𝙰𝚝 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝙾𝚏 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚢 | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚝𝚝𝚘 𐂃

Chapter 1

Heat licked at her sunburned face and coiled around her body like a hot-blooded snake trapping its prey. The scorched sand shimmered in the intense rays of the sun and set up a disorienting haze. Her cap cocooned her head in warm sweat with each unstable step as the parched heat burnt at her lungs. No one would be crazy enough to move in this penetrating heat unless they were desperate.

Cristine was very desperate

In the end, even her meticulous planning and preparation for this long trip paled in comparison to the unforeseen events in this depraved 'new' world. The frown between her eyebrows accentuated the distress inside her eyes and bloomed forth into a arduous scowl on her lips. The shift in her slightly reddened face felt tighter than usual and it hurt to even open her mouth.

Cristine took shelter underneath the bony construct of a naked desert tree surrounded by some patches of grass and tumbleweeds. Her presence startled the lizards who immediately hid in the crevices of the rocks where it was safe and not as hot. While the shade wasn't large enough for her, Cristine barely had any energy to lament her misfortune. It was a lot better than the harsh beating heat on her back. She slid her backpack from her shoulders and put it next to her. She crossed her left leg inward over her right thigh while the other leg remained stretched.

A shaky breath shuddered through her nose while she carefully slipped off her left boot. The throbbing pain intensified as the constriction began to ease from her foot and she immediately winced when the sticky cloth wrapped and mended around her sole slowly tugged at her damaged skin. Cristine momentarily stopped with her movements, took in a large breath and through clenched teeth slid off her walking shoe.

She examined the foot injury, her dry and flaky lips curiously parted from one another at the horrendous sight of the dirty-colored bandage and her reddish brown feet. Sand and grit had become enmeshed with raw flesh of the opened up wounds were spotted with blood. It was going to be very painful to clean, but Cristine could already imagine the infection that would come with it if she kept walking.

She wasn't going to lose her foot.

Cristine rolled both her shoulders uncomfortably when she became conscious of the sweat that trickled down her neck and back, free falling like spilled water from a glass. It beaded on her forehead and dropped from her chin. Some went under her arms into her clothes, announcing her body's attempt at maintaining the right temperature by cooling itself down.

Pulling up her nose, Cristine unzipped her backpack and fished out her bright red emergency kit. The forcefully popped blisters stung heavily as a result of sand grains and tissue shearing. "Damn it!" She softly cussed under her breath at the severity of her wounds and opened the medium sized kit. She started with the fixating task of disinfecting open wounds with antiseptic, puncturing the swollen ones that looked bad and cleaned her foot as a whole with a damp cloth. Lastly, she covered her foot with an island dressing to protect the blisters as they heal by themselves.

Deciding to take advantage of the rare shade, Cristine left her foot out in the open for as much air exposure as possible before she'd resume her journey. The snarling and gnawing of her stomach intertwined with her pulsating foot in painful waves as though it was slowly digesting itself. Cristine clutched at it, hoping that the pinch would silence it but to no avail. Feeling drained and empty, Cristine rummaged through her bag again and took out the last of her water bottle.

The hard, light blue plastic was lukewarm to the touch and filled by just a quarter. The burning sensation in Cristine's throat grew all of a sudden and she grasped how thirsty she really was. "Almost two days..." She muttered to herself, thinking back over the last time she drunk anything. She tried to wet her rough lips by licking them, tasted salty perspiration, dry and blotched flesh and came to the conclusion that she had to hydrate and hope for a miracle in the coming hours.