The desert was still and silent. All around, for hundreds of miles, stretched nothing but warm, rippled sand; orange in the heated light of early afternoon. The sky, now clear and blue, held no evidence of the sandstorm that had polluted it only a few moments before. Not a wisp remained, only calm sand, calm sky, and calm atmosphere surrounding it. But that was not to last.
With a desperate gasp, Phoney broke the barrier of sand that had gathered on top of him. Thankfully, it hadn't been as heavy as he might have expected, and he had, after a moment of struggling, managed to break through to the surface. Coughing and spitting, he pulled himself up out of the sand, gasping for a decent breath. His lungs ached with the strain, but, at the moment, he didn't care. Right now he was more concerned with finding the others. He took a hurried step forward, his foot all at once going through the sand into a deep spot. Something latched onto him, and, with a desperate yank of hope, Phoney pulled the person up out of the dry, loose dirt.
"L-Lathan?" Not quite who he had been hoping to see, even though he was secretly glad he had found the other Bone. It would not have been good if the fellow had died, even if Phoney was less than happy with his company. But it would have been far worse to be alone.
Lathan shook his head, shaking sand from his hat and tie, blinking to clear a few grains from his eyes irritably. "What...W-What happened?" he sputtered.
"The storm hit us!" Phoney said hurriedly, panicking as he started shoveling dirt aside, searching for his two, buried cousins. While the sand may not have been deep where he had been, the drifts were uneven, deeper in some spots than others. Especially in the place where he was pretty sure his cousins and Bartleby had been standing. The thought of losing them to a heap of sand was unacceptable, as well as perhaps the most frightening thought that had ever crossed his mind.
Lathan spat up some dirt, grimacing at its unpleasant taste, and disliking very much the crunch of grit between his teeth. "Yes, but-"
Phoney cut him off with a frantic shout. "Help me find Fone and Smiley!"
The urgency in Phoncible's voice drove Lathan to fall to work, searching over the drifts for any possible lumps or valleys. He found several, all in a row, none of which proved to house any living soul. The were simply hollow clumps, formed by the strength of the wind. He searched further, without any luck. Then, tripping over a final lump, Lathan felt it shift slightly. He though he heard a muffled noise beneath his feet and, knowing that he had found the others he gave a call to Phoney, who was searching further to the right.
"Here!" he shouted, getting down on his hands and knees, digging quickly and steadily with his hands. The sand was very warm, like a day at the beach, but the horror of what this sand could do to a life form trapped beneath its surface robbed the illusion of its charm. Phoney ran to join him, falling on his knees and digging at a far more frantic rate, calling out encouragement to the buried individuals as he did so. Finally, a white hand, small and desperate, shot upward, followed by a second of the same size, which both Lathan and Phoney grabbed and hauled upward. Fone Bone popped up from the sand like a daisy, spitting and sputtering as he emerged.
Phoney grabbed his cousin's shoulders, shaking them rather roughly in his anxiety to assure himself that Fone was alright. "Fone! Fone, are you alright?!" He looked into the other Bone's eyes, his own reflecting his panic. Fone had his eyes closed, pushing Phoney weakly away from him as he hacked up a little bit of sand. Attached to his middle was Smiley, looking decidedly paler than before, even for his kind, his arms wrapped tightly around his cousin's waist. While Lathan and Phoney managed to pull Fone completely free, Smiley was only dragged halfway out. Bartleby's eyes and nose made an appearance as well, right beside his best friend. Smiley was coughing weakly, breathing heavily, and a bit irregularly.
Fone Bone gasped in the clean air gratefully, alternating by breathing in and coughing out bits of sand. He was a little shaky, one trembling hand moving up to hold his dry throat. It was hard to talk at first, but with a few more coughs, he managed to get his voice working again. "...Yes...I'm fine...Smiley and Bartleby are too...Th-They're alright as well..." He was having trouble getting in enough air while talking, and his last sentence was less articulate. "Dig...out?"
Phoney turned to Lathan, giving a command that left no room for argument.
"Help me."
