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My brow furrowed in aggravation, Imam was either singing or preaching or both, and it was really grating on my nerves. I didn't even know what he was talking about, it was all in Arabic. I could pick out Allah every once in awhile, but other than that he could be spouting nonsense about dragons and dinosaurs in an epic battle for who would protect the princess in the tower for all I knew. I snorted in amusement, 'a knight in shining armor fighting a T-Rex to get to his fated princess', classy.

I felt like I was doing way too much walking recently, and my feet were getting sore. We had been walking towards the blue sun for a while now, and as it rose our surroundings took on a blue hue. It was kinda like when you wear colored sunglasses, and everything looks like that color. There were a few dunes here and there, but the way we were going became more and more rugged as we went. The way was less flat now, and more of a slow incline on a rocky and very uneven terrain. My throat was dry, and I let out a pitiful cough. There really was no humidity in the air, and I worried that there was no water here. I have yet to see a cloud in the sky, and there looked to be no plant life. I counted us lucky there was even oxygen here.

Right about now I was regretting my decision to refuse the breathing devices Shazza and Zeke made. I felt like I just completed a triathlon, then had to wrestle an entire swamp of alligators without all the cool water and shade. Why would I wrestle alligators, I don't know, but it seemed like an appropriate way to describe how I felt right about now. There was a slight breeze, not enough to really make a difference, but it did push stray hairs into my mouth and eyes.

I was about ready to snap at Imam for his incessant religious monologue when Johns yelled for everyone to be quiet. Everyone froze as Johns scanned the area, and rocks rolled down the side of one hill. We all stared at it for a while, and I crouched down in case of attack. Johns pulled a gun from behind him and walked closer to the base of the pile of rocks. The sounds of more stones being disturbed startled me, but as I looked around I saw Imam's sons throwing rocks at a hill. They were saying something as they did it, but I couldn't understand them. Their behavior confused me, why would they throw rocks at other rocks?

Imam answered my silent question when he caught Fry and I staring at the children. "Seven stones to keep the devil at bay," Imam offered. The kids kept 'stoning the devil' and repeating whatever they were saying as Fry and Imam talked.

"You were on a trip to New Mecca, right?" Fry asked. I listened closely, why New Mecca, what was wrong with Old Mecca? Did the Muslims lose a holy war in Saudi Arabia? It would have been all over the news if something happened, especially if the U.S.'s precious oil supply was threatened, so why haven't I heard of New Mecca? Then again, we were supposedly in space on an unknown planet.

"Once in every lifetime, should there be a great Hajj," Imam started, he sounded like some old poet or something. I was assuming that he meant people should have or do a Hajj once in their lifetime, but with poets, you never know what they really mean. "A great pilgrimage to get to know Allah better, I guess. But to know yourself as well." This sounded really important to him, so I decided that no matter how annoying it got, he could sing his stuff as much as he liked. I had a great respect for the things people devoted their lives to, and I would never be the one to try and stop them from doing what made them happy. If Imam devoted his life to Chrislam, then he can preach his heart out. As long as I wasn't expected to listen. Or pray.

"Yeah."

"We are all on the same Hajj now," Imam added, taking a weapon from Fry and walking away. His sons followed after him, some taking puffs from the inhaler-like things. I stared longingly at those air things, I really should have taken one.

I watched as the group split up, should I go with Imam and his boys, or with Fry and Johns? I followed Fry after a while, thinking I would do better to hang around them and gain whatever information I could by listening to them, seeing as though I couldn't understand Arabic. Fry walked up behind Johns, and he swung his gun around to point at her. She froze, gasping in surprise. Johns stared at her for a moment before lowering his gun.

"See anything?"

"No Riddick. Trees, trees mean water," Johns mumbled, still scanning the area with his binoculars.

"Oh thank God!" I exclaimed, excited beyond belief. I walked over to Johns and he looked up at me, still crouched on the ground. "Can I see them?"

"No,"he replied, putting his binoculars back on his belt, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes, he is so immature! Stupid, dummy head and his selfish antics. 'I hope he falls off this mound of rocks and lands on his face'. Pushing him didn't seem like such a bad choice either at the moment.

We all grouped back together, and when the Arab boys saw the trees, they ran forward, exclaiming something in Arabic. I wanted to run off too, but that wouldn't look too good on my part. I wouldn't want people to see me prance away and think I was childish. I studied the trees, and they didn't look that healthy. They weren't exactly brown, green, and vibrant with life. They looked like the dragon blood trees that grew in dry environments like this one, but even where there should be leaves, they looked more grey than green. We got closer, and I was just itching to hurry our pace up, I wanted to fill this metal-box container I found with water for Aria, and get back before she got herself into trouble.

But as soon as we reached the top of the valley my hopes were crushed. We all just stood there for a moment, staring at what lie below us. I wanted to cry in frustration, but I don't do that sort of thing. Below us were the giant skeletons of what looked like stegosauruses, the only difference was that the spines on these looked like trees. They looked so much like trees. Now not only did I want to cry, but I also wanted to collapse on the ground, roll around, and throw a tantrum.

"I really hate this planet," I whispered. This was so stupid, why couldn't we have crashed on a beach resort that had wonderful hospitality and a free, two week stay? I just really wanted to drink some water.

"A communal graveyard perhaps, like the elephants from Earth," Imam said. He listened closely when Hassan, or Suleiman, I'm not sure, said something to him. "He asks what could have killed so many great things."

"Is this whole planet dead?"

"There has to be more than just that," I said, my voice filled with disbelief. "There can't just be one kind of thing on a whole planet!"

"It might be better if there was," Fry stated. "It takes something very dangerous to take down such big creatures."

