Just did a few changes to it. Not much, but I tired.

Chapter 2: Lightning and Thieves

"You said you'd fixed these stupid things before we left!"

"Could you pass me a wrench?"

"Is it so much to ask? That's the second time I've had to walk the last stretch!"

"It wasn't as bad as last time. Could you hand me a wrench please?"

"Yeah, because walking through a desert shoving a bike is never that bad. These blisters are entirely your fault."

"I'm not rubbing them for you. Now hand me a—"

"Ugh, my shoes…!"

"Damn it Claudia, hand me a wrench!"

There was a dull thud against the grassy earth followed by an irate grunt. Pushing two broken down cycles was hard enough, but with all the whining and complaining going on from two thirds of the group they'd only managed to get them to the outskirts of town. It was a sunny afternoon so it wasn't a problem to be sat outside, enjoying the weather from the shade of the nearby trees and relaxing after their journey over the past few days. What didn't help was that the girl that remained, who was currently lying on the wall along the path, was still complaining about the 'poor' conditions they had just travelled under.

Travelling from Flanoir to Luin was hard, whether you had a vehicle or not. First came the short trip across the snowfields to get to the port on the edge of the continent: on cycles it wasn't so bad. From the port onto the boat, and then the boat to Izoold took about a day, being only a simple curve around the rocks and mountains of the mainland. The weather grew warmer by the end as well, so it was possible to sit on the deck and watch the town draw closer. After a night spent in Izoold the journey to Luin began, across the Triet desert (stopping only briefly to refresh at the oasis), over the bridge and the checkpoint further south, and then across the plains and hills for the rest of the day until late evening. Easy.

Unless the method of travel was compromised. This was all achievable on a vehicle, even a low power one, in about two days. Without them… well, it could take about four to six, depending on the speed of the traveller.

And where the breakdown happened.

Attempting to loosen a nut on a bent bolt Sam eventually gave up and smacked the bike with the wrench, causing a thick clang to reverberate through it making his friend jump. Of the two sisters he'd been travelling with the younger of the pair, Claudia, had remained with him.

"There's sand everywhere!" he seethed, watching another lump of oily grit slither out from one of the usually vacant areas on the vehicle. "This is the last time I bring your sister to Luin…!"

"Of course it is: she's moving down here now." Pulling himself out from underneath the bike he yanked off his gloves, pulling off the goggles that held back his ruffled navy hair before fixing a glare on his friend.

"If these things are broken, you're paying for damages."

"What? I didn't do anything!"

With a sigh he rose to his feet, brushing the grass from his jeans. He really should've kept the cycle clothes on to do the repairs…

"Giving up?" asked the girl in his company, who was still lying on the wall with her arms behind her head.

"I can't do anything with it right now. I didn't have half the parts for it when we left, and what it does have is now full of sand."

His friend sat up, eyes narrowed in suspicion at his comment.

"'Didn't have half the parts'?"

"Yeah, these things should've never made it out of the garage. I'm surprised they didn't explode."

"What?" He grinned at her worried exclamation, throwing the wrench back into the toolbox he had.

"Joke."

Huffing at his sense of humour she crossed her legs instead, watching as he went to the other bike and knelt down beside it to check its insides.

"…Great, the fuel pump's busted."

"So they're both broken?"

"No, you idiot: I can take parts from that one and put it in this one. At least we'll have one working bike…."

"You're gonna leave that one here?"

"Tabitha can look after it, right? I mean, we did just bring her down here, so she can do that for me," he said, looking through the small tool box again. "Wish I'd brought more with me though." Laughing a little Claudia lay down on the wall again, her arms folded beneath her head as she closed her eyes.

"Ah, you're a genius with what you've got! Don't get so miserable!"

"Maybe I could sell it for spare parts… There'd only be about three left, but whatever…"

There weren't that many scrap dealers around, and the few that were there only bought cheap. What they did pay out was meagre, and what they got they'd sell for three times as much, because the only people needing parts were the ones who couldn't afford to buy new vehicles.

After many trials and tribulations - and swearing - the ground was eventually strewn with loose parts, unnecessary wires and screws, and Sam was stood proudly next to the one mostly completed bike. Smeared with oil and stripped down to only his jeans and shirt he smiled, eventually lifting a leg over to sit on the seat and pushing the key into the ignition.

