Laughably- for someone who felt like a hero -she hadn't even moved through the gate yet.

The citizen behind Kalli rolled his eyes, saying "Excuse me, madam?" while waiting for her to awaken from the long thought process she was going through.

 Kalli blinked, shaking her head as if she had suddenly awaken "Oh, right." she replied to the citizen, moving forward in the line that lead to the gate.

 The Endless Dunes gate was quite a masterpiece. Not that the gate was rather beautiful to look at, but much rather all the protection surrounding it. An entire checkpoint of stormtroopers surrounded the gate, impatient as well with how slow their day felt. The process to get through was fast and violent, the soldiers taking no time to dawdle. If you were too slow, they'd push you and yell, if you were too fast they'd stop you in your place and pat you down for any contraband, suspicious why someone would be so eager to leave Coruscant. If someone was smart, they'd just follow right behind and do as ordered with little dialogue as possible. Kalli hoped to be so fortunate, but that skirmish in Tier 4 already cost her any privacy in this place.

 No solid evidence showed up to prove Kalli one of the shooters who assassinated the leader of a gang. Only one man was left alive, and while he spoke of two primes, one being a small rabbit and the other a tall avian, no one actually accused Kalli of being one of those primes. Was the Empire's soldiers being careless about Tier 4, or just that there were too many non-humans here? Maybe she was given a free pass for not having harmed any law abiding citizens in the process, or maybe judgement was coming and she didn't see it. Kalli didn't want to know either way. She had too much pride in her work, rather worryingly so considering it involved the death of people, mortal beings.

 "Next!" The private yelled, another individual would walk forward and get assigned a place to be patted down and scanned by their security system. Those who came back through the gate were even more thoroughly checked then those leaving, though fellow stormtroopers seemed to get it easy when coming back from deployment in the Dunes. "Next!" The trooper yelled again, barely looking up from his datapad as someone walked over. The line continued to decrease until Kalli was the one next.

"Alright, you're a prime, system says level two..." the trooper continued to mutter on about the datapad's contents. He finished quickly, still not looking up despite addressing Kalli "You'll be assigned over th-"

 A clatter of boots, loud, noisy, like a parade. It caught almost all the citizens off guard, though the garrisoned troopers here seemed to be at ease about it. The boots kept getting louder until an entire platoon of stormtroopers- thirty men it seemed -walked into Coruscant, carrying more sand with them which piled up on the outskirts of the gate. Soldiers yelled for people to make room, and some even watched as they walked passed, both in awe and in horror.

 The entire platoon seemed to be beaten and bruised, with some dried blood on their armor as well. A unlucky individual at the front was without his right arm, his fatigues folded up while his face was plentiful with cuts. If those at the checkpoint hadn't been informed of the platoon's arrival earlier, they would've all been rushing up in order to deliver medical attention. Not like the platoon didn't receive medical attention already- Carrefore probably had it's fair share of medics and a actual facility to help the wounded. But whatever supplies they got couldn't wash their armor, or remove any permanent damage. The platoon itself was stopped after walking a fair distance from the gate, being confronted by the checkpoint commander who showed great respect to them, simply making sure they were given the permit to return from deployment before walking out of their way. The gate went back to normal as if the bruised soldiers never walked past, but Kalli couldn't get the sight of that one-armed soldier out of her head.

 Were those the heroes she admired, embodied in another species? People who lost much in the name of their nation? She began to doubt herself, as well as hating how she thought she was being some sort of courageous individual for committing to exploration. This verse was dangerous enough with armed gangsters, it seemed disturbing that something even worse could be ahead.

***

Despite expectations, this wasn't a desert. Nor was it trying to kill her.

Yet.

A savanna, sparse grasslands and trees with some few wildlife drinking from puddles of water, the more predatory chasing after fellow non-sentient animals, dots chasing each other in the distance. There was plenty of shade, thankfully, but none of it too often to make this place feel safe from the sun's rays, it didn't help that Kalli was already sweating under her combat vest. "Something lighter would be nice." She thought to herself, annoyed with the weight of the vest that she was instantly exhausted by. It wasn't all unpleasant, her fatigues offering protection from the one or two flies desperately trying to land themselves on her arms or legs, but it didn't help that the air kept getting blocked from such fatigues. Her equipment clattered against her as well, pouches of ammunition and shield devices making their own jingle as she walked. Unpleasant as it was, she at least felt prepared in case one of the wild beasts decided to try and take a chunk out of her.

