Annaveri

Chapter 20

"Chameron look! We made it to another land!" They walked around in the warm sand quietly, the wind blowing gently around them. "What is this place..?" Chameron mumbled, looking out into nothing but hills of sand. "Maybe something was here? Look over there, it's a small hut. The air smells of nothing, maybe it's abandoned?"

"Are you going to be the brave one this time?"

"Nope! You first!"

"Of course." Chameron walked down the hill and peered into the empty hut. It was made of dried leaves and heavy sticks and twigs twined together. A small man-made campfire sat in the middle of it, the wood too old and worn down to use. "Is it safe?" The girl asked, peeking behind him. "Yes, you may come out now." He answered. She stepped from behind him and looked in, then walked in and looked around. "What a shame, I was hoping for some excitement!"

"Not everything needs to be exciting, lady."

"Well excuse me mr. Death and Despair." As she turned around to walk out, she stopped and backed up. "Uh, Chameron...?" She whimpered. He turned around too, and immediately pushed her behind him. A Sphynx like cat, the size of a young lion, with sharp spikes down its back, growled loudly as it approached the two. It's head laid between it's pushed up shoulders, it's eyes locking on the both of them. "The hell is that?!" Chameron exclaimed. It yowled loudly, baring its saber tooth like fangs, and retracted its claws. "DANGER." It yelled. Both of them jumped back and studied it, shocked. Chameron quickly tried using his shadow power, but it didn't work. "What?! How is that possible?! Use your power, now!" He yelled at the girl. She tried as well, but looked up into the sky when she realized she couldn't. "The stars are gone...! There's something wrong with this land!"

"MOVE IT!" Chameron yelled again. Both of them slammed their bodies against the weak hut, breaking a huge hole in the wall and allowing them to both run. Being nimble and flexible, the girl was able to lightly run on top of the sand, barely making a foot print, while Chameron on the other hand sunk heavily into it, slowing him down. The large cat quickly caught up to him, and pounced with an odd roar. They both rolled down another small hill, and he threw it off his back before they both got up. The cat yowled again and got up, then hissed at him. "Alright you crazy animal, guess I'll have to kill you the old fashion way." He growled. "DANGER!" The cat yelled, and attacked him again. The girl looked back and stopped running. "Chameron!" She called, and ran back to him. "NO, GO!" He yelled back. The cat wrestled him to the ground and bit into his shoulder. He yelped and grabbed its mouth, then threw it off him. Once again the cat rolled up off the sand, but before it could pounce, the girl pulled it back by its tail. "LEAVE HIM...ALONE!" She yelled as she fearlessly yanked it back. It turned around to her and growled hard. She immediately let go of its tail, and fell back. "Uh oh.." She mumbled. It roared and pounced, but Chameron grabbed it fast and threw it to the side. He then helped her up and they both ran together away from the creature. Panting hard beneath the hot sun, they slowed to a walk. The girl collapsed in the sand with a weak yelp, and passed out from dehydration. "Shit, are you serious?! I cant believe you're really that weak." He groaned as he scooped her out of the sand, and carried her in his arms. As he looked up, a young brown skinned boy with white tribal paint on his face stood in front of him, with no shirt, and baggy pants. Confused, Chameron blinked rapidly, trying to figure out if he was hallucinating or not. When he opened his eyes again, a man this time, with the same shorts and paint, stood in front of him. His vision began to blur in and out and his body began to get weak and heavy. "W-Who.....are..?" As he struggled to release his words, the man outstretched his arm, and Chameron collapsed.

"Zhimboc tuu ehzahmbu ghractha mvarg tuu..." The girl opened her eyes slowly, and starred blanklessly onto the dark ceiling as a frail and wrinkled brown hand waved a string with a smoking bag over her face. She followed the hand down the arm, and to a hunched over old woman. Her wrinkles pulled down her face, and her small, squinted eyes stared directly into hers. As she blinked, the woman pulled the string away and backed up, then mumbled something and called for two small, brown girls with long, soft and crinkled hair. They were instructed to lift her up and give her water by the old woman in another language. "O-oh, thank you." The girl said quietly. "Where am I?" She looked around, and noticed she was in the middle of a large hut on a woven mat, and candles lit dimly around her. One by one, the old woman began blowing them out. "Ant aman." (You are safe.) The old woman responded. "W-what? What does any of that mean?" The two servant girls stood up and brought her two elegant dresses designed with an Egyptian taste. Distracted by the shinning gold, the girl stared at them both in awe. "Oh wow, those are amazing...!" She whispered. The girl on the left smiled kindly and walked up to her, while the other put down the dress she was holding, and both began to undress her. "Woah hey wait a minute!" She yelled, pulling away and tugging her dress back on her. "No, not shy, come!" The girl on the left spoke through broken enlgish, pulling at her dress again. After a while of struggling with her, they both managed to bathe and dress her, then put her long hair up into a nice, half up-half down style. They then gave her a mirror to look at herself. "Oh..! Wowww!" She said softly. She looked at herself, but noticed two kids running around outside, laughing. She listened as the voices of the town people grew louder, and their beautiful Arabic language was spoken. It drew her outside, ducking beneath the folds of the curtain on the door, so her antlers wouldn't get caught. Brown skin people filled the dirt roads. Beautiful woman carried water jugs and baskets of food, balancing on their head, with young children running around and past them. Paint lined and dotted the faces of the boys and men, in all types of colors. Nicely built huts and houses stood behind side road markets, with old men and women selling foods, young kids and teens selling toys and sweets. "Wow, this is really cool...!" She said to herself, following people mindless around and watching them do their every day things. Two young boys ran around her, chasing each other and laughing, and running back to their mother as she called for them. A young toddler sat on the back of her mother, and laughed when she saw the girl, who smiled big and waved. "Hi precious, you're so pretty!" She said, making the baby laugh more. The mother smiled, but it dropped and she quickly moved out of the way of the road. Two heavily built men, with black tribal tattoos and black paint on their face and body, dragged along a young man, who struggled against them hard. "LET GO OF ME, WHEN MY POWERS KICK UP AGAIN, I'LL KILL YOUR WHOLE VILLAGE!" He screamed. They threw him in the back of a carriage and slammed the doors shut. "Chameron!" The girl called. He looked up from the bars, and when seeing her, he grabbed onto them and pulled at the doors. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He yelled. The carriage took off fast, but she got up and chased after it. The people of the town watched in awe, the women shielding their children, their husbands shielding them.