Chapter Text
The “click” from the pressure plate on the pedestal was definitely the activation of a trap. The rumbling coupled with the debris now falling from the ceiling confirmed as much. They could’ve sworn they also felt the ground beneath them shaking, as if it wanted to cave in and drop them into the void below.
They needed to go, but where to? All they knew was that backtracking to the start wasn’t an option. Even if they did make it through the chamber and maze, they’d still have to contend with the climb back up to the surface. Not to mention that the falling debris would either crush them or block them in before they even made it that far.
They had to find another way. They had to.
Jamie was frantically scurrying around on the platform, presumably faced with the same predicament as Jade. They seemed to have a mix of guilt and panic on their face. Their eyes were darting all over the place, but froze when they landed on something.
Jamie waved to the group with both arms. “Over here, you three!” They shouted over the rumbling.
The three of them ran over to Jamie as quickly as they could. They soon spotted the same thing that Jamie spotted. It was a ramp going… down? How was that going to help any of them? Weren’t they trying to go up?
Jamie seemed to have spotted Jade’s confusion. “Got any better ideas?” Their eyes were frantic, their fidgeting erratic. They were clearly not in the mood to linger or argue.
Out of nowhere, a giant boulder crashed down and blocked off the hallway they came from earlier.
Jade sighed. “Not anymore I don’t.”
“Cool, let’s get the hell out of here then!” Jamie ran down without waiting for a response. Jade followed quickly behind them. They could only pray that Luna and Riley were doing the same.
They spotted yet another hallway at the bottom of the ramp. While they were getting tired of running around in a confined space, they didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter, so they continued full speed ahead into it.
They took only one turn before they noticed a ramp going up. It didn’t appear to be terribly steep, as evident by Jamie running up it, so they decided to run up it themselves.
Jamie had paused at the top. They were doubled over and heaving. Was something wrong?
Jade caught up to them. They were a little short of breath themselves. “Hey… is something wrong…?”
The statue that Jamie had been holding onto was now on the ground. “Statue’s… heavy…”
Jade suddenly remembered they had a backpack and tossed it on the ground beside the statue. They then made a spot in it and stuffed the statue in there. When they put it back on their back, they noticed the increase in weight immediately. They weren’t kidding… I can handle this though.
Jamie stretched for a moment. “Thanks Jade… appreciate it.” They then continued up the next ramp without waiting for a response. However, they were considerably slower than before. Jade chalked it up to their fatigue, but kept an eye on them nonetheless.
Speaking of the next ramp, they noticed some light peeking out near the top of it. Whether it was a torch or natural light, they couldn’t tell, but it was a good sign nonetheless.
Once they reached the top of that ramp, they were able to confirm that it was natural light. However, they also spotted what appeared to be massive stairs leading up to that light. They weren’t particularly excited to make that climb since they were tired and carrying a heavy load, but anything beat being crushed by falling rocks.
With a deep sigh, Jade approached the first step and grabbed onto it. Surprisingly, while the ascent was rather steep, the stairs themselves weren’t terribly high. Even with as short as they were, they were able to grab the top of each stair and pull themselves up. The extra weight did make it a little more difficult, but they managed to reach the top with few issues.
The others were already waiting at the top. They expected Jamie to berate them for going slow, but they didn’t say anything. They instead just nodded. They also seemed to be doing a little better, which was reassuring.
“They couldn’t at least give us an easier time with climbing up?” Riley whined.
Jamie rolled their eyes. “Really? I thought escaping was the easiest part. All we had to do was a bit of running and climbing!”
Riley hummed. “Fair enough. Let’s get going.”
The group approached the exit, though they couldn’t quite figure out who would go first.
Jamie huffed and pushed ahead towards the exit. They hissed once they stepped outside. They retreated back into the shade for a moment before rubbing their eyes and stepping back out.
Jade followed Jamie outside and immediately found out why they were bothered. The sudden change in light overwhelmed their vision and made them feel dizzy. They stumbled back into the shade until their eyes could re-adjust. The dizziness dissipated shortly after.
Jamie groaned and rubbed their forehead. “I really didn’t miss being out here…”
Luna and Riley stepped out and had similar complaints. However, nobody would have a chance to go back inside since the exit collapsed after those two left.
“I suppose there’s no going back now.” Riley sighed.
Jamie shrugged. “I guess not. I’ll start looking for a way forward.”
Suddenly, Jade noticed something green out of the corner of their eye. They almost dismissed it as another cactus, but it was far too vibrant to be that. They did a double take to confirm and instead of a cactus, they spotted several palm trees.
They soon made the connection that it was that same oasis that they’d seen before. It was very convenient that they ended up exiting the tomb close to it.
“Hey Jamie, remember that oasis you found earlier?”
“Yeah? What about it?” Jamie was still scoping out a way forward.