 This gate was unlike that back at Coruscant, no massive checkpoint, only four soldiers and their officer, all of who were silent. Their eyes did the speaking for them, watching with suspicion as each person moved through the gate, no matter if they were unarmed, armed, prime or secondary. They didn't trust this place, nor did they trust the checkpoint on the other side, only their instinct, reflexes and their weapons. And they didn't need to speak to be aggressive, merely staring them in the eye felt like a death sentence. Kalli only exchanged quick glances each, moving forward toward the metal sign that was ahead of the gate, right next to the road.

 "Carrefore Region" the words were underlined, also the largest on the sign "Carrefore Village" was below it, a arrow pointing upward to where the road was leading. The village couldn't be seen with the naked eye, a dot on the horizon as it were (if no clutter was in the way) but with binoculars, one could easily see the tan buildings and local civilians. While Kalli couldn't quite well guess the distance, it felt unhealthy to not pack herself with extra supplies. Standing a bit to the side, she began the three minute process of summoning up two more canteens of water, as well as a energy bar. While the material began to take form, the stormtroopers kept a close eye on Kalli, one even taking some few steps closer in silence, keeping his rifle in a tight grip. The prime couldn't tell if she was sweating over the heat, or over the pressure of having armed soldier watch over her.

 The process continued, the civilians who arrived remaining to observe the summoning with intrigue for only a second before walking along the road, as well as one lucky individual meeting up with a comrade who had a truck waiting for them. After all the movement with everyone beginning their trip toward Carrefore, Kalli was finally done summoning her extra supplies. The stormtrooper double checked what was on the ground before turning about on his heels and walking back to his position at the gate. Eagerly gathering what she had summoned, Kalli attached the canteens to her belt- making a quick snack of the energy bar -and made her move toward Carrefore, keeping some short distance behind the other citizens from Coruscant. Some talked loudly, others kept quiet, one or two armed and watching any animals in the grass, all the while walking toward the village that grew ever closer. Dust still settling from those who rode in a truck.

 Despite the exhaustion it was taking to go through the savanna, it was very uneventful, so much so that the casual talk that was happening grew in volume. Laughter was even occurring among the secondaries, at least the small group of unarmed ones. All of them talking as if they were in no danger. Kalli maintained her silence, observing the scenery with expressionless enjoyment, finally away from the constant stress of being under watch by the Empire, for now. As well as being able to breathe true clean air! That was reason enough to stay here for some time before exploring another verse.

The band of strangers reached it's destination. Carrefore- the village that is -a place of some civilized people in the midst of this savanna. A few stormtroopers stood guard at the entrance, one on a roof stop with their rifle at the edge, watching out over the savanna's grassland for any threats. Meanwhile vehicles rushed on through the entrance, Kalli and the rest making room for them to drive on in. She saw their markings, Empire, just like these soldiers. "How much territory does this 'Empire' have?" She thought to herself once more, waiting for the kicked up sand and dirt to settle before moving on into Carrefore. Walking on what could arguably be called a sidewalk, she kept her pace, slipping between civilians in search of a hostel of sorts, someplace for her to rest and change her apparel. Such a place didn't appear for quite some time, and the fact she ran out of water while getting to this place didn't help.

 Afternoon was settling in as well, the grasslands outside were slowly fading into the darkness, the yellow light that would glitter the water steadily fading and retreating back to the horizon. Adrenaline kept her upright luckily, her body just as eager as her to find a place safe to sleep in. Never did she dare intrude on the silent civilians who lived here however, all of them kept to themselves it seemed, quietly and respectfully moving about their daily business. Surely if there was a market or shop communication was there, but otherwise, it was a peaceful silence. Such silence she didn't want to interrupt with questions.

A actual non-human other than herself?

