"So what are your names?"
I noticed that the female moved her body a bit to shield the male child. Her dark brown eyes still showed a bit of wariness. It seems she is the protective one. The male child looked at me curiously. I looked different from them so I can understand, my skin though not milky white was not the golden brown that indicated generations of living under piercing sunlight. My eyes were also slightly tilted and almond-shaped.
"I am Ayesha and he is Abu"
When Ayesha spoke I realised that she was speaking another language but somehow I was able to understand every word! What the hell?! How? Will the strange things never end? I wonder what else I'm going to be seeing. I tried not to show how shocked I was on my face.
"I am Mia, it's nice to meet you"
Ayesha nodded and Abu gave me a little smile.
"What is this place called, your country?"
I asked hoping the two young children at least knew the name of their country so I could start figuring out where I was.
"We are of the Land of Blistering Sands. Our tribe here is the Anilli"
None of those names rang a bell. It may be that the country names were just lost in translation but it could also mean I was no longer in the same world. With how things were going so far, that would not be a far-fetched idea.
"Are there other tribes close by?"
"Yes two tribes border ours in the caverns"
"Can you lead the way there?"
The girl nodded.
Then I heard a grumble and looked towards Abu who looked down embarrassed, holding his stomach.
Without asking I walked over to my bags by the side of the well and pulled out a can of fish and a packet of crackers from the pack.
"Want some?"
They both nodded eagerly, even Ayesha who was more taciturn. They looked like two little birds the way they kept nodding their heads. I opened the can of fish by pulling the seal on the top and handed the packet of crackers and the opened fish to Ayesha.
I went back to my bag and pulled out some for myself as I now realised that after so many hours the only thing that had passed my lips were sand grains and the occasional sip of water. I sat with my back to the well again. Nibbling on the crackers and fish. I looked at my knapsack that I hadn't looked into since putting my purse in after paying for the groceries.
I opened it and the first thing I saw was the package I collected. Pulling it out I ripped into the package. Nestled in the inner box was a miniature sword already fully assembled at eleven inches long with a purple tasseled guard. I bought it after watching an animated movie with a sword-wielding main character. In the box was also a small drawstring bag with sharpening and cleaning implements. I hurriedly ate the rest of the crackers and fish before pulling the blade from its sheath watching it catch and reflecting the limited light. According to the vendors, it was a fully functional sharpened blade, only smaller than the original.
While sitting admiring the blade I heard a growling noise close by. The sound sent a chill down my spine like icy fingers. There was nothing even remotely human about it.
My adrenaline levels spiked again as I got up to face whatever new threat this was.
What I saw looked like a human male, in desert garb complete with a shawl around the head but what was not human was the sound that came from his mouth as he opened it, or the glowing red eyes, or the snarled fingers reaching out towards us. He was a little over twenty meters away and closing slowly, like a stereotypical zombie.
I looked behind me. The children had gotten up and moved closer to me. I faced the male and stood my ground with the mini sword held in front.