[Venks]

Chapter Four

Here I am in the middle of a desert and it's colder than you can believe. It turns out that as hot as a desert is in the day its just as cold in the night. That's not the only change either. Instead of a blazing orange sun, night brandishes countless stars plus a ever-present moon. Neatly the sand takes a lightly blue appearance, I'd care more if I wasn't so cold. I asked my albino companion,
"Yo, Flour, can we set up camp or something? I'm tired as a Slig without an employer watching him."
"Yeah sure." The white blind Slig replied, not caring much for my pun. He opened a compartment in his metal legs and pulled out some sticks which he used to start a campfire.
"Be right back." Flour placidly stated then disappeared into the darkness.
"Be careful!" I shouted towards where he had vanished. I don't know where that crazy Slig was heading, but I sure knew I was famished - something my growling stomach repeatedly reminded me.

I pulled off the green bag I had been carrying and removed a couple of small bowls from inside. The only food I had managed to bring was spooce salad - the stuff was cheap and healthy. Unfortunately spooce is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted. My body cringed as the food entered my mouth, but I continued to stomach the guck in hopes of quieting my hunger. In the midst of attempting another bite; Flour returned, single handedly, carrying, what looked like, a long limp stick made entirely out of sand and rock. It was beyond me how the sand kept it's shape; instead of all falling to the ground.
"What is that?" I questioned my white friend as he skewered the thing with a stick and held it just above the fire.
"This," Flour stated, giving a dramatic pause, "Is a Snand."
"A Snand?"
"Yes, a Snand. You see they are these blind Fleech-like things. As you can see they are much longer and instead of using tongues; they reach out and bite their victims. Thus injecting them with poison. Snands look like they're made out of sand and rocks, but really they're just covered in scales and spikes. So what they do is hide near drinking water or food. Whenever a creature gets close enough they strike, usually killing their prey in only one blow! These things can also fool echolocation to betray Scrabs."

"Wow.. you sure know a lot." Was all I could say.
"Not really." The albino contradicted. "You just pick things things up when you live here for as long as I have."
"How long is that?" I inquired.
"About four years. I've been here sense I left the barracks."
"Wow, four years? Why'd you decide to leave the barracks anyways?" I immediately felt bad after asking the question. Flour was visibly upset.
"I didn't decide to leave. I was forced to." Flour took a deep breath, then continued. "I was unlucky at birth. I came to the world blind and lacking pigment. Even though I couldn't see, I was being trained the same as all the other Sligs in my birthing group. Having harsh task masters, I quickly learned to use what senses I had to my advantage - I had to try harder than my brothers. I became the top student in the training grounds! Finally, I finished training school and matured enough to handle the real world. I entered the Slig Barracks - that was a rude awakening. Turns out that Mudos doesn't take my kind as nicely as training school did.

Sligs like me with disabilities are dubbed 'mutants' by the general populace. In fact, 'mutants' are killed in the Slig Barracks everyday. Luckily the squad I was assigned to were ridiculously stupid. I easily convinced my squad that I had fallen into a vat of flour that just wouldn't come off. Hence the name, Flour. Although my squad was stupid enough, not everyone in the barracks was. If it wasn't for my high rank, I'd be dead now. I don't want you to think I was the only albino though. Some guy named Charlie or something was also albino. Charlie was a shy dude that kept mostly to himself. He was teased all the time. One day Charlie snapped and killed his entire platoon! Including his platoon leader and himself. Guess some guys don't take to well to mean jokes. I mean, like I used to get made fun of all the time, but I would just shrug it off. I don't care what a bunch of nobodies say about me.

Anyways, one day some Slig coveting my position had a talk with my squad, revealing to them I was mutant. With no one covering for me anymore; Slig after Slig would try to do me in! I ran for my life from the barracks and just kept going until I was lost. And here I am today."

Once Flour finished, he starting biting his Snand as if nothing was bothering him at all. I sat there for a moment, letting Flour's story sink in. As if being blind wasn't hard enough, he had to put up with so much Slog! For a moment I pondered what a world without cruel Sligs would be like - until I felt nature calling.
"Be right back." I called out to Flour as I got up to look for a place to answer nature's call.
"Don't stray too far!" Flour called back with real concern in his voice. I wanted to take my friend's advice, but I also wanted a private place to do my business. Seeing nothing but sand all around me, I went astray from Flour. To my delight I found a hill to hide behind. As I climbed the hill, sand fell with each step I took. When I got to the top, I realized I wasn't actually on a hill, but more of a bowl. I took a step forward - which I instantly regretted. My metal foot found no purchase and I spontaneously tumbled down into the center.
I tried to stand up, but when I did, I slowly began to sink into the ground. For what ever reason, I only seemed to sink more when I moved. Without a better alternative I decided to stay perfectly still.

