“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” I ask as I slowly and ever so carefully set down my rifle and backpack. Don’t want to upset the madman. I may not be able to see him from here but he is absolutely radiating crazy. Hope it’s not contagious.

“Shut up! Hands behind your head and get down on your knees!” Well guess playing innocent isn’t going to work “You too you ragheaded whore! We’ll have our fun after he gets his.”

Now that was just unnecessary. Damn this is going to take a careful hand. Really hope the rest of those lizards are farther off than he made them out to be.

“Now you’re going to tell me where I can find Hernandez! I know you were there in Moscow the week he vanished! And if I even think your lying, I’ll put a bullet in the little hussy’s head! You might be the lord of lies, Belial but you can’t fool me” Moving closer he trains the barrel and flips the safety leaving no question as to how close he is to pulling the trigger.

Ah, straight from the mouth of every 3rd rate movie villain.

Oh, Jesus. Hernandez and Moscow. This fucker really is insane. Hernandez was a recent hire that was supposed to be helping us out with the Ukrainians. A few months back after a drop-off I had found the fucker doing things to an infant that would have made Albert Fish seem like a humanitarian. It was only through pure happenstance that I found out about it. Of course, before I could finish him off he started jabbering about how his old war buddies were going to tear me limb from limb. I looked into it too, and there is absolutely no fucking way they should have known that Hernandez worked for us let alone that I was involved. From the files, I remember reading this guy should be Jethro. God dammit how did I not see that before.

Why can’t anything be simple.

Well, it’s a good thing I always tell the truth. Okay, so almost always, but you can’t really fault me a couple of white lies, can you? It’s more of lies of omission that I ever really tell. I let them fill in what they want to hear. Besides, telling lies isn’t how I earned my Name.

“I don’t know where Hernandez is. Last I saw him he was headed out of the country.” In several trash bags.

“He would have contacted us then! Where was he headed? He must have been running from someone!” He growls and edges closer. He’s about 2 meters from my spot on the sand with Malika.

“He wasn’t running from anyone. He usually heads down to the Ukraine, though with whatever weapons I happen to have dropped off. If he didn’t go there then I don’t know where he would have gone.” All true, it’s just that it wasn’t a usual run for him. Now, c’mon take the bait.

“Who was he going to see in the Ukraine? You know where he went! If not then you know who does!”

“Listen man, my job is to just get the guns from point A to point B. If anyone made him disappear it would probably be Mikhail Antonov, his contact in Kharkiv.” Hah that’ll teach Mikhail to use loaded dice. I mean, it would teach him if this guy ever made it out of here alive. Which he won’t.

*Bang*

A Bullet tears its way through left shoulder and I hunker down onto the sand. Oh man that’s going to leave a mark.

“You’re lying! You know where he his!” Frothing at the mouth he takes two steps closer keeping the barrel trained on my head.

Oh this guy is sooooo gunna die.

Hissing, guttural growls echo in the not so far distance. Jerking his head around Jethro makes the last mistake of his pitiful existence. Hastily moving my feet underneath me as I slide my left shoulder underneath the barrel I grit my teeth through the pain. As I do so I wrap my left arm around the rifle and use my right hand to grab at a knife I had stuffed into my belt earlier. Shoving the blade up into his ribcage I pull it out with a vicious twist before trying to shove it in again. My only sign that Jethro is far better trained than I gave him credit for is the hand on my right forearm and his forehead suddenly breaking my nose. Staggering back slightly I barely manage to dodge a lightning fast right-handed palm strike aimed at my face. I duck my head to the right only to find his same right hand clamping down onto the bullet wound on my left shoulder followed by two successive knee strikes to my abdomen. Twisting my wrist as he releases me, he snatches the knife out of my limp hand, allowing me to fall and tumble backwards onto the backpack. I look up to see a feral grin stretch across his face as his left-hand presses up against the knife wound I inflicted in efforts to staunch the bloody tide.

“I’m gonna carve you up all nice and pretty, demon. I’m gonna make you beg for death.”

Moving forward he swings his foot out in a vicious kick aimed for my side. Rolling with the kick, it misses me by centimeters but his training holds and he doesn’t over extend himself. The exchange is cut short, however as I roll through onto my back and fire the pistol, covertly pulled out after I fell, into his face. Collapsing in a heap into the sand he doesn’t so much as twitch from where he lies.