"You know black will build up heat right? Also that jumpsuit is incredibly constricting."

The alien was a fair 5'8ft, which seemed to be rather average for many, while Kalli towered over him at 6'5ft. He was wearing a white button-up shirt that looked right out of a business meeting, while a desert jacket was worn right open that, left open to see down the middle. Grey trousers went down his leg, kept tightly to his person by a brown belt. From there, the scales on his ankles were exposed until the feet, where he wore shoes with pointed tips. A tail waved behind his back, as long as his legs as it were. Two hands tucked away into his trouser's pockets, while he looked upward with curiosity. A cigar was in his mouth as well, recently lit from what Kalli could tell. If he didn't have a snout, scales and a tail, the man could easily pass for a human.

"What do you want?" She asked, annoyed.

The lizard man took his right hand out of his pocket, taking out the cigar and pointed at her with the same hand. "A proposition." a smile followed. "You're a prime-"

"And?" Kalli interrupted, expecting a insult to be thrown into the mix, remembering yesterday's encounter with the accountant.

He sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead in irritation. "Allow me to begin again." The lizard then looked up once more. "I'm a man in charge of a organization who gets paid to transport and protect. I'm looking for a new hand on my latest contract. If you help me in being that 'extra hand', I give you the location of a omnilium deposit. Questions?" The cigar was then placed in his mouth again, hand tucked into the pocket. Little did Kalli know the last part about a deposit was a lie- such things were exceptionally rare. Basically non-existent in the Endless Dunes as far as the lizard knew. But that was to be dealt with later.

The air carried the scent of well cooked meat, like a barbecue, with the hustle and bustle of a town in the midst of a festival. But it also reminded her of a harbor, with workers hauling boxes around, lacking any grace or happiness.

Then the door to her right opened swiftly.

***

She could smell the fire.

There was the sound of car engines, uncountable amounts of them, as well as cheering that followed with every explosion, drowning out the crying and screams of pain. Kalli sat up, looking out from the flatbed. She could see numerous huts on fire before a massive explosion erupted in the distance, to which Kalli ducked and covered her head- pieces of rock falling to the ground as if the clouds were raining them from above. After it stopped, she could feel someone shaking her, it was Jeff. "Are you alright!? I need every to get up and get ready, we're under attack!"

Quote:The Skirmish in the Dunes

Quote:Whittorn, Jeff, The Eldest and Aoki

The Colt 1911-looking handgun with a golden decorations would click, fully loaded.

Whittorn got out of cover, firing his pistol. The bandit screamed and fell off the car, slamming into the sand before two more shots went through his back. He flinched, as if shocked by electricity for that exact second before becoming still sinking into the sand, dead. Whittorn continued to fire as another car rushed on through, the windshield filled with holes before the vehicle slid to a halt, the driver pulling out a sawed off shotgun and aiming it at the lizard, his finger on the trigger. The sound of a gun firing could be heard- which proceeded with the driver's head exploding, Jeff running up onto the hood of the stopped car and firing a torrent of bullets into the windshield, killing the driver and his comrade trying to escape. 

"Well this brings me back to that time we were attacked by those hired assassins! Remember? I think you were dating one." Whittorn said jokingly, reloading his pistol while Jeff got off the car's hood, stumbling as he landed before rushing up to Whittorn.

Quote:Twenty Minutes Later

No matter which path they took the story was the same.

Some pathways had less casualties than others, sure, but the carnage itself was consistent. Stab wounds, bullet wounds, broken bones and burning homes, this wasn't helping the natives that Jeff and Whittorn were travelling with either. One of the warriors already broke down into tears having only just recovered and helped himself to his feet, the Chief meanwhile was clearly shaking from pure adrenaline and more anxious than a undiscovered criminal in a police department, and Aoki certainly wasn't going to recover from the trauma with a thousand-yard stare that he was giving. However, Jeff and Whittorn were more apathetic toward the carnage, probably because they had been through this song and dance a few times before. It didn't help Jeff lacked an actual conscious, but then again, where would they be if he did have a conscious? He was made right hand man for the convoy because of his psychopathic nature, it helped them survive more than one encounter with the 'elements' of this realm.

