บท 88: Chapter – 88 - Caught in the Path of a Desert Storm!

Breathing itself was exhausting. The dry, intense heat from above burned through the covering of the cart, penetrating the layers of blankets and clothes, and made her feel dizzy and nauseous. The space inside the cart was cramped, and all the people were pushed in together. The stench of sweat, rubbing of skin and cloth against each other, the heavy and hot breaths polluting the little air inside the tight covering of the cart, and the continuous jerky momentum as the cart kept moving without a single stop......Beibei was thrown into a perpetual daze, unable to breathe, unable to think.

It had been more than three days since they left the camp. By now even the leader must have returned to camp. No one had coming chasing after them as yet, but she was sure that the situation would turn pretty soon.

Beibei heaved herself up from the pile of humans stowed inside the cart. It was called a cart, but it was more like a rough sled. Maramarae bark had been dried, and then woven together to form a long flat layer. Then the two sides of the layer were turned to overlap each other, and the two ends were tied up, making a sort of nest-like sled. The lower part of the sled was patched up with more and more bark till it was thick and could hold out the rough pulling over the desert sand and rocks.

The people were stuffed inside the wrapping, with the bark overlapping above staying slightly apart to allow air to pass through. One end of the sled was then tied to the best which would be pulling it through the desert. No need to mention just how tough it was for those who were being pulled along like dead bodies in such a harsh way!

Sitting up, she brought her nose to the slit and breathed deeply. Through the gap she could see the large buttocks of the Horned Desert Bull which was pulling along four such carts. Though it had a hump like a bull, but the tail was that of a fat lizard. It was large as an elephant, with two flat horns growing on both sides of its head, just above the ears. Another three sharp stone horns grew above its snout. Long and pointed horns grew all over its spine, right from the shoulder to the tip of its long tail. The entire body was encased within a thick and rough stone like covering.

It was not very tamable and didn't allow anyone to ride them, but due to its massive strength, they were rather perfect for pulling all kinds of luggage and loads.

She tilted her head to peer on both sides of the bull. There were five people accompanying these carts, and each was riding a large Ghost Lizard. These lizards were as long as three humans, from head to tail, and had metal spikes on their head and tail. They spit contained high levels of poison an were quite dangerous.

However, that was not what they were famous for. When facing an enemy larger or stronger than themselves, these lizards could cover their entire body with a metal layer....and then they would run faster than the wind and disappear before you could blink! They were large in numbers, had mid-grade cultivation and were found all over the desert, but actually being able to catch one was a difficult feat.

Beibei pulled out one of the stuffed buns and gorged on it. Since leaving the camp, they had been given nothing to eat. Well, technically all the rest of the commoners were unconscious and definitely couldn't eat anything. And as she was play-acting, she couldn't possibly poke out her head and demand food! She had stuffed the insides of her clothes with lots of buns and leather water-bags. But after three days her supply was at an end.

Beibei looked around, trying to make out the path they were currently on. These people would stop at night as soon as the sky darkened, and would only start moving after the light came on in the mornings. She needed to make a move tonight. Though the people accompanying them were rather relaxed, they would still leave one person on guard every night as the rest went to sleep. Also, the lizards were their contract beasts. They would certainly alert their masters when she tried to leave.

She looked around. They were currently walking down a narrow, gravelly path, bordered by high mountainous walls on both sides. In places she would catch a glimpse of dried bare bones of beasts and man who had perished along this path - perhaps due to heat or perhaps fighting against each other.

She had been listening in on the random conversations of the five people up ahead using her extremely sharp hearing. She would also hear their thoughts from time to time. She wondered if this was also a power she had. But now she didn't know how to control this skill. It came and went as and when it liked.

They were currently moving along the Taba Valley. This deserted path was between two large cliffs. There were many such valleys and cliffs, all running parallel to each other. This entire area was called the Claws Of The Raven. Because from a height, the valleys and cliffs together looked like some giant beast had clawed through the ground, leaving deep grooves and markings.

There was some folk story about how many rivers ran through these valleys some thousands of years ago. Not many really believed it. It would be strange that so many overflowing rivers had completely dried up within a span of some thousands of years!

However, many still believed that the fossilized bones of the huge creatures they would often come across, poking out from beneath the ground in various places, were actually bones of ancient beasts which had once been the kings of those rivers. And once the waters dried up, the water creatures were left to die a pathetic death on the dry and hot soils of the valleys.

