Spirits of War
Chapter 3
Golden Sand of the Goane Desert
Kurama awoke with sand in his face. There were harsh gusts of wind blowing in every direction. Kurama wiped his face to get the sand out of his eyes, but he could not, for the wind was blowing more sand into his eyes and mouth. It hurt him to move his arm. It was still in pain from his encounter with the creature. He could move it some, but not enough to lift it up completely. Kurama stood up only to be knocked down again by the heavy gusts of wind. He fell back into the sand landing on his side (without the hurt shoulder). He couldn't see anything with sand blowing in his face. Although, the wind did help keep him somewhat cool from the blistering heat. There was no shelter of rocks or trees around for a few miles. Kurama thought of trying to find shelter from the winds and sun, but he knew he would never make it in his condition.
Kurama turned himself onto his stomach to keep from facing the sun. He maneuvered himself to get his jacket off. He tied his jacket to his head and left the back part loose. He flapped it over his face, just to keep the wind from blowing sand into his eyes and mouth. The heat from the sun didn't do any justice for his back, though. He had on his tank top shirt that he was wearing when Kayko called for him. His shoulders were getting sunburned very qucikly. Kurama was suffering from the heat. He eventually got the sand out of his eyes and looked out into the distance. To his surprise he saw someone...
KURAMA: in a low vioce, eyes half open ...What is that?...Is that...Kayko...?
Kurama saw Kayko walking toward him. She was still in her school uniform. Her blue skirt was blowing rapidly and her hair was flying up everywhere. She came to Kurama and offered her hand to help him stand up. Kurama was speechless. He finally moved his hand over to hers. He took her hand, but something happened. His hand fell onto the ground. Kayko had disappeared. Kurama shook his head. The wind blew more sand into his eyes and he was temporarily blinded. He was waving his arm and crying out for kayko's help...
KURAMA: in a helpless voice Kayko..! trying to open eyes Kayko...!
But she wasn't there...
KURAMA: low whisper...Kayko...
Kurama dropped his head into the sand. He was tired, near exhaustion. The wind blew more and more sand over his body. His exposed skin was red and slightly peeling. Scavenger birds were pecking at his clothing and flesh, making tiny rips in his skin.
Then a huge gust came and blew the birds into the sky, forcing them to fly away. The gust also blew away most of the sand that was covering Kurama. The loose part of the jacket flopped over his head and onto his back, which was still face down in the sand. This made it hard for Kurama to breath. A good lot of it blew into Kurama's mouth, which made him wake up and cough sand. At least he was conscience now. Coughing took up what little energy he had left. He plopped back down onto the ground and stared out into the distance. Again, he saw something that looked like a person walking to him. Aww, it's just another mirage, he mumbled. The mirage came over to Kurama and picked him up. Kurama was being carried away. But he was so tired that he just went along with it, letting his mind play its tricks on him. There was a sudden droop along the way. Kurama almost fell into he sand until he was caught and repositioned. By this time, Kurama was convinced that whoever was carrying him was not a mirage, but his savior.
About an hour had passed before the two had reached a small shelter of rocks. The stones were shaped in a way that they hung over each other, providing a "roofing" to keep the sun's rays from shining through. It was almost like a tunnel. Kurama was carried a few steps through the small winding pathway until a dead end was reached. It was a small and narrow den made of sand and rock, but it was enough to keep the wind out. Kurama was propped up against a flat, slanted rock. His shoulder was wrapped firmly with a cloth material. His cuts were wiped with the same material to get some of the sand out. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get all of the sand out. Finally, his face was wiped and he could now breathe better without all of the sand. Kurama was still too tired to speak, but he could hear voices speaking to him...
YUSUKE: Hey! It's Kurama! Boy, do you ever look rough.
KUWABARA: I'm glad you're ok, Kurama. Well, moslty ok.
KURAMA:having gathered enough strength to speak ...Yusuke..and Kuwabara...how did you--
Kurama was cut short in his reply...
HIEI: Don't speak. Save your strength.
KURAMA: Hiei? trying to open his eyes You're here, too?
KUWABARA: laughing Yeah, Hiei was the first one to get thrown out here! I guess he was the easiest to pick on!
HIEI: gives Kuwabara the "evil eye", throws a small rock at Kuwabara's head, thinks to himself ...One day, I'm going to kill him...
YUSUKE: addressing Kurama I wanna ask you how you got here, but judging by all of our stories, I'm guessing you have the same case?
KURAMA: now fully conscience Most likely.How exactly did you end up here?