And that was relied on heavily, where as everyone else was too anxious and in a panic to properly adjust their thoughts, Jeff only looked at everything with a cold and guarded thought process. Was anything moving? If so, was it hostile? Fortunately that hadn't run into any hostiles since they began their trip toward the center of the tribe. Unfortunately that didn't remove the smell of dead bodies, the gallons of blood or fear of a booby trap under every body and around every corner. And that isn't even mentioning the amount of stress on their minds.

"So, what how do you think we'll get out of this mess?" Jeff asked with his blank stare looking down the iron sight of his rifle, pointing it down their bloodied and corpse decorated path that they walked. The sunlight was still shining down from the clear blue sky, giving a good look at all the flies surrounding each corpse.

Whittorn walked next to him having his pistol raised, unlike Jeff the lizard flinched and pointed his gun at any noise. However, his face was of a calm concern, he never really did get used to the adrenaline of battle "Well, if we're lucky, that Prime is still there with my truck. We could just make a break for it if everyone else is dead, if not..." Whittorn stopped, turning to look behind them and back at the Eldest, warriors and Aoki. They were some distance behind due to the Eldest's pace. Whittorn then looked back ahead, saying to his companion casually "Well, we could just leave them all behind." 

***

"My name is Malgore." The huge, scar covered and muscle bound man began.

A even larger, bloodied and dark black painted truck was behind him, to which Kalli stared at baffled. Her hearing certainly hadn't recovered to its fullest if something like that sneaked up on her.

"And I believe you're a prime." He added, causing Kalli to stare at him with a fearful look that equaled her pain. 

There was a loud 'kr-thunk' as the body fell from the truck and slammed into the sand, lifeless. Kalli was then forced to stand on the edge of the roof, a rope being tied around her ankles just like the corpse.

***

Whittorn had jogged ahead, looking about as the chants of bandits grew louder, though still faint. No one was really that optimistic about the outcome of this battle, but it was agreed that they had to try to get to the convoy's holdout, if worse came to worse a last stand could always go down, plenty of more horrible ways to go in a place like this. Especially since everyone else with him happened to be humans, and these bandits were no regular raiders- they were cannibals, human cannibals. Whittorn continued to grow more delicate with each step the further he got away from the tribal group behind him, looking down the path ahead with squinted eyes. Raising his pistol, the lizard waited, reluctantly breathing in the air that smelt of rotting bodies and burnt skin. Nothing could be seen except smoke and bodies, to which he remained suspicious over.

Jeff joined next to him, having jogged up with his rifle still in hand, scanning the path like his boss. Once the two silently concluded that there was nothing to be found, they motioned for the Eldest and her escort to follow. As soon as the tribes people behind them began moving, Whittorn and Jeff got up and went further down the path, continuing to watch for an enemy that couldn't be seen.

"There isn't any more gunfire you know." Jeff said, keeping his rifle raised as they moved down the street with slow steps.

"It just means that we won. No way they could've defeated a prime that-" Whittorn stopped himself, becoming silent. At first it seemed as if he saw something in the distance, but in reality he was just silently recalling how little Kalli knew when he first met her. "Okay, maybe they could have defeated her, but I'm not leaving my gear behind because of one flimsy defense." he added

"I say we just get one of the abandoned bandit cars running, then see how far the gas takes us. If you still have that map we could try to make it to-"

"Nope, forgot it in the truck, we need to get that back before we do anything else."

"Damn it."

Before they could continue their conversation, a loud rustling came from the left, then right- the corpses themselves rising up with guns coming out of from the sand, as if buried. From the huts surrounding them came bandits, pointing their guns and flanking them, the corpses having not been dead all along, and actually just a disguise by the Malicious Sons to catch them off guard. Before Whittorn or his companion could even comprehend it, they were surrounded. The tribal men and old woman behind them already being forced to drop their weapons. Jeff and Whittorn did the same, their weapons flopping into the sand before a bandit scavenger grabbed them, pulling them away and out of sight. Then the rest of the bandits closed in on the two men, taking out blunt weapons like clubs or- rather disgustingly -bones.

