Chapter Two: Stranded

Jade opened her eyes to the glare of the warm sun. Not only that— it was hot. Not warm and humid like the climate she was so used to, but dry and hot. Scorching. Even the bed—or whatever it was she was laying on—was hot. Jade sat up and screamed. She just found herself on top of a sand dune in the middle of a desert. How the hell did she get there?

It took a few seconds for her to remember what happened in the hall. A moving painting… a loud growl… and an angry flash of lightning that was followed by the feeling of her body being electrocuted. Had she, by any chance, been hit by lightning? Is she dead? Was this heaven? Jade slapped her cheek to wake herself up in case this was all just a crazy dream. The stinging warmth on her cheek was enough to tell her that she was wide awake.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Jade screamed until she lost her breath. After taking a huge gulp of air, she screamed again. She did this until she felt her throat ache. It seemed to be true. She was indeed in a strange place. But she wasn’t dead—not yet. Just stranded somewhere. Taking one last look at her surroundings, Jade stood up and decided to find help. Forgetting that she was on top of a dune, she missed her footing, fell, and rolled all the way down to the bottom.

The sweltering heat was unforgiving. Jade was sure that she had barely walked a few meters when she felt the sweat roll down from her forehead. Even her back was drenched from carrying her backpack. That’s right, she had nearly forgotten about her bag!

With renewed hope at the possibility of finding help, Jade opened her bag in a hurry. She took out her phone but was met with much disappointment. There was no service! A mixture of emotions started to well up inside her. Frustration, anger, confusion, and a budding sense of dread. What if she couldn’t make it home?

“No!” Jade told herself. “You’ll make it home. You’ll get out of here. You won’t die.” It was a habit of hers to talk to herself whenever she needed encouragement. “And when you make it out of here, you’ll give yourself a nice, long bath,” she added. “You can do it, Jade!”

The little pep-talk gave her the encouragement she needed, and the heavy feeling of dread started to vanish slowly. If she were to get out of such a strange place, she needed to be brave. There was no room for fear here.

To get herself in the correct headspace, Jade made sure that she had her bearings right. She gave the area a sweeping glance, but almost burst into tears when she saw that there was nothing but sand all around her.  

FUCK!

She was fucked, Jade thought. But, try as she might, she couldn’t think of any specific reason as to why she was suddenly thrown into such a nightmarish situation. What could she have done? What kind of being did she offend? The questions were starting to give her a headache. She checked her watch—it was exactly noon. It was hard to believe that she had entered the museum two hours ago. The museum!

Jade immediately thought about the painting. Did it have anything to do with what was currently happening? Although it seemed highly impossible, it was the only thing she could think of that could provide some sort of explanation about her current situation. With this new idea in mind, Jade decided that if she wanted to find answers, she better start moving.

Time flew by differently in the desert. For Jade, it seemed like she had been traveling for hours. But her watch stated otherwise. According to the little contraption on her wrist, only thirty minutes had passed since she started walking—a fact that was hard to believe, based on her heavy breathing and the lack of feeling in her legs. Jade knew that she needed to rest, but decided against it. She thought that maybe if she continued walking for an hour or so, she’d find an oasis of some sort. After all, nature documentaries don’t lie. Do they? So, she trudged on. Weak, hungry, and extremely thirsty.

The sun remained unforgiving, and again, Jade’s hope started to turn into despair. Perhaps she was right from the start. She wouldn’t make it out alive. Jade dropped to her knees, then, she slowly let her tired body fall. As soon as her face hit the sand, she heard the faint sound of clanking metal. Was that the call of Death? The sound grew louder. Soon, it wasn’t just the sound of metal, this time it was accompanied by the brays of some animal and a few frantic whispers.

“Is it still breathing?”

“What is it?”

“Don’t touch it!”

Perplexed at what she was hearing, Jade lifted her head. With a sudden burst of energy, she stood up quickly. “Oh, thank goodness! I’m not dead!” she exclaimed to the group of men riding on camels that encircled her.

“What are you?” a man with a gruff voice said. Like most of the group, he was dressed in a tunic and had a turban wrapped around his head. A piece of cloth covered his mouth like a mask.

“I beg your pardon?” Jade said, a little bit insulted at being regarded as an object.

“You,” the man continued, “Are you man or demon?”

“How dare you—,” Jade stopped herself. These men were her only means for help at the moment. Even if she didn’t like being thought of as a demon, she shouldn’t act like a bitch as well. “—I mean, I am not a demon.”

“If you’re not a demon, then what are you? What are you doing in the middle of the Talamak desert?” another man asked.

Jade decided that at moments such as this, it was better to be honest. “I got lost. I’m just trying to find my way home.”

“Way home?” another man quipped. He seemed younger than the first man. “How did you come here in the first place?”

“Are you an escaped convict?” another man said.

“A convict?” Jade said. “First a demon, now I’m being labeled a criminal!” she added, more to herself.

“Well?” the first man said.

“I’m not a demon, or a criminal, or whatever else you think I am. My name is Jade and I am from Senales City. This morning, I was in the National Museum looking at the Chinese exhibit, and then I saw a painting move. Then, something growled and I tried to touch the painting, but then there was a flash of lightning and when I opened my eyes I was here!”

The men exchanged looks and started to murmur amongst themselves. Then, one by one, they started to leave.

“Wait!” Jade called as she started to chase them. “Where are you going? You can’t leave me here! Wait! Take me with you! Please!”

The first man stopped. “You lied to us,” he said sternly.

“What?” Jade was outraged. “I didn’t lie! I was telling you the truth!”

“You may not be a demon, but based on what you said, we have concluded that you are possessed by a demon,” the man answered. “We do not have a place for you.” The man turned around and continued to ride away.

“You can’t leave me!” Jade continued. “You cannot leave me to die!”

Her pleas fell on deaf ears. None of the men turned back. Now completely distraught, Jade fell to her knees once more. She felt completely drained. As tears started to fall, a strong arm appeared out of nowhere to pull her up.

Plop!

She found herself seated at the back of a camel. “You can ride with me,” its rider said.

With a renewed sense of hope, Jade mustered all the strength she had left. “Thank you,” she said as she finally succumbed to sleep.