Rashid is 9 years old. He’s an outrider for his clan, collecting straying animals. He finds a set of three goats who wandered off. He notices a storm coming up and finds a small cave. He goes in and settles down. The goats are tied up, he finds a pool, drinks deep, drinks his canteen out. Refills it. Sets out day and half later. Finds his family at the oasis they were supposed to be at. But it’s quiet. Finding the water source, he ties the goats so they can drink. He goes to his family’s tent and opens it. There are the bodies of his older sibs and parents, and grandmother. He realizes they are dead. In shock he looks around the room and discovers that flies lie dead around, and thinks about what would have been the first things everyone did once they set up their tents and watered the horses and animals. //Drink//. He realizes the water is poisoned and runs out to stop the goats, but they have waded ankle deep in the pool and one already looks ill. Angered, he knows he can not trust any waterskin or canteen about. He takes some dried meat, and juice and searches the headman’s tent. Finding the maps, compass, and money, he heads out into the desert.

Rashid yelled at the goats, leather flail cracking over their heads. The idiot animals wheeled around and headed back the way they came.

* * *

Isis hid in the shadows and listened as the men from the exploration group spoke to the council. A cave in off the fifth corridor in the old sector had revealed a new set of rooms. Listening she decided to go visit the rooms, she did not hear as she left the men’s fear of a second cave in.

* * *

Rashid comes out of the cave and wrap his scarf about him. He walks and sleeps and walks some more. He looks at the map, it’ll take him four more days to reach the next oasis he might expect to find people. The just has fermented turning alcoholic is the heat, knowing that alcohol dehydrates you he ditches it. He walks on, another sand storm blows up and he is trapped in it. Driving on, he searches for shelter. He listens carefully for sounds in the wind, of rock hitting stone that might indicate a place to hide. He hears it and heads for it, not sure of the direction but hoping it is the old stone city on the map. He walks through, shielding his eyes until he hears his feet sounds on stone.

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