Littered with spikes, the ground began to cave, collapsing and reforming in the stretch of seconds. Haza as a guide allowed Ben to avoid the slamming terrain. Leaps of cascading spikes plummeted down in unison with the patter of rain. Then it all stopped. The quaking, the shaking spikes crumbled, only the flood of dust and debris scratched Ben and Haza. In the midst of the sudden calm was the blinded Bo Barri, blood seeping from every natural hole of his face. His hands touched the ground once again, and with a grunt he lifted himself up.

  “Lucky boy. I can’t manipulate sand…it's too fine. The stone beneath is also too deep. How unfortunate. Grit your teeth,” Bo said as he brought his fists to brow. With sharpened eyes he entered Ben’s range.

  “…” Ben swallowed.

  “Put the girl down, boy. If you're a real man, you’ll finish me off rather than run.”

  “Don’t listen to him Ben, we need to run farther so he—”

  Ben dropped Haza to the side. His fists came up to his brows as well. Before he could react, his face flew back, blood shooting forth from his lips. With a knee plunged into the sand Ben struggled to stand again. Bo’s knee rocked Ben back once again. Ben’s face marred with contusions laid back. Vomiting blood on his side, Ben slowly pushed himself back up.

  “Ben, stop! Stay down. You won’t make it!” Haza pleaded.

  “Ha…ha…Dushyanta fought nine guys bigger than this lousy piece of shit…at my age. Hey, doofus, am I man enough yet?” Ben mumbled as he wobbled back onto his feet, hands ready.

  Bo smirked. Although tired, he couldn’t quite ignore the feeling of wasting his time on the lad in front of him. “You’re getting close boy…show me your passion, and I might say you are one step closer to manhood.”

  Coughing blood onto his right hand, Ben stammered through the heavy sand that swallowed his feet. Swinging with all his might, a shout to the heavens left his wet knuckles sliding down Bo’s burly chest. “Good effor—huh?” Heat rose, the sound of sizzling leather, the smell of burning flesh. Part of Ben’s tattoo lit a flame, and as his fist fell an explosion rang out, launching both of them meters away from another. A gaping hole cooking from the inside out left Bo a quick corpse under a dune.

  Fuck…my hand. It hurts, it really hurts. Who is shouting…? Groaning, his ears rang with a treble of pain.

  Returning from their supply run, Horo and Dushyanta came to a half eradicated ghost town. Locking the truck, Horo rushed out to the scene of a square of a tent village.

  “What happened here?” Dushyanta asked.

  “Val! Akli!” Horo shouted.

  “The hostel should still be good. It seems only this area was wasted. It could have simply been a natural disaster.”

  “Then explain that mountain that all about appeared out of nowhere,” Horo pointed.

  “Like I said, a natural disaster…” Dushyanta whispered.

  “Yeah right…”

  “Come on, let’s go.”

  Entering the cape of town, they busted open the hostel to find Akli, Ben, and Valory being nursed in a musty room by a little glowing mouse. “Am I seeing things?” Horo asked.

  “A mouse…” Dushyanta said. The two rubbed their eyes, after a few blinks they noticed it was simply Haza in a mouse costume.

  “What the fuck is going on here?!” Horo demanded.

  “Shhh, you're being loud, vulgar one,” Haza said, bringing a finger to her lips.

  “…”

  Horo ran to Valory’s side. “Val, how are you? What happened?”

  Valory being in the best condition explained well of what had happened, with Haza adding in her side.

  “So how are these two then?” Dushyanta asked.

  “Krow will need a miracle worker, or a really good doctor. And Graham is just recovering from frostbite,” Valory said.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Frostbite…in the desert?” Horo asked rhetorically. “I understand what you told us, but even still.”

  “They were well trained bounty hunters. I’m sure my father was the one who hired them. More will surely come,” Haza said.

  “Can’t you see into the future, how could you not see this happening?” Horo asked with an exasperated air.

  “The rules are complicated. It’s more like seeing possibilities, and it works better with those close by. I can’t see what my father will decide to do entirely, not until the choice is made, for there are too many possibilities. That is why when I saw that there was someone similar to me, but with a more firm prediction ability, I latched onto it.”

