Run, C-3PO! Anakin grabbed C-3PO and sprinted down the dark alley.
M..m..mas..s..ter...An...n...na..kin, st...t....top..! C-3PO said as he ran. Anakin kept jerking him forward.
the voice came again. Or I will blast you with my laser!
Anakin kept running, but as he looked ovver his shoulder, he saw the guard approaching fast, his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot.
Stop or I will shoot you!
Not a chance! Anakin growled and ducked as a red laser beam left the gun. The beam sliced the air over his head and hit the wall of a building. The wall started to collapse.
Oh, no! We're dead! C-3PO wailed.
Anakin pulled C-3PO harder and ran across the part of the alley where the building was collapsing, and just in time, for as soon as Anakin passed that part, the whole building broke down and blocked the alley.
At least now we're safe from that guard, Anakin said and sat down to catch his breath. But he had not noticed one thing. The guard that had been chasing him had called a few other guards to the area, and right now, they were closing in.
suddenly Anakin stood up.
What is it, Master Anakin?
There are guards coming this way!
As soon as the words left his mouth, three guards became visible running toward them from a dark path.
Anakin yelled again, dragging C-3PO.
C-3PO sighed. Here we go again...
At the end of the alley was the desert. We don't want to go that way! C-3PO yelled and his feet screeched to a stop.
But we have no other choice! Anakin yelled back and pulled at C-3PO. The guards are coming! Hurry if you don't want to be disintegrated!
But... but... but... but...
Anakin did not listen and dragged C-3PO towards the end of the alley..
Listen, C-3PO. It's either going into the desert or us getting fried by their laser guns.
the droid said reluctantly and jerkily ran after Anakin.
They dashed down the street toward the desert. The guards were hot in pursuit.
Streaks of red flashed around them. The guards came closer and closer. They were only 2 yards from the two, but the desert was nearly 5 yards away...
The gap was closing fast. Suddenly, two of the guards lunged toward them. Anakin and C-3PO jumped to the other side, and the guards fell with a thud to the ground. The other one couldn't stop and stumbled over the guards that were panting on the ground.
Anakin grinned and kept running. Soon, the guards got up again and started chasing them.
Master Anakin, they're shooting at us furiously!
Don't care about them, just get to the desert! They won't go there when it's night because they're afraid of getting lost!
What if WE get lost?
Anakin paid no attention to the comment. It was only a meter toward the desert now, but the guards were getting better at aiming than he thought. Finally, when he thought his breath would run out, Anakin's feet touched the soft sand of the desert.
He ran further into the desert, and the guards started laughing. That stupid boy! He's going to get lost and caught by the Tusken raiders for sure.
Anakin said. We got out of that mess.
Master Anakin, have you ever heard of the saying, out of the frying pan into the fire?'
Yeah, but why?
Because that is what we are doing right now! Actually, it is common knowledge that Tusken raiders are 10.3 times more vicious than the guards we have just encountered. But actually that is a number when roughly calculated. The real number is 10.3327453...
Anakin kept listening to C-3PO droning on about statistics and percentages and yawned. Soon he lay back against against a mound of sand. His eyes started getting slightly heavy... no, very heavy...
And the percentage of the Tusken raiders attacking an unknown personage is 90 percent, so therefore... suddenly, the droid heard a snore and turned toward Anakin. He was lying on the sand, sound asleep.
Well, I never! C-3PO exclaimed. Good information is wasted on my master.
***************************************************************************
Anakin opened his eyes and yawned. For a moment, he thought he was in his warm bed in his home, but soon he remembered that he was in the vast desert of Tatooine.
He looked up at the sky. It was still dark, but orange streaks had begun to show in the sky. It was then that Anakin noticed spots in the sky slowly beginning to materialize. They were coming closer and closer, and soon Anakin saw clearly that they were spaceships from another planet. He did not know where they had come from, but he knew that they were landing on Tatooine.
Suddenly, he got an idea. What if he got on one of the spaceships when no one was looking? Then, when they went back to their planet, he would be free since he was no longer on Tatooine.
C-3PO! Wake up! This is no time for sleeping!
C-3PO jerked awake. Master Anakin, I was not sleeping. I was... merely replenishing my energy! And I believe that four fifty in the morning is more than high time to be asleep.
Well, not today. Do you see those spaceships over there?
If we could get on them somehow, we can get out of this planet!
C-3PO shook his head sadly. What a master I have got...
Well, what are you waiting for? Anakin prodded impatiently.
I am not sure about this. C-3PO said. From the looks of things, it is nearly 15 kilometers from here to where the spaceships are landing, and 15 kilometers is a long distance to walk in a desert!
How else are we going to get out of Tatooine?
Why can't we?
C-3PO started thinking hard. He did not want to admit it, but he did want to see new worlds. He could not believe himself.
Anakin smiled smugly. I knew you'd have a good logical reason! Now come on!
For the whole morning, they walked across the desert. During the morning, the air was cool and the soft sand felt good to Anakin's foot, but when the sun rose, it immediately started scorching him. The sand was no longer comfortable, but it was extremely hot.
Anakin screamed as he hopped on the hot sand. C-3PO, give me back those sandals! Anakin had taken them off because the sand felt good, but now he put them on in a hurry again.
Master Anakin, are you out of your mind? What do you think the Tusken raiders would do if they hear an unknown voice scream?
Anakin sighed.
The spaceships were still distant. Anakin started wheezing and coughing as the wind picked up the sand and blew it around.
Suddenly, Anakin heard sand crunching behind him, and before he knew it, he was hit over the head.
Anakin did not remember what had happened next. He had gone unconscious.
R&R!!!
