Deserted (18 page)

           
“Hmm…I really don’t think I would forget a pretty little face like yours. You
must be mistaking me for someone else, sweetheart; we’ve certainly never met.”
He handed me my drink and continued, “Drink this and rest up some more; you’re
clearly still groggy.” He tried to stifle a laugh as I gingerly took hold of
the cold, clear glass.

           
I cradled the drink in my hands and found myself getting lost in its swirling
waters. How could he not recognize me? Did the wasteland really rough me up
that thoroughly?

           
“I bandaged up your shoulder for you. It was a nasty scar but our panacea
worked wonders. It might be a little sore to the touch but should be healed up
completely soon enough.” Kay pointed towards my right arm and I looked down at
it with heavy eyes. My entire shoulder was bandaged up in gauze and felt
incredible; I never thought I would see the day.

My old
friend sat for a moment and watched me before he stood up. “You must have heard
my name while you were sleeping. Don’t worry too much about it, though,” He
started walking towards the slit in the tent, “things will come back to you in
time. Come on out when you feel up to it.” He suddenly turned towards me, still
beaming the same smile. “Your creature is waiting out here…that white thing
that won’t leave you alone. I think it really wants to see you.” He nodded
towards the world outside as he left and I saw glimpses of
Ponika
as the flaps folded shut behind him.

           
Kay left before I could say anything but with a mouth so dry I doubted I would
have been able to eke out a response anyway. I raised the glass to my lips and
cherished the cold water that rushed down my gullet; just how long did I go
without it? I chugged the water back, not caring about the streams that escaped
the glass and cascaded their way down my chin. It must have been days since my
collapse…or maybe even a week? How far gone was I that they had to give me
hallucinatory drugs? That would have to have been the answer; I was just
imagining Kay, right? It couldn’t be possible that he would not recognize me;
that’s absurd, and how could he not know what
Ponika
is for that matter? Just what happened to him…or what happened to me? No…it
wasn’t Kay. It couldn’t have been. I would never forget his face; how could he
forget mine?

I sat on
the metallic bed for a few minutes, my mind reeling. I wanted to get up but my
head lazed around every time I moved; it felt as though a thousand weights had
been added to it. I slowly inched my body back down under the thin sheets and
closed my eyes, listening to the wind outside and hearing
Ponika’s
frantic hooves on the hard ground.

“
Ponika
…”I called out meekly. I didn’t expect him to hear me
yet a few moments later I saw his head poke in through the exposed slit in the
tent.

“
C’mere
boy…you don’t have to worry.” I reached my hand out
to him and he cautiously came towards me. I wrapped my fingers around his snout
when he finally came near and I dragged my fingers slowly up and down his white
hair, drawing imaginary pictures in my mind. It was the same thing my mother
used to do to me whenever I was sick as a small child; the rare time she
noticed me. I found the idea of it comforting and I mimicked it unconsciously.
I remember I had closed my eyes and continued to draw on his snout until my
energy finally waned and my hand slipped down and lay limp at his side.

*

           
I had finally awoken hours later. I could see the soft light of the moon
illuminate the hard sand outside and saw
Ponika’s
hoofs tap ever so quietly on the ground in a pacing manner. I don’t know why,
but my horse was outside again. I managed to sit upright with little issue and
found myself feeling better than I had in a long time; a little peckish but
energetic overall. As I slid myself out of bed I noticed a few boxes scattered
and tipped in a corner of the tent; someone had been here while I was out and I
could only assume it was Kay.

           
“If that was even Kay at all…” I murmured my thoughts aloud and I noticed
Ponika
stop abruptly in his walk. “Yeah yeah…I’m coming.” I
spoke a little louder this time but
Ponika
made no
sound in reply.

           
I stood up slowly, testing my strength. My legs felt a little sore but it was
nothing I couldn’t handle. I stretched briefly and made my way to the tent’s
entrance where I was immediately greeted by
Ponika
nudging me in my arm. Even in the dim moonlight I had to
squint
my eyes because of the dense darkness that permeated the inside of the tent.
There was a clear sky tonight and the moon shone brightly. With another nudge
into my arm I turned my attention to
Ponika
and
smiled, putting my arms around his neck and hugging him tight. We had come so
far together and I know I owed my life to him; it would break my heart if he
had somehow gotten left behind.

           
“I’m glad to see you too,
Ponika
.” I patted him for a
few moments, still trying to wake myself up as my mind wandered back to the boy
that had tended to me.