Getting up on my knees once more,I glare at Akhil and simply point at my shoulder. Still too shocked for words, he hurries over to inspect the wound, it seems like he is much more comfortable sticking with what he knows. Nodding his head, he simply puts my hand on the wound ordering me to apply pressure on it and rushes inside the plane. Looking aside I watch Malika stomp over, glaring at the fresh corpse with a furious expression. Standing there she draws her foot back and kicks him. Hard. And then again and again. The entire time she rants in what I am pretty sure is a collection of rather colorful Arabic curses.

“Feel better?” I ask as she seems to be calm down, only to immediately eat my words as she turns a petrifying glare at me. This woman is fierce! Shit she looks hot when she’s mad.

“You!” pointing her finger at me accusingly, “who are you?! And so help me if it is not what I want to hear, I’ll-“

“I am an arms dealer.” Not knowing what else to say, I hope that’s enough to placate her for now. She probably doesn’t want to know everything else that I do. Probably not good for her long-term health either in my experience. Akhil comes out with bandages and rubbing alcohol in hand before she can ask anything else. Pouring the rubbing alcohol on the wound, much to my chagrin, he cleans up and bandages the wound as best as possible.

“Now you listen here-“ Malika starts again only to be interrupted once more as some very unwelcome guest make themselves known.

Across from us in the moonlight I look over and count five large figures crest a neighboring sand dune and continue in our direction. Reaching down and tossing the backpack at Akhil I put the strap of the M4 around my good shoulder.

“Quickly, Malika grab the duffel, Akhil come over here, I need help moving. We need to leave now, but we need to do so quietly. Hopefully they’ll ignore us in favor of fresh food.” I order in the loudest whisper I think feasible. Previous problems now forgotten, they move like their life depends upon it. After all it just might.

We make it halfway up the next dune before the sounds of snapping bones and tearing flesh reaches our ears. Leaning against Akhil I can feel him pause and shudder before redoubling his effort to get me moving. As we crest the dune a breeze hits our face and its only then that I realize how cold it is. 10 minutes later of hobbling through the sand I gesture to Malika for the duffel bag. Reaching in I quietly pull out two jackets and a compact wool blanket. Throwing the blanket over myself the other two each throw on the jackets before we silently continue going our way.

3 hours after their escape Malika allowed herself to consider living through this ordeal as an official option. She was a strong woman but she could only handle so much. Between the plane crash, the lizards, being held at gunpoint and just so much death she had had enough and had taken out her helplessness of the situation on a dead body. Although it had been the corpse of a man that had just threatened and held her at gunpoint, the memory of her actions caused her to lower her head in shame.

And then Isaac, or Belial, or whatever his name is just had to act all smug like he just knew.

Ugh…

Honestly, she really didn’t know what came over her. She was just through with being unsure. The last 24 hours had just been a giant ball of confusion. So, she decided to focus on what did make sense.

The plane crashed. I survived. We are fleeing. It is cold.

It is nighttime and it is very cold. I think my nipples might be able to cut- stop…

The doctor’s name is Akhil. The other man, let’s just stick with Isaac, is dangerous and a liar. Should probably stick with doctor. After all he’s the one so far that is LEAST likely to have situations end in death. Right? No. No, sense questioning future. We’ve been walking a while. Sky is lightening, sun will rise soon. Maybe in time before we freeze? The sun is hot. That is also not good. We need shelter. Maybe-

They crested the latest energy-draining sand dune Malika almost ran into the back of Akhil. Taking short pained gasps, she reluctantly swallowed the chilly air.

“Hey, look. Not much longer and you can rest. Just stay with me.” Akhil said, slightly shaking Isaac’s limp figure.

Finally catching her breath, she shuffled around the two hunched figures. Following their line of sight, she took in the view of what she can only describe as pigmy mountains. A barren stretch of rock extends across the horizon, a rock-filled field the only thing separating it from the sea of sand behind them. Large, but not like the mountain ranges she knew, this had the look of a massive expanse of rock that was originally covered but had been exposed over time as the sand swept everything away. It even looked heavily eroded and worn down, though no water was in sight to have done the damage.

“Homestretch huh boys?” Malika asks before looking back and taking in the haggard pair. Isaac looked worse than ever, but still had a fire in his eyes. Akhil though, while not as bad, definitely did not look fine.

“Akhil how are you doing?”