And Lathan did not argue. They both extended their hands down into the pit of shifting sand that Smiley was still half trapped in. The taller Bone looked quite dazed, and maybe a little unfocused, his eyes squinting up at them without much recognition at first. Phoney latched onto his cousin's arm, pulling him up a little further. Bartleby managed to pull himself up and out, grabbing the back of Smiley's vest and lifting his friend up and out of the sand with ease. Lathan's eyes opened wide at the sight of the creature's might, stepping back with a look of apprehension. He knew that the three Cousins had a pet monster, but he had never met it in person. He had often wondered if it might be a dog made up to look like something strange and different, but now his theory on that was blown to pieces. This was no dog.
By this point, Smiley was sitting on the ground, coming out of his daze with a series of sharp, dry coughs. Fone and Phoney moved to his side at once, patting his back and searching him over for any injuries. He seemed well enough, even if he appeared very weak. Fone patted his back sympathetically, as Smiley coughed up as much sand as he could, just as Fone Bone had a moment before.
"There we go," he encouraged gently. "Deep breaths. Cough it up. Yup. There. There, that's better." Fone passed him the canteen of water he had hurriedly gotten from his sandy satchel. He uncapped it for his cousin, finding Smiley's hold far too weak to turn the stopper himself. Smiley snatched it gratefully, taking in several deep gulps, his muddled brain trying to fight against his first instinct to drink it all. That would leave everyone else with none. Fone watched him worriedly, acknowledging Phoney's own worried glance from Smiley's opposite side.
"Darn it, Smiley," he breathed quietly. "You have to stop doing this to us."
The tallest cousin separated himself from the canteen, taking in a gasping breath after gulping away his thirst. Or, at least, the most pressing thirst. "...S-Sorry..." he stuttered, offering it back. Fone shook his head, pushing it back toward Smiley, implying that he keep it and drink the rest. It wouldn't be enough for anyone else. Besides, Smiley needed it the most, and Fone still had another full canteen in his satchel. He sighed, wanting to reassure his relative.
"No, no; it's fine. It's nothing for you to be sorry about...It's just...You really need to remember to pack food when you head out on a journey, alright?"
"Packed...bread thingies...before."
Fone smiled ever so slightly, realizing that Smiley was trying to give him a weak grin. "Yes, at our reminder," he scolded more lightly. But then his smile faded to a worried frown. "You can't keep almost collapsing from hunger every time we're traveling, Smiley. It'll mess your brain up even more than it already is! Got it?" His voice was a shaky form of teasing again, which prompted the last comment. Smiley picked up on it, and his grin widened ever so slightly.
"G-Got it."
Bartleby sidled up to the three, relief in his large eyes at Smiley's growing improvement. His nose was twitching furiously, catching something on the wind, his breathing tickling the skin of the Cousins almost beneath him. He suddenly stood very stiff, eyes now unblinking. "Bone...I can sense it..." His voice was soft, but easily heard in the stillness around them.
Fone Bone tensed, uncertain of what the rat creature meant, and almost afraid to ask. "Sense what?"
"The Valley. It is close."
Lathan's eyes widened, mostly because he had not been prepared to hear the creature speak. It threw him off and he had trouble comprehending the words the purple monster had spoken until he had stuttered over his own question. "Th-The...The Valley?" He turned to Phoney, clawing almost desperately at the Bone's arm. "What does it mean by that?"
Phoney shook him off distractedly, not even looking at him. "Exactly what it sounds like. How far, Bartleby?"
The rat creature gave the air yet another sniff. "Several hours. We could reach it by nightfall."
"How do you know that?" Fone Bone asked, almost tempted to smell the air himself, but stopping himself before he could. Bone noses weren't nearly as sensitive as those of a rat creature. That had been proven to him many times in the past. Bartleby was able to predict rain that was miles away, even when the Boneville weathermen swore up and down that there wouldn't be any. But, he was still curious as to how Bartleby could do so in relation to the Valley.
"I am of the Valley," the rat creature explained patiently, large eyes fixing on the questioning Bone. "I can smell it. Feel it in the air. It is my home...Or was."
