Chapter III- The Wasteland
Virginia was awakened by the sunlight reflecting off the western shoreline. The brilliant orange glow burned her eyes fiercely when she opened them, so she kept them shut for a moment. Just long enough for her to realize that she hadn't died. She stood up after the sun had set, and was now somewhere, all alone.
She had seen the entire world from the sky, thanks to Lombardia, but she didn't recall seeing any shoreline that looked like this. She turned around and tried to make out familiar cliff formations or rock patterns, but it had already become to dark to tell. She grasped for her ARMs… but they weren't there.
She had set them beside her before she went to bed. How was she still alive? The creature that attacked the sandcraft could have easily killed her? Did the others mange to fight it off. If so, where were they? She quickly took a scan of the beach before the encroaching darkness blackened any hope of finding them.
Nothing was there, as she expected. She checked her bag to see what had survived the crash. After pouring out a good deal of sand, she found her purse, which had about 200 gella in it, a small length of rope, spare clips for her ARMs, and a small sleeping bag.
She crawled onto the dusty shores and reached into the sand to see if there was any useful flotsam. Nothing appeared salvageable. For the first time in her life, Virginia had absolutely no idea what to do.
She didn't dare go to sleep, even if she was tired enough to. You never sleep alone in the wasteland, especially at night. She couldn't exactly explore in the dark with no torch, either. She would have to stay exactly where she was, and she hated it.
She wondered what had happened to her friends. Had the monster flung them to some out of the way place as well? Or had it killed them? Or maybe some had lived and others died. Any prospect was gloomy, there was no way that beast had just let them go. If it had, they would have been able to rescue Virginia.
Virginia had no idea what was going on. She only knew that she was freezing, and the biting wasteland winds were now upon her. She unrolled the sleeping bag and wrapped it around her, but she couldn't fall asleep. It would be a pity to survive whatever it was that happened, only to die here from a rookie mistake.
She sat thinking all through the night, alternating between worrying about her comrades, and trying to decide what to do. The only thing that kept her going was the thought that she'd know more in the morning.
When finally she saw the eastern sky lighten, and felt the first bit of renewing warmth, she packed her bag and began to hike. She now wished that she had slept, but she wouldn't give into sleep just yet.
Wherever she was, it was definitely a large landmass. At least Virginia wasn't stuck on a wasteland island. That was a slow, painful death. But still, if there were no trains or towns, then she would be just as dead, just as quickly. Perhaps faster, if there were also monsters about.
At midday, the heat overtook her, and she desperately grasped at her canteen, hoping to find water still in it. There was a small bit of water left, but it lasted her one gulp, which left her neither satisfied nor renewed. And now, she realized that she would have to hike the remaining stretch without any water.
However, the Gods seemed to take pity on Virginia and as evening set, the sun was hidden behind clouds and she felt the first drops of rain. She hastily made a makeshift tent using her sleeping bag, rope and a small cavity in a cliff formation. She set her canteen out to gather as much rain as it could hold and when the rain stopped during the night, she was pleased to see that the canteen was filled about halfway.
She decided to chance at sleep, since she hadn't seen any monsters yet and figured that if she continued to push herself, she would fall asleep anyways at a less convenient time.
She awoke the next morning to a ripping sound. She saw something clawing at her dress, and sighed relief upon seeing that her dress had just been snagged on a jagged rock. She packed up her bag yet again and continued to hike aimlessly along the shoreline.
Suddenly, at about noon that day, she recognized something. There was a large structure up ahead that she instantly recognized as the town of Ballack Rise. She ran towards it, but the town kept going further and further away from her. She sighed and took a drink of water.
It had just been a mirage. She had been nowhere near Ballack Rise during the accident, so how could it be? She decided that she would continue hiking in the direction that the mirage had been for no real reason other than that it was a possible direction in which to travel.
When night came that day, her canteen had been emptied, and there was no sign of rain in the heavens. She pitched her tent and chanced sleep another night.
Once again she awoke to a ripping sound, but this one was much louder. Somebody was tearing down her tent. She jumped out from under it and raised her arms. Standing in front of her were two large men. One of them was wearing a brown shirt with black pants, and the other wore the opposite combination.
"Goodness gracious, girl," said the man in the brown shirt. "You must be lost."
"Who are you?" Virginia demanded.
"My apologies," said the man in the black shirt. "Didn't mean to be rude. Jack Bennet's the name."
"Leroy Wilhelm," said the man in the brown shirt.
"Virginia Maxwell," Virginia nodded. "So what are you doing out here?"
"I think we're the ones who should be asking that question ma'am," Leroy chuckled. "Seeing as how you're the one who's stuck in a sleeping bag tent."
"I was in a sandcraft accident and I washed up on shore," Virginia explained. "Or… at least I think that's what happened. Could you please tell me where I am?"
"Over'n that direction," began Jack. "You'll see our home of Gunner's Heaven."
Virginia was quite familiar with Gunner's Heaven, and the area surrounding it. How was it that none of the surroundings looked familiar?
"It's about a four hour ride," Leroy continued. "But we'll make it before you pass out from heatstroke."
Jack handed Virginia his canteen. "Don't drink it all now, but have your fill."
Virginia accidentally had a little more than her fill, and forced herself to stop before she down the last few ounces. She handed the canteen back to Jack, slightly embarrassed.
"So… you haven't told me why you're out here," Virginia explained. "Mind you I'm very grateful that you came and rescued me, but…"
"You really don't know do you?" Leroy asked in amazement. "You haven't noticed the fact that everything is changing?"
"I'm sorry, I really don't get it," Virginia said.
Leroy shook his head and he nodded at Jack. Jack leaned back against his horse, which Virginia just now noticed, and sighed.
"Funny things been happening , and they're all emanating from what used to be that big old crater," Jack said.
"What used to be?" Virginia asked.
"Yeah," Leroy said. "About four days ago, everything started getting weird, you hear? First animals were acting ornery, and then monsters appear out of nowhere, and now it seems like the very land itself is just changing. Like that huge crater… well. I figure you'd better see it for your own eyes or else you'll call us crazy."
Leroy jumped onto his horse and helped Virginia up. Virginia didn't really know if she could trust these men, but she had little choice now. Jack took the lead on his horse and they began to head north. After two hours of the blazing heat, Virginia wanted to ask for another sip of Jack's canteen, but she didn't dare. Finally, after one more hour, she saw it.
"What in the world am I looking at?" She asked herself.
Leroy brought his horse to a halt, and Jack did the same. Virginia jumped off and ran towards what had once been a massive crater, where Yggdrasil- the great machine that the Prophets had built- stood. In its place, there were no mountains, no crater, and no trees. Just one massive ocean of brilliant blue.
Virginia rushed forward, but Jack stopped her. "Don't try to drink it. It's all salty. Just our luck, right? But it washes and cools just the same. Go and have a dip if you like."
Virginia laughed. "Yeah, I bet you boys would like that."
The three of them laughed, and then Leroy patted on the back of his horse, a signal for Virginia to reclaim her seat. She did so and they rode along the seashore for another mile before seeing Gunner's Heaven.
But what was truly remarkable was that, where once there had been barren wasteland, there were now green fields and a small river of fresh water which led straight into Gunner's Heaven.
"That water's okay to drink, except towards the mouth there. You can have you fill of that, and won't nobody say nothing," Jack said. "Well, we're gonna go out and check out the wasteland some more, but we'll be back around supper time. You go on in; ain't no strangers in Gunner's Heaven."
Virginia bowed gratefully and headed to the main gate of the massive arena town Gunner's Heaven.