Number 501 (Needs Editing)

Bloody Hope

Each step we took, proved that we weren't meant to be out here. And when we weren't craving prison food and water, we were thinking about even going back  if we could make it. Around the next few hours we decided to take a break and sit in hot sand. We all had gotten major tans from walking out this long, another problem we were dealing with. We all sat in a circle, we were too exhausted to even open our mouths so we just sat there in silence. It felt awful. The whole time we were inside, all we wanted was to be out, but now that we are out, all I want is to be back in. Funny right? I don't think there's ever been a time where I have wanted to go to a prison. I guess we all have times where we want something strange. This was it for me. So yes, we sat there and heard a rustling behind Allice's back. I didn't give a damn what it was, but for some reason Allice did. I guess that was reasonable since it was coming from behind him. 

He spun around and I looked to see what he was doing. Jaquil and 304 watched as well. It was weird. It was almost as if the sand was spinning in small tiny little circles. Allice went to touch it but Jaquil advised that it wasn't such a good idea. Allice didn't care whether it was or not, he wanted to know what it was. None of us stopped him, just sat there waiting to see what was going to happen. Allice stuck his hand in to the sand and felt underneath to see what was going on. He pulled his hand out quickly and made us all jump back, he held his hand close and laughed. 

"What?" Jaquil asked.

"I don't know, something tickled me." Allice explained. He then went to do it again, this time sweeping the sand away from that area and we saw it. This little monstrosity. It was lumpish and bulky, small though. Like the size of one's hand. It had two hind legs and two small chubby front legs. It's hind legs were red, but the rest of it's body matched the color of the sand. It stood there, like it was ready to attack. It made a clicking noise every time Allice put his hand close. 

"What the hell is that thing?" Jaquil asked beginning to freak out and trying to stomp it. The small creature managed to jump around Jaquil's shoes and survive until Allice stopped him and picked up the tiny thing. 

"What are you thinking? This is a new discovery for science! New life on another planet!" Allice yelled.

"It won't have life in about a second." Jaquil said threatening it. 

"Jaquil Mitchell! Stand back!" Allice said standing firm and tall. 

Jaquil looked at him and then stepped back, I don't understand why though. He could've taken him down. Jaquil was a big guy. Maybe it was the fact that we were all friends here and he didn't want to ruin that.  

We all just sat there and watched Allice stand there with the vermin in his hand. "What do you think I should call him?" Allice asked the rest of us, and that's when I jumped up and confronted him.

"You're gonna keep that disgusting thing?"

"Well why wouldn't I?" Allice asked me. 

"First of all, you're probably torturing it by keeping it. Second, I'm not sleeping next to that thing. You have no idea what it's capable of." I told him but he didn't seem to listen.

"Listen to yourself! Not everything is dangerous and is made to kill like you were made to believe! He won't hurt a fl-" Before Allice finished, the insect on his arm latched onto his arm and began sucking the blood out of him. Allice screamed in pain and fell to the ground trying to tear the thing off but the more he pulled, the more he pulled his own skin off as well. I got down and the rest crawled over and began pulling as well. The damn thing was clicking and growling at us but kept sucking. His arm almost all the way pale and beginning to take the blood from his chest and all the way up to his head and down to his feet. We tore and tore and we could hear the skin ripping more and more as we pulled and suddenly there was a snap and we pulled the creature off, launching us back into the sand a few feet away, it's back filled with Allice's blood. I grabbed it by one of it's legs and hung it upside down, Jaquil took off his tank top and wrapped the disturbing creature inside. He held onto it tight, all wrapped up in there. 

"Allice?" 304 spoke, climbing up to his feet and glancing before blocking his own eye sight. I got up to look as well. He was dead, the half right side of his body completely pale, barely any blood inside. The skin ripped off his arm down to the bone, and the only blood that there was left on his right side leaked out onto the sand. 

"Get rid of that damn thing!" 304 screamed at the top of his lungs and dropped down to his knees by Allice's body. 

Jaquil went to unwrap the tank top and let the thing go but I stopped him. "No, we're not getting rid of it."

"What?" Jaquil asked. "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe, but did you see how fast it killed him. This thing could be useful." I explained to them but by the looks on their faces, they didn't care if it was useful or not, they didn't want to carry around a blood sucking creature. 

"Useful for what?" 304 asked, staring up at me.

"I don't know yet." I responded briefly. 

So that was it. Jaquil left the creature wrapped up, we mourned our loss, then covered his body up with sand. A proper burial if you will. And then we kept walking again. It was almost sunset and we still had no water. One more day. Allice wasn't here to tell us what was wise and not wise to do. To be honest, he knew more than my brain could hold, he was the smarts of the group and now we're just down to the tough guy, the experienced one, and the man with integrity. 

After another long walk, we saw a giant rock formation in the distance. We always saw tiny rocks here and there but close to this enormous sand pit, there was a giant rock formation nearby, and then by the looks of it was a ten story drop. Jaquil ran over to the rock formation and discovered it was a small cave, small, but big enough for all three of us. He set his tank top in the cave and then looked down the steep drop off. There was water at the bottom! By the looks of it, Jaquil was ready to jump for it. He would never do that though. 

"I don't think I've ever wanted to jump ten stories down so bad before." Jaquil said looking for any ways to get down. And he found one. About a few feet away looked like a suitable climbing area where we could slowly make our way down. Jaquil ran over to it and grasped the rock and placed his foot down, slowly climbing down. There were spots in the middle we could take a rest at so it wasn't like we were climbing ten stories all at once. 304 went second and I went last and I was very careful. I did it with precaution you could say. It was about a half an hour before we got all the way down. It was just a small puddle waiting for us at the bottom but we didn't care about how much, we just cared that there was some. 304 was so ecstatic to find some, he ran over to it and jumped in. After him, it gave us all the idea to do it. We jumped in, did some cannon balls and drank the water on the inside. Though as gross it would seem, it tasted absolutely delicious. We just laid in it, savoring every drink. I sighed and stared up at the stars.

"Just a little longer and Allice could have survived with us." 304 mentioned, I think it all broke our hearts a little bit to see him go. But he did what he did to let us go free. And we were thankful for it. We heard a few brief footsteps about a yard away and mumbling. 

"Get down!" Jaquil whispered to us then grabbing our heads and pulling us under water. Barely being able to get a gasp of air, we stayed down there. From underneath we could barely see the silhouettes of three men and barely hear them talk, it was mostly just murmuring, but I swore I heard the words, "Only a mile left." before they took off even more. Call me crazy, but have other people attempted what we have done and succeeded? Have other people escaped ECO SEC? Are others making a living out here in the desert. And what was a mile away exactly? These were sudden questions popping through my mind. 304 flew out of the water and gasped for air and suddenly we all did and we just stared at each other, speechless. 304 couldn't stop taking gasps, "I'm freaking out! Who the hell were they? Do you think Reckt sent guards after us?" 304 asked our opinion. 

"I don't think so." I told him. 

"And why not?"

"I heard them say only a mile away. They were going somewhere in particular."

"Maybe, a base? Somewhere where people are surviving?" Jaquil asked me and 304.

"Maybe. Just maybe." I said back to him, then stared off into the distance in which they went.