Adam Chapter 5

Previously, on this untitled story:

Part 1: Adam was a government-enlisted bounty hunter who was burn-listed by his superiors for killing a decorated army general. He was beaten to a bloody pulp and left for dead by a bus stop in a desert. Upon waking and exploring this desert, he finds that there isn’t another soul or even another tree for miles on end. When dying of thirst and desperation, Adam meets an other worldly spirit who had taken the form of a fox. This fox nurses him back to health and provides him with food and water. Fox tells him that there is a reason he was sent there and he had a mission to complete. Adam refuses this mission as it compromises his beliefs and the two part ways.

Part 2: Ellie is a young activist who was sent to prison for leading a violent riot and revealing a small government plot to the local news media. She was knocked unconscious by the police and when she woke, she too found herself in the same desert wasteland, only she was trapped in the rubble of ancient Greek architecture. Ellie was about to fall into a dry well with a pile of rocks but Adam had found her and saved her. And now they are together wandering in search of answers.


Part 3:

“Look, I don’t want to have this conversation, ok? Islam works for me, so I’ll keep it that way. Frankly, if none of this is true anyway, then there’s obviously no consequence in following it. So leave it alone.”

“Ok,” I said quietly, chastised. But he wasn’t finished.

“It’s an old outdone argument that no one will ever has the answer to, so there’s no point in bringing it up like it’s an original idea. Give it a rest.”

I kept the pain and humiliation at bay, my failure being the bigger part of my devastation. The man didn’t like me, he didn’t like anything I said, he didn’t want anything to do with me. Not even considering the fact that it seemed like we were the only two people for miles in this dark, desolate wasteland.

He turned his back to me and fell asleep, head resting on his bundled up tshirt. I debated leaving and risking my life or forcing him to continue to care for me. I didn’t want to be around a person who wouldn’t give me the time of day in an ordinary situation. But he had saved my life indeed, and splinted my damaged ankle correctly, and shared with me his water and food. I fully realized the burden I was to him.

I crept over to his bag to steal a bottle of water before my journey. I froze when I thought I saw him move, and everything was still. The moonlight clearly showed the old and new bruises on his bare back. I wondered what kind of horrors he’d faced while he was here. He told me nothing about himself since we’d met. In fact, he hadn’t said anything save what was absolutely necessary. I’d be doing him a service to leave.

I wrote out “thank you” with my finger in the sand where I’d have slept and left, walking in the moon’s direction. The feeling of inadequacy had been brewing since our final words but it had now reached the boiling point.
I could blame my parents for sheltering me and denying me the opportunity to learn how to socialize. I could blame god for not giving me the natural grace and good looks of so many well-adjusted women. Or I could blame myself for just being me.

“Where are you going?” he shouted.

I had hoped I’d be out of his line of site by now. I tried walking faster but my bound ankle was still sore. He quickly caught up with me.

“Where are you going?” he asked again, incredulously.

“Away,” I replied curtly.

“Why??”

“Because, I don’t want to be a burden on you, so .. I’ll find my way around. Thanks for all your help earlier.”

“You’re not-” he was getting flustered, “Look, that’s a bad idea. We don’t know how long we’ll have to go before we find civilization. We really need to stick together on this.”

“I’m just going to use up your water and hold you back. Don’t worry about me, I’ll just leave.”

He stood quietly, contemplating.

“besides,” I continued, “you don’t even want to talk to me.”

And with that, I winced. I could see myself being the whiny girl I continuously reprimanded my gender for.

“Ok, I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier, I didn’t mean to be hurtful. I just hate talking about religion or anything that doesn’t have absolute answers. It’s a waste of time for me. I have so much more to deal with right now, like figuring out why we’re here and how to get out.

“I would really appreciate your company. Please don’t leave, that’s suicide for both of us.”

Well done, Adam, I thought. What were the odds that I’d end up stuck with a Master of Words like him. And now I’d fall in hopeless love with him while knowing full well it would never be reciprocated. Why couldn’t he just be an inconsiderate jerk? Why’d he have to be an inconsiderate jerk with redeeming qualities that outweigh his tough and unyielding exterior? Rat bastard.

“Please come back,” he said.

I nodded and we made our way back, feeling guilty for causing a scene.

“I just wanted to know how you keep your faith so strong,” I said, “because I want that security, too.”

“Ok, we’ll talk about it,” he said, distracted. He was staring west hard, squinting his eyes. I could barely make anything out in the darkness, except for the site of a small animal running quickly towards us.

“Oh shit!” I shouted, and began to run. Adam grabbed my hand, still standing steadfast.

“Don’t worry, I know him.”

Him? I Thought. The small shape came closer, what looked like a fox or a hyena. My anxiety level was rising quickly, but the fox halted right in front of us, panting.

“We need to go back to the cave,” it said.

The fox had spoken to us.

“I don’t want anything to do with you,” Adam said.

“No, there’s a sandstorm coming and it will be bad. Come back to the cave.”

He sighed, resigned. “We don’t even know how far the cave is, we tried finding it earlier.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you there.”

Adam and I followed him quickly. We didn’t seem to have a choice, and his appearance was timely.

I pulled my shirt over my nose and mouth, the wind was picking up and sand was flying everywhere. A sand storm would be exactly what we need to bury us alive and end this story. I saw a ghostly shape of a funnel where the dunes climbed the highest. We started to run.