"Well that was a good run." Whittorn stated sarcastically, raising his hands

"Look on the bright side, you wont be eaten alive." Jeff replied blankly

"Yeah, well, those assholes destroyed my-" two loud 'thunks' echoed- both men swiftly knocked unconscious.

***

"I HATE being helpless."

Whitthorn yelled over the unbelievably loud noises that surrounded them, both hands and feet tied just like the prisoner next to him- Kalli. She had been woken up by the yelling and struggling, coming to realize that she was not only still living the nightmare she had fallen asleep to, but also that her own employer was captured as well. Whittorn continued to make noise, cursing and squirming with no avail. This eventually attracted the attention of a bandit on the roof, who would proceed to use the butt of his rifle, banging it on the roof right above Whitthorn to get his attention. Once the lizard looked upward, two angry eyes glared down at him with the bandit spatting "Stay quiet." before he backed away from the edge. The bandits stationed on the container seemed very nonchalant despite being on a moving on a truck at eighty miles per hour, with no safety either.

"Whitthorn," The prime stated, raising her voice a bit more "Whitthorn!" she repeated, the secondary finally looking over at her with mild surprise. "I thought you were dead, good to see you're not!" He spoke in a more cheery tone while attempting to smile, wincing in pain a a cut on his 'lip' stretched with his attempt "Alright, still in pain. But good to see you nonetheless." he finished, the cheery tone degrading into a plain and hopeless voice. 

"Where is everyone?" She asked, twisting her hands and wrists in order to check if she could escape. Like Whitthorn, there was no success in doing so

"Very simply really. They're either in this container, or dead. Or us, I mean, it seems they don't like having humans and non-humans in the same room." He replied casually, not bothering to join in trying to escape.

"Great," Kalli then stopped, realizing her efforts wouldn't go anywhere "I don't suppose you have a knife on you, do you?"

***

At this point, Kalli felt like going in and out of consciousness was going to become a trend.

She awoken to find herself once more tied, What a surprise she thought sarcastically, not even bothering to struggle out of the rope. Even worse, she was standing- her leg muscles had little time to recover from all that had happened, still burning like...Yesterday? Or was it still today? She couldn't tell the time here, especially with the gate blocking the way to the entrance, or in her case, exit. After lifting up her head however, the idea of an exit seemed very far fetched.

"So you're awake." Malgore stated, not even staring at her while he felt the tip of a knife- her knife -with his pointer finger. A small wound appeared where his skin met the blade, to which he looked at curiously, rubbing the wound against his thumb and smearing the blood away. "We have much to talk about." He added, looking directly at her eyes

***

"I don't know what to do."

Aoki didn't comprehend. Well, he couldn't comprehend with how he merely kept looking down at the sand with his ears closed off to the world. He didn't even know that he spoke aloud, something which Jeff heard quite easily. The two were still cuffed together and their chains linked to the remaining prisoners, left to sit on their knees, the large fire in front of them keeping their faces in the light despite the fact few would dare look into it directly. If the survivors managed to make it through all this, plenty of trauma was to follow with how many had watched friends and family cooked and pushed into the fire, left to die as their skin and clothes were consumed in flames. Aoki was traumatized long before that however, unprepared for reality of battle, looking like a pup without its mother.

"But I do," Jeff said, looking down at Aoki with the calmest expression among the prisoners "and I need your help."

Aoki slowly raised his head, looking up at the man with a look that spoke of sorrow without even needing a word.

Jeff began "You know the two who keep picking people up?" those 'two' were the cannibals assigned to tie the prisoners to poles and cook them over the fire, some of the strongest and biggest in the tribe. Aoki hesitantly nodded to Jeff's statement, shaking and sweating at the idea of defying their captors. Jeff continued "I'm going to get the attention of both, you'll leap onto the back of one, strangle him with your cuffs and then I'll do the same to the other guy. We'll stop strangling them once they stop moving, got it?"

"But this is suicide, even if we're both successful-" Aoki began, quickly interrupted

"Look, a slow death is right in front of you," Jeff nodded toward the flames while speaking "you can take that or try to fight back and hope for the best. Your choice."

