Chapter Seven (Chapter 24)

Thorne reacted on instinct and yanked Cress down into the sand. He placed himself over her, protecting her. "Cress!" he cried. "Are you all right?" His heart was racing a mile a minute. Blood was roaring in his ears. Dimly he wondered if his eyes would be overwhelmed as well, had he been able to see. His question: what just happened?

She was shaking. She was alive.

"Cress! Cress!"

He brushed his hands over her trembling figure, searching for the wound. He had to stanch the bleeding, get the bullet out if he could... unless it went straight through her body...

Then her hands were on his wrists, holding them tightly. "I'm – I'm all–"

His shoulders slumped in relief and he opened his mouth to respond, but he heard a new sound: panting, and not from him or Cress. Footsteps followed the labored breath, and then a startled yelp.

And then came the words.

Thorne held totally still, listening hard, but he couldn't make out what this stranger – a man? – said for the life of him. It sounded foreign.

It occurred to him that it probably was foreign.

"Universal, then?" he said, his words still clouded in a thick accent. "You are not from here."

He blinked and brushed his hands along his filthy pants. A new feeling was trickling over him – a little timid, a little bothered, and a lot awkward. This person, whoever he was, could clearly see Cress and Thorne in the sunrise, one that Thorne only felt. This man obviously saw that they were lost and struggling to survive, but for some unexplained reason, Thorne felt self-conscious about the fact that he was blind.

"Yes – sir," Thorne said. "We need help. My..." His thoughts sprinted through possible scenarios. He came across one that would just add to the awkward, but it sounded convincing. "My wife and I were attacked and robbed two days ago. We have no more water. Please, can you help us?"

"Your eyes?" the man asked.

Thorne's lips pinched. Was it that obvious that he was blind?

"The thieves gave me a good blow to the head," he explained, "and my sight's been gone ever since." It was close to the truth – he did hit his head. "And my wife has a fever," he added.

"Of course. My–" He stumbled over the language. "My friends are not far. There is an oasis near here. We have a... a camp."

Cress sighed longingly beside him. Thorne put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her gently.

"I must bring the animal," the man said. "Can you walk? Maybe... ten minutes?"

He rubbed her arms. Almost there, Cress. Almost there. "We can walk," he agreed.

Thorne led Cress after the telltale sound of the animal carcass being dragged through the sand, and the man's occasional grunt. She was walking okay by herself, but he felt that she was a little upset by an animal she saw as "beautiful" being shot right in front of her.

New worries crept into his thoughts.

Would they recognize Thorne?

No matter how much he liked being famous, being a wanted criminal around the globe had its downfalls. Once they got to this camp, they would be at the mercy of its inhabitants. Maybe his desert filth would hide who he was, but once he washed up or maybe even before that, they would recognize him and call the military.

Hopefully he could buy them a little time to get fed, watered, and rested.

After a while – probably ten minutes – Cress squealed, "An oasis!"

He gripped her elbow. "Describe," he murmured. It was time to find out if his worries would come to fruition.

"There's a lake," she said. "Blue as the sky, and surrounded by grasses and maybe a few dozen trees... palm trees, I think. They're tall and skinny and–"

"The people, Cress. Describe the people."

"Oh." She paused. "I can see seven people... I can't tell their genders from here. Everyone is wearing pale-colored robes over their heads. And there are – I think, camels? Tied up near the water. And there's a fire, and some people are setting out mats and tents. And there's so much shade!"

Thorne chuckled at her excitement. As for him, he would rather be back on the Rampion watching Wolf embarrass her in their little brawls. He and Scarlet and Iko had a lot of fun teasing her.

"The man is waiting for us," Cress commented.

That meant they were near the camp. He could hear sounds of movement and chatter and knew they were within the visual path. He bent down near her and kissed her cheek. He wanted to laugh when Cress froze but settled on a grin. "Looks like we made it, Mrs. Smith."

Booted footsteps crunched towards them. Two, if he counted right. The newcomers exchanged words in their language with the hunter.

A woman was the first to speak. "What a trial you've been through," she said. Thorne noted that her accent was not quite as thick as the other's was. "My name is Jina, and this is my husband, Niels. Welcome to our caravan. Come, we have plenty of food and water. Niels, assist the man with his bag."

Thorne shrugged off their bundle and relaxed as the weight was lifted away. "We have some food in there," he said. "Preserved nutrition packs, mostly. It's not much, but it's yours, if you'll help us."

"Thank you for the offer, but this is not a negotiation, young man. We will help you." Jina led them to the fire and Cress finalized his position. He would rather not sit down in the flames. Together they sat on a woven mat.

"What kind of animal was that?" Cress asked.

"Desert addax," said the voice he assumed belonged to Niels. He pressed a cool jug in Thorne's hand. He uncapped it and took a long, refreshing drink of sweet, sweet water.

"It was beautiful," Cress said.

"It will also be delicious. Now drink."

The group fell into silence. Thorne busied himself quenching his massive thirst and listening to the people around him. He tried counting how many there were by their breathing, but that proved to be very difficult.