"You sure you want to be so exposed when you turn that thing on? If it explodes your 'nads will be the first thing to go!"

"Just shut up and stay on the wall," he replied, barely registering the fact that she'd ducked behind the structure she'd been laying on only a few minutes ago.

The engine shuddered into life with the turning of the key, coughing a little until a gentle amount of revving eased it into an eventual purr, and the smile on Sam's face turned smug.

"I am such a wizard…!"

"Are you dead yet?" Gripping the handlebars he put it in gear and accelerated again, and could help but laugh triumphantly as the bike dashed forward.

"It's like it's brand new!"

Spotting the flash of red hair as Claudia poked her head out from behind the wall he turned and headed back towards her, a gentle squeeze of the brakes being all he needed to get the bike to slow obediently to a halt. "See, that's how amazing I am."

"Whatever, you show off…"

Quirking her head to one side when her friend turned his gaze towards the forest to the north she stood up, frowning at the sudden expression of bemusement he had on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"…I dunno—"

A bright flash falling from the sky forced them to cover their eyes, the ground rumbling as a crash of thunder echoed across the plains like a guttural roar, but as quickly as it had appeared it vanished. Looking at each other in surprise they were both stunned.

"Was that a… sword?" mumbled Claudia.

"That was incredible…!"

"Like, a sword made of lightning?"

"Did you feel that? The air was just… alive with power!"

"What?"

"The mana… That was crazy: no one uses magic that strong!" the boy exclaimed, before gesturing to his friend to get on the bike behind him. "Let's go check it out!"

"No way! The last time you said, 'Let's go check it out', I almost broke an arm and that wolf thing got away with your boots!"

"We won't get close: I just want to check it out."

It was hard to make any coherent sense of his surroundings anymore. In the past half hour the whole of his body had started going numb, his limbs like lead and barely keeping him up despite his effort to do so. He couldn't move his feet very much: no matter how hard he tried they just wouldn't go one in front of the other—wait, he'd fallen to his knees at some point. That's why they were sore…

With a groan he brought a hand to his head, which had started to ache. What was going on? It'd started a little after he'd escaped from the soldiers on the bridge: they were easy to take out, but they'd hit him with something as he left. It was a dart, as far as he could remember. Why would guards be using drugged darts

It was becoming too much. If there'd been anything in his stomach he'd have thrown it back up by now, but that didn't stop the pain it put him through as he fell forward, supported only by his shaking arm. He hadn't felt agony like this for a long time.

"…Okay, now I swear we're lost."

"No, it's around here…!" Voices were quickly approaching from somewhere to his left along with the low rumble of a vehicle, but he still couldn't move beyond putting his other hand on the ground to keep himself up. Both arms were trembling visibly as his strength left him, the whole world spinning as he tried again to get to his feet, but he only succeeded to drop further than before. He couldn't even concentrate enough for a First Aid spell.

"…Wait, over there!"

"What?" Concentrating was hard.

"I think… someone's trying to use magic?"

The engine sound stopped. There was a click, followed by footsteps heading closer and closer…

"Sam…!" gasped a female voice. They were still quite a distance away, and had probably spotted one of the men around him. They must've followed him from the bridge, knowing he was drugged.

There was a brief moment of silence, which he took to try and find his feet again. Wherever they were, they were numb and heavy.

"…Just a thief. Or he was: guy's dead now."

"Geez, how?" His hands were starting to feel fuzzy now as well. He tried running his fingertips through the earth, but despite what he could just about see before him he couldn't feel a thing.

"I dunno. It was probably that lightning—hey, here's another one!" Those footsteps were tentatively coming closer again, stopping just a few yards away. "…He's alive. Bit burnt though."

"Are you helping him?"

"Just a bit…" The male voice trailed off, and just as his eyes started to give in to fatigue he heard them approaching him instead. "…Claude! Get the bike!"

"What—why?" His arms gave out, and he finally slumped to the ground. He could just feel the shift in balance as he was rolled onto his back, but beyond that he couldn't see anything else as his eyelids slid shut.