Aoki looked down at the cuffs, seeing his reflection in the chains that linked each cuff. "My choice..." he muttered to himself.

***

"Get up."

Slapping the back of Aoki's head, the tall man repeated himself, "Get up." he said with a much louder voice. Aoki got to his feet, legs shaking as the flames whipped back and forth below the cooked corpses ahead of him. They were taken off the fire, untied from the burnt pole and then given to the mob, which tore into the body like animals, causing flesh and bone to fly everywhere as they surrounded it. His breathing quickened, the chain which attached him to the rest of the prisoners was unlocked, a loud 'thump' as the chain fell into the sand. He still had his linked cuffs on him however, which the giant man grabbed, just about to drag the young man away from the rest.

***

Jeff rolled left, then right, then twice to the left. Sand getting into his clothing and rubbing against his skin. He would kick at the ground, pushing his hands against the floor and trying to get away from the large man. It didn't work. Once the large man had a hold of Jeff's ankle however he'd kick with the other leg, violently smashing his boot into the face of the muscly man, the heel specifically aimed at his nose. After the third kick, the man howled, reeling back and holding onto his broken nose. "Aoki, get him!" Jeff yelled, looking at the young tribal some distance away, who was still standing with his horror filled face. He didn't move, not even in the slightest, and no one attacked him to break him out of his trance.

"Aoki! Damn it!" Jeff cursed under his breath, eyes darting back to the large man who had adapted to the pain in his face. With a disturbingly bloody mouth, he howled once more; not in pain, but in anger. Leaping to his feet, Jeff raised both fists in preparation for the oncoming attack, giving a cold stare back to his roaring opponent. However, the man stayed where he was, looking back with his face slowly coming to a smile.

Jeff could feel himself suddenly hovering in the air, having been picked up by the back of his shirt's collar. "Forget about me?" the person said.

"Shit." Jeff cursed once more, looking into the eyes of the larger man's comrade; the same man he had attempted to strangle in the first place.

As Jeff was then beaten by the two men who happily attempted to break bones and bruise skin, Aoki was left breathing heavily, mind still left swimming for answers among the sea of violence. The crowds of prisoners and bandits still pushed and pulled, farther from the campfire now as they fought in the 'streets.' Skin brushed against skin, muzzle flashes of guns came from the rooftops of huts, failing to scare off the riot. Some prisoners were able to steal keys, proudly throwing their cuffs at the cannibal groups before the prisoners charged into the fray once more, punching, biting and grabbing at their foes with the dream of freedom once more in reach. It was as if this was all in slow motion, every tiny detail picked out by Aoki's disturbed mind. Broken teeth falling out of bloodied mouths, the wounded screaming for help while lost in the mobs, those begging for forgiveness as they would struggle in the violently tight grasp of the enemy, and of course the dead bodies, yet to rot with their eyes wide open.

He was left to stand there, eyes having lost all trace of sapience. A husk is all he was, looking but not understanding, fearing it all but unable to stop watching. Muscles would twitch every now and then at the sight of someone being hurt, but it was only a mere reflex.

Her enemies would gather around at ground level, a few with melee weapons would proceed to climb up after the prime, all the while bullets smashed into the wall causing dust to flake off by mere impact. Kalli would take hold of a sandbag once she was at the edge, pulling herself up onto her side as bullets flew around her. Once she was successfully placed on the sandbag, she'd roll off it, landing onto the wall's stone floor with a grunt, laying on her stomach. In a instant of seeing a bandit she steadied the aim of her rifle, the bandit further along the defenses quickly drawing out a pistol; his chest was punctured numerous times, red puffs of smoke followed by crimson blood gushing from his wounds. Once he had fallen to the floor there was already a decent puddle, causing a small splash around him. Kalli scrambled to her feet in a crouched position, moving forth to find the levers needed to open the gate.