Cress slowly leaned in to him and he put his arm around her. He grinned. "We're deeply grateful to you," he said, breaking the silence.

"It was very lucky that you found us, or that Kwende found you," Jina remarked. "The desert is not a kind place. You must have a very lucky star." She paused briefly before saying, "You're very young. How long have you been married?"

"Newlyweds," Thorne explained. He realized she was probably talking to Cress a moment too late. "This was supposed to be our honeymoon. So much for that lucky star, I guess."

"And I'm not as young as I look," Cress squeaked. Thorne's smile grew.

"You'll be grateful for that youthfulness someday."

Something that smelled delicious wafted towards him and his stomach growled. With his need for water appeased, he was viciously hungry. Someone handed him a bowl of food and a spoon and he gingerly dipped it in.

He had absolutely no clue what it was. It smelled spicy and it was thick beneath the spoon. He scooped up a bit and shoveled it into his mouth.

It was spicy. Very spicy. It reminded him of a foreign restaurant back in LA that his parents loved. He hated it. But he was very glad for it now. So he kept eating. He tasted some peas, he thought, and saucy potato rice.

"Don't they have potatoes where you come from?" Jina questioned.

For a baffling moment, Thorne thought she was talking to him. Then Cress jerked next to him and his confusion melted. He took another bite of his exotic food. "This sauce," she said quietly. "What is it?"

"Just a simple curry. Do you like it?"

"Very much. Thank you."

Thorne scraped the spoon around the bottom of the bowl, scouting out any bits he missed. He set the empty bowl down right as a plate of meat was passed around, and some sort of nuts. Cress handed him the nuts after a failed attempt of him picking them up, which ended in a few poor handfuls roasting in the fire.

"Are you traders?" he asked as she pressed a few into is palm.

"We are," Jina said. "We make this trek four times a year. I am upset by the threat of thieves. We haven't had such trouble in ages."

He shrugged and ate a few of the nuts. "Desperate times. If you don't mind my asking, why camels? It makes your way of life seem very... second era."

"Not at all. We make our living serving many of the smaller communities in the Sahara, many of which don't even have magnets on their own streets, much less trade routes between them."

Thorne's hand tightened. "Why not use wheeled vehicles then?"

"We do occasionally," said one of the men, "for special circumstances. But the desert does harsh things to machinery. They're not as reliable as camels."

"This may not be a luxurious life, but we stay busy," Jina finished. "Our towns rely on us."

"Not many tourists come through here," Niels said after a while. "Any foreigners are usually just here for mining, or archeology. This side of the desert's been almost forgotten since the outbreaks started."

"We heard the outbreaks aren't half as bad as rumored," Thorne said smoothly. He hoped it wasn't a lie.

"You heard wrong. The plague outbreak is as bad as they think. Worse."

"Which town are you traveling to?" Jina asked.

"Oh – whichever one you're going to. We don't want to burden you. We'll take our leave in any town with a netscreen." Thorne tilted his head. "Er... you wouldn't happen to have any portscreens on hand, would you?"

"We do," said another woman. "But net access is fickle here. We won't have a good connection until we get to Kufra."

"Kufra?"

"The next trading town," Niels answered. "It will take us another day to get there, but you should be able to find whatever you need."

"We'll rest today and tonight and set out tomorrow," said Jina. "You need to replenish yourself, and we want to avoid the high sun."

Thorne smiled gratefully. "We can't thank you enough."

Cress's breathing stalled next to him.

"You don't look well," Jina said.

Thorne grimaced. "My wife was feeling ill earlier."

"You should have said," Jina said. "She could have heat sickness." Her voice tensed as she moved nearer to Cress. "Come, you should not be so near the fire. You can use Kwende's tent tonight, but you should drink more before you sleep. Jamal, bring me some damp blankets."

Cress's slim frame lifted away from him as she stood and Thorne turned his head toward her. He wished he could see her, help her. He heard her dress swish as she stopped and turned around. In the next instant, her limp body fell on top of him, knocking him over.

"Cress!" he explained. He shifted his hands around to her back and pulled her up. Several others surrounded her and picked her up, muttering in their language. They started walking away. Thorne stood and tried to follow but he tripped over the edge of a tent. Someone else pulled him back and steadied him.

Thorne had never felt so helpless.

Well that was fun to write! I duly apologize for any grammar or spelling or whatever mistakes. I usually don't write this thing late at night. But since I'll be gone all day tomorrow (yay) I decided I'd do y'all a favor and write this tonight.

So, sorry for any errors and stuff and I hope you liked it!

The Tally:

- my 16 lovely reviewers (yahoo!)

- the 10 favoritors (is that a word? Microsoft says it's not)

- the 15 followers

- and 1,130 views from everywhere! And when I say everywhere, just take my word for it because I'm too sleepy to list all the countries and territories and provinces and who knows what else.

This little fanfiction has pleasantly surprised me! Thanks to all those people who read this, favorited this, reviewed this, followed this, and viewed this! Thanks for making me feel obligated to write stuff! Thanks for something else I probably forgot!

... yawn ...

Oh yeah! Reviews are really appreciated! :D