Journey To The Great Wastes - Part 2/4 (Short Story)

Here is a Link to part 1 of this story if you would like to go back and get yourself caught up with it. Originally, this was meant to be a 3 part series, but, I've bumped that number up to 4, because of a slight change I decided to add.

Before I get started I wanted to say that in the PGM - Discord Server Link, there is a giveaway being held at the moment to earn an NFT, which will give each holder of it passive earnings. All you need to do to enter this giveaway is join the server and react to the announcement with a PGM emoji in the general chat channel, anyone who reacts to it will earn the NFT.

The giveaway is only active for the next 7 days, so hurry and grab it while you can.

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The Arok Woman was the first at the gate, she was leaning against a wall when Ahren arrived. “So, did you get what you need?” She asked after a few moments of silence. “Yeah, I got some ration packs and water. It cost me 300 FSTs.” Her eyes widened at that. “Seriously?” All Ahren could do was nod. “Wow, you got ripped off. Is Sooma paying that expense?” Ahren doubted it. “I don’t know. It would be great if he did, I can’t really afford to lose out on a tenth of my earnings.” “I hear you there. What do you need the money for?” Ahren didn’t want to delve too deep into his personal life with a complete stranger, but her cool demeanor made it easy to talk. “If I’m honest, I just want to get off this rock; I don’t exactly have a lot of prospects, so when I saw the job and the payment attached I just had to go for it.” She just nodded to that and stared out beyond the gates to the big bright nothing.

“What about you? Doesn’t seem like the kind of work an Arok would go for.” She ignored the question for a moment and then shrugged. “I take it you know a lot about Aroks.” Ahren shook his head to that; he had known a few but not many. She let out a sigh. “My parents were researchers; they earned awards for all sorts, and my sister followed a similar path and earned some accolades of her own. I on the other hand got a bit lost in life. Bouncing from one thing to another, before I came to Scoosha in pursuit of studying the fauna here. I’m writing and producing a holo-vid on post-war animals and the effects conflict has on a planet's ecosystem. I’m still in the research stage and thought The Great Wastes would be a good chance to get a good start on it.” Ahren listened intently and was interested in the subject. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Was all he could say in response.

The others arrived within a few minutes, and each of them checked their inventory. Sooma then looked at them for a moment, as if he was about to give a speech, but instead of saying a word, he just started walking. The Mulu stared at him, then looked back at Ahren and shrugged, only to turn and follow him, prompting the others to do the same.

Walking The Great Wastes was disorientating. Even though there were a few of them out there, Ahren couldn’t help but feel alone. The hottest part of the day had passed them by, but it didn’t mean it was over just yet. After a few hours, he was starting to feel light-headed and his clothes were soaked in sweat. He had considered the sweat of walking, prior to going on the excursion, but in his mind, it wasn’t like this; he assumed it would have been cooling. Instead, it made the light fabric heavy, and it stuck to him awkwardly, which soon started to chaif. His legs started to feel raw, and the others didn’t seem to be setting up camp anytime soon. Ahren started to lag behind, barely taking notice of the others who powered on.

“You okay?” He heard a familiar voice, looking up to see the Arok woman, who seemed no worse for wear. Now her garment that previously reached the ground was tied in a bunch around her waist, draping just above her knees. Ahren tried to say yes, but could barely catch his breath, prompting him to nod in response.

“Drink some water. Humans aren’t built for this kind of heat.” Ahren was trying to hang onto his rations and water for as long as possible, but the wise thing to do was use it; they had hours yet to go. The first mouthful of water was the best he’d ever had. It was lukewarm, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying it.

The rest of the day's trek was a little bit more bearable, especially as the sun went down. The only problem was the cold; the chill ran through him as soon as the light was gone. Going from hot to cold so rapidly was a shock to his system, and quickly everyone in the party took out their thicker clothes and got changed.