  “You mean Akli?” Dushyanta asked.

  “Fate is different than simply seeing the possibilities.”

  Is fate guaranteed, permanent of some sort? Is that what she’s saying? If so, then Akli is far more important than I initially thought. Dushyanta contemplated before walking back to the truck outside to unpack.

  “What do you think our plan should be?” Horo asked Valory.

  “We’ll stay a night or two more. I’m worried Krow won’t make it. His hand is broken, and he's got contusions all over. His poor face too…we need to find a hospital as soon as possible.”

  Horo sighed, the whole ordeal weighing down on his shoulders.

  “It should be all right, his lines haven’t wavered,” Haza said.

  “What do you see?” Valory brought her face a nose away from Haza’s. “What can we do to help him?”

  “Someone who can heal him will wander in if we leave by evening in two days,” Haza closed her eyes. “Mm, however, they will probably die. By someone, I’m not sure who. Well the healer will be killed by them. There isn’t a possible future where they can survive this adversary.”

  Valory looked up to Horo. Beads of sweat rolled down Horo’s face, the waves of his hair flocking over his eyes. Biting his nails, Horo paced for a few moments as Dushyanta went in and out of the lobby. Then with a passive glance to his stomach, Horo paused.

  “Say, if we leave right now, could we encounter the adversary before they meet the healer?” Horo asked.

  “Horo, what are you thinking?” Valory asked with a shocked expression. To take the initiative is unlike you.

  “You heard me. There is no plausible future where the healer survives this adversary,” Haza said.

  “I heard you. However, we need healing. Not the life of the healer…”

  “Horo!”

  “It is inevitable, Val. As the princess says, they won’t make it. However, can we not stall this adversary so that Ben gets the treatment he needs?”

  “I advise against it. This will be the only time I tell you this, sir Horo, your lines are dwindling, and shrinking. The more you think this way, the more danger will arrive in your future,” Haza said, her large golden eyes sending shivers from the tip of Horo’s head to his toes.

  She knows, she really knows…however… “I understand, but as you also said earlier, you can’t see everything. Now, who do we have that knows the absolute truth?” Horo pointed to the bedridden Akli. “Tell me this, can the future change?”

  “…”

  “Can it?!”

  “It can…”

  “So, if every future you see ends the same way, but this fucker says that it ends another way, who do we trust?”

  “…”

  “I only trust the definitive. If there is even one strand, one tiny hair, as thin and frail as bed dust that tells us it will be alright, then I will put my everything into that one!”

  “What’s your plan then?” Valory asked.

  “Me, Dushyanta, and Akli hit the road at the moon’s highest. We get Akli to show us the way…and we bring Ben. At first I thought to leave him here and bring back the healer, but that seems foolish. It will delay our plans somewhat, but me and Dushyanta bought enough supplies for a week. It couldn’t take longer than that to get Ben patched up.”

  “Your plan sounds fickle, Horo. Are you sure you know what you're doing? You’re trying to sound confident, but you haven’t stopped thumping your foot or biting your nails. Tell me honestly, are you confident in what you're about to do?” Valory asked.

  “How do you feel about us leaving you to protect the princess?” Horo asked in return.

  “Horrible…” Valory said bluntly.

  “Then Dushyanta will stay with you.”

  “That leaves you with two hospital patients all on your own in the middle of nowhere. How about we all go?” Valory asked.

  “We can’t carry everyone, including the supplies. Add in the fact that this adversary we’re going after…I mean interrupting, is most likely after the bounty on Haza’s head.”

  “Alright, Dushyanta and I will stay with Haza. Haza, how does that sound?” Valory pleaded with her eyes for anything to stop what Horo was about to do.

  No more lines surround him. They connect me and Valory together more thickly. Perhaps it’s an… Closing her eyes, Haza tried to reach for a prediction of events to come. I’m safe…Valory however, I can’t see anything beyond my own safety. A river of red…? “It should be alright if you and Dushyanta are careful.”

  “Hmm, so Ben, Akli, and I will be alright?”

  “…”

  “No more questions. We know what needs to be done,” Valory said. Dushyanta and I need to be careful, huh?