It didn't take long before more bandits would be rushing toward her, having heard the gunfire or continuing their chase. Kalli would do the same as had been done with the initial bandit; bullets ruptured skin and muscle, blood poured out and bandits left dying. This type of encounter would happen four more times as the search for the levers continued, bandits climbing upwards via their ladders, flanking or directly assaulting the prime. Each time it happened the prime would halt in her movement, steadying her aim and pulling the trigger as many times as she could. Wherever the rifle pointed there were corpses to be found, the bandits collapsing instantly or the wounded pushed aside by their fellow cannibals, charging forth with fanatic devotion to defending the wall. Each encounter was short, barely a minute with little time or skill needed to aim in such a condensed zone of fire. They typically came from either one end of the wall or the other, front or back in Kalli's case. Some were much more daring however, crawling off the edge and using the roof and sandbags as a way to avoid the gunfire, hanging off them as the bandits had hanged from their vehicles. 

After some time of gunshots and screaming, the final bandit fell to the floor, head with chunks of flesh torn out from the inside as the bullet had made a perfect hole through the center. The prime relaxed, breathing slowed while no more noise came from the wall. She looked out toward the town, reminding her eerily of the tribe out in the desert. Flames and undoing of years of work. It was the same as yesterday, but at least this time she could feel the cool air of the night desert (and the direction of freedom) on her back.

But this relaxation was a vulnerability. A human swung in from the rooftop, boots kicking into her face before landing onto the wall with ease. Kalli's back was against the sandbags that faced the exit of the cave, too late in covering her face. With a yell, the reckless bandit leaped toward the prime and attempted to stab her directly in the chest, but her talons met his hands, pushing back against the rusty blade and the cannibal's pale skin. After struggling for some time Kalli's feet clawed into the cannibal's uncovered stomach, causing him to back away in pain. While he remain hunched over gripping his stomach, Kalli drew her own knife slowly enough that the bandit noticed and tried to retaliate. But she swiftly punched his face as soon as the first move was made, knocking him to the ground and the prime following him by landing on one knee, stabbing him in the back of the head twice.

***

A relaxing scent of warm tea made it feel tranquil, away from chaos; the candles carefully placed in the center between the two persons while they sat on pillows which were placed on top of a fine rug. The place couldn't avoid having some dust and sand about it, but effort had been put in to keep the room clean and it showed. Even the Eldest, the prisoner in this room, had been forcefully washed and given new clothes before entering Malgore's chamber. Some feet from her back was the door, with a single guard standing there, staring with the utmost silence and discipline. Malgore meanwhile was washing his face in front of her, beyond the gathering of candles, a finely crafted bowl was in front of Malgore, holding the liquid that was ever-so-rare in the Endless Dunes. 

***

The armory was sacked like invaders raiding foreign land, their captors were unable to retaliate and the tribals/convoy guards were stealing numerous military grade weapons, bows and arrows, and for a few they retrieved old weapons. Aoki and Jeff didn't lead it as much as they directed it; every retreat made by the bandits would be followed by a offensive push by the prisoners, having conveniently lead the mobs here. People were still rushing out of the armory with their newfound equipment, some dispersed from the main crowd around the armory to kill more cannibals and the damage only increased across the cavern village. Jeff attempted to get the attention of the gathering prisoners collecting weapons, but everyone was discussing their own ideas of what to do and where to go.

"Attention!? Hello!?" His feet moved on top of the box, his body twirling around to see if anyone was looking at him. Despite all the aggression or power put into his voice no one would bother listening. Aoki stood next to Jeff idly, a holster wrapped around his leg with Kalli's pistol in it. Either of them hadn't bothered using it, and nor did the young tribal man want anything like a rifle, so Jeff had stolen a rifle of his own while giving Aoki the responsibility of keeping the prime's pistol with them. The young man's stillness wouldn't be maintained for long, fiddling with the worn red cloth on his torso. Jeff gave a heavy sigh, peering at the armed prisoners before stepping off the box, discussing with Aoki.

"We're sitting ducks here trying to get everyone moving. Best we go off to find Whitthorn and get out of here." Jeff looked beyond the crowd, toward the gate.

"And leave everyone behind?" Aoki asked, offended.

"If they don't want to listen, what can we do?"

"We wait for the prime to come back, she'll be able to get everyone moving."