Turning his sunken eyes on her he replies, “I will hold until we find shelter. We should be able to find something in the area up ahead at the very least. The more distance we put between us and those things, the safer I’ll feel.” Pausing he took off the backpack and began rifling through it before giving up and eying at the duffel at her side. “You wouldn’t happen to have any water, would you? It’s cold but we’ve been walking for a while and the desert air is still dry. I’d feel better if we stayed hydrated.”

“Hah. Cold. Understatement of the year.” Isaac mumbled, pitching in his two cents before he closed his eyes and began swaying slightly.

A quick search found her two 1-liter bottles, one which she handed over, keeping the other for herself.

“Here, take small sips.” Akhil instructed Isaac, slowly poured some of the water down his throat before taking a drought himself.

“Conserve the water as much as you can but don’t feel like it’s the end of the world if we drink it all. I have some good water filters in that bag and if we can find shelter we can replenish our supplies to a certain extent.” Isaac managed to gasp out in between shallow breaths.

“What all is in here?” She asked, curiosity overcoming her.

“Enough for one man to eke out an existence for around a month. If we come across anyone let me know. I have some things in there we can trade for if needed.”

“You mean other than military weapons? Oh, I’m sorry I meant to say relief aid.” Malika bit back as her ire rose once more.

Sighing, Isaac steadied himself, facing her with steely determination, “Listen, I’m not going to defend myself or what I do. If it’s going to be a problem though the least you could do is give me a fighting chance. A bottle of water, some of the supplies from the bag, and the rifle here. You can take the rest, you and the good doctor here, and I’ll be on my way. I won’t deny that I’m hurt pretty bad and just slowing you two down. I know I am. I also won’t deny that if those scaly bastards come crawling around I’m your best shot at taking one of them down.”

Letting out an irritated growl Malika moved forward once more. Malika found she didn’t really care about the majestic beauty of rocks anymore. Not when she felt the cold start to settle back in and mix with the heat of her frustration. Moving with a newly determined pace she set course for a gorge that seemed to split the rock in twain. It appeared for all intents and purposes, as if a long dried-up river had at one time coursed its way through it. Breaking through the rock field, a small measure of relief flooded through her system as she spotted a bush at the entrance to the wide gorge. It wasn’t much but that at least meant that it was at least possible for things to live here. Which was more than she could say about the landscape they had left behind.

Pausing midstride she glanced behind her, only now realizing she had left behind the other two. They were still only halfway across the rock-strewn stretch of land, the only transition between sand and stone, when it occurred to her that, honestly, she had everything needed to survive. All they carried were some guns, supposedly. She had many useful things in the duffel bag at her side, even a pistol she had stowed away in her dress earlier. Somethings in the survival bag she couldn’t even guess their purpose, but essentially, most of the supplies were necessary for survival. And right now, she could wander off, find shelter and live off the supplies contained therein moving forward until she found civilization. She was moving faster than the other two, even with the heavy duffel on her shoulders, and the food and water would last much longer if they weren’t split 3-ways. The lizard situation was one to consider but honestly the best situation would be to not run into them at all and the blood covering the other two would most certainly draw them in.

Cut my losses. After all, everyone else is already dead and Isaac is most likely to die of his wounds if his current state is anything to speculate on.

Blinking her eyes, she pulled herself from her muddied thoughts with disgust. Yes, she could leave them and survive, but she would never leave those that depended on her. She would not be her father, and just cut her losses and leave in a fit of selfishness, only reasoning with twisted logic that it was the right choice after the fact. She was better than her father and she was stronger than her mother. She would stand by who she was and she wouldn’t let any selfish bastard tell her otherwise.

Finishing her silent rant of self-vindication, she set the bag down and went to help the pair as they struggled to maneuver the uneven terrain.

“Thanks” Akhil muttered while the only sound that escapes Isaac is a muted grunt as she wrapped an arm around his waist. Practically carrying the wounded man between them to the gorge she watched as the sky transitioned to a muted orange, signaling the rise of the sun beyond the ridge before them. They had apparently been traveling East on their arduous journey. Filing that detail away for later she grabbed the bag and flung it over her shoulder with renewed energy. Her eyes practically glowing with renewed determination she lends a hand to help the bedraggled duo across the flat, hard packed sand before them.

Yes, she is crass.

Yes, she is stubborn.

But she would stand by those that depended upon her and be damned before compromising who she was. Besides, if she were being honest with herself, staying in control of who she was seemed to be the only thing she had control of anymore.

Cold.

Cold and numb.

