The following is the first chapter (and second installment) of the story Tainted Sands, which I have been writing for several months and recently began to type. If you have not yet read the prologue, you may do so 
here. Your comments, suggestions, and criticisms are welcomed. Please click the "I Like This" button at the bottom if you've enjoyed this chapter.
Tainted Sands: Chapter One
“THREE WEEKS!?” Alfax exclaimed. He was sitting in a small, wood framed bed. Most of his body was wrapped in white bandages, and he could hardly move. His eyes were bandaged as well, though he was told his eyes worked fine.
“It’s a wonder you survived at all.” The mysterious girl who had been caring for him replied. “The storm nearly ripped you to shreds. The fact that you were merely in a coma and not dead is a miracle.”
“And how did you find me?”
“It’s what I do, my power.” She said. “I was combing the surrounding desert looking for survivors. I felt you nearby, and followed that feeling until I found a patch of sand untouched by the blood. I dug a few feet and hit a pocket of air, where you were unconscious.”
“Wait,” Alfax said, not comprehending. “Your power? You felt me?”
“Yes. So far, everyone caught out in the storm and soaked by the blood inherited a special power. Mine is the ability to just feel certain things.” Alfax was wide-eyed with amazement, not quite able to grasp what Licia was saying. “So what’s your power?”
“I… don’t have one.” Alfax replied.
“Of course you do, you were caked in dried blood when I pulled you out and I know it wasn’t all your own. You have a power.” She insisted.
“Umm… how do I use it?” He asked.
“I don’t know, it’s just come naturally to everyone else.”
“Well I don’t feel any different. Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe it wasn’t the blood.”
“It has to be. My sister can move from one place to another in an instant, my friend can lift a house, the local cripple can fly, the bartender walks through walls, and the blind kid next door can see things far away. As far as we know, they were the only ones outside when it rained.”
Alfax found this hard to believe. Ithacus was a thriving city of over fifty thousand people. There was no way that so few would have been affected. “Only five people in Ithacus outside in midday?”
The girl guffawed long and hard. “You must really have conked your noggin when you got buried in the dirt. You’re a hundred miles from Ithacus! This is Dewport Oasis.”
“What?” Alfax said. A hundred miles? There was absolutely no way he’d drifted a hundred miles. “I’ve never heard of Dewport.”
“It’s not on very many maps. We’re a small town of less than two hundred.”
“Wow… I can’t believe I drifted a hundred miles. I couldn’t have been more than two hours out from Ithacus when the storm hit. It’s just hard to imagine that I got that far in—how long did the rains last?”
“Three days.” She answered.
“Alfax took a moment to process everything he’d just learned. The silence soon became uncomfortable, so Alfax opted for a change of subject. “I never did get your name.”
“It’s Licia.” His savior replied.
“I’m Alfax.”
“It’s nice to officially have met you, Alfax.”
“And I you.”
There was a small “whoosh” and cool air breezed through the room. “What was that?” Alfax asked, unable to see what was going on thanks to the bandages.
“So I see your little boyfriend woke up.” A second female voice, dripping with dry humor.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Licia said sternly. “And besides, where’ve you been this past week?”
“Oh… Just out and about.” The newcomer said dismissively.
“Lute…” Licia began sternly.
“So your name is Lute?” Alfax interrupted.
“Yup, that’s me.” She responded cheerily.
“You’re the one who moves fast, then.”
“I do not move fast, I move far.” Lute corrected. “One step takes me wherever I wish to go.”
“That must be nice.” Alfax said, a smile tugging at his lips. That would have been a handy ability in that desert storm. He could have just stepped straight to Ithacus.
“So what’s the news?” Licia inquired.
“As far as I have heard, the blood only fell in the desert. It seems the gods were gathered here, discussing what to do with Luthicus—he had been cursing them for three days straight—when he grew angry…er… and threw his spear into the heavens, slaying them all.” Lute answered.
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve been to all of the temples, and the priests all say they haven’t heard from their god since the rains. They were all completely befuddled, because, as you know, the gods are very vain and demand praises almost daily. Anyways, the Vanguard estimate that about a thousand were Gifted in Ithacus, a few hundred in the other desert towns, and no one knows how many were traveling in between at the time.”
“So we may be looking at about two thousand Gifted people in the desert?” Alfax asked.
“Oh no, they’ve spread far beyond the desert. I found quite a few in the grasslands of Emmlin, many in various trading posts, and even a man who could change the weight of things in Moir—“
“You went all the way to Moir?” Licia interrupted.
“I can go wherever I want.” Lute reminded.
“Wherever you’ve seen.” Licia corrected.
“Do you remember that trip that Mum took me on three years ago?”
“You went to Enth.” Licia affirmed.
“I said we went to Enth—and we did… on the way.” Lute said with a devious smile.
“How did he make it to Moir in less than a month?” Alfax asked, changing the topic.
“He made the railracer lighter so it traveled faster.”
“Oh… That’s handy.”
“So what’s your power?” Lute asked.
Alfax frowned, then winced at the pain the action called. “Useless…” He muttered.
“He just doesn’t know what it is.” Licia said.
