Dorian and Aya loaded their supplies onto the hovering speeder that Waylon had lent them. It was early in the morning, the sun low on the horizon. They had to leave early, as the sand-striders would come out during the night.
Since his communicator was still broken, he had to leave without being able to talk to Hex, who had given him direction as to where the indestructible box was located. Apparently, his father had created the box under the largest remaining skyscraper in the ruined city.
He had initially denied Aya's request to come with him, but had given in after an argument where she made him feel guilty for giving her so little attention in the past.
When he finally agreed to let her come with him, she had dressed in an outfit that was similar to a sports bra and panties, connected by straps that held everything tightly together. He wasn't happy about his very attractive daughter wearing something so revealing, though she had argued that the outfit would help with the desert heat.
They boarded the speeder, with Aya sitting behind him and holding onto his waist as he controlled the steering. They said their temporary goodbyes to Waylon and Grace, both of them unaware of what the other had done the previous night.
Activating the engine, the speeder began to move forward, gaining speed rapidly.
***
They traveled for most of the day, the desert sand flying by a few feet below them as they hovered. The desert seemed limitless, continuing on with no end in sight.
The speeder pressed on at a quick pace, the wind cooling them while the bright sun shined down in them.
Hour after hour passed by, and they watched as the sun neared the horizon. Grace had said that if they traveled at full speed they'd reach the ruined city before nightfall, which was proven to be the truth when they were able to see it in the distance just as the bright sky had begun to darken.
"Dad, is everything alright?" Aya asked, feeling the speeder begin to shake.
"I'm not sure, maybe it-" he was cut off when a cloud of black smoke burst from the rear of the speeder, making a loud popping noise. Dorian activated the brakes, bringing them to a skidding stop right before the vehicle fell to the sandy ground.
"What the hell was that?!" Aya asked, hopping off of the damnaged speeder.
Dorian joined her on the ground, moving to see where the smoke was coming from. "Whatever it is, we don't have a lot of time to fix it."
"Do you even know how?"
He opened a panel on the side of the vehicle, uncovering the damaged mechanism. "Probably, I worked on a cargo ship for a few years." he replied, thinking back to his time aboard The Nimbus where he learned many helpful mechanical skills. "Just keep a lookout."
"Fine." She said as she climbed back on, her leg hanging over the open panel as she straddled the seat.
Dorian pushed her leg out of the way, feeling her smooth light brown skin. He leaned in close, beginning his repairs.
For several minutes Aya scanned the mostly empty horizon as the sky continued to darken. She absentmindedly kept her hand on her flat stomach, her pregnancy too early to show. "Uh...you might want to hurry." She said, the sun disappearing completely behind the distant city.
Dorian worked as fast as he was able to, squinting to see in the dim light reflected off of the twin moons.
She glimpsed something in the corner of her eye, causing her to turn her head quickly to the left. Four thin legs protruded from the ground a few meters from them, bending to hoist the rest of itself out of the sand. Rising to its full height, Aya was horrified to see that it stood three times the height of an average human. All four skinny legs led to an oval shaped insectoid body, matching the color of the sand perfectly. It didn't seem to notice them at first, standing mostly still as Aya kicked her father, getting his attention.
"Ow!" He said, looking up from the open panel. Aya gestured to the creature, and Dorian's expression fell when he saw it in the dim moonlight. He immediately went back to work, rushing to repair their vehicle.
Aya watched it closely, hoping that it would keep its distance. Another creature emerged from the sand, closer to their position.
As soon as the repairs were finished Dorian slammed the panel shut before jumping on the speeder, igniting the engine.
The sand-striders turned to them, hearing the speeder lift off from the sand and beginning to hover once more. Walking on their long legs they acted fast, sprinting in the direction of the vehicle.
Gripping the handles, Dorian launched them forward, moving quickly to get away as the creatures advanced on them. Both father and daughter could hear the loud hissing following close behind.
The sand-striders moved surprisingly fast, nearly managing to keep up with the speeder. When they seemed to realize that they were losing their prey, both creatures launched a projectile.
"Watch out!" Aya yelled, causing Dorian to swerve out of the way. Though he managed to dodge the first projectile, the second hit the rear of the seat, releasing a type of acid that burned through the cushion.
They passed many more sandstridders as they neared the city, some still emerging while others were already up and standing. Each one launched their own acid at them, flying by too close for comfort.
One of the creatures stood directly in their path, forcing them to lean to the right as it stabbed at them with impressive force, barely missing them.
Barely dodging the acid projectiles, the speeder finally reached the edge of the ruined city. They kept going, traveling down a street littered with debris as they slowly gained distance from the monsters, no new sand-striders springing up in front of them.
"That...was too close." Aya said, calming herself as they outran the creatures.
Dorian let out a breath of relief. "Now you know why I didn't want you to come."
"But we made it!"
"For now." Dorian replied, sounding grave. He pulled over near a smaller building along the road. "We'll stay here for tonight."
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"Not at all, but it'll have to do."
After Dorian did a quick search of the three story building to make sure it was safe, they did their best to fortify the bottom floor. It looked as if the building had been a store of some kind, completely looted long ago. The only thing that remained were shelves, which the pair used to block the windows and doors. They then carried all of their supplies to the third floor, hiding the speeder in the alleyway behind the building.
Waylon had given them a portable mattress that he had bought from a traveling trader many years ago. Inactivated, it was fourteen inches long and eight inches wide. Aya pressed the side button, and it began to unfold. She dropped it in the ground, allowing it to inflate fully. "Looks like it's only big enough for one person. Guess we're sleeping together." She said, laying down on it's squishy surface.
