2058 Part Two

Part Two:

I haven’t thought much about dying before. The thought has crossed my mind from time to time.

The last three days have made me think of it like never before. The thought of dying here and never being found in this desert is too much to bear.

Will I make it back? Is my fate sealed? My Smartwatch screen smashed. I can’t reach the buttons with my fingers because of the metal shackles.

Taking what little shelter I can during the midday heat of the sun by kicking and scaping holes in the sides of these dunes has helped. I need water. I don’t think I’ll be able to last much longer.

My days have been full of thoughts of Charlotte. Why would she do this? Who were those men in the Cruiser?

The wind is picking up again. In the vast expanse of the desert, the strong and swirling wind surged across the arid landscape, carrying with it a relentless torrent of fine, abrasive sand. The gusts were forceful. The only way I can describe it is like being in a sandblaster. I can feel their pain across my hands and face. The grains are sharp and relentless, making me realise the force of nature's unyielding power. The air filled with the haunting sound of the wind's howl, a symphony composed by unseen forces that shaped the ever-shifting contours of the desert terrain.

I kept my eyes closed throughout the ordeal as I had done the past three days. Trying to cover my face with my suit jacket as best I could, I can only wait for nature's fury to end. Three days without water, I know my body will soon shut down.

The sky grows darker for this time of the day. Why? There’s an unusual smell in the air. A sound of rumbling begins. Could it be? I lowered my hands from my face and looked towards the sky. Dark clouds are filling the sky from behind the dune that has sheltered me for the last few hours.

The rumbling sound gets louder. I managed to stand and commence walking towards the mountains in the distance. I know that the mountains must have water somewhere. Can I make it there? They must be almost one hundred kilometres away. Over the last three days, I have only travelled about 13 of them. Keeping out of the heat, mainly moving during the black chill of the night with a lack of food and water, I feel my body growing weaker.

The thumping sounds of something running towards me from behind make me freeze. “Oh, God”. I slowly start to turn as a flock of camels run past. I turn back to look at the flock going past.

With the presence of wild camels, I could only find myself in one of two locations on Earth: the Simpson Desert in Australia and the Sahara Desert. My guess is Africa.

I feel a moist, warm sensation on the back of my neck. Before I could turn around to see what it was, a great force pushed me to the ground. Face down in the sand, I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes. A Camel, standing there bellowing at me.

Noticing a rope around the camel's neck and wrapped around its front legs, I slowly sat up. I didn’t want to startle the poor thing. I could see the camel was in a lot of pain.

Is this camel asking for my help?

Arm outstretched toward the camel, he takes a few steps closer and lets out a high-pitched bleat. I stood up and grabbed the rope. It was tight around his neck and legs, restricting his head movement. The rope continued over his shoulders. A heavy weight was attached to the rope on the other side of his hump. A Rucksack!

Lifting off the heavy bag loosened the rope and allowed me to pull the rope end free. I began to untwist the rope around the animal’s legs. There were many cuts where the rope was. The camel has probably been like this for quite some time. I removed the last of the rope that was around the neck.

He then let out a sound similar to a sigh.

Looking into the eyes of this camel, I ask, “Are you, my rescuer”? “A Ship of the Desert”. I can’t help but grin.

The wind is growing stronger. I grab the rucksack and open it. There must be ten rusting tin cans that I can see. My first thoughts were food, nourishing food. I up-turned the bag to shake out its contents and checked all the pockets.

A compass in the side pocket, “Yes”.

Cans, a First Aid Kit, Cutlery, a small Bowl and a Plate, Women’s briefs, Deodorant, A Diary, a Lighter, three packets of Cigarettes and some plastic bags with something hard inside and the colour a mix of yellow-white. No can opener anywehere. That dashed my hope of eating.

The sky is much darker now. The clouds above are thick and ominous.

All of a sudden, I hear a loud crack of thunder as Lightning flashes across the sky. The camel makes a loud moaning sound and starts to bolt away.

“Woah, Stop, Stop”. I shout. But he’s gone. Running off in the same direction the other camels were going.

Rain begins to fall from the sky. I look up. “Water”. I cup my hands to catch the drops. Then I remember that small bowl and plate I found in the bag. Reaching over, I grab them both. I placed the bowl on the sand and held the plate over it on one side to catch the raindrops and hopefully fill the bowl.

The rain was heavy, the bowl was filling, But I couldn’t wait any longer. I grabbed the bowl and put it to my lips. Water never tasted so good. There was some sand in that water, but I didn’t mind. I quickly drank it, then set the bowl down, with the plate over it to catch more water.

The wind slows, as does the rain. The bowl is almost full of rainwater. The storm has passed as quickly as it arrived. A light sprinkling of rain remains.

Drinking the water down, I try wringing the rainwater from my clothes. There was not much I could squeeze into the bowl. I decided to carry what water I had in there. Grabbing the Rucksack, I filled it with what I thought was necessary.

Setting out again using the compass for bearings, I continued towards the mountains. And possible life.

Over the next dune was something shiny in the distance. The sun with crepuscular rays through the clouds makes this object glow brightly. What is it? I couldn’t tell.

I start to run. Running is difficult because of my condition, plus the sand constantly moving underfoot. My thoughts are there must be someone there. I push on.

I could see it now clearly that I was closer. “A Seaplane. In the middle of the desert”? I slow to a walking pace.

“Hello”, I call out. “Hello, is anyone there”?

Only a hundred meters away. I’m exhausted. “Hello”. No answer and no movement in or around the plane.

By the time I get to the plane, I feel weak. Dropping the bag, I bang on the door. Not one sound from inside.

Cautiously, I open the door. Looking in told me there wasn’t anyone there. No one had been here for some time.

Climbing in, I realised this plane was a surveying plane. The windshield smashed, and two skeletons were in the cockpit. Bullet holes through the cockpit tell the story that these two didn’t have a chance to make it out of this area.

Looking around the fuselage, I couldn’t find any water or food. My decision to leave was my only option.

There was a beacon that I could carry. Was it charged with power? I turn it on. It powered up, and an audible sound was music to my ears.

My last thoughts were of Charlotte. Will I see her again?

As I was about to jump out of the door, I banged my head hard. I fell to the ground.

Semi-unconscious, I started to close my eyes.

Is This it?

Is this my end?

Engulfed in the desert's parched silence, I was nothing but another grain of sand in the wind.

Part One: 2058-My Fate: https://shopping-feedback.today/futurism/2058%3C/em%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="1x3zcuc-StoryContent">.css-1x3zcuc-StoryContent{pointer-events:none;}