Claimed by the Desert

Chapter Nine

When Vera awoke, she immediately knew something was wrong. Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to figure out what it was that had set her on edge. It was cold. Colder than it should have been- and quiet.

Blinking her eyes open, she waited for them to adjust to the dim light and prayed that when they did she wouldn't be seeing what she thought she was seeing. It took her several minutes to realize that she wasn't dreaming and that what she was seeing was actually very, very real.

But as soon as reality hit her, Vera immediately tried to move away, or get up, or something - anything. Her movements ended up being jerky and slow and every muscle in her body protested the action. She whimpered from the pain and held her head between her hands as the cave walls seemed to close in on her.

The fear of enclosed spaces had never bothered her before, after all she was an archeologist and it kind of came with the job description. But this tight, all-consuming panic in her chest was partially due to that reason.  The other reason for her fear sat opposite her, looking all too pleased with the situation.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," Amias said as he shifted closer to her.

She immediately backed away, curling up in the corner as she attempted to make herself as small a target as possible. He was wearing Kareem's body again, and Vera wondered what had happened to Halsten. Perhaps Amias had merely gotten tired of fighting him over the body, but she had a feeling something much more sinister had taken place.

"I think I may have hit you too hard. You've been sleeping a long time."

She glared at him. "How long?"

He shrugged, as if her prolonged unconsciousness wasn't concerning to him.

"About two days."

She shook her head, only to regret it once the throbbing pain started up again. What must her father have thought when he came back and she was gone?

 Amias stood and made his way over to her. She suddenly realized how stupid it was to back herself into a corner. Now she was trapped between him and the wall.

 "It's all your fault, you know," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair. "If you hadn't spilled my secret then I wouldn't have had to hurt your butler and bring you here."

 "W-What did you do to Halsten?" she whispered.

"He was in my way. So I got rid of him," he stated casually.

His hand ran through her hair almost tenderly. Vera was shaking with rage and felt like she was going to throw up. He had killed her protector, her best friend. Yes, she had known that Amias had some sort of deranged fascination with her, but she had never expected him to be this evil!

Tears poured down her face and she clenched her eyes shut tightly to try and stop them.

"You k-killed him...?" she managed to hiccup out. Amias chuckled near her ear and ran his hands over her shoulders.

"Those type of things will happen if you defy me, Vera. Understand? Obey, or I will only make things harder for you."

Continuing on in the same tone of voice, he told her, "I hate you, do you know that? I do."

Through squinted, watery eyes she gave him a baffled stare. He hated her? Then why was he doing this?

"I hate that you're so beautiful. I hate that you fight me on everything," his voice was starting to get louder with every word, until he was almost screaming at her. "But most of all I hate how all of my thoughts are consumed with you!"

The dark look he was giving her caused goosebumps to erupt over her skin. His eyes were nearly all red, and he looked like he wanted to cause her serious harm. Paralyzing fear, unlike any she had felt before, crept along her spine and she trembled violently.

The two merely stared at each other for several moments. Vera's gaze was full of terror; Amias's seemed almost amused. He let out a short laugh and said, "Brave Vera, cowed by mere words. I wonder...how would you act if I actually caused you harm?"

His hands moved from her shoulders to her throat. She gasped for breath as Amias lifted her bodily against the wall, high enough for her feet to leave the ground. She tried clawing at his face but he dodged out of her reach and laughed in her face.

He moved back a step to get a better grip on her and Vera saw an opportunity. With as much force as she could, she kicked him hard between the legs. Amias's hands left her throat and he fell to the floor groaning.

 "Sorry, Kareem," she called over her shoulder as she fled the cave.

As soon as she stepped out into the scalding sunlight Vera knew something was wrong. The sand was red. Squinting in the afternoon light, she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

There were bodies everywhere - mangled, broken, bloody bodies littering the sand in all directions. Painful sobs erupted from her already aching throat as she stumbled around them. They were all people she knew, workers she had met during the excavation. Good, wholesome, wonderful people whose bodies were now being claimed by the desert they had worked so hard in.

The smell of rotting flesh was unbearable and permeated the air in all directions. Vera retched over and over, incapable of making it more than a few steps at a time without getting sick. She knew at the rate she was moving Amias would catch up to her in no time, but the horror of what she was seeing made it impossible for her to move any faster.

She had thought nothing could be more horrible than seeing the dead bodies strewn across the desert, but the moment they started moving she knew the horror was only beginning. One of the dead men's hands grabbed her ankle and Vera went down face first, her mouth filling with sand as she tried to scream.

"You didn't think you would get away that easily did you?" Amias's voice shouted from a few yards away.

Get up, Vera, she commanded herself. Every second you waste is another second he can use to move closer! Get up, get up, GET UP AND RUN!

Finally her legs and feet caught onto what her brain had been telling them and she kicked out against the dead man's hold on her ankle. She heard a sickening snap and felt her foot slip free of the mutilated hand. Climbing to her feet took more effort than usual with the sand shifting and sinking beneath her, but she managed to eventually stand and sprint away.

"And just where do you think you can go to escape me?" Amias yelled, now only a few steps behind her. "I can be anyone, go anywhere – there is nowhere you can hide, Vera."

She ignored him, concentrating only on running. All she wanted was to find her father and leave this place behind her forever. But as her eyes happened to land on one of the many twisted bodies, Vera knew she couldn't just run away. She couldn't just leave when people were getting killed. She had to fight. She had to do something or she would regret it forever.

The sound of a snort drew her attention to the left. A camel stood snuffling it's nose against it's dead master's shoulder. Laughing in relief, Vera climbed on its back and raced for town. Looking over her shoulder for Amias, she was relieved and somewhat anxious when he was nowhere to be seen.

 ...

Hope you like this chapter! I know it's kind of dark, but that's the type of story this will be. It's a macabre and gruesome fairy tale type story, I guess. Vote if you get a minute, I appreciate it very much!