Phoney looked into the hazy distance. Now that the sand had settled, the sun and all its glorified heat had returned, creating wavy lines of vapor on the horizon. His mind mentally groaned, not excited about traveling the distance that stretched before them. "You think you can lead the way?" he asked incredulously. It was so far, he truly wondered if that was even possible, still slightly doubtful that Bartleby could truly sense the Valley from so far away.
Bartleby nodded, his purple ears flapping certainly. "Yes." His bulbous eyes settled back on Smiley, who seemed to be much better than before, but still a bit shaky and pale looking. "I shall carry Smiley. Until he regains his strength."
Smiley attempted to get to his feet, wobbling, and without much success. "I-I'm fine," he insisted, trying to bring back some of his usual cheer. He didn't want them worrying. And he wasn't really feeling all that badly. Even though his weak legs and off balance told of otherwise.
Fone griped his cousin's arm before Smiley could tip over and fall, holding him up slightly. "No, you are not," he said firmly, guiding the taller Bone over to the young rat creature's side. "You're riding for now, Smiley." The last thing they needed was him fainting or something. Smiley really hadn't been well before this whole adventure, and each turn of it seemed to be making it worse. Or so it felt.
Despite not wanting to be the one privileged to ride, even when all the others were equally exhausted, Smiley complied without any further argument. "Alright."
They followed Bartleby's lead, heading further out into the endless desert. The sandy expanse was far calmer now, without hardly even a wisp of wind to be seen or heard. As the sun began to sink into the western sky, the heat became far more bearable. It no longer bore down on them relentlessly, but now gave them a cross between its warmth and the chill of the coming night. Ahead of them, a few stars along the horizon showed that dusk was fast approaching, though perhaps still an hour or so away.
Smiley was feeling significantly better, though his companions still insisted that he stay on Bartleby's back. He occupied himself with looking about, taking in the scenery. It was far more enjoyable now that he wasn't hungry and thirsty. His body was still a little sore, but at least that foreboding feeling had left him. Knowing they were headed back for the Valley somehow fixed all that. He was actually excited to get there. It was almost like home away from home. Maybe even more a home than home in Boneville had been lately. Either way, his carefree, cheerful nature was returning to him, for perhaps the first time in weeks. He breathed in the fresh breeze, away from the thick air of the city. How he had missed it. Even the air on the camping trips with the Bone Scouts had been too close to Boneville to truly be called the 'countryside'. This was real air; real fresh, free air.
Fone Bone watched his cousin carefully, noticing his improvement with relief. Smiley was looking healthier than he had in a long time. In fact, so did Phoney. They both appeared more like...themselves. More like they used to. Fone vaguely wondered if he too was as well. He certainly felt better. But there were still questions he wanted answered. Quickening his pace just a bit, so that he was walking alongside Bartleby, he looked up at his taller cousin inquisitively. "Why did you leave, Smiley? I told you we shouldn't leave until we were sure it was absolutely necessary."
Smiley's mood dimmed just a bit, a look of worried confusion taking its place. "To tell you the truth, Fone Bone, I...I don't even remember leaving Boneville." He scratched the back of his neck distractedly. "It was all like I had just fallen asleep...and then woke up here." He patted the warm, purple fur beneath him appreciatively. "I'm just glad Bartleby was with me, or I would have been all alone."
"Why didn't you come find us?" Phoney asked the rat creature, a little more accusingly than he intended.
Bartleby shrunk back slightly, feeling a little ashamed to admit his mistake. "I thought of doing so, but it was at the risk of losing sight of Smiley...I figured that that was more important at the moment, and so I simply followed."
Fone nodded in understanding. He could see the logic in that, even though it certainly hadn't helped circumstances at all. What he couldn't understand was why Bartleby hadn't just sat on Smiley or something in order to stop him. That's what he would have done; not that it really would have worked in his case. Smiley was far bigger than he was. But that was all in the past, so there was no reason to dwell on it. "Well, thank you, Bartleby," he said sincerely. "If you hadn't stayed with him, he might have gotten hurt. So, thank you."