As if in response to my decision, the top of my head started to itch. It wasn't bad at first, but after a while it was so itchy I was contemplating suicide. Should I continue to live in agony or die in peace? As I weighed the pros and cons of death, Flour appeared at the top of the sand pit.
"Odd. You seeing Sligs are so blind! How do you manage to walk right into a sand trap?"
"Well..." I started, but as I talked I slowly began descending.
"Okay, okay, don't move, I'll be.." Flour started to say as he looked at what he was dealing with - but upon seeing how far I was in, he frowned.
"Sorry Ugai, but all I can do for you is trade one death for another." The blind Slig pulled out his gun ask asked, "Any last requests?"

Here I am, about to die, and I can't think of anything to say. Once my neck started sinking under the sand, Flour decided not to wait any longer. He aimed at my head, and as natural instinct, I tried to move out of the way. Thanks to that, the sand completly covered my body and my air was cut off. I tried to fight my way back up, but the rough sand just pushed me further down. I held my breath as long as I could manage - my lungs felt like they were burning. Unable to resist, my body forced me to take in sand that I immediately choked on it. As I was choking, my feet suddenly felt air and a split second later I fell from the bottom layer of the sand pit and onto a sand covered floor. I hit the floor with my back pretty hard - pain spiked throughout my body. I disgorged sand and spooce - it hurt, but I got the sand out of my lungs.

I weakly tried to push myself up, only to fail and fall back down. I rested for a moment, then got up again. I looked around to try to find out where I was. It appeared to be a hall way - the walls were smooth, gray rocks with images drawn here and there. The floor was beautifully shaped, green tiles with intricate designs on them. Feeling wind coming from in front of me, I decided to travel down the hall way.

As I walked down the endless corridor I noticed a drawing depicting something Odd, there one the wall was a picture of a magnificent battle. Countless Sligs and Mudokons laid dead, though the former had more numbers still. Next to a dead Mudokon was another of its kind, only it was much bigger and easily lifted a Slig into the air with one hand. All too soon the pictures ended and I learned nothing more of the giant Mudokon. I finally emerged out of the hall into a large coliseum, there were countless seats abandoned, but in good repair. There was no roof, instead the night sky and the moon could be seen. In the middle of the coliseum was a few Mudokon statues raising its hand to match the moon, surrounded by Paramite statues. Oddly enough one of the Paramite statues was raising its hand to the moon, but wait... Paramites don't have hands. On closer inspection I noticed that the statue wasn't of a Paramite but a pantsless Slig.

I would of stared at the statues in wonder for a second longer, but just then I heard a noise behind me. I hastily turned around to see three Paramites looking at me, trying to discern my purpose.
One of the Paramites asked me, "Click clik klik click clik?"
I had no idea what it was trying to say, but the thing was trying to communicate with me, I decided to respond with something safe.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I come in peace." Was what I said.
Wrong move apparently. The three Paramites screeched and bolted towards me bearing their fangs. Quite fond of life I ran to one of the many passageways leading out of the coliseum. As I ran down the
corridor I didn't hear just my metal feet banging into the smooth tiled floor, but the almost silent whooshing sounds of the Paramites chasing me. Abruptly the hall came to an instantaneous end, however their were three wells near the end of the hall where I stood. Not wasting a second longer I jumped into the well to my left, I heard the sounds of screeching as I fell down... and kept falling. Did I just jump to my own death, there was no way I could survive a fall at this rate. Suddenly a powerful wind picked me up in the small wooden tunnel I was in and pushed me straight up.

Seconds later I shot out of the very sand pit I had entered through and landed just a few meters outside of it. Flour was there mourning my supposed death when I fell on him.
"What the Odd! Get off of me!" He ordered.
"Sorry bout that." Was my reply.
When I got off the albino Slig he looked in my general direction in amazement.
"Where did you come from?" Flour asked.
"I have no idea."