Chapter 4: Chapter 4- Desert Hounds

'Damn this heat.' Ash thought as he sat in the back of a truck driving off-road through the rocky desert. 'I thought I left it behind when I left the Mayan Nation... This is the closest I've been since they shipped me out.' Ash thought as he stared off into the distance. With a few weeks of travel, he could reach the heavily guarded border protected by warriors who would kill him for being an exile. All Ash could do was sigh and try not to think about it. As Ash was lost in thought, he noticed the rocky desert slowly changing.

The rocky terrain cleared up, and shades of green appeared in the desert brown. Ash could even see trees in the distance. But as the small band of trucks traveled closer to the treeline, Ash could see a large wall and gate made of trees and monster bones. 'Whoa, this place must be pretty old. You don't see monsters that big walking around freely anymore.' Ash thought as he eyed the bones lining the wall. Some of the bones were as big as the truck Ash was sitting in. Even the smallest bones on the wall were as large as his own body. 'No wonder the Union wants me to kill this place from the inside. You're not knocking down that gate without some heavy firepower.' He thought as the gate opened and the truck drove in.

The band of trucks Ash was riding with pulled to a stop once they all passed the gate. A wiry old man made his way toward the group when they stopped. "Alright! Fuck outta the trucks!" He called out in a raspy voice. The old man was walking with a cane and a thick book in one hand. The old man's tattered overalls looked as worn as his face did. But once the old man stopped walking, the members of the Desert Hounds grouped up in front of him. "Alright, you fucks know the drill. Keep what you took, or sell it to Martha if you like. Your pay for a job well done will be delivered to you. Now fuck off."   

'Hmm, short and to the point, I guess he's a big shot in this bandit gang.' Ash thought as the group started to disband. Ash jumped out of the truck and took in the sights as everyone started to move. He was instantly stunned by what he saw. He walked to a line of heavy stones that bordered the edge of a massive break in the earth. 'They built a base into a canyon?' He thought as he looked over the edge. 

The canyon was wide, and Ash could see buildings built into the walls with metal cage-like elevators going up and down the sides carrying people. To his left, Ash could see the canyon's end, where it formed a rounded corner. In the corner, at the canyon's floor, he could see more buildings surrounding a small river. 'This place would be amazing… If it wasn't home to bandits, I'm supposed to kill. Now it just looks like a headache.' Ash thought as he looked up and across the canyon. Some bridges connected both sides. On the opposite side of the canyon, Ash could see a group of tents and people walking around. 'This isn't some bandit camp. It's more like a bandit town. Tents over there, but down there, are those houses? Is that a mansion? Those are definitely stores, and that looks like public showers?'  

"All new, guy, fuck over here!" Ash was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the old man's raspy shout. Roxy was standing beside the man with her arms crossed, and Carter was nowhere in sight. "Names Otto. Who the hell are you?"

"Ash," Ash replied simply.

At Ash's reply, the old man started writing in the book he was holding. "So, you want to join the Desert Hounds, eh? Why should we let you, huh? Who are you? Where are you from?" Otto asked.

Ash was expecting a question like this, and he thought up a simple answer. So with a shrug of his shoulders and a scratch of his chin, he starts to say. "After I left the Mayan Nation-"

"Exiled," Roxy interrupted. But Ash ignored her as he kept talking.

"I ended up in the Unity Kingdom doing less than legal work out there. Been about four years now, but about a week ago, I pissed off some pissy little bastards in the Explorers Union. So I came out here to get away from them." Ash explained. It was the best cover story he could come up with since it was mostly true. 

"Unity Kingdom, huh?" Otto muttered as he kept writing in his book.

"Ditch him. We don't need trouble with the Explorers Union," Roxy said.

"Aren't you a group of bandits? Just by existing, you're in trouble with the Union." Ash shot back, causing Roxy to glare.

"Who says we're bandits? You said you're new here. You don't know anything about us." Roxy growled.

Ash shrugged his shoulders and turned to the canyon. "Well, this isn't Bramblethorn, and last time I checked, normal people don't live in cracks in the ground surrounded by bone-covered walls." 

"Alright, that's enough, you fucks." Otto interrupted before the Mayan pair could keep arguing. "Roxy, he's right. We are already enemies of the Union, so his joining won't affect us that way. But he's from the Mayan Nation like you, and if he's even half as strong as you, his risk is worth it. So if he's useful, he stays. If he screws up, then you can kill him yourself." Otto explained calmly.

Roxy clicked her tongue. She didn't trust Ash. Roxy knew only the worst of the worst were exiled from the Mayan Nation. In the Mayan Nation, even killers and rapists were given honorable deaths. Since Ash was exiled instead of killed, she couldn't imagine what he could have done. But she also knew there were no saints in the Desert Hounds, even she was guilty of things that would land her in a prison cell. "If you do anything to harm anyone here, I'll cut off your cock and make you eat it," Roxy growled.

Ash couldn't help but wince at the thought. "Why my cock?" He asked, but Roxy ignored him and walked away. "Alright then, I'll keep my cock away from you!" He called out as the woman walked away. He received a rude gesture in return.

"That's enough. Come on and follow me," Otto said. He walked a short distance to one of the bridges leading across the canyon. "Head over to the 'Tents' and find an open tent and it's yours," Otto said simply.

"Uh? Is that it? Just find a tent?" Ash asked.

