Trojan closed the book slowly, soaking in the information she valued. She stood from her chair and slipped the book back into it's rightful spot on her small bookshelf. Trojan scanned the many books she had and decided not to read any. She took two steps and reached the desk in the right corner and opened a drawer. She wrapped her fingers around a small sketchpad and pulled it out of the drawer. She flipped one page and stared at her sketch of the constellations. She blew a strand of pure white hair out of her face. Trojan looked upward, longing to see the real stars, but instead she was greeted by an ugly black ceiling. She wished so much to see the stars that glistened in the light like little gems embedded in the vast black sky or even the green grass she read so much about. Anything but this horrid scenery she had to endure for years on end. She exhaled and dreamed about when she would finally find a way out of her prison.
Victor trudged up the hill tiredly, trying to reach Adrielle. When he finally caught up with her he sighed, "This heat sucks, huh?" he groaned tiredly, "Do you know where everyone else is?" Victor scanned the area. Nothing to fascinating to see. Just dry dirt slowly cracking under the heat of the bright sun. But, even with all the dirt and sand, flowers still blossomed in only small areas.
Opal joined the little group of three, her bag bulging with a couple of fruits and restocked provisions. Advantages of an oasis: water, plant-life, materials. Not to mention the easier meals they could catch, since animals came to the oasis often for water.
"How are we even supposed to do our expedition anyway? The scientist just need sediments from under the desert for their continuation of a theory. The mega-lake under this desert. So we, the sad explorers we are, have to put up with dune after dune for digging and more digging," she ranted.
Adrielle shrugged. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not as bad as the Sahara, you have to admit.” She wiped some sweat from her face and took a drink of water.
"That is true," Victor nodded a bit. "I'm sure you all are just as excited as I am to start digging, right," Victor added playful grin. He readjusted the bag that tugged at his shoulders and motioned for the girls to keep moving, "Here we go," he mumbled a bit.
(WHAT HAVE I MISSED
Sorry I've got exams right now so I'll rarely be on)
Evie stood at the base of a hill, sat down for a quick water break. Lost in a daydream, she suddenly heard voices behind her. She jumped to her feet and turned around, squinting up at the group of three.
"HEY!" she called with a wild wave.
"Hi… welcome to another day on the Atacama desert, we once again, for the billionth time, welcome you to another adventure of… DIGGING IN THE ATACAMA DESERT!" Opal exaggerated, pretending to be an announcer. "Grab your shovel, strengthen your stamina, and prepare to be bored out of your mind for endless hours," she sang. Twirling her shovel, she propped it on the sand using it like a microphone.
I think this desert is driving me insane.
Adrielle snorted. “I’m not excited to dig,” she muttered. “I just need something to do with my life.”
Evie quickly started to hike up to the group, snickering along to Opal's 'show'.
"Here we go again," she sighed as she reached the top of the hill.
Footsteps. Faint little footsteps in the distance. A couple times a day they would echo to wherever she was. Even Trojan had no information on her whereabouts. She only knew that she was trapped. Trapped within her cell to stay there forever. Endless amounts of food and water were supplied to her daily from a mysterious donor that she never even spoke to. But hope flickered inside her anytime those footsteps reached her ears.
"Alright, alright," Opal acquiesced, mournfully lifting the shovel before plunging it into sand. The first plunge always drained the most energy and effort, as if smothering the perfection of sand itself was a sin. The shovel repelled more, one's sore muscles collapsed in pain, and your mental resolve shattered. But after that, all you could focus on was the sweat trickling down and the mesmerizing sand as it parted, loosening and edging away. Like a form of therapy, almost, Opal thought. Training all of the body's focus and energy to a single point, one sand dune, a dig of the shovel, a single grain of sand.
Just as she was working into the swing of the rhythm, a ringing clink of metal hitting solid ran out, echoing over the dunes. Opal analyzed the ground with confusion written over her features. She lifted the shovel and tried a different angle - this time going a little deeper before the same clang escaped. She shoved against it, wondering why there was a container/rock- she met resistance. A lot of it.
(Sorry everyone, I'm dropping out.)
