Into the Unknown (A Shortney Story) (Discontinued)

Fallen

"Isolated, I succumb to the weight of the world. Separated, I fall from the sky.
Is this death or rebirth?
Falling back to the Earth."

Courtney:

I tasted blood.
My swollen tongue moved in circles around my dry mouth, searching hungrily for moisture. But there was none to be found.
I parted my dry lips to breathe in the equally dry air. My eyes attempted to follow suit, but I closed them right back up after being blinded by the blistering sun.
"Where am I?" I wondered.
Water. I needed water.
I attempted to move, but I found that I couldn't. My arms, my shoulders, legs everything felt too heavy. Movement was too hard, too unbearable. My breathing was raspy. My mouth dry. My skin like tinfoil in a microwave.
Sand. Rough, coarse sand. I assumed I was in a desert. I'd only read about them in holo-books and old travel vlogs from the Late Earth Age.
I'd always wanted to be in one. To see what it was like. Now, I knew. I knew I was going to die in one. Alone.
I tried to open my eyes again. My vision swam. It was disorienting enough to make me want to vomit. But I knew that if I did, I might choke on it. I swallowed the bile down. At least that was working.
Through the blur, I could see a clear blue sky. Sky. I'd always wondered what it looked like. I was used to vast, empty space. Abyss. Void.
It was beautiful. That thought made me want to cry.
I will not die here.
I grit my teeth, and I pushed my right arm forward with all my might.
It didn't budge. Weight. I could feel weight on top of me. But, I didn't feel pain. Maybe it was numbness. Maybe I was just tired.
Tired... Yeah. Maybe I'm just tired. I could rest my eyes. Take a cat nap. Regain some strength before moving out from whatever is on top of me.
It was so unbearably hot, however. So, so hot. Why was it so hot? I remembered being on the Oasis. I remember talking to my brothers. Danny....
It's all too foggy. I close my eyes and concentrate, but I come up with nothing.
It frustrates me. Anger boils up within me. Energy I wasn't sure I have. My brain fires signals in my extremities. I want to move. I want to run. I want to get out of this hellish landscape.
I think I feel something give. A finger, maybe, but I. Don't. Know.
It's scorching. Unflinchingly so. I feel myself slip. And I start to allow myself to give in, but first I cry. Might as well let go of whatever moisture I have left.
Just as I'm about to slip into unconsciousness, I hear it. Something.
It sounds like beeping. Like an old broken smoke alarm on the Oasis. Beep, pause, pause, beep, pause, pause, beep.
I feel him put something in my hand. "Please, take this, Courtney."
"What is it?"
"It's a-"
My head jolts from the memory. He gave me something. Did I still have it on me?
I try to lift my head, but it feels like I'm lifting the planet. I'm simply not strong enough. I don't feel too hurt, but I do feel paralyzed. Nothing seems to work, except my head and neck.
I should panic. I should be nervous. Scared, even. But I'm not. It feels almost peaceful. Serene, even. Yes, it's still unbearable. This heat. This thirst. But I know, somewhere down in my mind, that it will be over soon.
I let myself slip. Slowly, ever so slowly, I fall. My throat is becoming uncomfortable now, though. I'm so thirsty. It makes it hard to go.
I'm starting to hear something. I thought it was my heart. It was distant, and unsteady.
But then, the sound became more distinct. Almost like a chopping sound. I blinked my eyes open, the moisture from my tears made my vision blur. The sun bore down like an anvil on my eyes.
I squeezed them shut. Maybe my delirious mind was making up a fantasy of rescue.
But then I heard voices. I was sure I was just making it up, but they were tangible. Soon, I was able to make out words.
"And what are you going to say when we find this person? If we find this person," asked a female voice.
"Mm," another voice, this one male, contemplated. "Maybe humor them a little. Probably something the lines of, 'Well, hello there weary traveler! I've seen many men come in the desert, and none return!"
The two voices sniggered. This didn't seem funny to me. Nevertheless, I tried calling out to them. I manged a small croak, but I knew it wasn't enough. I licked my lips, but it did little to help.
Before I could attempt to call again, a third voice in the party spoke up. This voice sounded male, although higher pitched than the other, more baritone voice. "What kinda impression in that?"
I could almost see the shrug, "Just something I've been working on- Wait, guys, I think I see something."
My eyes opened wide as a flare of hope ignited in my chest. Is it possible? Have I discovered unlikely saviors?
Was this even real, or was it all in my mind?
The chopping sound came closer. Through the blur of my vision, I could see three figures slowly appear from the horizon. They wore what seemed like rags on their figures, but in the distance I could not discern the color or details of the strangers. I could tell, though, that they rode on some sort of animal. I was too tired to search through my memory for the name.
My fatigue was really setting in. Peering from so far away made the world spin. My need for hydration increased with the small effort. I closed my eyes and sighed. Even with my unlikely rescuers, I couldn't be sure I could make it.
I couldn't make out the rest of what they said. All I could hear was the aggressive chopping coming my way. It seemed my saviors were reacting urgently to my predicament.
About damn time.
I heard their animals come to a stop. I felt the impulse to crack my eyes open, but decided against it. I heard sand crunch under the trio's feet as they approached me.
The female was first to speak. "Damn, is she even alive?"
Higher voiced male was the first to reply. "It doesn't look like it. Shayne?"
I felt a touch on my neck. I opened my bleary eyes. My vision was still blurry, but fortunately the man's head blocked out the sun. I could make out an angular face, brownish, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
I felt my spine tingle. I sighed with relief. Maybe I wasn't paralyzed. Maybe I was going to be saved.
My heart fluttered in my chest. The man, Shayne, I'm presuming felt it. He hesitated a beat too long. "You're alive," he whispered. Which, I mean, was obvious. I had opened my eyes.
"She's alive!" he called out to the others.
"Seriously?" The other two voices conversed on me.
"Help me lift some of this debris. She's trapped underneath."
I quiver of fear ran through me, but sure enough, I felt the weight lifted off of me. I was still too weak to move, but I managed to mutter a weak thanks.
"Here." Shayne brought a round object to my lips. "Drink."
I drank hungrily. Shayne kindly lifted my head for me, but I still spilled more than actually went down. He didn't seem to mind, however.
Meanwhile, the second male, this one with dark skin kneeled down next to me. He combed through my hand and retrieved a round object.
"This was the beacon we picked up. Who gave you this?"
The girl placed a hand on his shoulder. She was pretty with black hair pulled down into a braid over her right shoulder. "Not now, Keith. We need to get her back to the hideout before she dies of heat stroke or thirst."
Keith frowned, disgruntled that he didn't get his answer.
Shayne, on the other hand, gently pulled me up and carried me, bridal style. "Let's bring her back now. I smell a storm brewing."
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Hello! Hi! It's been a hot minute since I last did a Smosh fic. I got a couple of suggestions, so I spun some into a plot I thought would be interesting. In the end, I decided to somehow link two things I love: music and Smosh together, as well as another interest I had, space. The song at the beginning largely inspired the chapter, and if you like, you can give it a listen. It might help with the atmosphere of the chapter. But you don't have to, it's not homework or anything.
Will it stay interesting? Who knows? But I hope you guys enjoy it, I'm trying something new rather than the "realistic" kind of stories I'm using to writing.
Not to worry, there will still be plenty of fluff and other stuff like that. But I'm trying to instill a plot first.
I actually wasn't sure at first what perspective to write in, Shayne's or Courtney's. Ultimately, I decided on Courtney because, well, a female protagonist in space sounded unique.
So what do you think? What happened to Courtney? What's going to happen? Did she get sand everywhere?

See ya next time :)