“Oh… That does sound useless.” Lute said. Licia moved to slap her, but with another burst of cold air, she was gone.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find out what it is.” She encouraged.
“Eventually…” He must have drifted off to sleep right around then, because though his conversation with Licia had been in the cool of the night, he could now feel the sun’s rays beaming through the window. Something was going on outside, as Alfax could here the low thrum of voices drifting in through the window. He tried to concentrate on what they were saying, but couldn’t make anything out. Suddenly, a voice boomed throughout the town, so loudly that Alfax could clearly hear everything it said.
“CITIZENS OF DEWPORT: YOU HAVE ONE WEEK TO TRIBUTE TEN THOUSAND GOLD PIECES TO THE RIDER, OR YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES! IN ORDER TO DISPEL ANY THOUGHT OF DISOBEDIENCE, THE RIDER HAS ARRANGED FOR A DEMONSTRATION.”
The thrum of the crowd took on a panicked tone as the sound of hooves thumping in the sand approached. Alfax heard the whizzing of arrows followed by hollow thunks as they reached their mark. The galloping continued, and screams erupted from the crowd. Desperate to know what was going on, Alfax did his best to get out of bed. He ended up falling to the floor, where the resulting pain kept him, laying prostrate on the cold stone. The galloping noise faded off into the distance, and the crowd continued yammering in a fearful tone. Alfax heard a voice rising above the rest, and could just barely make out some of the words as he concentrated:
“People…ay calm… find some… defend…” The other voices were quieting now, so the louder voice came through more clearly. “ourselves against this attack. We will not bankrupt ourselves for this ruffian’s gain!”
“Enough for you to say, Shevan, that thing would go right through you!” A woman shouted.
“Yeah, our arrows just bounced right off of that thing, and who knows how many more there are!” A man joined in.
“That thing killed Melvin! It could kill us all!”
“Which is exactly why we need to fight!.” The first man said. “What’s to say that once we give this Rider what he wants, he won’t come back and kill us off?”
At this point the crowd burst into chatter once again, and Alfax could discern no more of what was being said. The pain of his fall began to ebb at his consciousness, now that it was no longer occupied with listening to the events taking place outside, and Alfax once again succumbed to the call of sleep.
When Alfax next awoke, he was once again in the bed. He felt a damp cloth being pressed against his forehead, its coolness refreshing. “Who’s there?” He asked.
“It’s just me.” Licia answered. “Had a bit of a spill there did you?”
Alfax smiled, “Yeah… What was going on outside?”
There was a moment of silence, then a slow intake of breath as Licia prepared to speak. “This morning, a man riding a massive, decayed beast resembling a horse assaulted our town guards. He didn’t kill them but they’re in worse condition that you were. The healer is doing all she can but their chances don’t look good. The man identified himself as the Rider. He said to gather in the town square at midday or there would be more casualties. When we gathered, another beast rose straight out of the ground, assembling from the bones of long-dead cadavers. The Rider spoke through it, as I’m sure you heard, and then it attacked one of the villagers, impaling it through the neck with a bone! We’ve got one week to pay up, or we’re all dead.”
“What will you do?” He asked worriedly.
“I don’t know… The Bartender wants to fight. A few others agree with him but we don’t know what the Rider is capable of. This could just be the beginning of what he can do, and we don’t know where he is. He could be anywhere within 20 miles of here by now.”
“Can’t the blind boy see far-off places?” Alfax asked, an idea forming in his head.
“Yes…” Licia said, her tone indicating that the same idea was becoming apparent to her as well.
“And he can tell Lute where to look for him. Can she take people with her when she ‘steps’?”
“Yes, but only one, and it tires her, as if she’d run the whole way with the person on her back.”
“Ok, so she takes you, but stays far enough away so you can remain undetected.”
“Why me?” Licia asked, perplexed.
“Because you sense things,” Alfax replied. “You might be able to find a weakness.”
“Oh!” Licia exclaimed in realization. “That just might work!”
“Yeah, and once we know if he has any weaknesses, we can organize the villagers. Your blind friend would watch the Rider to make sure he doesn’t pull anything fishy, and Lute can ‘step’ between the different groups to keep everyone informed.”
“Alfax, you’re a genius.” Licia beamed.
“Why thank you, I do believe I am.” Alfax replied.
Once Alfax had explained his plan to the villagers, they readily agreed it was the best form of action. They got right to work, spending the next few days in preparation. The Blacksmith used the blood-red sand to craft glass darts; the Bartender donated his firewood for the making of bows and arrows, and a villager shaved his camels, using the hair as bowstrings.
Lute and Licia’s expedition yielded the knowledge that the Rider was blind to his surroundings when controlling more than one minion. She had even tapped him on the shoulder while he was watching the village through his fell-beast’s eyes.
All work was done indoors and at night, so the Rider could not see what they were up to. Lute had been warping people one-by-one to a small encampment, far out in the desert, behind the Rider’s position. Only ten were moved, so the Rider would not notice their absence. On the sixth day, the villagers of Deqport Oasis rested. The seventh, however, would not be so peaceful.
Contents
[color=grey]Other chapters can be found here[/color]