„No, no, nononoNONONONOOOOO"
Yelled Ray as he looked at the dunes that seemed to stretch towards infinity. He rubbed his eyes for the hundredth time, disbelief still present at this moment.
„No...still there...what should I do? WhatshouldIdo? HEEELP!!"
He wouldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it.
His heart started beating wildly, not out of shock for what happened, but for what will come in the near future. A desert that reached to everywhere he looked, a death trap that promised no mercy or cheat code for saving. Ray panicked as he imagined his death in about 3 days. That's how long it would take, if he was lucky. Anything beyond that was wishful thinking, and he knew that clearly. Dehydration was already slowly approaching, and he could do nothing about it. He did have something in his bag when he fell; however, when he woke up, he found nothing by his side.
This was not the situation where he could think about the journey to this hell or if he did something that deserved this punishment. Ray had to find a way out of this predicament as soon as possible; his body already started to eat at his own flesh for every moment of indecision he would take.
He looked up and saw the sun smiling brightly at him, the irony palpable. Who knew that he would be thrown from rain to burning heat, anxiety filling his every second of remaining life….
„Calm down, calm down…. I CAN'T CALM DOWN!!!!"
And for the next 10 minutes this would continue until Ray screamed his throat sore.
There he was.
Somewhere unknown, somewhere incomprehensible.
He lay there on the sand, dazedly thinking about...nothing helpful.
What was there to do?
Run? Scream even more? Go crazy? Learn Synthesis?
He did have the thought of searching for that legendary golden finger: a system, a hack, a goddamn old master in a ring, or even better, a beauty. However, this was reality. No main character scenario that would form him into a legend or „character development" so that he can play mysterious later on.
What is there to even think about?…..
1 minute. Nothing.
2 minutes. Warm wind.
3 minutes. Dry throat.
As his exhaustion slowly crept in, Ray was overtaken by a weird sense of calmness. In that moment his mind began to slightly get clearer, and he finally managed to think straight for the first time in the last hour.
He got reminded of the rain, the parents with their children, his grief, the nostalgia, the bus, the „ride", his emotional breakdown, the fall, and to finish it off….
{….i wanna live!!!}
{That's a good start. Don't you think so, too?}
*kick*
*unconciousness*
Ray felt his side aching when he remembered that moment. He still couldn't comprehend what happened there. The person who kicked him into unconsciousness and the person who sat next to him at the bus station were the same person. That was obvious. But why him? Who is that person? Do they know how to get me back home?
But before Ray could delve into a deeper contemplation and start scratching his imaginary tinfoil hat, he got reminded of his "last words".
{FUCKING SHIT, I WANNA LIVE!}
The abyssal eye of the storm held nothing but darkness. A desperate scream didn't so much as create a ripple in that windy hell. However, Ray felt that his last struggle, even if it made his struggle last longer, helped get him away from that hellhole. The chances for his survival were 0%; now they went up by 0.0000001%. He clearly saw that he couldn't really lose much at this point, except his dignity, the contents of his stomach, and a tiny bit of his sanity, so why not try?
{That's a good start. Don't you think so, too?}
And as much as he felt a bit of irritation for the mysterious Kung Fu "fashion icon", he couldn't help but feel slightly thankful. Better in a familiar place - something he can recognize as a desert, with a clear horizon - , than in some eldritch, universal mega vortex of death (trademark pending). That person could've let him fall to his death, if he was lucky enough to find the end of that gigantic vortex, but they didn't.
Ray didn't start creating delusions about fate and destiny. Wether there is some higher plan or manipulation behind the scenes. Right now he could smell vomit on his pants and feel sand in his armpits, he couldn't care less right now. He felt that meaningless thoughts are hindering his survival right now.
(Better to attempt rather than dying without knowing the outcome of one's plans.)
(So why not struggle?)
Thought Ray, as he started to finally find his anchor in this hopeless situation.
Life doesn't wait for anyone, because death is right behind it, with a baseball bat, ready to break your and life's kneecaps.
(So run, bitch, run.)
(No more thinking…)
„R-right"
Ray lifted himself up and circled around for a short while before he started walking in a random direction.
There was no destination or goal in his mind at that moment, just the thought that if he stood still, he might go crazy or just stay there forever in dread. His desperate scream in the abyss helped him set his priorities straight again. Either he would do something, live out his life, actively walk towards his death, or stagnate and lose hope completely.
And so his journey began.