"Lets just get a closer look." Johns started walking down into the valley, and the others followed. I held back, I felt like we were being watched, and it sent shivers down my spine. I looked around, and there was no sign of anyone unusual in our area. I could see everyone as they went their separate ways, and I wanted to explore, but I still felt a little like prey.

It was an interesting sight, this bone yard. It went on for miles, filled with the biggest skeletons I have ever seen. I really haven't seen any skeletons before, but I would imagine that these could be the size of whales. As I walked by them I noticed that their bones were wider than my arm, and their ribs were taller than I am. They had huge skulls and what looked like two, maybe three, eye sockets. Their teeth were more like molars, and I decided they were probably herbivores. What they ate was an enigma though.

Ali had picked up a bone and was running it along the ribs of a smaller creature, creating an annoying sound that resembled what it sounded like to run when you ran your finger along a fence. I sighed, it reminded me of home, I actually missed my home. My parents nagging would be a relief at this point, constantly asking; When are you moving out? What college are you going to? Where are you going? Who are you going with? I wished I could go home, but walking around, moping wasn't going to help anyone! I looked at Johns as he tried to sneak around, occasionally crouching to hide behind a bone before looking around the corner. Ali was frolicking about, but I had lost track of Imam and the other two boys. Fry was sitting against a bone, and I took this as my chance to explore.

I wandered around, pondering life's greatest questions and other deep crap like that when a particular skull caught my interest. It was wonderfully shady and one of the holes in it looked like a lounge chair. As I walked over to it, I noticed that there was a tunnel like structure in the seat. Curiosity got the better of me, and I crawled through it. It was cool in there, but it had a strange smell I couldn't put my finger on. The tunnel twisted and turned, but there was never a different option to take. I wound up in what could have been the brain cavity, but I wasn't sure. There was a hole in the back, closer to the top. I climbed over to it, and as I approached I could hear voices. I crawled through and ended up on the top of the spine. It was weird walking through a skeleton, so maybe Ms. Fizzle just shrunk us all down and brought us here on her magic school bus. It would only be a slightly more crazy explanation than interplanetary travel.

I shimmied along the top of the spine, trying to get closer to the voices without making any noise. For the most part I succeeded, except every once in awhile I would almost fall and made a bunch of noise as I caught myself. The voices became clearer, and I could make out two different ones. They sounded like Fry and Johns, and Fry didn't seem to want to talk.

"What did Owens mean?" Johns asked. I didn't know who Owens was, or what he could have possibly meant, but it had to be important. They wouldn't be out here, secluded from the others and talking in hushed tones if it wasn't. "On not touching the handle."

Fry was quiet, and from where I was I could barely see Johns stand up. I leaned forward and tried to see them better, but I was afraid I would fall. I grabbed behind me for something to hold on to and I found a crack in the bone to stick my fingers into. I anchored myself there and leaned as far as I would dare. I could see the top of Fry's head and her back, so I was practically right on top of her. I waited for her reply when I noticed a bone close to the back of her neck. It seemed to inch closer and closer to her, then stopped. I stared at it, waiting for it to move with an intensity that really wasn't necessary when I realized Fry was talking.

"I'm not your captain," she said, staring Johns in the eyes. After a moment she looked away, continuing, "During the landing, when things were at their worst, Owens was at his best. He's the one who stopped the docking pilot from dumping the main cabin. The passengers," She said the last part quietly,and I barely heard it. I watched as the piece of bone slowly moved away, and I wondered distantly if the wind was making it sway.

"Who is the docking pilot?"

Fry just turned and looked at him, I couldn't see her face but I assumed she had a look of guilt on it. So Fry was going to let everyone die, no wonder she acted dodgy sometimes. She must have felt bad for getting rid of the cargo hold when Aria said we were stowaways. It was all so strange, and I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. I was trying to piece it all together when the bone moved again. It got close to Fry, and it looked like it took off a chunk of her hair. Weird.

Johns put his hat on Fry's head, saying, "Guess I'm happier to be here than I thought."

I waited until they started walking away before jumping down. It wasn't graceful in the slightest, and I stumbled a little after landing. Luckily the sand muffled the sound, and neither of them turned back around. I wanted to look at the bone thing, so I turned to investigate. What I saw made me freeze.

Standing there behind the ribs was the scariest guy I have ever seen. He stood a good six feet, with nothing but sheer muscle rippling under all of his exposed skin. He wore a black wife beater and black cargo pants with black combat boots, but he wore the strangest goggles over his eyes. They were black as well, and looked like tiny welding goggles. He had perfectly chiseled features, and he was very attractive, in that scary bad-guy way. His head was either bald or shaved, but it matched him perfectly, and he had an air of danger about him. It was alluring, and my stomach fluttered while I looked at him.

I stared straight into his covered eyes, or I thought I did, and shifted my weight on my back foot. This guy was undoubtedly very strong, and I would be crazy to take him on. I made to run away, but I couldn't quite bring myself to leave. It was a nerve wracking standoff, and I almost peed myself when he moved. He simply turned his head to the side, then seemed to fade slowly into the shadows and disappear.

I stayed in that spot for a good minute, completely dumbstruck. I was feeling the after effects of that strange first encounter. My heart was beating fast, and I had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn't just because he was intimidating. He looked so animalistic and so, ugh, what was the word to describe him, so handsome! My cheeks burned and I was blushing like an idiot, what kind of weirdo was I? I should be running in the opposite direction, and yet, here I was, thinking about how hot he was! I shook my head and took off in search of the others. When I came up behind them, Fry informed me we would be moving on. I took one last look behind me in hopes I would see the stranger again, but the bone yard was empty. I turned around and walked after Fry.

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