“He
doesn’t know either of us...” I had finally whispered sullenly into
Ponika’s
neck. “That must make you a little sad too, huh?”
Kay had always been fascinated by
Ponika
growing up
and treated him like gold. With how much time I spent with both my horse
and
Kay, they would be hard-pressed
not
to become friends. They had been
very close; Kay would often visit
Ponika
in the
corral long before I woke up…and yet now, Kay wouldn’t even look in
Ponika’s
direction.

“I’ll
find out what happened…” I eventually whispered, withdrawing from my horse,
“I’ll make him remember.”

           
“Make who remember?” His voice from behind made me jump. If it wasn’t my Kay
then he certainly sounded the same.

           
“You…” I started, feeling my heart beat faster in my chest. I was no longer
groggy; there would be no excusing this now. I turned hesitantly to face him
and was simultaneously disappointed and relieved to see that it was, indeed,
Kay
Thomes
.

           
“Me? What exactly am I supposed to be remembering?” He continued to smile at me
as though I was trying to play some sort of game with him.

           
“You’re supposed to remember me; me and
Ponika
.” I
spoke to him with a straight face, slightly annoyed at his lackadaisical
responses.

           
“I told you we’ve never met!” He laughed and shook his head.

           
“And I’m telling you we have.” We stared at each other for a few moments, him
trying and failing to conceal another smile. “Just…think about it. Look at me,
square in the face and tell me you don’t remember.”

           
“Oh come on…” He tried to wave me off.

           
“I’m being serious.” I frowned as he looked everywhere but my direction.
“Just…indulge me.”

           
He gave me a sideways glance, studying my expression. “Okay…” he finally
responded, “if it makes you happy.”

           
We stared into each other’s eyes for a few minutes, my heart racing from more
than just nerves. It plummeted when he eventually shook his head. “I’m sorry
but nothing comes to mind. You sure you’re feeling up to walking around? If
you’re still so gung-ho about this then there must be something wrong with
you.”

           
I flared my nostrils in annoyance. “I could say the same about you.” Kay had
never shrugged off my feelings before; what was wrong with him? “What happened
to you, Kay? How did you end up here?”

           
“Nothing happened to me.” He shifted his tone. “I didn’t
end up
here;
I’ve always been here.”

           
“No,” I replied, exasperated, “you haven’t.”

           
His brow was furrowed as he stared at me. “Heh,” he eventually sniggered,
“you’re awfully feisty for someone who needed my help not that long ago.”

“I just
don’t much appreciate being called a liar.” As frustrated as I was, he was
right. There I was, arguing with a man that saved my life. I stared at the
ground before me, hoping my face didn’t look as red as I felt.

           
“Neither do
I
.”

           
I sighed. “Fair enough,” I said after a brief hesitation, “I apologize.”

           
He studied me before finally smiling again and saying, “don’t worry about it;
the wasteland can do crazy things to people.”

           
I stifled a sigh and held my tongue. Why does he keep insinuating that I’m mad?
“What are you doing out at this time of night, anyway?” I focused my gaze
elsewhere, trying to suppress my aggravation.

           
“Oh you know, just making the rounds; ensuring everything is okay. I don’t
sleep much anyway.” He shrugged. “You must be glad I don’t; you’d be wandering
the Outpost all night, wondering how you got here.”

           
“Outpost?”
While I was more interested in Kay than my
own trials I was also not interested in arguing all night. Maybe if he slept on
it something would come back to him…

           
“Yep, this is the Pirates’ Outpost. They’re the ones who found you out in the
wasteland in a collapsed heap; they brought you here and asked me to take care
of you.
Even showed me how.”

           
“…Pirates?” I glanced at him skeptically.

           
“The Pirates of the Sands; they’re always out in the wasteland, looking for who
knows what. Supplies, I assume, as they always seem to have
an
abundance
.”

           
He was smiling as he spoke but he didn’t seem to be joking. Why would Pirates
bring me here? “Why would they save me?” I asked, “Your book said they were
nothing more than bloodthirsty criminals.”

           
“My book?”
He raised an eyebrow at me before
continuing, “I don’t know what ‘book’ you’re talking about but they’re nothing
like that. They provide everything we need to survive here and welcome us to
the Outpost with open arms; that doesn’t sound very bloodthirsty to me.”

           
I rubbed my forehead and shook my head. “But they don’t exist.” I whispered.