Yusuke explained how he and Kuwabara were beaten and thrown into the portal. He also explained how Hiei was stunned and tried to put up a fight with the creature. But he was too paralyzed to fight back with full force, and was then shoved into the portal...
KURAMA: So it was Hiei who found me in the desert. You used your jagan eye to find me, didn't you, Hiei?
HIEI: Right. folds what is left of his black coat
KURAMA: notices the coat, then his arm Thanks, Hiei.
HIEI: Hn...
KURAMA: So how long have you all been here?
YUSUKE: I dunno. It seems it's been a few hours for me and Kuwabara.
KUWABARA: scratching his head More like days to me.
KURAMA: looking down at his feet I thought I saw Kayko in the desert. I hope she's all right.
YUSUKE: jumps up at Kurama's words Kayko! What happened! Did that thing get her!
KURAMA: Calm down, Yusuke. She came to my house very late. She explained to me what she saw and led me to that alley way. But it was dark, so I couldn't see the demon. It was cloaking its energy so I couldn't sense it either. Kayko fainted out of fear before the demon finally showed. sighs I should have taken her home right away, but--
YUSUKE: springs over to Kurama, taking him by the collar, holds up his fist You left her there alone!
KUWABARA: grabbing Yusuke by his collar, holding Yusuke's fist Yusuke! That's Kurama you're about to pound. He's our friend, remember?
HIEI: chuckles, in a low voice Human affection...pathetic...
YUSUKE: turns to Hiei You got something to say, three-eyes!
Hiei and Yusuke were staring each other down. Kurama was still being held by his collar and trying to undo Yusuke's tight fist. Kuwabara practically had Yusuke in a head-lock to keep him from punching Hiei. Hiei just sat there squinting his eyes at Yusuke, his sword ready to make a few heads roll.
Their quarrel was interrupted by what sounded like thunder. Everyone looked in the same direction. The sound was getting louder and vibrations could be felt through the ground. Hiei looked with his jagan to see what was coming...
YUSUKE: What do you see?
HIEI: in an uneasy tone A sand storm.
Just then, the storm hit them. There were dust tornadoes everywhere. One of the tornadoes ran right through the stone shelter, tossing the stones and the gang up into the air. They were spinning around and around several hundred feet in the air at very high speeds. As they reached the top of the giant dust tornado, they were tossed out into the desert in various directions.
The storm passed on. Everyone landed relatively close to each other...
KUWABARA: digging himself out of the sand, spitting out sand Ugh! I'm never going to the beach again. Hey! looking around Yusuke! Kurama, Hiei!
Kuwabara spotted a hand sticking out of the sand and a foot a few yards away from it. Kuwabara ran over to the foot first...
KUWABARA: Hold on! I got ya! pulling the foot, grunting HAAAA!
Kuwabara had pulled up Hiei out of the sand, much to his dimay...
KUWABARA: There ya go. Now, what do you say?
HIEI: shakes sand off his head Quit wasting time and find the others!
KUWABARA: You're welcome...
Hiei headed toward the hand and starting tugging on it. Kurama's head popped out of the sand. Hiei dug the sand out from underneath Kurama's head so that Kurama could get the rest of his body free. Meanwhile, Kuwabara was calling out for Yusuke. His only answer was a light gust of wind. But that gust of wind revealed Yusuke's hair, which stood out perfectly against the golden sand. Kuwabara ran to the little patch of hair and started digging...
KUWABARA: lightly panting Hang on, Urameshi! I'll get ya out of there!
YUSUKE: coughs up sand, shaking sand off of his head What took ya?
KURAMA: shakes his head to get sand out of his hair Well that was most enjoya--AH! holds wounded shoulder
KUWABARA: turns to Kurama Are you gonna be all right?
KURAMA: Well, for the time being, yes. I'm not sure about these cuts of mine, though.
YUSUKE: still spitting sand out I hate--spits--deserts. turns attention to Hiei, noticing his leg Uh, Hiei? You do know that you're bleeding, right?
HIEI: looking down at his leg Hmm...
Hiei ripped the bottom half of his other pantleg and dusted the sand off of his wounded leg. He then wrapped the shredded material around it to keep it from bleeding. Kuwabara commented...
KUWABARA: Wow...we're full of problems.
Wounds were the least of their worries. They still needed to find other shelter to protect themselves from the sun's rays. The heat of the Goane Desert was too much for anyone to bear, at least for anyone who was not used to such temperatures.
They began their harsh journey of across the golden desert, trying to find any possible shelter from the sun and sand storms, unknowing of what lied ahead of them...
End chapter 3