Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:51:08 GMT
He finally makes it to the top of the sand dune. Now that he's at the top, he struggles a little, but manages to stand up and look around. All he sees is sand. Sand, and more sand. Behind him, about a mile away, he thinks he sees the rocky ground he left to head into this sand. Ahead of him, more dunes, more sand. This isn't where he drove his SUV. This is Hell. Or close enough.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:51:21 GMT
Again, he doesn't know what to do. He decides to drink the rest of the wiper fluid while figuring it out. He takes out the bottle, and is removing the cap, when he glances to the side and sees something. Something in the sand. At the bottom of the dune, off to the side, he sees something strange. It's a flat area, in the sand. He stops taking the cap of the bottle off, and tries to look closer. The area seems to be circular. And it's dark - darker than the sand. And, there seems to be something in the middle of it, but he can't tell what it is. He looks as hard as he can, and still can't tell from here. He's going to have to go down there and look.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:51:30 GMT
He puts the bottle back in his pocket, and starts to stumble down the dune. After a few steps, he realizes that he's in trouble - he's not going to be able to keep his balance. After a couple of more sliding, tottering steps, he falls and starts to roll down the dune. The sand it so hot when his body hits it that for a minute he thinks he's caught fire on the way down - like a movie car wreck flashing into flames as it goes over the cliff, before it ever even hits the ground. He closes his eyes and mouth, covers his face with his hands, and waits to stop rolling.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:51:38 GMT
He stops, at the bottom of the dune. After a minute or two, he finds enough energy to try to sit up and get the sand out of his face and clothes. When he clears his eyes enough, he looks around to make sure that the dark spot in the sand it still there and he hadn't just imagined it.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:51:45 GMT
So, seeing the large, flat, dark spot on the sand is still there, he begins to crawl towards it. He'd get up and walk towards it, but he doesn't seem to have the energy to get up and walk right now. He must be in the final stages of dehydration he figures, as he crawls. If this place in the sand doesn't have water, he'll likely never make it anywhere else. This is his last chance.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:51:52 GMT
He gets closer and closer, but still can't see what's in the middle of the dark area. His eyes won't quite focus any more for some reason. And lifting his head up to look takes so much effort that he gives up trying. He just keeps crawling.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:00 GMT
Finally, he reaches the area he'd seen from the dune. It takes him a minute of crawling on it before he realizes that he's no longer on sand - he's now crawling on some kind of dark stone. Stone with some kind of marking on it - a pattern cut into the stone. He's too tired to stand up and try to see what the pattern is - so he just keeps crawling. He crawls towards the center, where his blurry eyes still see something in the middle of the dark stone area.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:09 GMT
His mind, detached in a strange way, notes that either his hands and knees are so burnt by the sand that they no longer feel pain, or that this dark stone, in the middle of a burning desert with a pounding, punishing sun overhead, doesn't seem to be hot. It almost feels cool. He considers lying down on the nice cool surface.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:17 GMT
Cool, dark stone. Not a good sign. He must be hallucinating this. He's probably in the middle of a patch of sand, already lying face down and dying, and just imagining this whole thing. A desert mirage. Soon the beautiful women carrying pitchers of water will come up and start giving him a drink. Then he'll know he's gone.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:26 GMT
He decides against laying down on the cool stone. If he's going to die here in the middle of this hallucination, he at least wants to see what's in the center before he goes. He keeps crawling.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:32 GMT
It's the third time that he hears the voice before he realizes what he's hearing. He would swear that someone just said, "Greetings, traveler. You do not look well. Do you hear me?"
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:39 GMT
He stops crawling. He tries to look up from where he is on his hands and knees, but it's too much effort to lift his head. So he tries something different - he leans back and tries to sit up on the stone. After a few seconds, he catches his balance, avoids falling on his face, sits up, and tries to focus his eyes. Blurry. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hands and tries again. Better this time.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:46 GMT
Yep. He can see. He's sitting in the middle of a large, flat, dark expanse of stone. Directly next to him, about three feet away, is a white post or pole about two inches in diameter and sticking up about four or five feet out of the stone, at an angle.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:52:53 GMT
And wrapped around this white rod, tail with rattle on it hovering and seeming to be ready to start rattling, is what must be a fifteen foot long desert diamondback rattlesnake, looking directly at him.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:03 GMT
He stares at the snake in shock. He doesn't have the energy to get up and run away. He doesn't even have the energy to crawl away. This is it, his final resting place. No matter what happens, he's not going to be able to move from this spot.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:11 GMT
Well, at least dying of a bite from this monster should be quicker than dying of thirst. He'll face his end like a man. He struggles to sit up a little straighter. The snake keeps watching him. He lifts one hand and waves it in the snake's direction, feebly. The snake watches the hand for a moment, then goes back to watching the man, looking into his eyes.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:19 GMT
Hmmm. Maybe the snake had no interest in biting him? It hadn't rattled yet - that was a good sign. Maybe he wasn't going to die of snake bite after all.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:27 GMT
He then remembers that he'd looked up when he'd reached the center here because he thought he'd heard a voice. He was still very woozy - he was likely to pass out soon, the sun still beat down on him even though he was now on cool stone. He still didn't have anything to drink. But maybe he had actually heard a voice. This stone didn't look natural. Nor did that white post sticking up out of the stone. Someone had to have built this. Maybe they were still nearby. Maybe that was who talked to him. Maybe this snake was even their pet, and that's why it wasn't biting.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:39 GMT
He tries to clear his throat to say, "Hello," but his throat is too dry. All that comes out is a coughing or wheezing sound. There is no way he's going to be able to talk without something to drink. He feels his pocket, and the bottle with the wiper fluid is still there. He shakily pulls the bottle out, almost losing his balance and falling on his back in the process. This isn't good. He doesn't have much time left, by his reckoning, before he passes out.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:47 GMT
He gets the lid off of the bottle, manages to get the bottle to his lips, and pours some of the fluid into his mouth. He sloshes it around, and then swallows it. He coughs a little. His throat feels better. Maybe he can talk now.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:52 GMT
He tries again. Ignoring the snake, he turns to look around him, hoping to spot the owner of this place, and croaks out, "Hello? Is there anyone here?"
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:53:58 GMT
He hears, from his side, "Greetings. What is it that you want?"
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:54:06 GMT
He turns his head, back towards the snake. That's where the sound had seemed to come from. The only thing he can think of is that there must be a speaker, hidden under the snake, or maybe built into that post. He decides to try asking for help.
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:54:14 GMT
"Please," he croaks again, suddenly feeling dizzy, "I'd love to not be thirsty any more. I've been a long time without water. Can you help me?"
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Santa Shikiba
Headmaster
Your glower power is no match for my flower power.
Posts: 971
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Post by Santa Shikiba on Sept 3, 2018 0:54:21 GMT
Looking in the direction of the snake, hoping to see where the voice was coming from this time, he is shocked to see the snake rear back, open its mouth, and speak. He hears it say, as the dizziness overtakes him and he falls forward, face first on the stone, "Very well. Coming up."
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