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"Yup, now fuck outta here," Otto grunted. The old man then turned and walked to one of the many elevators that lined the canyon wall. "When it's time for you to be put to work, you'll be put to work. Until then, do whatever the fuck you want." The old man said as the elevator took him to the bottom of the canyon.  

'Okay then, joining the Desert Hounds wasn't as hard as I thought. So should I just start killing everyone now? Nah, I'll wait till later.' Ash thought. He started walking across the bridge, thankful for the handrails. 

~R~o~a~O~

'Hmm, reminds me of my training days.' Ash thought as he looked at the rows of tents circling a large bonfire. It reminded him of his childhood, learning to fight and control his Mist with his brothers, sisters, and cousins. 'Now, if only I could forget those days.' He thought with a sigh as he looked around. From a quick scan, Ash could tell at least thirty tents were set up, but not even half were filled. Ash could see people walking around, talking and laughing. But didn't care about them. He didn't want to meet people. He didn't care about the Desert Hounds right now. Instead, his mind was focused on keeping his body from shaking. It had been days since he'd last used an inhaler, and the one in his pocket was calling to him. So instead of walking to the people, he moved to the closest empty tent he could find. 

Ash slid into the tent and zipped it closed behind him. The tent gave him plenty of room to move around and sit in, but Ash paid no attention to it as he sat down on the single sleeping bag. Without hesitation, he slid the inhaler he found on a dead body, put it to his lips, and inhaled as he pressed down on the plunger.   

The effects of the inhaler were instant, filling his lungs and radiating to the rest of his body. The chemicals started to relax his muscles, and the critical ingredient, gemstone shavings, hit his lungs and started affecting his Mist, putting his mind in a daze. Slowly he was pulled into a deep sleep as the Mist swirled around in his brain.

~R~o~a~O~

"Wh-wha…" Ash groaned and coughed as he slowly opened his eyes. His throat was dry, his body was sore, and it felt like someone had taken a hammer to his skull. "W-what happened?" He managed to ask as he sat up and started to rub his eyes. But Ash froze when he finally managed to open them.

"Where am I?" Was all Ash could ask as he looked around. Ash was now sitting in pitch-black darkness. The only thing he could see was a dark green door a few feet away from him. 'Shit, did I die?' He wondered as he sat in the darkness. He turned his attention to the green door in front of him. "I guess I only have one choice," Ash mumbled as he shook off his nerves. He forced his feet to move forward until he reached the door. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the handle and pulled it open. Before Ash could even blink, green Mist engulfed him. "Fuc-" Ash shouted in surprise once the Mist grabbed him and pulled him through the door. 

"What?" He asked no one as he was now standing in the Mist. The swirling green Mist had silver and yellow slivers mixed in as it danced around him. "Hello?" He shouted out. The Mist seemingly reacted to his words dispersing and leaving Ash in a green-tinted world, standing in the middle of an open field. Ash tried to move, but he was stuck. His legs wouldn't budge. So tried to observe his surroundings the best he could. The field was empty, but the more Ash looked around, the more appeared.

The once-empty field was now filled with spike-like objects covered in barbed wire. Ash looked at these objects in confusion, but his eyes widened when the bodies started to appear. Dead body after body on the field, some strewn across the barbed wire, and some in pieces. Ash's blood froze when he saw this. Emotions that weren't his started to fill his body. Fear, anger, sadness, and hopelessness all hit him at once. But he quickly shook them away, trying to focus on what was happening around him. That's when he saw living people appear.

First, Ash saw deep ditches carved into the dirt. Then the ditches were filled with people wearing the same uniforms and holding weapons. 'Who the hell are they? Those uniforms kind of look like the ones those Explorer's Union bastards wear.' "Hello?" Ash called out to these men, but none reacted to his voice. He observed the men closer, seeing the looks on their faces. Some of the men were afraid, fear evident in their eyes, while others had vacant looks empty as they stared straight ahead. 

Ash tried to take a step closer to the men, but before he could move, a thundering whistle filled the air. Ash covered his ears at the sudden noise, and his eyes widened as he watched the men climb out of the ditches shouting as they ran towards him. "Crap!" Ash yelled as he turned to run, but as soon as he did, he saw another group of men in different uniforms running toward him with their guns.

"What the-" Was all Ash could shout as he quickly dived to the ground once he saw the men raising their weapons. Then as soon as his body hit the dirt, the two groups of men opened fire on each other. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Ash shouted as he covered his head.

Ash didn't know how long he stayed on the ground, but another whistle filled the air as he peaked his head. Then a second whistle followed the first, and then a third. 'What's going on?' Ash thought as he stood up to see everyone scattering, running back to their ditches.  

That's when he heard it, it was another whistling noise, but it was different from the ones Ash had heard so far. "What? Where is that coming from?" Ash looked around. The sound wasn't coming from either ditch. So he looked up, and that's when he saw it. A shadow in the clouds. "What is that?" Ash squinted his eyes as the shadow came closer, but the world turned black before he could see it.

~R~o~a~O~

Ash's body jolted awake, sitting him in a cold sweat as he tried to catch his breath. He started taking deep breaths trying to calm his body down. Hallucinations weren't new to Ash. They would often happen when the Mist swirled in his brain. But he could never remember them. He didn't want to remember them. He simply shook off the dread in his body and wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

As Ash catches his breath, a bell starts to ring. "Dinner time!" A voice called out. "Come and get it!"

'I could go for some food.' Ash's stomach started to rumble at the thought. So with one final deep breath, he pushed himself up on shaky legs and moved out of the tent.

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