Lathan plodded along behind the cousins nervously, constantly looking back over his shoulder at the direction they had come from. "Why aren't we heading back to Boneville?" he asked, not for the first time, nor the last. He just didn't understand what was going on. He didn't get the serious looks on the three Bones' faces, nor the way that they marched forward with a sense of grim determination. "I know we're lost," he guessed, "but if we just head back the way we came, I'm sure we'll bump into civilization eventually."
"We're not going back to Boneville," Fone replied, no hint of joking in his tone. "At least, not yet."
Lathan opened and closed his mouth like a fish stuck on a beach. "Not going back to-?" He shook his head as if trying to clear it of nonsense, stopping where he stood. "Fone Bone, we are out in the middle of the desert! We won't last long out here! We need to go back!"
"We'll hit civilization soon enough."
"But we're headed the wrong way!" the reporter pointed out in a shaky voice, filled with uncertainty. He started following again, his mind a mix of fear and hesitation. Surely the cousins' secret was not this far out in the desert. Who would be stupid enough to bury treasure, or whatever, this far out in the middle of a giant sandbox?! Unless they really were just crazy. Or dangerous, like the Chairman had said. That thought didn't help Lathan feel any better, and he made sure that he kept several feet behind the Bones and their beast, so that he could keep an eye on all of them.
"Not for where we're going."
Well that was it, wasn't it? They were going to die out here in the desert. This was so not worth the fame and fortune the Chairman had promised him. Lathan accepted his fate, albeit with a pitiful mental whine. Why him? All he ever wanted was to be good at what he loved, and know he was never going to even come close to that. He took his small notepad from a small pocket in the back of his tie. It was worn, having gotten pretty badly crinkled in the sandstorm. Which brought up another point. Sandstorms, at least as far as he knew, didn't happen all that often. What were the chances of one hitting them? Pretty small, and yet it had.
It was just not his day.
"Whoa, wait!" Phoney, who had moved up front, suddenly held his hand out behind him, motioning for them to stop. The others did so, noticing the cause for his urgent command. A chasm, one that had been virtually invisible until they were almost upon it, opened up before them. Shrouded in shadow, robbed of the light of the setting sun, the shear cliffs were made all the more foreboding. The group stood looking at it in silence for a moment, before Lathan once again spoke up.
"What now?" he said incredulously, hands on his hips. He surveyed the drop with the assumption that this meant they would have to turn back. He hoped that they had enough food and water to get back to Boneville.
Fone shrugged off his satchel, bringing it to his front and opening it. He dug around a moment before coming up with a long rope. He was glad he had packed it. He hadn't known what he would use it for, but, after the adventures he had had in the past, he knew a good rope could always come in handy.
Lathan watched him a moment, still content in his fantasy that they were turning back. Until it seemed to hit him what Fone Bone was doing. "Wait...Wait! No, no! We can't climb down that thing! It's too steep! We'll kill ourselves!"
"Don't tempt us," Phoney growled under his breath as he helped his cousin tie the rope to a large, sturdy boulder.
"I fell down it once before," Fone commented, testing the rope's strength. "Without a rope. And I survived. This is a strong rope, it should hold us." He smiled at the rat creature. "Even you, Bartleby." At least, he hoped it would.
"But I-I'm afraid of heights!" Lathan cried, spreading his arms wide in frustration and fear.
Phoney rolled his eyes, finishing off the last knot before standing and stomping over to the cowardly reporter. He poked a finger into Lathan's chest, a little more roughly than necessary. "Listen," he growled, "If you're coming with us, you seriously need to man up! What are you going to do, stay here by yourself? Yeah, good luck with that!"
Lathan pushed the slightly smaller Bone away from him indignantly, smoothing his tie fiercely. "I am manned up, thank you! But I'll tell you what I'm not; crazy like you!"
Phoney almost seemed to physically flinch, his smugness all at once turning to the hurt that he had held before. He had heard that so many times since they had returned from the Valley. He had been called everything from a liar to a lunatic, and each time it had hurt more and more. He had heard it from strangers, the media, the Council, and now this fellow. And he was sick of it. His hurt turned to anger at once, and he pulled back a fist, ready to give Lathan's nose a heavy blow.
