Mira grimly took the satchel from the Skrall's hands. She opened it and fingered the bags of food and currency, wordlessly calculating the amounts to assure herself that the Skrall hadn't cheated her.
She nodded, and motioned for her friend Phaiara to hand over the Agori. As the Skrall took the chain from Phaiara's hands, Mira noted that they were almost over-eager to take the Agori. She watched as they were dragged off in chains. Mixed feelings swam through her head. Capturing Agori wasn't what bothered Mira. She didn't even care about holding them prisoner. It was handing them over that was hard for her. When the Agori were given into the care of the Skrall, Mira no longer had control over them, what was done with them, or their safety. She would defend an Agori with her life if necessary, and not for any kind of profit. The Skrall were ruthless and unpredictable, although one trait was constant. They didn't give a rotten thornax fruit what happened to the Agori. She hadn't the faintest idea what happened to them once the Agori were dragged off to Roxtus. And what she dreaded most were the looks of hatred, contempt and fear that filled the Agori's faces as they were handed over. Those looks appealed to her conscience; something she had been forced to ignore with her new line of business. They seemed to be begging her to have mercy.
'You gave me not mercy, nor a fair trial. Your kind destroyed my life! This is your payment.' she thought to the Tajun native glaring at her.
Mira let hatred and disgust consume her and turned her back on the Agori. She threw the satchel into the back of The Dune Rider, and she and Phaiara climbed in
As they rode back to their home, Phaiara asked,
"Hey Mira. What's wrong with you? We just got an easy week's worth of food and rid the world of seven more disgusting worthless nobodies! You should be HAPPY!"
Mira sighed. "I am happy. I just...I just can't help imagining that I'm the one being dragged off. It's only been a month. I just need more time to adjust. I don't know of any other Glatorian who had to go from celebrated protector to feared punisher and fugitive."
"Hey." Phaiara put her hand on Mira's shoulder. "It's been hard on both of us. I may sound aggressive, but you know that I don't mean most of it. We both need to vent, and this is the only possible way. After what they did to us, I think we have the right. And you know you can talk to me. We're in the same boat, here."
Mira laughed. "Yeah, I guess you had to bring a boat of all things into this." She smirked at the Tajun native.
"Hey watch what you're doing!" Phaiara pointed.
Mira turned and gripped the steering. She hit the brakes and sent up a spray of sand in their wake. Right in front of them was a curve in the wall of the canyon. Two more seconds, and they both would have been colored splotches on that wall.
Phaiara let out her breath. "Mira, I officially hate you." She grinned.
Mira huffed playfully. "Excuse me? Exactly what have you contributed to all this?" She gestured towards The Dune Rider. "You ask me to invent a new vehicle, then expect me to e able to drive it with less than a week of practice? Nobody's perfect Phaiara. I think I've done pretty well, thank you very much. Or perhaps YOU would like to try?"
"Nah. I think I'll leave the dirty work to you." Phaiara joked, reclining back and putting her feet on Mira's head.
Mira laughed, and pulled her by the leg out of The Dune Rider. They scuffled on the ground for a few minutes, then lay next to each other, laughing and gasping for breath.
Mira giggled. "Phaiara I don't know what the heck I'd do without you."
"Same here." Phaiara stood up and leaned tiredly against the wall, and suddenly fell through, disappearing behind the stone. The wall distorted slightly as she passed through, but returned to normal immediately afterwards.
Mira gasped, and tried to ram the wall in an effort to pursue her, but she too passed through.
Mira landed flat on her back. She struggled to her feet and shouted, "Phaiara!" It was pitch dark, and she got onto her hands and knees, feeling for Phaiara. She touched a foot, and crawled to her head.
"Phaiara! Are you alright?"
Phaiara groaned and reached up to touch her head. "I-I...I can't see..."
"It's too dark-I can't see anything either. Are you alright?"
"I don't know...I think...I hit my head on a rock..."
Mira started to get scared. "D-don't worry. I'll get you to a doctor...I'll..."
"No...It's ok. I'll be...fine. I just need to...rest. Do you even know what happened? We went through rock!" Phaiara winced as she tried to sit up.
Mira stood up and felt her way back to the wall. She touched it, and her hand passed right through. It felt slightly warm, like sunlight, or heated water.
"Whatever this is, it certainly isn't rock." She called back to Phaiara. Mira felt her way back to her friend. "Phaiara, we need to go. I need to treat your head."
"Not sure...if I can walk..."
"I'll carry you to The Dune Rider." Mira picked Phaiara up and did her best to navigate through the pitch-black cave. She finally made it to the wall, and walked right on through it without pausing. The sudden change in light blinded her, and she stopped short.
Phaiara groaned weakly, and passed out.
"Phaiara!" Mira shrieked, and ran to The Dune Rider, gently placing Phaiara's limp body into the back seat and strapping her in to keep her from falling out.
Mira drove The Dune Rider so fast, she could hear the engine rattling as it desperately tried to meet her frenzied commands.
After what felt to Mira like days, she finally arrived at the cave where she and Phaiara lived. Phaiara had only been out for 30 minutes, but Mira was dying of worry.
She gently picked Phaiara up out of The Dune Rider and carried her into the hidden entrance to the cave. Mira walked about 15 bios and came to a boarded up section of the wall. She slid the boards up with her feet and ducked under. She entered the makeshift "doorway" and set Phaiara on her sleeping mat.
Before Mira had become an arena fighter, she had been training to be a doctor. She had studied herbal medicines and simple remedies as a base for her planned career. But then the Core War had started, and she had chosen to fight for her village, Vulcanus. After the Shattering, the Arena had just drawn her, and she had never returned to the world of medicine.
Although Mira had never furthered her education, she was still knowledgeable in first aid and basic herbal medicines, and this knowledge had saved her and Phaiara from close-to-death situations multiple times.
The room was filled with herbs and other medical items from raided caravans, and even from her old medicinal studies. She took a thornax shell bowl and a few herbs and missed them with a very small amount of water. Mira bent down, lifted Phaiara's head, and poured it down her throat.
'This should help the pain and revive her.' She thought.
Mira sat on her own mat and leaned back against the wall. She was exhausted from fear and worry, and was glad for a chance to relax. She became sleepy and though she tried not, Mira drifted off into that dreaded land that is a mix of memories, dreams, and fears.