Ren didn't remember getting back on his feet, special thanks to the adrenaline.
One moment, the shot echoed like thunder behind him, and the world tipped sideways. The next, he was dragging himself across the cracked earth, clutching the stolen map so hard that he could have torn it into bits.
He was running once again. This time it wasn't from a rock that made his entire body tremble, or from an army of bounty hunters. It was from one, greedy bounty hunter with the accuracy of an assassin.
His ears rang, his breath burned and every muscle felt like they were tearing away. His head was pounding with every racing heartbeat. The plains stretched endlessly before him and the sun spared him not. But he had to keep going.
He lifted his head up. In the distance, crooked rocks stood like large teeth jutting from the earth.
"Good," Ren murmured, or rather rasped. His throat was too dry to give a clear voice.
He forced himself forwards, dragging one trembling foot after the other. His vision was blurring with every hard step. Sweat dripped from his hair and face. A line of sweat dripped down to his cracked lips. He winced; it stung like pepper over a wound.
He turned when he heard a faint crunch. He didn't want to look back, not when he knew the Gunman was still out there.
The sun slowly descended into the horizon. Ren staggered toward the rocks, shielding his eyes from the glare of the sunset. A faint breeze passed and his skin stung.
As Ren drew closer to the jagged rocks, he saw a silhouette slip between the stones.
Ren froze, reaching instinctively for a weapon that he didn't have.
"Who's there?" Ren said, weakly, picking up a rock.
A figure crouched beside one of the crooked rocks. It stood up as Ren approached. It was a young girl older draped in rough cloth and a tattered shawl. Her eyes were bright, too bright for this hopeless wasteland. She held a curved staff made of twisted root wood.
"Don't hurt me, please," she said, sniffling.
Ren appeared at the side of the rock.
She tilted her head at him. "You don't look good."
Ren almost laughed, but it came out as a croak. "Thanks… for the update, but I'm okay."
"No. You are sick, and…" she glanced around as if being weary of something, "... you shouldn't be here alone."
She walked toward him cautiously, like she was approaching an injured animal.
"I'm fine. What about you?" Ren asked, panting.
The girl looked away, sadness filled her eyes.
"I've always been alone since the Golden Seat killed my parents."
Ren blinked hard trying to hold his vision.
"Do you know where I can get water?"
"The only source of water out here is at Oasis."
Ren looked at the map and turned it for her to see. She squinted at the map and pondered for a while.
"I don't think that is it."
"What do you mean?"
"The real Oasis isn't known. People have died finding it and the Golden Seat protects the only reservoir of water here and call it Oasis but it isn't."
"What is the Golden Seat?"
"Big, wicked people that control the entire land. I hate them. They take whoever they like and kill those who they don't."
Ren's eyes widened.
'That sounds like some people I know.'
His legs suddenly gave out, and he stumbled forward. She caught him with surprising strength.
"Let me help you."
She led Ren past the rocks to the other side.
"Were the Golden Seat after you too?"
"Yes," Ren coughed.
""But did you do something wrong?"
"No… I don't know."
She smiled. "You don't look like someone who is evil."
Ren couldn't find the strength to reply to her. He was drifting away from life.
"My parents used to tell me that the real Oasis is magical. It is cool to drink and can heal wounds. But people say it can be poisonous too if you drink from the wrong side…"
Ren was silent while the girl did all the talking as she led him past the jagged rocks. The huge rocks were behind them and a wide sandy plain ahead of them. Ren cussed under his breath with the little strength he had left. He felt life evaporating out of him with every harsh step he took with his new guide.
"Hey! Stop right there."
Bang!
The shot chipped off a part of the rock ahead of them. The girl flinched. Ren twisted around too fast and fell to one knee. The girl helped him back up on his feet.
The Gunman limped into view, half-slumped against a boulder and breathing heavily. His face was pale. His right shoulder looked limp and his entire cloth was soaked with dark, crusted blood. The gun was clutched in his trembling left hand.
"Boy…" he said, panting like a dying beast. "You… y-you think you can just run away and escape?"
He tried to raise the gun higher, but he couldn't.
The girl stepped in front of Ren, blocking him from the weak aim.
"Step out of the way!" the man grunted.
The girl shook her head. Ren tried to keep his gaze on the bounty hunter who had come to claim him, but failed as his eyes were losing the strength to stay open even for a second.
"If you let us go, I can show you the real Oasis."
The girl offered as Gunman advanced.
He paused at the sound of her words, then he laughed after weighing her words for some seconds.
"Like I don't know where Oasis is?" he scoffed, "We are heading there now. When we get there, I'll hand this heretic over to the Golden Seat myself. I'll get more money if you come with him."
The girl's eyes shot open with fear as he advanced. He clearly didn't give two cares about her or whatever she offered. Ren clenched his fists. The thought of being dragged back in chains and being owned made him angry. He managed to throw another angry stare at Gunman.
"You don't have a choice," the Gunman spat. "Your bounty is worth more than your damn life. And I can't let you waste such."
Ren looked at the girl. "You should leave," he whispered weakly in a hoarse voice.
She frowned. "Why?"
"Because I don't want you to get hurt."
Her expression hardened. "I'm not leaving you. I have nowhere to go."
"Off to the Oasis, young lass," Gunman interrupted their side talk.
The girl hung Ren's arm over her neck, supporting his weight on her, and walked on. The Gunman trailed behind them with his gun pointed at the back of their heads.
After a few torturing minutes of trudging in the raging heat, they finally came to a halt. About three feet away from the trio, there were three golden turrets surrounding a steep hole in the ground. The turrets activated, directing a red beam at them.
"Hold it right there! Fall before the Golden authority and tell us who you are."
Ren struggled to look up at the soldier in golden armour who was now approaching them.
Gunman fell to his knees and dropped his gun on the ground.
"Hail the Golden Seat," he bowed.
The girl supported Ren down to his knees and they bowed.
"Who are you? And what do you want?"
"Castor Elmer. Bounty hunter," he slipped out a folded parchment from the back of his coat, "and I've brought the heretic you sought," he gestured at Ren.
He shoved the parchment at the soldier's face.
The soldier snatched the paper and scanned it, his eyes shifting from Ren to the bounty hunter.
Convinced that Ren was the guy in the picture, he turned to the turrets.
"The heretic has been caught! Bring the rewards."
The turrets deactivated and three more soldiers marched out with a bag and a goatskin in their hands. They handed them to Castor. He jiggled it with a wide grin and nodded, then took a gulp out of the goatskin and exhaled in relief.
The men grabbed Ren and the girl. Castor hung the goatskin over his shoulder and smiled as he picked up his gun. There was something about his smile that said he had something else up his sleeves. He always did.