Hello? Is there anyone still reading this story, or nah? Because honestly, I can't quite tell anymore. I'm sorry for not updating sooner - things have gotten hectic and out of control again, mostly because as of just a while ago, I got my first-ever part-time job! With that on top of studies and extra activities, my life has been nothing but peaceful as of late. Still, I'm trying to soldier on and keep up with writing.

Again, sorry for the wait - enjoy!

Badlands six.

Direction

("feet first, don't fall")

Katooni was running.

Feet slapping the ground, thought swimming in her mind in an endless whirlpool, her breaths coming out short and desperate. She couldn't see anyone running in front of her now. Her friends were far away from her – much farther, probably a whole mile away.

She was too slow.

She could run for miles, probably – miles on top of miles on top of miles – but she wasn't fast. Her legs didn't go at the proper speed. Her heart couldn't keep up with the thundering steps of the others. Her eyes were focused on her feet, her arms feeling weak and heavy from swinging so hard.

Katooni tried to remember why she was there.

A practice mission – or a drill. Definitely a drill.

She wasn't alone. There were other creatures on this hot planet, probably watching Katooni run through the caverns with hungry and gleaming eyes. They were probably waiting for her to stop running – and then they would pounce, tearing at her throat and her limbs and –

Katooni shuddered, trying to force the image out of her mind.

She flicked her eyes up to the dark caves around her. There wasn't anything in those caves – there were only shadows and dust and nothing but the mindless fears of younglings.

The drill was simple – run at least five miles through the caverns and get it done fast. Katooni had been naïve. She thought this would be simple for her – she thought she could probably go through the whole length without stopping even once.

And that much was true.

But everyone else was so much stronger. And so much faster.

Ganodi had tried to keep up with Katooni at first. "You'll be fine," she had told her before the race began. "And we'll run together."

Katooni had actually believed her friend – only later, she realized that Ganodi was much faster than she had originally let on…and though Katooni tried to keep up with Ganodi, she had no choice but to fall back. Ganodi, caught up in her own little victory, hadn't even looked back once.

Zatt, as quiet and as tech-savvy as he was, didn't seem to rely on anything when he started running. He didn't wear any shoes – he never seemed to – and didn't seem at all bothered by the length they were running. He sprinted full speed ahead, practically neck and neck with Petro, who only smirked at Katooni when he passed her.

Even Byph, who Katooni had figured would be the slowest, ran faster than her. He was the most nervous about what was in the caverns – but when given the signal, he sped in front of her, driven by his own fears. Katooni had the feeling he was just desperate to get the race over with.

The only person who actually stuck by Katooni who was Gungi. Katooni felt a great surge of affection and gratefulness for the Wookie, who stayed and paced himself with Katooni for the first few miles.

And then Katooni realized she was dragging him down – and if it weren't for her, he would have been finished a whole twenty or so minutes ago. Maybe even longer – because while Katooni was panting and dragging her feet down, Gungi was absolutely stoic and his breathing was still at a normal, regular pace. (Almost as though Gungi was walking.)

After coming to that realization, Katooni told Gungi to go run ahead. Gungi had protested at first, saying something about having to stick together – but Katooni was insistent. "Really," she said in between breaths, "it's fine. Go ahead. I'll meet you on the other side."

Gungi had looked confused – and a bit reluctant, but he did what Katooni asked. He ran ahead, and as Katooni watched his retreating figure, she almost regretted her decision.

Now she was truly alone, Gungi and the others completely out of sight.

The sun was setting over the horizon. The sky was pink and red, lighting up the landscape and casting greater, longer shadows over the caverns. Katooni kept her eyes focused on the sky, tilting her head back so she could get in more oxygen.

The sky's so pretty, she thought to herself, trying to veer her attention away from her exhaustion. The sky's so pretty – the sky's so pretty – the sky's so pretty. (I need water. I want to stop. I really, really need to stop.) The sky's so pretty – the sky's so pretty – the sky's so…

Katooni felt every nerve scream as she crashed into something. Green and yellow spots flashed from under her eyelids as she tumbled back to the sand, every part of her sore and pricked with pain. Katooni let out a quick gasp, staring up at the ever-darkening sky. She tasted blood in her mouth – whether it was from her crash or from running for so long, she couldn't tell.

Katooni lifted her head to see what she had crashed into – and only caught a glimpse of a cavern wall before dizziness took over her once more.

Katooni's head smacked against the ground – though she couldn't tell if the ground was hard or not at this point. Her body was growing numb, her heart feeling as though it was about to explode from her chest. She lay there for a while, heaving in and out what little air she felt she had left to herself.

"I can walk back," Katooni whispered out loud. She licked her dry lips. She vaguely remembered being told that wetting her own mouth would make her thirstier, but she couldn't help it. Her head wasn't clear enough to make any sensible decisions.

After a few more minutes of doing nothing but self-pitying herself, Katooni pushed herself up to her feet. Immediately, she crashed against the cavern again, only this time by her side first. An ache was in her head – her legs and arms were trembling. Her stomach hurt – her abs were tight and her shoulders were stiff.

You must keep running, Katooni thought to herself, gritting her teeth. She took a few steps forward. Keep running…

But where was she supposed to go?

Katooni stopped short in her tracks. She turned around – she was so, so far from her starting point…and then she turned back around. She still couldn't see the finish line. She couldn't see any markers that would tell her where to go.

Where was she supposed to go?

As quick and as sneaky as a viper, panic closed itself around Katooni's throat. She choked on her own saliva, her hand reaching up to wipe at her lips. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move.

She was completely lost.

Where was she supposed to go? Where was she supposed to go? Where was she supposed to –

Katooni stumbled forward. One foot in front of the other – one foot in front of the other – one foot in front of the other…

She lost track of time. The sun sank well below the horizon. The air cooled. The sweat from Katooni evaporated into the night. And still, she felt tacky and sticky with her own self-doubt and panic.

She didn't even know if she was going the right way. She didn't even know where she was going.

Just that she needed to keep walking, even if it was in the wrong direction.

She trudged forward, her boots feeling worn and blisters coming and popping in her feet. She didn't know how she was supposed to keep this up – she would fall down on the sand, and then she'd be completely forgotten about until morning, when her body might burn and…

"Katooni!"

Katooni jerked her head up, eyes wide.

Her friends were standing in the distance, arms waving frantically. They were screaming something else – something unintelligible – something –

"Come on! You're almost here!"

Katooni turned around. She saw the sand she had walked through – her footsteps were little ghosts, disappearing as they had came.

"Katooni!"

Katooni turned back around. Her friends were still waving their arms, still waiting for her.

She heaved in a breath. She dug her feet into the sand – counted her breaths –

And sprinted forward.

And ran and ran and ran and ran –

Until she was tumbling into her friends' arms, screaming and crying and her words stumbling over each other. (Like her feet.)

A/N - (Fitting, seeing that track season has just ended.)

As always, reviews would be great, especially since it's been so long since I've heard too much from anyone. Constructive criticism is alright, but flames are not.