The White Shadow 1: The Dancer

Chapter 1

Diane was cold. The weather was exceptionally freezing this brisk Friday afternoon, and the sun was hidden behind a layer of depressed, grey clouds. Diane sat, shivering, in the front seat of her friends car, peering to her left out of the window at the sky, her expression dazed and unfocused. Her friend, Darryll, was sat at the wheel, eyes on the empty road ahead of him, his thick brown hair over his dark and hollow eyes as he drove with a resolute demeanour about him. He peered over at his friend out if the corner of his eye and asked, "Do you remember the plan?" Diane, awoken from her daze, jerked around in a sudden motion. She took a second to recall what Darryll had been asking, and then answered, "Uh, yeah, yeah I do."
"Good. We're gonna do this, and then we're gonna get out, and that's one more guy behind us, okay?"
Diane nodded, "Yeah, in and out."
"In and out, exactly," Darryll bought a smile to his lips and leaned back in his seat hands still on the wheel, "And 'cause I'm a bloody genius, you've got nothing to worry about! Ha ha!" Darryll chuckled to himself, but in another peek out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Diane was still quiet. He stopped the car, and turned fully in his seat to face his friend, who sat stock-still, faced ahead, arms tight around her chest,  eyes misted over once more. Darryll knew his friend well enough to know that she needed a few more words.
"I really mean it." Darryll began, much more genuinely than before, "I've got a good feeling about this one. I've accounted for everything that there is to account for. But it's not just me who makes this whole schkadaddle work." He bought his arm around Diane's shoulder and leaned over the manual stick in a sort-of -not-really hug.  "You are incredibly skilled. And I know you hate that and everything about it. And believe me," He chuckled, "So do I. But not only does your skill give me the utmost certainty that were gonna be able to do this before we even hit adulthood, you also gotta remember; Fifty or so bruises on about twenty guys is nothing compared to how many people are gonna die or suffer if we don't do this."
"I know," Diane sighed, her eyes now angled down, her fingers fidgeting under the dashboard. "And I'm gonna do it, because im the only one who knows-"
"*We're* gonna do it, okay? The both of us." Darryll patted Diane in the shoulder. "C'mon, look me in the eyes and tell me that we're gonna do it."
Diane pulled her knees up onto her seat and tucked them into her chest, moving her eyes to her right, looking at Darryll. She mumbled through her legs, "We're gonna do it."
Darryll wasn't convinced. He bought back his resolute demeanour, and spoke authoritatively, "No, I need to hear it from you properly that we are going to do it, okay? Like you mean it."
...

"We are going to do it!"

The words this time were projected with great force, as Diane sat upright and glared at the windscreen with her bright, golden eyes. Darryll moved his arm away, grinning as clicked the car door beside him open, "Thats the bloody spirit! Let's do this!"

The duo exited their vehicle into the middle of a barren desert. Darryll bought out his phone and checked quickly, making sure he was where he thought he was, whilst Diane gazed at the horizon, and the many, many miles of sand, dust, and the occasional shrub. The sight was breathtaking in the sheer hopelessness it seemed to capture, she thought. Darryll put his phone back into his pocket, "Yep, were good." He confirmed. "Diane?"
"Mhm?" Diane turned to face Darryll, and found him with a small circular device in his outstretched hand. He gestured it toward her, "Here."
She took it into her own hand and turned it over, seeing that it was a grey, plastic compass, around the size of her palm, complete with a small screw on the side to adjust it. The north arrow pointed to her left, and she peered in that direction, once again at the long, tightly drawn horizon. Darryll continued, "I'm sure you remember which direction you're headed?"
"Of course, thirty degrees from north."
"Okie dokie, good. The target should be around two miles from here. Have you got a drink?"
Diane dug her hand into her coat and retrieved a small flask. She waved it at eye level before putting it back. Darryll smiled and gave her a light pat on the shoulder. "Good lad. Can't have you getting thirsty up there. And lastly, earpiece." He opened his phone once again, and after a moment of setup, he bought his phone to his mouth and spoke into it. "Do you hear me in in your head?" He looked back at Diane, who had two fingers to her left ear upon a small, black earpiece. She nodded quickly.
Darryll sighed happily, "Alright, that's all good. Let's do this!" He gave a set of two thumbs up, and Diane gave her friend a little smile of acknowledgment. She then checked her compass, and made her way, determined, into the bleak, grey horizon.