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It is midday, the scorching sun above your head burns your scalp, the hot sand flying on your face felt like needles
You take a sip from your canteen. The water's barely there. And you know why
Turning around you see your misbehaving red-haired partner sloppily taking a big chug of water, wasting every drop on her shirt
Water you desperately need to survive now dripping from her body and onto the desert you stand on
"Captain... that was the last of our water..." you said worriedly
Marine stops and looks at you, giving a playful smile
"I'm sorry, Anon... I need all the water I could get to keep looking fresh and hydrated!" she said with a smile
You point at her wet shirt
"Was that necessary?" you asked
Marine nodded. "It's how I look good! So you can see my wet breasts dripping with water~ aha~"
You take the flask off her hand and point in her face
"Captain! You just wasted our last chance of survival and for what?! Looking good to impress who?! The entire crew is dead except me!"
"Oh my~ Anon if you're that thirsty you could just... lick the water off m-" before she could finish, you feel your hand moving against her face
You took a second to realize you were making a fist, and another microsecond to see it in contact with Marine's smooth untouched face
Your pent up rage for the whole week had finally blew its load. You stand there watch as Marine kneels on the sand, staggering against your blow and her hand against her bruised cheek
Slowly, she stands up, not bothering to wipe the sand off her face
"Anon... I'm sorry..." taking her hat off, Marine bows and apologizes for her immature behavior
You're not impressed by the slightest and resume your journey, Marine tagging along behind slowly, guilt and shame in her eyes
It's been 8 days since your ship crashed on this island. The journey started innocent as ever. Captain Marine found clues leading to a treasure. A usually easy adventure
But then you were faced with misfortunes. Misfortunes on your captain's behalf
The ship crashed and moored against the island's cliff, because she tried to brave through a storm
On the first day, you lost a quarter of your crew to the island's enraged wildlife, because she tried to sing to cheer everyone up
On the second day, you lost another quarter to a landslide, because she thought travelling on shaky ground en masse was a good idea to save time
On the third day, a few more died of lead poisoning, because she believed making the crew drink from rusty goblets she found in the crypt gave good luck
Day by day, your men died of attrition. Through the jungles, the rivers, and now the scorching wind blasted desert
Your last partner died yesterday, the captain tried to make him drink her urine as alternative to the water she finished. He drowned and was left to be covered in sand
You are the last remaining one. And you do not know how long you'll have before the captain kills you through sheer inadequacy like the others did
You look forward, you study the horizon
Mirages and halos. Not a single sight of your destination. Or so you think
There, for a moment! You swore you saw it! A shrine, half buried in the sand!
The last clue to the treasure you are looking for.
Fighting against the scorching winds, you slowly make your way to it. Your legs sinking into the sand inch by inch with every step
As you touch the surface of the shrine, your legs are already knee deep in sand
This is it. The clues said the treasure can be found here
"Ah! We found it!" you hear your captain from behind
Ignoring her, you inspect the shrine for any sign of treasure
No jewelry, no gold or bronze, not even a shiny pebble. Just a stone shrine with sand covering it
"Anon! I- I think we need to rest first" Marine says as she sat on a rock
As much as you distrust her, she is right. You are tired and anguished. Hungry and grieved. The heat had not been kind to you
Marine rest against the shrine's wall and felt an incline
Before you you could react, you feel the sand beneath you moving. A hole opened under the sand.
You ty to escape the sinkhole and grab onto the shrine. As you feel the sand beneath you washing away like currents in a river, you feel Marine grabbing against you. Holding on to her dear life
The moving sand and her weight were burdening your grip. Your grasp is slowly waning and alas you finally succumbed to the current and sank into the hole
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