This is on hold. I have another idea for which I already have at least one writing partner.
The Oasis:
Annie stood naked in the cool water of the oasis, striking a pose with a spear back, ready for release. She didn't typically hunt in the buff, of course. The the nearly 5-foot-long sand goanna just happened to make itself known while Annie was taking her late afternoon dip. She stood absolutely still for almost fifteen minutes, so long so that the muscles of her arm, upper body, and even her legs began to ache to the unmoving tension.
Then, finally, a scurrying sound told her that the animal had shuffled off unseen through some crevice in the canyon's wall, likely not to be heard from or seen for days or even weeks to come. Annie set the spear aside, squatted into the pool, and splashed herself with water, both cooling and cleansing herself.
Being able to bathe again was both a relief and a delight for Annie. The oasis had begun going dry a decade ago, just months after Captain Walker -- his real name was Max -- and 9 of the 46 Waiting Ones departed into the Wasteland. Once again, a prophecy arose predicting Captain Walker's return to the oasis. The Tell was updated to include the second coming of their savior, followed by yet another trek out to Tomorrow-Morrow Land. (The fact that Max had declared that he wasn't the mythologized Captain Walker and was instead the man who kept Mister Dead in his pocket seemed to have been forgotten, ignored, or dismissed.)
A second mythology arose regarding the demise of the oasis. The lowering water table and eventual loss of all surface water was seen by many of the oasis's residents as a sign that they weren't supposed to wait for Captain Walker's return. The Tribe's leader, Slake, did his best to dissuade the others from leaving without their knowledgeable adult guide; they dug wells in the oasis canyon's floor that provided them and the animals they hunted with enough drinking water, as well as water for the edible plants they raised throughout the crack in the ground that was 500-meter long in total length and in places 12 meter deep and 20 meters wide.
But eventually, even the wells began to go dry. The Tribe continued digging them deeper and deeper, but eventually each of them reached bedrock that was impassable. The decision was made to Trek into the Nothing in search of either the Leaving Ones or Tomorrow-Morrow land or, fingers crossed, both.
Once again, though, there were holdouts amongst the Waiting Ones. Some believed the Nothing to be certain death; others believed the water would come back; and others simply didn't believe themselves capable of surviving the trek.
Annie's mother, a gatherer named Gabriella, had been one of the latter. She'd been pregnant, sickly, and injured all at the same time and declared that she wasn't going anywhere. She demanded that her daughter go, though, and Slake had promised that he would ensure her safety. But in the middle of the first night gone, Annie snuck away to return to the oasis, with Slake understanding and continuing on without her.
Annie, Gabby, and six others remained behind, doing their best with what they had. One by one, though, accidents, dehydration, sickness, and/or starvation began taking them; Annie's mother died in childbirth. When the water supply once again couldn't support even the last three Waiting Ones, the final pair residing with Annie began a Trek to the northwest to find the others, leaving her all alone; Annie refused to leave the place of her mother's burial site.
She'd been alone now for almost two years, surviving on what little water she could collect through a variety of desperate but useful methods. Then, three months ago, she woke up to find a small puddle of water where the 12-meter-deep pool had once been. Day after day, the pool got a little bit deeper, wider, and longer, until today it was perhaps a quarter of its original volume, she guessed.
Since the return of the oasis's water, Annie had climbed up out of the oasis at dusk and dawn each day to look for signs of the others, only to find nothing but the Nothing. She dreaded the idea of living here alone for the rest of her life almost as badly as she had the idea of dying here alone. But that was just the way it was going to be ... right?
"Return to Bartertown"
Note:
To join, PM the hostess
Note:
To join, PM the hostess
The Oasis:
Annie stood naked in the cool water of the oasis, striking a pose with a spear back, ready for release. She didn't typically hunt in the buff, of course. The the nearly 5-foot-long sand goanna just happened to make itself known while Annie was taking her late afternoon dip. She stood absolutely still for almost fifteen minutes, so long so that the muscles of her arm, upper body, and even her legs began to ache to the unmoving tension.
Then, finally, a scurrying sound told her that the animal had shuffled off unseen through some crevice in the canyon's wall, likely not to be heard from or seen for days or even weeks to come. Annie set the spear aside, squatted into the pool, and splashed herself with water, both cooling and cleansing herself.
Being able to bathe again was both a relief and a delight for Annie. The oasis had begun going dry a decade ago, just months after Captain Walker -- his real name was Max -- and 9 of the 46 Waiting Ones departed into the Wasteland. Once again, a prophecy arose predicting Captain Walker's return to the oasis. The Tell was updated to include the second coming of their savior, followed by yet another trek out to Tomorrow-Morrow Land. (The fact that Max had declared that he wasn't the mythologized Captain Walker and was instead the man who kept Mister Dead in his pocket seemed to have been forgotten, ignored, or dismissed.)
A second mythology arose regarding the demise of the oasis. The lowering water table and eventual loss of all surface water was seen by many of the oasis's residents as a sign that they weren't supposed to wait for Captain Walker's return. The Tribe's leader, Slake, did his best to dissuade the others from leaving without their knowledgeable adult guide; they dug wells in the oasis canyon's floor that provided them and the animals they hunted with enough drinking water, as well as water for the edible plants they raised throughout the crack in the ground that was 500-meter long in total length and in places 12 meter deep and 20 meters wide.
But eventually, even the wells began to go dry. The Tribe continued digging them deeper and deeper, but eventually each of them reached bedrock that was impassable. The decision was made to Trek into the Nothing in search of either the Leaving Ones or Tomorrow-Morrow land or, fingers crossed, both.
Once again, though, there were holdouts amongst the Waiting Ones. Some believed the Nothing to be certain death; others believed the water would come back; and others simply didn't believe themselves capable of surviving the trek.
Annie's mother, a gatherer named Gabriella, had been one of the latter. She'd been pregnant, sickly, and injured all at the same time and declared that she wasn't going anywhere. She demanded that her daughter go, though, and Slake had promised that he would ensure her safety. But in the middle of the first night gone, Annie snuck away to return to the oasis, with Slake understanding and continuing on without her.
Annie, Gabby, and six others remained behind, doing their best with what they had. One by one, though, accidents, dehydration, sickness, and/or starvation began taking them; Annie's mother died in childbirth. When the water supply once again couldn't support even the last three Waiting Ones, the final pair residing with Annie began a Trek to the northwest to find the others, leaving her all alone; Annie refused to leave the place of her mother's burial site.
She'd been alone now for almost two years, surviving on what little water she could collect through a variety of desperate but useful methods. Then, three months ago, she woke up to find a small puddle of water where the 12-meter-deep pool had once been. Day after day, the pool got a little bit deeper, wider, and longer, until today it was perhaps a quarter of its original volume, she guessed.
Since the return of the oasis's water, Annie had climbed up out of the oasis at dusk and dawn each day to look for signs of the others, only to find nothing but the Nothing. She dreaded the idea of living here alone for the rest of her life almost as badly as she had the idea of dying here alone. But that was just the way it was going to be ... right?