Broken Pieces
Chapter 1
AUTHOR NOTE: IMPORTANT – I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF REVISING THIS STORY. I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PRODUCE CHAPTER AFTER CHAPTER QUICKLY. I DO ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!
"Hello? Hello!? Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?" Dania shouted into her communicator over the swirling wind that wrapped its dangerous embrace around her. All that she received was static.
"Damn," she mumbled as she threw the communicator into the sand angrily. All that she could do now was take in her surroundings and wait. A sense of familiarity did cross her mind, though. She'd been there before. The sense of nagging proved it.
Dania blinked to clear her eyes of the burning sand. The sensation had her dragging down the goggles that were connected to her perfect hairline. She could feel the sand threatening to tear her skin from her very bones as she adjusted the goggles onto her cheek bones. Dania reached for the orange cloth that was tied around her upper, left arm. The wind took the access fabric and made it very difficult for her to get it untied, but she managed. Holding opposite ends of the cloth, she wrapped it around her soft feature to find relief from the storm.
She stopped and looked at the only thing that held the answer to her fate; the lonely Sand Rover that patiently waited for her. Alright, baby, you are the only thing that will determine whether I live or die. Dania thought to herself as she fished for her keys. Her feet drifted to the rover as she found them and she found herself getting into the vehicle without fear. She had never known herself; never known who she was; never known anything. Death was an unknown in retrospect, but she wasn't going to let it scare her. Dania fired up the engine, switched the rover from park to drive, and began to ride in no particular direction as the sand blanketed her sight.
After awhile, Dania found herself looking to her left to find a stone wall that showed years of erosion from the sands and the winds of the desert. It seemed to tower above her at an unlimited height, but that was typical for the stone structures of the wasteland. Dania looked back to the limited sight in front of her and sighed. Even with her eyes squinted, she couldn't make anything out; even landmarks that she normally used. Though, something did catch her eye in the distance. The obvious black color stuck out as the rapidly approaching rover may have saved her after all.
Dania eased on the gas as the shadow black transformed into a narrow cave. Instincts told her that it was safety, but as she finally saw the situation of the cave, her mind told her it was a slow death. The cave was about ten feet deep in the rock face and the entrance was no more than two and a half feet wide. That was just enough room for Dania to save herself, but not her Sand Rover; another thing in which she had to sacrifice to survive. Her sigh was full of agitation as she put the rover in park and pulled up on the emergency break. She wasn't sacrificing the artifacts, though. She reached behind the passenger's seat and collected the little pile into her left arm. Finally, she jumped out of the rover and into the blistering sands of the desert.
With her back to the rover, she looked back to the vehicle. Good choice. Walking away from the vehicle, she walked into the cave. The shelter offered more than she thought it would. The sounds of the wind instantly decreased as well as the wind. If this is where she was going to stay for the time being, that was alright with her. Dania could deal with the little breeze from the wasteland and she could deal with the solitude. It was one thing she was used to.
As she set down the artifacts to the back of the little enclosure, Dania knew what might happen to her; good and bad. A miracle could happen. Who knows, maybe someone will find her after the storm settles. Or the worst could happen. Dania may have driven so far out into the desert that the search party wouldn't find her in time. The dryness from the heat and the baking sun would get to her before the men would and they would find an instant mummy lying on the cave floor with a pile of riches. Oh, this was only the beginning to her thoughts of life and death.
Suddenly, a sound arouse from the storm, a familiar sound. It was the sound of a motor engine and Dania couldn't believe it. Who would be crazy enough to be out in the desert in a storm like this? Wait, I am crazy enough. Oh well, it's probably just the marauders trying to . . . Oh God! The thought of the marauders finding her abandoned vehicle parked outside of the cave would cause attention. She knew she was in trouble as the engine got louder. The vehicle was getting closer.
Dania scrambled to the entrance to the cave to find a rare sight; Kleiver's Sand Shark. At the racing speed of the Sand Shark, Kleiver wasn't the driver. He would have definitely weighted down the vehicle. It must have been someone young, someone who obviously would risk their life to help another. Could it be the young man that all of Spargus City is talking about?
Dania hadn't met him yet, but she's heard so much about him. This young man was a refugee from a city called Haven City. Apparently, he was dangerous and could turn into a dangerous monster. The only thing that she thought of when she heard rumors about that was her own reputation. Dania was also considered dangerous, but she was also known as being courageous. Though, she wasn't the most popular person in Spargus City, everyone was frightened of her.
The Sand Shark skidded to a halt behind Dania's Sand Rover. The driver hadn't seen Dania in the entrance of the cave, yet, but she saw him. He seemed to be looking for something or he seemed to be inspecting her vehicle as the cloud of dust fades into the wind. Dania made a move and exited the cave. Her features were still hidden from the eyes of the drive, but more importantly from the voice of death from the storm.
Instantly, the driver's attention is brought to Dania's moving figure. She stopped and leaned on her vehicle as if she felt that he was going to take it from her. This guy wasn't Kleiver as she had expected and he definitely wasn't Sig; the wastelander that she did expect. Dania tried to inspect him, but he was covered by a red cloth and goggles. It wasn't uncommon, but his stare was.
Finally, the driver made an invitation with his head; the motion to take a seat beside him. She reluctantly accepted; she wasn't in a situation to argue. It was a lose-lose situation; stay in the cave and die or take a chance with the driver and possibly die. She didn't have a choice as she walked around to the passenger's side of the Sand Shark and slid into the seat. Another thing that I have to give up in order to survive. Dania made a mental note; her artifacts.
