A gust of dry wind swept the silence clean, leaving only the crunch of Pheo's boots against the sand. He looked for subtle markers buried in a stone, a stone set slightly out of place, a frayed length of cord barely visible under the sand.
He reached the first trap, a shallow pit he had made that was masked with brittle brush. It was empty, still waiting for an unsuspecting victim to fall down and wait for its eventual demise.
Further on, a snare hung from a low outcrop of sun-bleached rocks. The wire flinted faintly in the morning light. Seeing this, he still decided to check for any problems, adjusting the tension of the wire just in case.
At the third trap, he paused. Blood was on the sand, not much, but enough. The trap had sprung, a bent metal jaw gaped open like broken teeth with drag marks across the ground.
He followed it to find a sand-goat, a nimble and dangerously clever prey. Pheo got out his sling, a primitive but effective way to hunt. Silently grabbing a rock, Pheo slung it in and quickly moved to shoot the goat.
Despite the sling's simplicity, it demands immense skill. Consisting of only two cords attached to a small pouch, its power comes from the user's ability to build circular motion to build circular motion to build up speed to a singular point.
Using his knowledge, it was almost natural for Pheo to become a skilled hunter using it with the days he had spent living in the Badlands. As a weapon that combines physics and instincts, there was no better weapon for him. The stone struck at the goat's head, causing disorientation.
It reflexively tried to run, its injured leg taking him a few feet until Pheo shot another stone, this time fatal. The goat dropped dead, succumbing to its injuries.
He was getting concerned about how all the prey he's been catching were all big. Sure, it was more meat, but it also made him struggle with bringing them back to his home with his small body.
Seeing how the goat was enough for the day, he decided to drag its corpse all the way back to his house. He's been getting used to life in the desert, managing to live life normally.
As he made his way back, he noticed something. In one of the traps he had passed by earlier, a group of people were inspecting it. Pheo hid nearby, trying to listen in on their conversation.
"This is well made," one of them commented as they looked at the pitfall trap. "Whoever's making these should live somewhere nearby. The traps would've been more remote if they didn't."
"Until we know who made this, we need to act cautiously." The person who seemed to be the leader told him. "We only trust our own down here, everyone else is our enemy." He told them before getting on a motorcycle.
"You sure you don't want to wait to see if he comes to check on it?" One of them suggested. "Look." the leader pointed at the horizon, the sun almost setting.
"He should be heading back by now. Anyone who lives here knows this place isn't safe at night." Pheo waited until they rode away, only moving again when they were well past his line of sight.
Ever since he had saved Adam, the bandits have begun picking up on his presence. Although he had managed to evade them, it wouldn't be long for them to encounter each other again.
Pheo dragged his prey to his house, butchering the goat into pieces for storage. As he cooked his meal, he would read the books he had scavenged thus far.
He wanted to learn more of the powers people had after awakening. Pheo was curious as to why there was barely any information about it after all the books he had read. Maybe it was the missing piece he needed, the information he needed to break the curse.
Sadly, the literature he could find by scavenging could only go so far. There had to be a place where he could effectively progress. Until then, he could only hone his skills until his awakening.
Or had it already happened?
All he could do was speculate, his case was special compared to others. Only through time would he find out the answer to his problem.
He ate with his mind constantly wandering, the thoughts kept him awake even when he laid down to try and sleep. Pheo barely got any sleep that night, his body trying to do its daily routine after waking up though sluggish.
Luckily, the goat he had butchered could last for days, making him able to stay in his home for a while. Pheo chose to stay inside his cave, having time to himself to research and train.
Although Pheo had read and understood even some of the most sophisticated topics, he was lacking experience. Inside a cave, he could only practice so much before he reached a wall.
Pheo had to eventually think of other ways before he ended up stuck at one. As he kept practicing, a sound of them outside caught his attention.
It was the sound of an engine, multiple of them. He peeked out to see that the bandits were swarming the area. They were systematic, going in groups within eyesight of each other.