After a few minutes the camp was set up, and the Mulu started to gather wood to light a fire, which was a welcome addition to their base. Sooma stood on the outskirts of their encampment and stared out at the blackness that quickly surrounded them. “No fire.” He said without turning around. “Have you ever eaten a cold ration pack? It’s not a nice experience.” The Mulu responded chirpily. Sooma turned around and glared at him. “No fire.”

“I think he’s right. We don’t know who’s out there.” The Arok woman interjected, staring into the darkness herself. “Or what.” The Mulu threw down the kindling and stood up. “Fine. No fire.” He said, mimicking Sooma’s gruff voice. He then turned and headed straight for his tent, fastening the flap once he got inside.

“Better do the same, we have another half a day's hike through the desert tomorrow.” The Arok woman said as she stood up. “We start early. Before the sun rises.” Sooma said, before turning to his own tent.

Ahren stayed sitting, forcing himself to take a bite of his ration pack, pushing it down with some water. No matter how much he chewed, it didn’t break down, it just compressed into a bland-tasting ball, which caught in his throat on the way down. “Any stories, human?” Koni asked, distracting him from the struggle over his ration pack. Ahren couldn’t respond with words, so he shook his head.

“I got some. Plenty really, but it’s sometimes hard to choose just one. Ever get that? You try to think of a story or joke and your mind goes blank.” Ahren took a second swallow. The ball of glump went down and he proceeded to wrap the rest of his ration pack; the thought of eating more of it made him sick.

“Why not tell me how you and Sooma found yourselves on this journey? What’s the goal? Why do you two want to come this far into the wastes?” All Ahren could hear after a few seconds' pause, was the rustling of fabric brushing lazily against the sand.

“Well, back when me and Sooma were just spawnlings, swimming around The Dead Lakes of Trisk; before the invasion. Our uncle was running one of the mining settlements here on Scoosha. He died during the occupation, and the settlements were all abandoned.” “Sorry to hear about that.” Koni raised a hand to Ahren and shook his head. “Don’t apologise, we barely knew him. But, we did know one thing. He had a ship; a good starship that was never taken. Apparently, it has been in that mining settlement for years. That’s the goal of this excursion. We need that, if we have any hope of leaving this dust rock.”

“Wait, you are going through all of this hassle and endangering yourselves and us, without knowing if the ship is still there, or operational, for that matter.” Koni started laughing. “You shook? Don’t worry about it, we know it’s there, or at least, Sooma knows it is anyway.” Ahren just stared at Koni as he finished. The sun was completely gone by this stage, and without warning the entire place had turned pitch black. His eyes adjusted while the light disappeared, but all he could see was a moving shape. “How does he know, exactly?” A slight fear filled his voice, worried that this would all be for nothing.

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“I shouldn’t be saying this.” Koni paused, and Ahren could hear the shuffle of his fabric as he dragged himself closer. “This isn’t the first trip we’ve made. The last one was long and arduous, he managed to pay for transport after he found someone mad enough to fly us there. It was a small group, only three, including the driver. We got right to the settlement and could see the ship. I've never seen Sooma so happy. But, we had been tracked. Before we could dream of landing e were shot at. That spooked the pilot and no matter how much Sooma ordered, the guy wouldn’t budge. We made it back to Tar-Dina, and the guy was roaring about wanting more money for the damage done to his ship. There’s a lot of people out here, we can’t see them, but they’re all around us.” Koni’s voice hissed, and Ahren felt uneasy. He was staring at Koni but could swear there were other shapes in the black void. Figures circling, weaving, prepared to pounce. “There are people out there,” Ahren whispered. Koni chuckled to that. “Nah, I was only trying to spook you, human.”

He reached for his blaster slowly, unholstering it silently, not wanting to attract any attention. “I’m being serious.” Koni let out a sigh and loudly took out his own weapon, letting off a shot into the air. A flash of orange light illuminated the area, revealing faces.

If you want to continue reading this story, Here Is A Link To Part 3/4.