back to you | paul atreides

twenty three

"You're lucky it's nighttime." Yuma told me. "If it was the day then we'd die in a matter of minutes. We need to find some others  to help us out before we burn to a crisp, at least now we have a few hours before dehydration kicks in."

We had been trecking through the sand for what felt like three days, but Yuma informed it it was no more than 45 minutes. She forced me to walk in a funky pattern which she explained was meant to not attract the big Sandworms. The walk unlocked a memory of Paul, when he first tried teaching me about the Fremen right before we moved to Arrakis. My heart turned at the thought of my friend.

Pushing aside my thoughts, I followed behind Yuma. I wasn't sure where she was taking us, and I'm not sure if she knew either.

The small tingle at the back of my throat was definitely from the lack of water. My body wasn't used to this hiking and I could feel myself heating up inside the Stillsuit. I was dreading the moment Yuma made me drink my recycled bodily fluids.

The desert was a scary sight, comparable to being lost at sea except this was likely the complete opposite. Looking around us, I couldn't see anything other than sand dunes for miles. It was just me, Yuma, and the open desert. 

Neither of us really spoke for a long time. There wasn't anything to say. How could we talk when there was a war hurting the people we care for? 

My thoughts went to Feyd and I could feel the bile at the back fo my throat. That disgusting, pathetic piece of... To think I agreed to marry him. I also wondered if my agreement still stood? Was I allowed to walk away if we weren't married yet? If he didn't fulfill his promise of keeping my family safe?

In the dark of the night, something on my wrist was able to catch my attention.

I looked down at my bracelet and... it was glowing!

He was alive. Paul was alive! I shook my head in disbelief.

"Yuma," I called to her. She looked over her shoulder to meet my eyes. "It's Paul - he's alive!"

Her eyes widened at the news. "Wow, he's alive? But we both saw the palace... how did he survive that?"

I shrugged my shoulders, uncaring. "I don't know but I don't care! He's alive!" 

I cheered to myself silently and couldn't contain my excitement. Yuma made a small sound of warning.

"Careful, Ophelia." She warned me and held out a hand to gestured for me to stop. "If you make any sudden movements you might attract a sand worm."

I froze in my spot, remembering how we were in worm territory. Had I moved too much? Were we still safe?

Yuma looked around hesitantly. "We should look for somewhere safe to hide out, I'm not sure if our movements have been too careless."

I grimaced guilty. "I'm sorry Yuma, I didn't mean to put us in danger."

She shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, Ophelia. I've gotten sloppy with my steps too, it's a matter of time before we're in trouble. I think I saw something over this hill ahead of us, we're almost there."

I nodded and followed after her, being extra careful. I was overjoyed at the thought of Paul, but I knew I had to give it a rest until we reached the rock up ahead. I couldn't celebrate if I was swallowed by the sandworm.

We just reached the summit of the sand dune and Yuma had been right, a few ways ahead of us was a large rock that spanned far along the desert.

"Almost there." Yuma encouraged me.

My eyes met the horizon and I could see the sun poking up from the ground. My stomach turned knowing the morning was coming. "The sun is about to rise, do you think we'll be okay to-"

"Shh." Yuma held a hand up to silence me and she lifted her head up into the air, listening. 

I tried to listen for as well, though I wasn't sure what I was listening for. A few moments passed before I could make out the small rustling of sand coming from a distant source.

Yuma must have heard this too, and clearly it meant something different to her than it did to me. Hey eyes widened in fear. "It's another sand worm," She stared off in the distance. "We have to run, okay Ophelia? Go now!"

She took off running and I followed in her trail before I could process what she had said. I tried to take a look at my surroundings but couldn't make out any movement in the sand around us. I looked forward at the rock we were running towards and noted it was pretty far away from us. Was that why she needed us to run? Would the worm get to us before we would be able to escape it?

My heart picked up at the thought and I ran just a little faster after Yuma. We were getting closer to the rock, but now I could feel it. The rumbling underneath my feet was growing louder and my feet were starting to sink.

"Hurry Ophelia!" Yuma yelled at me in a panic as she lead the way for the both of us.

I sprinted towards the rock. I wasn't too far, but I had a feeling it was too late. i was already in the head of it, there was no escaping this death. It had all come faster than I was able to run.

Instinctively my hand went to my bracelet. I squeezed the rock tightly, as if Paul could feel my touch. The only thing running through my head was that I hoped he knew I was thinking of him. I didn't fear death, but I feared leaving Paul without closure. 

But just as it was about to get us, the sand tightened below my feet again and I sensed it had immediately changed its path. It was a very odd sight and sensation, it was heading straight for us and I could feel the movement underneath my feet, but suddenly it just... Didn't. Instead, it made an aggressive turn right before it could hurt us and darted in another direction.

We had barely made it to the rock when I realized a loud drumming sound coming from somewhere in the desert. It felt far away and foreign, I failed to identify what it could be.

"A thumper..." Yuma answered my thoughts spoke to herself. She was quickly on her feet, alert and defensive, ready to fight. 

I stumbled as I pulled myself to my feet, trying to replicate her readiness. "What does a thumper mean?" I asked.

Her eyes scanned our surroundings nervously. "It means we're not alone."

***

hey guys! i'm sorry my updates aren't as frequent right now, i'm seriously trying to catch up with my school work and i have a research proposal assignment due in a couple of days that i'm trying to finish up. my exams are coming up so please bear with me! your patience is greatly appreciated, thank you all again for your lovely comments! its my favourite part

today's my bf and i's 1 year!! i also have like two final projects due today lol so i'm busy with that. my finals are coming up and im rushing to get my work done so please understand my late updates!! i am trying to update when i get the chance, it always ends up being at 3am before i go to bed tho so sorry for typos.

as always lmk what you hope or think is gonna happen :)

with love,
via <3