Dania sighed as the vehicle sped forward. She couldn't tell which way was north, south, east, or west. All she could do was hope that the driver knew where he was going because she didn't. Dania, though, did begin to relax. Her intuition was telling her that this young driver was going to get them home in one piece. Of course, the rough terrain and the midair jumps were jeopardizing both of their lives, she still felt peaceful. She had to admit, her driving can get dangerous in itself. It must be the calm before the storm. Maybe I am going to die instead of live?
Dania looked to her left; she wanted to study the driver while he wasn't looking. She just had to know who he was, but she instantly changed her mind when she saw that he was looking around. Dania also looked around and didn't like what she saw. In the blowing sands of the wasteland, she found that the two of them where surrounded; two marauders in front of them, one marauder on each side of the vehicle. So, I was wrong. They are crazy enough to come out here in the middle of a storm. She snuck a peak behind her, but didn't see any vehicles.
Suddenly, the Sand Shark started to stop. The crazy bastard was trying to get rid of the sand bandits by disappearing in the desert storm. That wasn't the bad part; the worst part was the sudden stop that he was trying to make and the laws of Physics. She wasn't strapped in and she felt herself start to fly forward. In that instant, Dania's world blurred together as she felt her reactions slowly come to mind. Her left hand took the bar above her as her right one took the bar in front of her. She could only hope that her forehead wouldn't smash into the bar in front of her.
She closed her eyes and suddenly felt herself being thrown back. Her head hit the headrest of her seat as the Sand Shark began to pick up speed once again. Dania closed her eyes and felt herself become irritated and angry with her savior. He was definitely in for it IF she survived.
- - - - -
Dania couldn't tell how long she was in the vehicle with this bizarre driver as the city's beacon came into view. All she knew was that she needed to get out of the vehicle and hit him. The joy in her body was easily recognized, but she couldn't bring herself to show it. Over the last month, she seemed to be emotionless and this little trip wasn't going to make it any different. There was a void in her life and it was never going to be filled. All Dania could do was sit in that passenger's seat and wait for the protection that the city walls offered.
It didn't seem long because the metal door to the garage came into view and it was soon opening for the driver. The top half of the door slid up into the stone of the wall as the left and right sides were being swallowed into the wall as well. The vehicle quickly darted out of the storm and skidded to a halt in the soundless garage. The engine was cut and Damas walked over to the driver's side of the vehicle. Damas began to talk, but Dania ignored him. She was more concerned about herself than the driver. After all she was the one that was in danger.
Dania started to brush the dust off of her just as Damas began speaking to Dania. When did he make his way over to me?
"Dania, I was worried that my best Wastelander was going to be slain by a mere sandstorm," Damas bluntly stated with a pause and then turned to Dania's driver. She also turned to her driver to find him dusting himself off.
"And you . . . you are by far the most insane person that I've met. I didn't expect you to find my wastelander in time. I wasn't even sure you were going to challenge the storm's rampage after a story like that," he praised the young driver.
Dania's driver raised his goggles and lowered the red protective cloth. The remains on his face were marks made by the sand, giving the man a fake tan line. His icy blue gaze found Dania's mysterious one through her goggles. His gaze was heated and threatened to melt her down to nothing. Keep trying, buddy. You don't know who I am. Dania thought to herself as she read his intentions. His intimidation wasn't going to break her.
"What kind of Wastelander are you, if you don't care for your own life?" The driver questioned with a voice full of irritation.
Dania's senses widened and she embraced the frustration that was heating her argument. She yanked off the orange cloth around her face as well as pulled the protective goggles from her eyes. The goggles hit the sand with a thud as the sand separated in waves. The cloth freely flowed to the sand.
She was vulnerable to the calm weather and the warm of her protection was replaced by a cool breeze as her face was revealed – green-hazel eyes full of fire, a perfect nose with soft pink lips, and shoulder-blade length hair that was braided back with a strand of leather. Dania literally stomped towards the young, but handsome young man with her sand-outlined face.
"Look!" she started her argument with a soft, yet crisp voice. "Death should be the least of your worries, right now. My communicator, Sand Rover, and ALL of my artifacts and money is gone! All of it and you are worried about death!?" Dania finished with what she thought was an awesome point. The point of her index finger enhanced that point. She felt that her threat may work. He would understand, right?
The driver only looked at her with amusement. He knew that she was being a "tough guy," but she didn't know who he was just as he was clueless about her. This just fueled Dania's anger into a temper.
"Look, whoever you are," Dania was interrupted.
"Jak," the driver calmly replied.
"Jak," Dania started again, recovering. "You aren't the only one with problems here," she finished very weakly. She took a step back and crossed her arms. The jerk did it, he shot me down and it was just from a mere interruption. Damn it.
The silence was one from defeat, but it didn't last very long. An unfamiliar voice spoke up in Jak's defense. "Oh, rawr! Jak, I think the Sand Princess needs a bit of orange lightning to get her back on her feet!"
Dania turned around to find a two-foot tall, orange furry animal that stood on two hid feet. She saw that this animal had a long, thick tail with two years that were padded down by goggles that looked like Jak's. This animal was definitely an Ottsel.
Good, something for the rebound! "Who's this? Your mascot?" She challenged with a smirk of triumph.
The ottsel gave Dania as malicious glare as Damas made his way to the three of them.
"Jak, Daxter, thank you for beating the sands of time and rescuing Dania. I'm sure that she is very grateful, also," Dania snorted as she uncrossed her arms and began to walk towards the city.
"Yeah, you're welcome," she heard Jak force himself to say. Daxter on the other hand takes the silence as an opportunity to make another remark.
"You know, Dania, Jak is known to beat things all the time. If you know what I mean."
Dania smirked. She had to hand it to the little fur ball; he could be funny.
She didn't say anything, but just continued walking toward the city. That bed was calling her name and it was a long walk home. She decided to be a little nice. After all, he did save her life.
"See you around, Newbie,"