But Fone Bone caught his wrist, stopping him with a quick, solid movement. "That's enough of that." Turning to Lathan, all while still holding his cousin back, Fone spoke sternly. "We have to make it down there, we haven't got enough food nor water to make it back to Boneville at this point. I know you don't believe what we say about the Valley, but at this moment, you've got only two choices. Are you staying or coming with us?"
Lathan felt thoroughly chastened. Looking down at his feet, he buried his shame deep inside before looking up and answering. "I'll come."
Fone nodded, turning away and hustling Phoney toward the rope as he went. "We should do smallest to largest, which means you need to go first, Phoney." He backed away swiftly as Phoney became distinctly irritable.
The Bone in question wrenched his arm from Fone's grasp, pulling down on his shirt to get out the wrinkles. "I know that," he snapped. He went over to the rope and snatched it up grumpily, tying it snugly around his waist. He tested the knot, and then positioned himself by the edge of the clifftop. He glanced down into the dark depths below, a bit of his own reluctance surfacing, but he managed to keep it hidden.
Fone, Smiley, Bartleby, and, after a moment, Lathan, all joined holding the rope on the other side. It was a thick rope, which made holding it easy. Fone tested his end once more before exchanging a nod with Phoney. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," his cousin answered, still angered by Lathan's words. He wasn't about to let that go anytime soon. He sent a final glare in the Bone's direction, before truly preparing himself for the climb.
"Alright, we'll let you down easy. Take your time. Hurrying's not worth the drop, believe me." Fone gave another nod and, slowly, Phoney eased himself to the cliff-side.
It was slow going, and it seemed like forever before Phoney had safely reached the bottom, calling up to them that he had made it. Next went Lathan, being the next smallest. He clung to the rope like a leech, and getting him to even step off the cliff-side was a huge undertaking. But finally they managed to get him off, and shortly after, he begrudgingly joined Phoney below. Fone tried not to think about how much of a bad idea that was.
Fone started pulling the slack rope back up to him, Smiley, and Bartleby. "You're going next, Smiley," he instructed, as hurriedly as he could. He knew that Smiley was going to disagree, and he was trying to buld up his resolve before the taller Bone did so.
Smiley snapped his attention to his cousin at once, looking very distressed by that news. "But...I thought you said we needed to go from smallest to biggest? I'm quite a bit taller than you, Cuz." He was feeling much better, and had even gotten off of Bartleby at some point. There was no reason that he should be let down before Fone. "I'm supposed to be last."
Fone Bone shook his head, his mind already made up. "Smiley, the last person will have to climb down without any help from above. That's going to take a lot of strength, which is something you don't really have right now." He started tying the rope around his cousin's waist, but Smiley's hand stopped him.
"Fone Bone," he said gently. "I'm fine. There is no way you can lower me and Bartleby down. You're too small. Now, please, tie the rope around your own waist." He held out his hand with an air of command that Fone still wasn't used to. After a moment, Fone nodded, eyes averted, still hating the idea of leaving his weakened cousin to climb alone. Well, not completely alone. He still had Bartleby. He took the rope from Smiley and tied it to his own middle, albeit a little disapprovingly.
"Be careful," Fone said sternly.
Smiley smiled that cheerful grin that could always bring out the best in people. "Don't worry. I will." He assisted Fone in getting over the edge and then lowered him down. Fone was surprised at just how far it was. He still couldn't believe that he had fallen down this thing once before and survived. It must have been a miracle, because, looking at it now, he just couldn't see how it was possible.
When he felt the rope go slack, and heard Fone shout up to him that he had made it, Smiley pulled the rope back up. "Alright, buddy," he said to Bartleby. "You ready for this?"
"Yes." It wasn't a very positive yes, but a yes nonetheless.