           
“Well…apparently they do. I’m not really sure what to tell you.”

           
The people I met in the desert…so it’s confirmed, then; they were definitely
Pirates. Even a young child, though? “They were filling a crate with goods…an
abandoned train in the sands. Why would they do that?”

           
“I’m not really sure; they don’t talk to us.” He shrugged briefly. “I wouldn’t
be surprised if they left random goods in the desert to help out travelers
though, as they seemed awfully concerned about you.”

           
“Me?
Why me?”

           
“Again, they don’t talk to us so I don’t know. Maybe you should ask Nathaniel
yourself; he’s their representative here and the one that brought you to me.”

           
“Nathaniel?” I said his name without meaning to. “Why does he keep popping
up...?” I was speaking to myself, staring out into the sands around me but Kay
decided to try and answer all the same.

           
“I’m not sure what you mean?”

           
“Do you think he brought me to you for a reason?” I finally met Kay’s gaze and
he smiled as I did so. His piercing look, however, made me feel uncomfortable.
If he didn’t know me then why was he staring at me like that?

           
“Again…I’m not sure what you mean. Either way I’m glad he did though.” He took
a step closer to me and I instinctively backed off, bumping into
Ponika’s
snout as he stood closely behind me.

           
“And why’s that?” I wasn’t sure I even wanted to know the answer.

           
“You can never have too many beautiful women in one place.” He chuckled softly
as my skin crawled at his aggressiveness. He apparently doesn’t even know me;
how could he possibly be flirting? My Kay was never like that.

           
“Maybe I should try to get more sleep…” I sputtered the words out as I patted
Ponika’s
muzzle behind me.

           
“Probably not a bad idea.
I do have one last question
for you, though. It’s actually why I came out this way; I was hoping you might
be awake.” I avoided his gaze and nodded briefly; I was no longer enjoying his
company.

           
“What exactly brought you out to the wasteland? We like to keep an account on
everyone who shows up here, see if we can help them any. So…what brings you to
the desert? I can spend the night getting some things in order for you.”

           
I smirked briefly at the coincidence of the very person I was looking for
asking me that question. “I was looking for you,” I said flatly, “…and also my
father.”

           
“Someone
like
me, you mean?” I merely stared at him in response. “Hmm…”
he eventually continued, “…a missing person is not a motivator we get very
often here, but it does happen. I’ll set up a meeting with Chester for the morning,
then; he’s heading a movement to find missing persons. He should know how to
find the people you’re looking for.” I swallowed hard at his words. No longer
knowing what to say I nodded curtly. “Get some rest, alright? Things will be
better in the morning.” Kay clasped his hand on my shoulder before turning to
go. “Oh, your things are in the drawer on the nightstand by the way; I didn’t
want anybody seeing it and getting some ideas. Medicine is hard to find you
know, even for Pirates.” He beamed another smile at me and walked off into the
night.

I gave
Ponika
a quick stroke on his mane and then I hurried inside
the tent. My heart was beating so fast in my chest that I was afraid my
emotions would burst forth at any moment. I was at least glad for
one
thing
that Kay has said so far; I could really use my journal right about now. I
scrambled through the drawer to retrieve it and here I am, but…however will I
sleep tonight with shaking limbs and a racing heart? I’m still lying in bed,
trying to find a way to force my thoughts elsewhere but I know it will do no
good; my mind will not rest until morning comes and I find out once and for all
if my suspicious are true; could it really be Chester?

Chester
is, after all, my father’s name.

           
My sleep was brief and fitful but I did manage to nod off every so often. When
I finally awoke to the bright sun outside I allowed myself to stay up and I
waited patiently for Kay within the medical tent. I had sat on the edge of the
bed, tapping my foot nervously on the ground. I could hear various voices
outside but no signs of Kay. I eventually stood up and started to pace; I did
not have the patience for this. With an aggravated growl I decided to leave the
tent and look for Kay myself and with the sun now shining I would finally be
able to get a good look at the place I had ended up in.

