift, exposing the horrors that it had hidden deep within itself. The monsters drew closer, and the world went black, leaving me with no sight and sound, and a taste of blood and bile in my throat. I was dying, I was failing my son. I move forward until my head impacted a metal surface. That was enough to throw me off my feet as I collapsed in a head, Max still clutched to me. And that's when I heard it.

[IDENTIFY YOURSELF. I REPEAT IDENTITY YOURSELF. WHAT IS YOUR NAME.]

It was hard to breath, much less talk, but salvation had come calling so I had to give it my all. Max was depending on me.

"My name...…..my na…..me is Captain Joshua Trinity Enejo. Please save my son."

A blinding flash of light filled my vision as screeches and hisses rend the air. I could feel the snakes that had latched on to me, burn to a crisp and then to ashes as they fell prey to wherever this light came from. The dog barked louder, the earth shook and a door got opened. And then everything faded to black.