Looking down the cliff and then at the rope in his hands, Smiley frowned at a new problem. "Hmm, how to do this..." Smiley quickly realized that even Fone Bone, for all his strategic planning, could still make mistakes. Bartleby was not light, and lowering him would not be easy, especially him being the size he was. They should have lowered him first, when they were all able to pitch in to get him down there safely. But now he would have to do that alone. "Okay..." Smiley said. "Okey. Let's try this. I'll tie this to you, and I'll sit on your back. You have strong hands, and together, we can both lower ourselves down. Sound good?" He didn't feel nearly as enthused as he wished he did. It was hard to encourage someone when you just weren't feeling it yourself.
But it actually ended up working quite well. Bartleby was a good climber, using not only the rope, but the cliff-side as well. His sharp claws were a huge help in that respect. All Smiley really had to do was hang on to his friend's back, which was easy with all the thick fur he possessed. Not that it wasn't nerve wracking. Knowing that, should you slip, would more than be your death was not exactly fun to think about. Smiley had to keep reminding himself not to hold on too tightly to his friend's neck, not wanting to choke him, but still fighting the instinct to cling on for dear life. Bartleby didn't seem to mind, and actually purred encouragement of his own to the Bone clinging to his back.
About halfway down, however, was when everything suddenly went wrong.
With a creak and a groan as its only warning, the rope suddenly snapped up by the top with a terrific crack. With yelps of surprise and fear, both the Bone and the rat creature felt the rope go suddenly terribly slack, and they plummeted down into the chasm at a horrific speed. Free falling is a terrible feeling, especially when you know that there is no way that you will survive the impact. The ground was coming up to meet them, a blur of rock and earth.
Below, their friends gave a shout of horror, torn between wanting to try and catch them, and getting out of the way. They could barely comprehend what was happening, having not expected the rope to snap at all. Bartleby was coming first, Smiley quickly following. And it all might have ended very poorly, if not for one quality that not even Bartleby had known his kind possessed.
Righting himself mid-fall by digging his claws into the rock side which was flying by on his right, Bartleby slowed his decent, wincing at the heat and friction of paws against stone. It slowed him enough that Smiley all at once landed on his back once more. They were still falling, though not nearly as fast. Bartleby tried harder, putting all his strength into softening the crushing blow he feared would come. And then, with a jolt, they hit the ground, not terribly hard, as they had been expecting, but still with enough speed to knock the wind out of their lungs. Both tumbled to the ground, breathing hard and slightly shocked, but otherwise unharmed.
Smiley was greeted by three very anxious faces. His mind was in a bit of a daze, unable to truly comprehend that he hadn't just died. Sitting up carefully, he shook his head, clearing the haze, finally gaining his hearing to the worried voices that surrounded him.
"Good grief! Smiley! Are you alright?!"
"That was incredible!"
"Oh, shut up. Is he alright, Fone Bone?"
Smiley, though feeling a little shaken up, turned to Phoney to answer him himself. "I'm...just fine. Just fine." He looked back up at the cliff, eyes widening and voice shaking a little. "Boy, that was a long fall..." He looked down at his creature friend. "Are...are you alright, Bartleby?"
The rat creature flicked an ear in his direction, taking a deep, calming breath. "A little sore, but I'm good."
The others all gave sighs of immense relief. Had something happened out there in the wilderness, there would have been no hospitals or doctors they would have been able to see. An injury now might have meant death, in this case. They all pushed that thought as far from their minds as possible, horrified that it had even crossed them.
"I'm just glad you're both OK," Fone muttered, patting Smiley's arm. He shook his head. "I told you to be careful."
Smiley grinned. "Well it's not like the r-" But he suddenly cut off, his gaze shifting from his cousins and Lathan to something in the distance.
They followed his stare, wondering what he saw; fearing that it was yet another danger to endure.
"What? What is it?" Phoney demanded nervously.
Smiley's smile returned full force. "We're almost there! Now I can feel it too!" How that was possible, he didn't know, nor did he care. All he cared about was that the Valley was only a short ways away. And it would feel so good to be back there.
Well, there we go, another chapter.
Please, if anyone wouldn't mind, please pray for my grandfather; he's in the hospital and not doing well. :]
Thank you