On a String

Chapter 1

As much as I'd like the past not to exist
It still does
And as much as I'd like to feel like I belong here
I'm just as scared as you
-'Lost in Paradise' by Evanescence

Every step he took raised a puff of dry dust, the sand swirling around his feet and coating his once black boots a grey clayish color. Sweat trickled down his face, dampening his clothes and making the material stick to his overheated body.

(Heat).

Kai gave a small cough, expelling some sandy desert debris from his mouth. He hated the way the sand gritted between his teeth. It made an awful crunching noise. He spat out another mouthful and cursed. How much further away was the Bounty from his position? It felt like he had been wandering in this God forsaken Sea of Sand for eternity.

As he wandered slowly over a bank of sand, one foot got caught and he stumbled abruptly, putting out on hand on the desert sand to push himself back up.

The sand was (burningly) hot.

He hurriedly stood, retracting his hand as quickly as he could.

(There was a soft chuckle as the smoke glided around him. "It burns, doesn't it, ninja?")

Kai flinched fearfully, rolling his shoulders and losing the straps on his bag.

("You're... afraid, ninja.")

No! No, he wasn't! Memories clung to him like his sweaty clothes, suffocating him in their intensity. But they wouldn't control him.

Kai paused and gave another weak cough. The Bounty had better be nearby. He was not going to be able to hold on for much longer. There was no water left in the canteen his ripped rucksack held. He had drunken the last drop some half hour ago and now had nothing left. Giving a small shrug, the ninja pulled the small bag off his shoulders and dumped it on the ground. There was no point in continuing to carry it.

Kai continued to walk forward, leaving the worn bag lying in the dusty sand behind him. Vaguely, he wondered why he had kept carrying it for the past half hour when it contained nothing which would help him in any way out here. Perhaps it was the sense of comfort that the bag had brought. It may not be another person, but at least it made Kai feel like he wasn't completely on his own.

Kai kicked one boot through a pile of sand, snorting as he watched the dust swirl away. It was pretty sad that he had been looking to an old ripped bag- of all things- as a source of comfort. How many times did he need to learn the lesson that you shouldn't ever get too comfortable? If you were comfortable, then either something was wrong or it was going to go wrong very quickly. He should know that.

Another cough. This one was drier, raspier, than the ones which had preceded it. The time he had left to find the Bounty was rapidly running out. Trying to walk forward faster, before dehydration kicked in and took over completely, Kai stumbled onward with the last of his will power. He didn't even known if he was travelling in the right direction. All his effort could be for nothing, and he'd never find his way back home.

(Home?)

("You don't have a home anymore, Ninja. You're mine now.")

The color of the desert swirled around him, and he felt so hot (like he was burning). Very little made sense, as visible heat waves of hot air danced across the Bounty-less horizon. What was happening again? Why had he come here? There had to be a reason other than death, but right now his mind was working too slowly to think of it.

With a small grunt, Kai finally fell to his knees. So this was how it all ended. Well, he wasn't too sure what 'all' was referring to. His life, maybe? That was okay. It had never seemed really important to him, anyway.