They were looking around, trying to find anything hidden in the sand. It took a moment for him to realize that they were actually looking for a secret base, for his home. His mind raced as he tried to think on what to do next. Pheo went to his makeshift storage and gathered the necessary items for combat.
He had to act fast knowing that any second they could stumble open his cave, especially when he had left it open. As he geared himself with the equipment he had obtained from the previous bandits, he thought that this was the perfect opportunity to practice.
Pheo went straight to the entrance ready for battle, then waited. The bandits were strict with their movements, constantly making sure to be in each other's line of sight. "Remember, our enemy may be smart but we outnumber them!" The one in the middle shouted, seemingly leading them.
He was tasked to deal with the unknown variable in this area. His leader was someone who never liked trespassers in his territory. So when he had heard signs of an unknown person living within their area and frowned, he knew he had to take this opportunity.
Knowing this, he acted fast. Gathering a group of bandits to sniff out the immigrant. They made sure to be careful, making a plan to ensure that they were prepared enough to capture them.
He smiled, knowing that it was about time for him to find whatever was hiding in these dunes. Meanwhile, Pheo was hiding close by, inches away from him. He gripped the knife in his hands, its blade already pointed to his opponent.
Just a little bit closer...
Pheo knew the rules of hunting, how important patience was when it came to surprise attacks. All it took was one strike, one slash was all it took to end a life. In the moments that followed, he could hear everything, from the engines that roared to the shuffling in the sand.
Slick!
Pheo sprung from the ground, slicing through his neck. He barely missed his throat, his opponent moving just in time using his instincts. He lost balance, struggling to stay up until he eventually fell to the ground. "Help!" He shouted out, alerting all of the nearby bandits.
"Crap," Pheo whispered out loud, he wasn't able to sneak around anymore. He decided to go all out, pulling out his gun to shoot the person on the ground.
Bang!
The gunshot signaled chaos, with everyone running after Pheo. He quickly ran to the only place he could, his home. He went as deep in as he could, the bandits only seconds behind him.
"Get him!" One of the bandits shouted out, spraying bullets at him as he continued to go inside. As they went further in, Pheo went to his campfire, setting ablaze all the stored fuel he had and crawling into a crevice that led outside.
Meanwhile, the bandits were disorganized, with some of them trying to escape while the others tried to get further in. The situation was nothing but utter chaos, the order from before gone.
He had successfully managed to use their numbers against them, suffocating them in the fire's fumes. After crawling out of a hidden exit, Pheo used his gun to shoot those who managed to flee from the cave.
It took time, but eventually the fire died out, allowing Pheo to check the cave. He went back inside his home, now filled with scorched bodies.
All of his belongings that he had accumulated over the days were now destroyed, either burnt or turned to ashes. Pheo took it as a sign, he had to move elsewhere or else they would come back.
With the equipment he had on him, he went out of the cave and started to find a new direction to make his home in. There had to be a better place for him to set camp in, hopefully.
As he thought about where to go, a spear flew across the desert. Pheo could barely react when he saw it coming straight for him, piercing through his leg.
"Agh!" He shouted out, the sudden pain caused him to kneel down. "Capture him alive." He heard someone say. Pheo turned to see that another group had found him, except this time he had no more traps to deal with them.
Even with the odds stacked against him, they didn't plan on holding back. Pheo was hit in the head with a flaming brown ball, it burned him as it slowly went inside his head.
He began to feel disoriented, struggling to keep his balance. He ended up being easily captured, unable to even stand back up as they surrounded him.
Pheo continued to wobble around, trying to stand straight and defend himself. "It's no use. As long as that ball is inside of you, your world will keep spinning." One of them explained to him.
They looked inside the cave, seeing the burnt corpses. "You look like you could cause a lot of trouble," He commended him. "Sadly, the fire you caused revealed to everyone what was happening."
Pheo saw that they tried to scour for survivors in a cave. "There's no use," he told them. "I made sure that none of them were alive before you came." His words made their expressions shift slightly, but it wasn't enough to unsettle them.
They tied his hands together with rope and dragged him across the sand as they took him to their base. Pheo hated to admit it, but his life was once again in the hands of his captors.