Beibei also knew that all these valleys and cliffs lead to the foot of the large mountain on which the Main City was built. Apparently the source of all the rivers was somewhere below the Main City, somewhere deep within the heart of the mountain. And the Resting-Camps were on these paths, half-way to the Main City.

So if she could escape from here and kept running straight, then she would surely reach the Main City. The Main City was not actually safe, but from reading the minds of these people and those guards back in the camp, she knew that there were many commoners in the city, and they led a relatively easier life. If she could somehow enter the city, then maybe she could turn her fate. Or at least Menji's fate?

She looked at Menji's unconscious body, shaking from the jerks of the moving sled. She hadn't woken up once since the day she fell ill. If not for the faint breathing and the slight warmth of her body, she would have thought that the old woman had succumbed to the harshness and despondency of surviving and vanished in the murky waters of life.

"Move to the side!"

The cry from far ahead jolted her thoughts and she turned forward, trying hard to make out what was going on at the front. The large size of the bull hindered her sight, but she could make out the darkness storming their path. The sky had turned black, and layer upon layer of sand and soil could be seen circling the black smoke slowly engulfing the path ahead of them.

This was a sand tornado. They were pretty common in the desert, but now they were caught in a precarious position. Mountainous walls on both sides had them stuck, and the tornado was raging forth towards them. At this wind speed, even the rocky walls had no protection, and this tornado would tear apart large boulders to gravel and sand and blow them up into the smoky whirlwind, like a sacrifice to the wind Gods.

They had come a long way inside and the Ghost Lizards were no match for the speed of this devil. The Lizards rushed off to the sides, clamoring up the stone walls, then hung behind large boulders or cramped themselves into tiny cavities in the wall, digging their large claws deep into the rocks and hoping they could outlast the passing of this tornado.

The large bull was at a disadvantage. It couldn't climb up the mountain, and it's large size was very likely to get caught in this turmoil. The wind of a sand tornado was as sharp as a million blades, and could even rip through the hardest of skins and flesh.

The dust and gravel was making it hard to see anything. The sand and rocks had already started to float around them, signaling the nearness of the tornado. The lizards had all left the bull behind, the men unable to spare a thought for their unconscious burdens in the face of death. Being abandoned, the bull could only pull itself to one side of the path.

Digging it's hooves deep into the ground, it sat down, merging as much as possible with the mountainous wall. It made another hole and almost buried its head inside. Though its chances were slim, it had to try to outlive this sand storm.

The sand and gravels were pouring in through the slit in the cart, making it difficult to breathe. Beibei decisively tore open the slit. They would either get caught in the whirlwind and be bashed against the rocks, or get buried under piles of rocks and sand. Either way was death. She looked at the stubborn bull. It wanted to live. So did she.

Beibei slid out of the torn slit, her foot landing on the ground after almost three whole days. The sudden change in posture made her stumble, and she held onto whatever she could reach to stabilize herself. After she felt her feet had found their sturdiness, she turned to look up and was surprised to see the face of the bull looking up at her. The crimson eyes glowered angrily under the deep crease of its forehead. But for whatever reason, it did not throw her hand off which was clutching onto the horns on its head.

She gulped in fear, but did not let go of the horn, staring back at the bull. The large beast let out a snort through its wide nostrils, and Beibei felt a gust of hot air washing over her face. The bull turned its head once more and buried itself under the sand once more.

The four carts were rolling all over the ground at the back, knocking against the mountain wall in careless momentum. Scared for Menji, Beibei pulled on the rope tying the cart she had been in, then wedged it between the wall and the side of the bull. The rest she couldn't care about in the current situation.

Once more gripping onto the horn on the hump of the bull, Beibei shifted her eyes to the whirlwind devouring the rocks and soil of the path as it rushed on towards them. But she was not feeling scared. She was feeling.....excited?!

There was something bubbling inside her body, wanting to burst out and making her feel restless. Was it her wind energy? But it wanted to come out and merge with the power of wind in the tornado! Beibei could feel a strange tingling sensation in every pore of her body, and unconsciously the wind energy within her started leaking, as the sand and gravel around her rose in the tiny whirlwind forming around her.

The more power she released, the larger grew the tiny tornado. Sensing the strangeness of its surrounding, the bull raised its head once more, staring at the girl in shock and suspicion. Beibei noticed the glowering eyes of the bull from the sides of her eyes, but she had no energy or time to spend on its emotions. Gripping the horn more tightly, she shoved the heels of her feet into the sand below, facing the coming whirlwind with the growing tornado of her own, basking in the weird and abnormally growing excitement over which she had no control.