CHAPTER ONE: THE WANDERERS

Traveling the desert in a new direction, a lone wanderer happened upon a group of disheveled, half dead people – hundreds. They told of how they came to consciousness at the edge of a cliff. In the gorge below, they'd seen the mangled, fresh corpses of the majority of the citizens of their town. All were present, dead or alive, in a vast sea of sand, with no clue of where they were, how they got there, and why all of these people had apparently fallen from the cliff. They said they'd wandered and come upon a shipwreck, and lived from the plant for the past few weeks, but it was severely weak already. They had wandered ever since the plant died, just days before.

The wanderer offered them the remainder of her water and food, and covered her head tightly with a crude brown cloak.

Hoping to see something in the distance, they traveled on, carrying the sick.

Days wore on until the group could hardly stand, and as luck would have it, there was a town. The people following the wanderer begin to fret that in times of great hardship, as now, no one would want to take them in. So their leader ran ahead, using the last of her energy to reach the outskirts of this little village. There she saw something she took for a mirage – a six square foot plot of garden, carefully tended and green. As she ran closer, the mirage proved real, and frantic she ran to it.

She collapsed at its edge, and reached out to touch it, but a man ran at her, screaming, and plucked her hand away.

"Those are delicate!" he cried. And then he noticed that she couldn't move from thirst.

He carried her to his home, where two female friends of his offered her water and a seat.

As she struggled to tell them about the people coming, the larger of the girls ran out to ask the villagers to take some people in per home. They all ran to the poor wanderers, helping them into their homes.

But the man wanted to know how they'd gotten stranded out there.

She told him about their sudden consciousness to the mounds of bodies below the cliff.

The man took on a solemn demeanor, and turned away.

"Well, I suppose I'll need to write up a report about all this, and see if you and these poor people can receive some compensation," the smaller girl reflected, then turned to introduce herself. "I'm Meryl Strife, of the Bernardelli Insurance Agency. This is Vash…not to be confused with the legendary ace gunman Vash the Stampede, of course…"

Vanessa glanced at this Vash, who was now smiling in a friendly manner. "Hi. You'll be safe here," he offered.

"Nice to meet you," the wanderer replied, holding out a trembling hand in greeting, but unable to extend the greeting fully. "I'm Vanessa…" she murmured, and directly passed out.

The two exchanged worried glances, and went to assist the villagers, who themselves were far too busy tending to the sick and thirsty to worry of explanations.

Over the next weeks, the villagers made personal sacrifices to heal and feed the wanderers. Vanessa recovered after resting for a few days, and became suddenly afraid that someone peeked under her hood or cloak while she was unconscious. But no one seemed to pay much attention to her in the rush of taking care of the wanderers. She felt relieved, but still wished to return to her cave.

     "Oh, you're awake!" the smaller girl cheerily stated as she walks in after work. "Now go upstairs and have a nice, long bath before dinner!"

Vanessa objected, but Meryl insisted almost forcefully, and after checking her backpack and making certain that no contents are missing, Vanessa plodded upstairs. Covering the windows, and locking the door, she took a bath and washed her cloak and dress in the water. She changed into some oversized pants and a shirt Meryl laid out for her, pulled on her belt (with book), and hung her own things up to dry. She draped a cloth over her head and wet hair to conceal her ears and went downstairs to dinner.

At dinner, the three talked about the problems incurred due to the wanderers and the lack of medical knowledge for some of their infections. Vanessa sat silently, waiting for a moment to thank them but to also tell them that she needs to return home. But as they chatted, she noticed that the man with the gravity-defying blonde hair was scratching at his shoulder a lot.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

"Huh?" he replied, turning to her inquisitively with clear, oceanic eyes. "Oh…nothing."

"But…" Vanessa insisted, "there's something wrong, isn't there. You shouldn't itch so hard, you'll hurt yourself. Then she noticed bandage edges at his neck. Oh, you really need to not itch it," she insisted again, troubled. "Itching is a sign of skin healing. But itching it like that, you'll get a terrible scar. Now let me treat it, and it won't bother you. It's the least I can do after you let me stay here."

Millie smiled. "You must be a doctor!"

"No," Vanessa explained, "never a doctor. I was a midwife once, but never a doctor."

"Really?" Meryl piped in. "You know, we really could use anyone with medical knowledge now. I'll go to city hall tomorrow morning and get you on a payroll as a village nurse!"

"But…But I have to sell my drawings and get back home…" Vanessa mumbled.

"Nonsense!" Meryl exclaimed. "We need you here! Otherwise these people are going to die!" she exaggerated.

Vanessa gritted her teeth. Staying amongst people had always been fun while it lasted, but always ended in violence and betrayal.

Vash, Meryl and Millie were all smiling widely at her. After all, she wasn't sure if she could make it back to the cave, as far off course as she had wandered. Without stocking up enough supplies, she would never make it back alive. Earning a wage could help to but such supplies…

So she made no further objection.

"And you can stay with us!" Millie cheerily noted. Meryl looked miffed. Millie laughed, "Because there's no room in town for you anywhere else!"

Vanessa did indeed stay at their home, but was careful to keep her hair rolled up and pinned even while sleeping, and held her book in her arms as she slept for protection. She slept on a cot in Millie and Meryl's room upstairs, and Vash took his usual spot on a cot in the living room. When she awoke, the house was empty. She went to the kitchen and cooked herself breakfast. She found a note from Meryl, saying that she and Millie are at work, and that she should rest at home that day. Her nursing shifts would begin the next day. So Vanessa stared out the window for a while, watching the people and children talk and interact. She looked for some paper to draw them, but found nothing. The search was interrupted by a crash upstairs. She froze, heard a door open, shut, and click locked, then footsteps descended the staircase. Vash appeared at the bottom, frowning, carrying a tray of upset cup and plate, with various bits of foot scattered around. Vanessa remained unseen in a shadow by the window, and watched Vash enter the kitchen. She heard yelling upstairs and snuck up to investigate. As she reached for the lock, Vash grabbed her shoulder from behind. She whirled around, startled, but Vash hurriedly ushered her down the stairs.

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