Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Lucky Rabbits Foot ❯ Blacky: The Long Red Desert ( Chapter 1 )

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By: Ayuru

Lucky Rabbits Foot

The sandstorm blew harder as I ran, squinting as the salty iron tinted grains of sand flew around me. I couldn't see the stars anymore. That was a bad sign. A very bad sign. They said, that if you couldn't see the stars, then it was because the spirits of the desert were angry.

It was getting thicker, if I didn't find somewhere to hid soon then the salt in the sand would dry me out and I would die of thirst. My mouth was already dry.

Course, I didn't believe in spirits. Maybe, the world had a mind of its own, a way of doing things, maybe the universe speaks to us, by what it does, and we speak back, by what we do, but I didn't think the desert was mad at me. What did I do? All Iv don't was stop at a water hole. The water was so good.... I had a bottle of it with me, it was so good....

I reached for my water pouch, I wouldn't dare open it, I didn't want to get sand in it. But I was getting thirsty, and I could barely see infront of me. My long, gray furry ears were getting filled with sand. It was beginning to hurt, my tail was dragging back a fourth behind me, aching from hours of running. My paw-like feet were raw and sore, despite the large calluses on them.

I was now totally blind, I saw running with my eyes closed, not that I could see through the thick torrent of red sand. Maybe I was cursed, maybe the spirits were angry. I don't know, Il think about it later, run now, think later. I coughed. Damn my throat hurt. I needed to get out of here.

I had to get across the desert, she could die. My poor sister... she could die... I cant let that happen, I wont. But god damnit, one sip of water, that's all I ask, please. The wind was dying down a bit, but the sand was raging against my skin, which was begging to sting. I pulled my goggles onto my eyes, they had been scratched to hell by the wind, but atleast it would keep my eyes from hurting.

My ears waved back as I sped up. It as freezing, but I had enough fur to stay warm. But my ears were cold. I pulled my bandana over my mouth, still thirsty. Had to keep goi...

I blacked out. I knew I would die. And I knew my sister would to. Slowly, painfully. I had to save her. But I was dead. Then what was this thing I was hearing?

“-ought he'd be alittle stronger, I was testing him.”, whispered a raspy voice...

“You could have killed him!”, I heard another one say.

“He'll be fine. What doesn't kill him makes him stronger, I was doing him a favor.”, whispered the first voice again.

Everything hurt... especially my skin. My skin hurt... and my ears... and my throat. `Water...', I heard my mind whisper. “Here ya go, some water, drink up now... drink up...”, a warm hand pressed on my chin, so Im not dead. I opened my eyes as I took a long swig of water.

What I saw made me smile. He had a beautiful smile. He looked like he didn't have care in the world. A long black slab of cloth draped from his neck, covering his naked back, leaving his chest and arms bear. He had a belt around a pair of heart-spotted boxers and a pair of gloves on. He had a metal headband on his forehead, tipped on its side, accenting an attractive red scar reaching under his left eye, which was a wonderful shade of gray. And a black and white hat with little angle and devil wings coming off the corresponding colors.

“Blacky.”, he said, as I drank up the water, “I found you in the desert when I was out to see the damage the storm left behind.”, I guess he was trying to bypass the awkward `who are you' stage of the rescue. He lowered the water.

Don't sit up, your pretty badly hurt, he said as I was about to jack myself up. Ow.... I was hurting all over. I was naked. I was hurting, but it felt nice to have a bed under my skin and some sheets on top of me. The pillows were soft. I wanted to go back to sleep, my tired ears lay floppily above my head. “Are you hungry?”

“N-” I coughed. “No... w-ater....”, I rasped he raised the water to my lips again. I just noticed my eyes were closed again, they were hurting... but I opened them anyways. Blackys face was serious now. Not how I had seen it before. He lifted the sheets off my torso gently. I was in bad shape. I had patches of hair missing, the wind and the sand had don't a number on me, I had scars and scratches all over, and there was hair molting off me, all over the bed.

He reached over to my left, I couldn't see that far, to tired, but came back with a lump of creamy white something on his fingers. “This will sting, allot, please don't hate me.”, he spread the lotion on my skin. God that stung. But I didn't even grunt. I gritted my teeth, but I remembered now, I had to be strong. I had to run the desert, into the black smoke under the mountains and save my sister. That's all I knew.

It was stinging all over now, badly, like there were pins in my skin, but it felt good in a way, under the pain I could feel my body healing. “Than-k y-yo-you.” I said, my voice was healing aswell. He smiled. “I cant let you walk just yet, in a few hours, when the muscles in your feet unknot, I can let you up. “And before you say it, no, you don't have to be strong. You have to be weak, cause being strong would mean hurting yourself, and you will have to stay in bed longer.”, he was walking away. Damn this kid was good.

* * *

So I was weak. I found out allot about Blacky. He said his real name was Tibbs. He said, “Tibbs, for my mothers sir name, Blacky, for my brothers middle name, Caine, for the spirit of the desert. Tibbs Blacky Caine.”, he said that he was born without a father, and his mom died when he was two. His big brother took care of him, till he died, when Blacky was ten. He'd been living in the desert, so he could be with the only one he had left, the spirit of the sand, Caine. And that, for a long time, he's had people come to him from the desert. They would come sick, sleep, eat, revive themselves, and leave. Some died, some didn't, some were found dead in the sand, as bones, outside his house. The reason he wasn't afraid was because of this “The desert gave me life, let me live here, the desert may take their life. Its his choice, nothing to bed sad about, because the desert always has a reason.”

I smiled, we were sitting at his window, staring into the oblivion. The desert was beautiful when you saw it like this. “Thanks.”, I said to him as he smiled out, “for everything.”. His boxers were so funny looking, he said he wore them cause they were warm at night and cool in the day. “No prob. I like you. I hope the sand does to.”, he smiled, what a sweet guy. I was naked at the moment, cause my cloths were soaking in the laundry pool, it was nice and cool.

I have to get running.

“Hey Blacky. Why don't you come with me.”, he quirked an eyebrow. “Running. Im gonna get my sister. Im gonna live with her. When she's old enough, Il leave. And Im gonna run. Across the desert. Up the mountains. Through the black smoke. To the sea. Then Il keep running. Il run everywhere. To faraway places. Why don't you come?”, he smiled. “Id like that. Lets do it.”, he smiled. I smiled. So we started to walk.

“People say, that when you cant see the stars, the desert is angry with you. When I was running, I couldn't see that stars.”, he chuckled. “Maybe the desert doesn't like Rabbits.” I am a Rabbit, arnt I. I had stopped paying attention to what people were. My long wooden staff on my back, I started to run, Blacky panting to keep up. I cracked my tail at him. “Hey Blacky!” I yelled, “Your gonna get mighty good at running!”

* * *

So he and I ran, and we ran, and we ran. We didn't do much but running. First I was slow, so Blacky could keep up, but then we sped up. And we ran. And we talked. “You know, that's not true, what you said. If you cant see the stars, its a blessing, that's the desert, taking you into its bossism, so next time that happens, don't worry. And we ran.

And ran.

Till the black smoke under the tall mounts came into view. And I stopped.

“You OK?”, he asked me. I was panting hard, not from the running, I never pant from running. I was scared. I never thought about this anymore. The black smoke, that was where my little sister was. But.... I didn't want to go there. When I was told she was there, I got exited, because... well.

I opened the think letter in my hands. “She's mine. If you want her back, then you have to kill me.”, kill him? Iv never killed anyone. Iv never fought anyone. Iv never even hated anyone before.

I shivered.