"It doesn't matter if she can get everyone moving, once those bandits regroup we'll be surrounded."

"But there are enough of us to hold them off!"

The two continued to argue, bickering like any other group in the crowd, unaware of those running out of the armory in a panic. A fire had started, a accident that soon got out of control- the remaining ammunition was being consumed by the sudden combustion. Once everyone outside could see the armory was indeed on fire, the last of the prisoners ran out of the armory, shouting about a oncoming explosion. Jeff was absolutely baffled by all this, leading Aoki to tackle him and both falling onto the ground once the armory went up in flames. It sparked, metal and wood flew everywhere, sand and dirt raining down onto everyone's heads as if it was raining and the crowd ducked in fear. At first neither of them moved, laying there lifelessly in hope that no shards pierce their skin. But after a few seconds, Jeff came to a realization.

"Wait, this is it!" Jeff stated with joy.

Aoki looked back at him baffled before being forcefully rolled off, Jeff got to his feet excitedly and leaped onto the box- astoundingly still there -and the crowd began to look up to the ruined armory, Jeff in front of it.

"Attention!" Jeff shouted, a large metal plate fell beside him, stabbing into the ground. He continued, unfazed "As you may know, we currently lack a way out. Not anymore! As of right now the prime who came here with us is attempting to open the gate, what we must do is acquire the means to actually escape; vehicles! I'm sure you remember how we were brought in here, well, those same vehicles can be driven by our people," he motioned toward some of the remaining convoy guards "and bring us away from this place. So I say we follow through with this plan and acquire us some rides, who is with me!?"

The prisoners didn't cheer, but there was a definite agreement among all as some nodded and others discussed with hope for an escape. Stepping off his makeshift stand, Jeff helped Aoki get to his feet saying "Guess all we needed was an explosion to get their attention."

Laughably, their attention would turn towards the gate- which exploded in a fury of flames, smoke and concrete. 

***

The further away she got from the vehicles, the quieter it became, the last of the prisoners rushing past her as they were undoubtedly retreating from the remaining cannibals, bodies covered in fresh wounds or the blood of others. Kalli walked on, focused with her weapon raised while moving between the vehicles, ever watchful for movement and pointing her rifle at the slightest noise. She wasn't sure where to go, continuing because of a reason in her gut or the hundreds of thoughts in her head, one that the prime would agree on was that The Eldest was one of the more intelligent secondaries she had come across on her travels, like Whitthorn. To leave her behind with savages and a crumbling cavern wasn't a fate that Kalli would sleep well with thinking about.

After some time the prime found herself between two rather long cars, their hoods high above her, wheels larger than her own body. Kalli felt like a rat walking between these, glancing upward just to get a look at how high they went, it seemed as if they reached all the way up to the cavern's ceiling. The floodlights above the cavern town would cast the shadow of the monstrous cars, leaving her in their shadow as she came upon the next empty space between rows. The silence grew more prominent, as if the gunfire had completely disappeared. Placing her back against the rear wheel of the vehicle, she approached the empty space, leaning out to stare around the corner...

A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder from behind.

Kalli whirled about, the hand slipping off her as she pointed her gun, breathing heavily with a hint of fear in her eyes. Once more she was left to lower her rifle without firing, rather regretfully having raised it in the first place.

The Eldest, hunched like when they first met, but much cleaner as well "We must leave, now." she stated with worry, turning about and quickly limping toward the front row. 

Kalli followed her with many questions swirling in her head, "Wh- where were you? How come you weren't with the rest?"

"Malgore has plans, ones that'll be irrelevant once," she hesitated "once we escape from here."

Both the prime and the tribal leader came to a halt, Kalli turned around first, a her eyes meeting Malgore's with all the anger she could muster. The Eldest meanwhile continued to worry, though was sure not to show her fear. With the howling night wind behind them, Kalli stepped toward Malgore, the two locked in their stare. He looked as if entertained by this 'contest' they were committed to, a smirk on his face. They looked at each other for what seemed to be ages, waiting for a twitch in movement. It never came, but the cars besides them did start rocking back and forth.