“Well, check it out.” Jade pointed over in the direction of the oasis. Jamie’s eyes lit up once they spotted it. “Since we’re close, maybe we should take a detour to see what it has.”
“Nice! What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Jamie bolted towards it, but were stopped dead in their tracks when Jade firmly placed a hand on their shoulder. “R-Right… no more being reckless and dumb… sorry.”
“No… it’s not that.” Jade could hear some sand swirling around, though it was very faint. “Do you hear that?”
“Uh… no. I don’t—”
A tornado suddenly materialized in front of them. Fortunately, it ended up going a different direction, but had Jade not stopped Jamie…
No. It wasn’t worth thinking about what didn’t happen.
“Oh. Uh. Okay.”
Jade finally let go of Jamie. “Can you at least go slow enough for us to stay together? I don’t want us to get split up.”
Jamie nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Okay. Go ahead whenever you’re ready then.”
Without another word, Jade followed behind Jamie as they set off towards the oasis once more. Luna and Riley followed not too far behind them.
Fortunately the oasis wasn’t too far away so after a few minutes of chasing any shade they could, they made it to their destination. They were very pleased to note that it wasn’t a mirage, otherwise their efforts would’ve been for naught.
The first thing they noticed was a small pond with two capybaras sitting inside of it. One of them had a yellow winterberry—wait, a winterberry, here?—and the other had a cowboy hat. They both seemed quite relaxed and didn’t have any visible reaction to their four new friends.
There were three palm trees surrounding the oasis. They carried five coconuts in total. This meant that everyone would have something to eat and drink and have one to spare for later. They did still have some shroomberries, mushrooms, a thornberry and a couple Thick Mints, but diversifying their selection of food was still welcomed.
Something they didn’t notice earlier was that there were also bushes near the base of each tree. The bushes themselves didn’t contain any crispberries, but it was still interesting to note. Greenery wasn’t exactly common in a place like that.
They noted that Jamie slipped out of their shoes. They assumed Jamie just wanted to relax and dip their feet in the water, so they paid no mind to it. What they didn’t expect was for Jamie to just… jump into the water?
Everyone, except for the capybaras, managed to avoid the water that Jamie splashed up. The capybaras seemed to have no issue with it though.
Jamie sighed in contentment once they re-emerged from beneath the water. “This is amazing… never thought I’d like cold water.”
Jade couldn’t help but chuckle. “Never thought you’d like getting a rash either.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re gonna be walking around with wet clothes and sweating while climbing. You will most definitely end up with a rash somewhere after all of this.”
“Do you always have to be such a killjoy, Jade?”
“I’m just looking out for you.”
“Whatever.”
Jade gave up on arguing with Jamie and opted to sit down near the edge of the pond. They kicked off their sandals haphazardly and tossed their backpack off to their right.
After a moment of hesitance, they allowed their feet to rest in the water. It was cold, just as Jamie stated, but not uncomfortably so. In fact, it felt extremely comforting after everything they had endured in the past few days. They could sit there all day and just soak it all in, and honestly? That didn’t sound like a terrible idea.
As much as they wanted to do that though, they had to snap themselves back to reality. Even in the comforts of the oasis, they weren’t safe, nor were they making progress that way. They didn’t want to move so soon, but they couldn’t linger for long either.
Jamie swiped the yellow winterberry from the capybara’s head and inspected it curiously. They then held it out to Jade with a confused look on their face. “Hey Jade, what’s this? Looks like… some kind of berry?”
“Correct. That’s a winterberry. I don’t really know how that capybara got one of those though, since they usually only grow in colder climates.”
“Maybe it was somewhere cold before it came here?”
Jade hummed. “Maybe.”
“And the taste?”
“Sour.” Jade laughed when Jamie’s face scrunched up. “Just kidding. It’s sweet and savory. You’d enjoy those a lot more than the thornberries.”
“So… should we save it for later? Sounds like it’s kinda rare to come across.”
“I’d say so. It’s one of our sweeter treats… like the… full box of Thick Mints that magically disappeared?”
Jamie rolled their eyes in response. They then tossed the berry to Jade, who nearly dropped it in the sand. Jamie laughed at the act, but stopped when Jade glared at them.
Jade reached for their backpack to search for a spot to stuff the berry into it. However, they struggled to find an open spot. They had accumulated a lot of things on their travels but ran out of space to carry any more. So instead, they simply stared at the berry. They didn’t want to eat it now, but they didn’t want to throw it away either. That was quite the conundrum to be in.
Suddenly, two coconuts rolled up to them on their left. They failed to notice until one of them gently collided with their thigh. They looked around in an attempt to identify who, or where, they came from. They did notice that Riley and Luna were now sitting beside them with their own coconuts. It was likely that one of them did that.
Luna waved, but their attention immediately shifted to the berry in Jade’s hands. “Uh, I c-can hold that for you, Jade!”
