Snippet #2762935

Follow the river. You're almost there. You're almost there. You're almost there.

Come on. We'll go together.

Raw skin peeled and bled even underneath the cloth. Those rough hands bound in makeshift gauze tugged at the rope with less gusto than before, slower and slower through waves of endless sand. Left. Right. Left. Right. The sun blinked out as the shades of the dunes cast themselves upon the girl, towering over her. For a second she thought to rest, but wisely decided against it. If she never woke up, then there would be no one around to carry her, after all.

Better go the long way around.

She flexed her fingers experimentally, finding that they've gone stiff from tugging the rope for so long. Might be trouble later, but it wasn't like she was in any shape to deal with something more complicated than walking either way. Picking it up again, she gradually started her way around the desert waveforms and continued hauling the box behind her for, hopefully, the last stretch until nightfall.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, her vision finally settled on a town of sorts. That, and a pillar of smoke rising on its outskirts.
A fire? At this time of day? And a big one, too. . .

Some big shot phoenix blew a gasket, was her guess.
If I can't get a good night's sleep today, I am going to fucking kill somebody.

With that in mind, Frey trudged onwards and towed her luggage behind as slowly as ever. She blinked away some stray tears.
Damn, is this heavy.