The
grounds of the Outpost appeared to be ablaze in the warmth of the sun, sending
shimmering waves of heat across the land. It was hotter here than the rest of
the wasteland and I gasped in the humid air that embraced me as I left the
tent; I could scarcely breathe at first. I narrowed my eyes and proceeded to
shield them with my hand as I gazed across the Outpost, noticing rows and rows
of tents and small mud houses within my distorted view. The wind blew strongly,
kicking dust up incessantly and blocking my vision of the people that seemed to
freely be coming and going from the few stone buildings that scattered the
area. As I scanned the horizon I noticed a sandstorm far in the distance; in
fact, I noticed it on all sides of me. The Outpost appeared to be surrounded by
a vicious storm. I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or not but I didn’t
really care, either; I needed to find Kay. I searched the heatwaves for him but
I was reminded of a more important friend by a strong prodding into my back. I
whirled around and saw
Ponika
snorting at me,
clamouring for my attention.

           
“Good morning to you too,
Ponika
.”
I laughed at him, inhaling a dust cloud as I did so. “I don’t know why you
didn’t stay in the tent with me; this heat must be driving you nuts!” I coughed
as I hugged him tightly.

           
I stayed with
Ponika
for a while, patting his neck
and hugging him often. I casually untangled a few knots in his mane as I
thought on Kay’s words. I couldn’t possibly be mistaken, could I? After all my
time in the desert, could I have forgotten his face? The name was the same,
though...that can’t just be coincidence. I was so sure it was him last night,
but…what if I
am
wrong? What if something…happened to me?

           
“It
is
him, right boy?” I nuzzled into
Ponika’s
neck as he whinnied in response. “Yeah, you would know him anywhere too,
wouldn’t you? I know you two spent time together when I would sleep in; you
can’t fool me.” I teased
Ponika
and I smiled at the
memory; I’m sure Kay would have been a great rider if he had had the chance.
“You tried to convince him too, didn’t you...” I stared listlessly at the faded
green of the medical tent, slowly patting
Ponika’s
back. If something happened to him…would I really be able to bring him back to
his senses? I had shut my eyes tightly as I thought on what it meant if I
couldn’t. “We’ll get him back,
together
, won’t we
Ponika
?”
I turned to face my horse but he seemed to ignore me, which only furthered my
doubt. What if all of this was for naught?

           
I patted
Ponika’s
back one last time and started
walking towards the homes of the Outpost, exhaling deeply from the unrelenting
heat. I had scanned the distance for Kay but the figures that wandered about
were difficult to make out until I was almost on top of them. I had started to
walk past a small hut when I heard his familiar voice nearby, oozing in
disingenuous sweetness. I turned quickly, looking for him and found him leaning
against a home, chatting rather closely to a young woman who appeared to be
completely charmed by his words. The sight bothered me in more ways than I’d
like to admit.

           
“Kay!” I had called out to him as I wandered closer. He looked up at me sharply
and instantly changed his demeanor as I approached, waving off the woman in a
sudden disinterest. She glowered at the both of us and sauntered off as Kay met
up with me.

           
“Good morning.” A charming smile; one he had been using quite often with the
young lady only moments before.

           
I groaned. “I thought you were hooking me up with a meeting today?”

           
“I am…and I did.” He suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and urged me
forward, down a row of tents and huts. “Let’s go, shall we?” As much as I
missed his touch, it didn’t feel right anymore; he felt like a stranger in a
friend’s body. I withdrew from him and he shrugged amicably. “I’m sorry about
your
thing
by the way; we don’t really want it inside the tent and
munching on things, you know; it might cause a mess.”

           
It took me a moment to realize what he meant. “You mean
Ponika
,
my horse?”

           
“Whatever you call it, it stays outside.”

           
“…you really think my horse is stupid enough to wander inside a tent and eat
needles and gauze?” I gazed blankly at him.

           
“Well it looks the part.”

           
“Excuse me?” I stopped immediately and glowered at him.

           
Kay eventually stopped and turned to look at me. “Woah, calm down,” he laughed
when he saw my expression, “I don’t mean anything by it. Don’t worry about it;
we have a meeting to get to.”

           
“A meeting that you never came to get me for.”
I
replied angrily as I followed him again.

           
“I was letting you get your sleep; there isn’t really a set time for it.”

           
We walked in silence as I did what I could to calm my inner rage. Multiple rows
of tents and houses went past us, all of them looking the exact same as the last.
They were incredibly small; I suppose an Outpost isn’t exactly a family joint,
from the looks of things. I casually watched the homes tick by, moving every so
often to avoid the crowds of people that seemed to pop up out of nowhere in the
blazing heat. Kay often nodded and smiled towards the groups as though he knew
most of the townspeople. It was only when I realized that the young women were
the only ones who smiled back that I became more irritated; since when was he a
womanizer? I had never known a flirtatious bone in his body until this Outpost.