“Oh, thank you Luna. I appreciate that.” Jade began to get up, but Riley held out a hand before they could. Jade put the berry in Riley’s hand and watched as it was passed to Luna. Luna then quickly stuffed it in their backpack and put it behind them.
“Thank you for the coconuts, Riley.”
“Sure. I wasn’t sure if Jamie wanted to come out of the water for theirs yet so… I’ll leave it up to you to give it to them.”
“Jamie—” Jamie had already emerged from the water. “Oh! Here. Riley got a coconut for you.”
They grabbed one of the coconuts from beside Jade and sat to Jade’s right. They tore into the coconut, paying no further mind to anyone around them.
Now that Jamie was taken care of, Jade focused on their own coconut. They cracked it and turned it horizontally to ensure they wouldn’t lose the water. Once the halves were separated, they held the half with water in their hands and set the other half on their lap.
They remembered just how thirsty they had gotten, so they quickly gulped down the water with zero hesitation. They then scooped out the meat with their bare hands and stuffed it in their mouth. It wasn’t exactly the most sanitary thing they’ve done, but cleanliness wasn’t easy to accomplish given their situation.
They repeated the same procedure with the other half, then dropped both halves in the same spot they grabbed the coconut from.
Jamie laid down with a loud “thud” once they were finished with their own coconut. Jade decided to do the same.
“You’re gonna get a lot of wet sand stuck to you, you know that right?”
“Meh. That’s a problem for future Jamie.”
“Feeling any better after all of that?”
“After all of what?”
“Well… that tomb we were in and after being hit by that tumbleweed.”
“Oh. Still kinda worn out from that place and carrying that statue.” Jamie groaned as they re-adjusted their position. “But… I’m feeling better after being hit by that tumbleweed. My chest just feels a bit sore now.”
“Okay. That’s good.”
“Yeah. I’ll admit, Luna did good in taking care of that for me, even if I was a baby about it.”
The two of them fell into a comfortable silence after that. Jade stared up at the sky. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing to see up there, aside from the sun.
Though the sand was grainy, they still felt comfortable. Under any other circumstances, they could probably take a nap there. However, they weren’t really able to in the moment.
While they were worn out because of all of that climbing and running back in the tomb, they were still very aware, and anxious, of the dangers of the desert. They couldn’t fully be at ease even if they wanted to be.
In spite of all of that though, they really didn’t want to get up. It wasn’t until they laid down that the aches and pains really settled in. They’d probably sleep very hard after everything was said and done at the next camp.
They weren’t going to be able to enjoy that moment for long though.
“Once you two finish your coconuts, we’re leaving. I think we’ll be safer in the caverns up ahead,” Jamie declared.
“Sounds good to me,” Riley said between swallowing bites. “Hey Luna, you got room for an extra coconut?”
“Mhm! J-Just, uh… c-can I…”
“You can finish your coconut. Just wanted to make sure.”
Jamie nudged Jade’s right arm. “Hey. I know you wanna lay around all day. Hell, I do too! We can’t stay here though,” they said in a lower volume.
“I know. I’ll… get up when those two are done.”
Jamie sighed. “Whatever works for you, I guess.”
A few minutes passed by. The only sounds were the occasional chewing and swallowing of coconut meat as well as ever-so faint breeze. The sounds of the desert beyond the oasis seemed to fade into the background.
They heard a gentle thud followed by another shortly after. That was likely the sound of both Luna’s and Riley’s coconuts being tossed into the sand, so Jade took that as their cue to sit up. For Jamie, that appeared to be their cue to stand.
Jade didn’t really want to get up, but now that Luna had slipped on their backpack and Jamie slipped on their shoes, that meant that everyone was waiting on them now.
They pulled their feet out of the water and stood up. They stretched with a groan, then shook off whatever sand they could from their feet and put their sandals back on. They then grabbed their backpack and slung one of the straps over their right shoulder.
“I’m guessing we’re all ready then?” Jamie asked. Everyone nodded in response. “Cool. Let’s get moving towards the caverns up ahead then.”
Jamie moved past everyone and forward towards the caverns. For a moment, Luna did nothing, but then they waved at the capybaras and then followed Jamie. Riley stood there and motioned for Jade to move ahead. Once Jade passed them, they fell into line in the back.
Their luck with dodging tornadoes would continue. Any that did appear were far away, and before any could get close, they dissipated. The tumbleweeds were still just as scary, but with everyone on higher alert for those, they were easily avoidable.
Fortunately, there were several rock structures dotting the landscape to provide them shade along their path. When the sun got too unbearable, they’d all duck into shade temporarily before stepping back into the sun.
They soon came across yet another obstacle. Their heart sank once they noticed what it was. It wasn’t something they were really looking forward to, nor was it something they really wanted to see.
A canyon.