Paco Valdez

DJ

You need to find somewhere to rest. You can't just sleep on the desert floor, that's like asking to be taken by packs of coyotes.

You press on into the morning as the desert increases it's temperature at a steady pace. After a few hours you have exhausted your supply of water and are still nowhere in visual range of any indications of civilization. A few more hours and Betty, your horse, whinnies and falls to the ground on her side.

You wipe the tears from your eyes and continue to move on. You're going to miss that horse. She'd been loyal to you like no other. Now she's dead and you can't realy find a source of blame beyond yourself. She's dead because of you.

You keep pulling at your waterskin hoping to find another drop, but all to no avail.

After another hour of the sun beating down on you from above and not finding any water, your legs begin to cramp up. You sit down for a minute, just a minute, so that you can work the cramps from your legs. You take a swig from your whiskey flask and nearly vomit. It's all you have to drink but contains nothing that will help you stay hydrated. You work the cramps down to the point that they are almost bearable and try to stand, but find that you cannot. In the distance you note the waves of what can only be an oasis and you crawl towards it. Hours pass and the oasis seems always to be at the same distance on the horizen from you.

You continue to struggle along for what seems like days, but was probably only hours, before you fall on your belly in the sand and curl up into all ball while every muscle and organ in your body seems to harden and cramp up. The pain is agonizingly intense and you are thankful when it ends.
End Of Story