Hello everyone and welcome back to HellFall!

I haven't touched this story in way too long. As I was editing this one I realized that I didn't know if I'd even finished it. Apparently I had. Anyways, here it is!

I awoke some time later, unsure exactly of where I was or what had transpired in the last while, or if anything had even happened. Maybe I'd just been here, laying on the soft ground my whole life, or maybe not.

Moistness touched my face. It was uncomfortable. Why, I wasn't sure. The heat was near unbearable, yet the wetness seemed like an uninvited guest in my personal space. Somehow my brain told me it was a good thing, but for what reason I couldn't discern. It seemed to create a terrible contrast in my body, throwing off my expectations and breaking down walls I'd since built.

But when I tried to wipe my face, my arms were blocked. When I tried to open my eyes, I was met with opposition. It felt crusty, like a stickiness that had been developing for quite some time. I almost didn't want to break it. Whatever had caused it had put a lot of work into it, and I knew it'd make me feel bad if I ruined it. That was just the kind of person I was. Still, it was blocking me from exerting the use of one of my own basic five senses. So, after little deliberation, I put a bit more work into it.

And it hurt more than I hoped it would.

I winced as the solid specks sprinkled themselves all over my open eyeballs. It was uncomfortable, if I spoke of it lightly. In fact, a better word would be terrifying. I couldn't see, yet I'd just opened my eyes. Was I blind? How had this happened? I had vivid memories of seeing in the past. Where had this come from?

Then I heard a soothing voice. What it said, I wasn't entirely sure. It sounded feminine, I knew that, but I couldn't make out anything else.

"Wh…what?" I stammered out, as if I'd forgotten how to speak. It felt odd, improper even to form words. And yet, here I was, talking. "What's happening?"

"English?" The voice said. I understood that, oddly enough. "Ah, okay. Euhhh…" she moaned, as if trying to figure out which words to use. "Careful, uh, please. You are, uh, um, you are okay, yes? Uh, um," she paused for quite some time, "wait, wait now." I heard shuffling, then shifting sand. Sand? Why was there sand here?

As if on cue, everything came back.

I shot upright, still blind, trying to free my arms. My skin was greeted by a soft material that I quite liked. It felt familiar, like a sleeping bag. And, as suspected, it turned out to be one. I withdrew my hands and reached around me, feeling sand, again as suspected.

As I continued to feel blindly, I heard soft footsteps and voices in a language I did not understand, both of which were female.

"Oh!" the new voice exclaimed, "careful! You're still recovering are you not?" I felt fingers press gently into my chest, pushing me backwards. It was so comforting, I went along with it, allowing myself to lie back down on what felt like a mat. It wasn't sand, I knew that.

"What's happening?" I asked, "Why can't I see?" I was terrified, but the gentleness of her hands was calming enough to keep my voice down.

"It just sand," she replied. "You have sand in your eyes. We wash that out. Do not worry."

I nodded, still not too terribly hopeful, but willing to go along with these people anyway. After all, I couldn't see a thing. What choice did I have in actuality?

The next while went on far too slowly, as I was lifted out of the bag and taken somewhere. Without my sight I really had no idea. But I felt water shooting down on me, specifically my face. My eyes were forced open, to my discomfort, but my vision began to clear after that. Still, the water continued to spray in rather rhythmic bursts, as if it were being pumped very slowly.

When I was finally withdrawn from the shower, I blinked and wiped my face, which was now totally soaked along with my whole body, and saw the sight that was before me. It appeared to be a small village, or camp more like. There were a few small tents set up here and there, and a handful of people sitting around on small wooden crates or squatting in the sand, either socializing or watching me. Why, I could make a good guess, though I didn't think anything about me stood out.

The two women whom I could now see watched me anxiously, wondering what I'd do now that I was cleaned and able to see again. Both women were rather tall and well-fed. Their skin was darker in tone than mine, but only slightly. One seemed to be older than the other, as her skin sagged ever so slightly. Both had dark-colored eyes, and short brown hair, darker than their own skin.

"Where's Octavia?" I asked, realizing that I hadn't heard or felt another lump in the tent. From my angle, which wasn't a good one, I couldn't see anything resembling a sleeping person in any of the tents. The women appeared confused, however, so I elaborated. "The purple-haired woman. With the red eyes. Remember?"

The older woman paused for only a second, piecing together how to best respond. "She keep going," she replied, pointing in another direction, "you said."

"So she actually left?" I asked. The memory of my telling her to leave before I fell unconscious was present, but I didn't think she'd have actually left with me in that state. To each their own, I suppose, I thought.

The older woman nodded, pointing again in the direction Octavia had gone.

"Okay, well thank you." I said, taking half a step in that direction before realizing that I may not have all my possessions, however few there were. "I'm just going to check the tent quickly," I added, jogging towards the tent and looking around. As expected, there was nothing of any real interest here. Nothing of mine or Octavia's.

As I turned to leave the older woman stopped me, grabbing my arm to catch my attention. "What about other woman?" She asked in her broken English. Her face appeared concerned, as if the other woman may affect her in a deep, horrible way. As if I should've been concerned.

"Don't worry about her," I said, "she can't do anything. If she really bothers you that much, bury her." I wasn't terribly worried, but it was pretty uncomfortable. Plus I didn't know what kind of religion these people had, so I had no idea if what I'd done was evil or something. Regardless, I left the village with that suggestion, following after Octavia.

So there you go. That's the chapter. I don't really know what else to say. I'm actually pretty tired right now, so I'm just gonna wrap this up.

As usual, favorite, follow, review, tel your friends, tell your enemies, or don't if you don't want to.