Cold and numb and itchy

But cold first and foremost. Everything is just so cold. Its dark and I just want to curl up before my balls freeze. Maybe it’s the blood loss? I don’t think I lost that much but you never know. Akhil looks chilly, but not the mind-numbing chill that seems to pervade me. I can’t really even feel my fingers anymore. Or my feet. Or my face. Or really anything.

Except maybe itchy. That I definitely feel.

All over. Wherever the freezing air hits my skin seems to be the worst though. But it’s there, all over, head to toe. I feel like I just need to peel my skin off before jumping into a fire. Solve both problems at once.

Oh. I guess it’s not as dark anymore. Kinda orangish. I think. I can’t really see too well. Wonder why? Oh hey look a tree. Trees are good. I can’t really remember why. I think I knew when we saw a bush. Right after the rocky place. Yeah.

I hope Malika is alright. She’s been helping Akhil move me for a while. I’m really glad she didn’t leave us. When we were walking over rocks and stuff she was way ahead, and I thought Akhil might leave me to go chase after her or something.

I am slowing them down after all.

They probably don’t have the best impression of me either. With my injuries, it wouldn’t have been too hard to just up and leave me on the rocks. Like a good Bourbon. I thought she would. I mean I probably would have. Maybe. Don’t really know. I think I’ll close my eyes and figure it out. That sounds like a good idea.

…

“Hssss!” breathing out through my teeth I glare at Malika. Fucking bitch just hit my ribs! What the-

“Wake up cunt! We can’t carry your fat ass.” Wow. Shit. She looks pretty determined. Better listen or she might poke me again. That hurt and I don’t want her to leave me. That would be bad. I’ll have to thank her when I get back. Don’t know where she got the energy from to carry the duffel bag and help move me along. Sooooo glad Lilith isn’t here. She would never let me hear the end of it. Carried along like a sack of potatoes.

Man, who knew eyelids could be so heavy. Or how itchy my neck is. Damn it’s like I got bit by some mosquitos on super steriods. I’m so cold I’m on fire. That makes no sense. Oh man. Cold and itchy. This is not the way I want to go. Smothered in female flesh? Most definitely yes. Freezing to death, shot, broken, beaten up, and sleep deprived in the desert? Oh hell fucking NO.

…

Wonder when the sun came up. It’s getting hard to keep track of these things. I just wish it would warm up finally. I mean even- Huh. When did they take their jackets off? It feels like it has only gotten colder. And when did the ants find me? It must have been when I was asleep after the crash. That must be why I’m so itchy. That makes sense. I think. You know, a lot of animals that live in the desert have a name that starts with sand. Sand fox. Sand cat. Sandgrouse. Me? I’ve been here so long you can call me sandman.

“Hahahaha” Oh my god it’s so funny but I don’t really remember why. I turn and smile and my companions. They’re so great.

Hey wait. Is that what I think it is? Holy shit! We’re saved! I knew The Charity would be looking for me. Thank god, they made it here so fast. They even have a campsite. I wonder who they sent. Probably none of The Family bu-

“MOM?!?!?!” Of course, she’s here. She’s alright. She’s all better and she came to find her son.

I stumble and turn to find a hand on my shoulder. What do she think she’s doing?!

“Bastard LET GO OF ME!” Shrugging off Malika’s hand I dash over to Mom as she waits expectantly.

She looks so much better, and healthy. I can’t remember the last time she looked like this. Maybe before Dad died? I knew everything thing wou-

Grass. I’m laying down in grass. How did I get here? Oh, I must have fallen. How did I fall? No. That doesn’t matter. I just have to get up and get to Mom. Eat something get some sleep and everything will be fine. Gasping I manage to get to my knees. I look up to where Mom was but I don’t see here immediately. Maybe she ran over here when she saw me fall, especially considering this large puddle was probably between us. I look only to find a tree. A dead tree with two broken limbs out to the side at shoulder height on the other side of a small pool. But that doesn’t make sense. She was there, and there were tents, and I could smell food and-

And then it hits me in a moment of clarity. I’m going delirious. I’m losing my mind and seeing things. I’ve likely got some horrible sickness, and on the verge of death. An emptiness wells up within me and in consumes my thoughts, it consumes the chill in my bones, and it consumes the millions of ants under my skin.

It spreads and consumes until all that’s left is the tree, and then it consumes that as well.

Sorry Mom. At least you’re better and I already have everything set up just in case. Guess I’ll tell Dad hi for you.