Anna didn’t bother looking back at the snake men as she walked down the path leading out of town, realizing that they had never intended on being friends with her in the first place.

Yellow just wanted to sell me like the critters in the cages!

The idea of being sold like an animal caused rage to flood through her body. She clenched her fist and paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Once she calmed down, she started walking again, wanting to put as much distance between her and the snake men as possible.

The red creatures watched her curiously as she passed through their village. A few small ones started to follow her only to have some of the large ones make a long deep sound at them, causing them to scurry away. As she neared the edge of the village, a long deep warbling sound came from behind her. She turned around to see one of the red creatures walking towards her.

Is it talking to me?

The creature stopped near her and gestured for her to follow with one of its lower arms.

Why not? I can always just run away if it tries to eat me or something.

She started to walk to the creature, and it turned and began to walk back into the village. It led her to one of the huts, pulled the hide away from the opening, and then gestured with one of its upper arms for her to go inside.

She walked through the huge opening and found herself in a round room the size of most barns. There was a small fire pit in the center of the room with an opening in the roof above it to let the smoke out. Bundles of hides lay around the room along with large pots made from clay. Near the fire, there were a few hides laid out.

The creature went to sit on one of these hides and then gestured with both of its arms on its right side for her to sit on one. She walked over to the hide and sat down, crossing her legs in front of her. The creature crossed its upper arms and started to gesture to her with its lower arms. She cocked her head to the side in confusion, a habit she’d picked up from Rose. The creature paused and then started to make deep warbling sounds at her.

“I don’t know what you’re saying,” she said in common.

The creature stopped for a moment and then got up. When she moved, it gestured for her to remain seated with its lower arms. She watched as it went to one of the jars, removed a few large strips of dried meat, and returned to the hide. It held one of the strips out to her, motioning for her to take it. She did so, and then the creature took a bite from the strip it held in its hand before motioning for her to eat as well.

The chunk of dried meat was the size of a roast and was so tough she doubted that an actual human could have even bitten into it. She, on the other hand, had no trouble tearing some off with her teeth. It was somehow even more gamey than the fresh pieces the snake men had given to her. She chewed and swallowed it, trying not to make a face.

“Thanks,” she said.

The creature rumbled some. After that, they both ate in silence. She managed to eat the entire thing, a feat for someone as small as her and then patted her full belly and let out a satisfied sigh. The creature made a rumbling sound and then gestured for her to lie down with one of its lower arms.

It’s been months since I slept last.

She laid down on the hide and closed her eyes, falling asleep the moment she did.

Something nudged her, and she opened her eyes to see the creature looking down on her. She sat up and looked around, noticing that a soft orange light was seeping past the hide hung in front of the door and through the smoke hole in the roof. The creature sat, holding a satchel in one of its arms. It passed her the satchel. She took it and looked inside.

Dried meat, another pouch, a sharp rock with a piece of leather around it as well as a rolled-up sheet of leather. These look like supplies!

She looked up at the creature for a moment. It crossed its upper arms and then held up its lower arms, pushing them towards me.

“That means you want me to go, right?” she asked.

The creature made the gesture again. She nodded, stood up, and slung the satchel over her shoulder before heading out of the hut and walking back to the path that led out of the village. She glanced around and noticed the snake men had left before she’d woken up. She sighed and then started to walk out of the village.

A few of the red creatures watched her as she went, but this time no one stopped her as she walked away. The path stretched out before her, winding through the rugged dry terrain.

She walked for the rest of the day before stopping on the side of the path and opening the sack to look inside. She took out the small pouch and opened it. There was a sharp stone and a round one, along with fluffy dry plant matter. She closed the pouch and put it back in the satchel before removing the rolled-up leather. She unrolled the leather and looked it over. Symbols were painted all over it with wavy lines leading to each symbol. She stared at it for a moment before grinning.

It's a map! It gave me a map! Okay, let’s see. It looks like it marked the village right here, and that means that if I keep walking down this path, I’ll reach a crossroads, and then if I go south, I’ll get to another village. From there, I can either go east or west. That mark looks different than the others, so maybe it’s a city. So, when I get to the next village, I have to go east.

She looked at the map for a little while longer before rolling it up and putting it back in the satchel. She got back up, excited about what the strange symbol could be, and started to walk down the path again, wanting to get there quickly.

Over the next few days, the landscape became more rugged and rocky with dark red rocks littering the terrain. She didn’t see another person on the long dusty trail. She did, however, see a large number of small six-limbed lizards. They scurried around during the day and disappeared into little borrows at night.

The lizards were brightly colored with blue, green, and yellow stripes on bright red skin. Out of curiosity, she snatched one that was basking on one of the larger red rocks. The lizard started to hiss and struggle in her hand. She held it up to get a better look at it. It turned its head to face her. Its lower jaw split open, it raised its tongue, and a small tube popped up from underneath, squirting a long stream of orange fluid directly into her eyes.

“AH FUCK!!!” she shouted.

She dropped the lizard and started to wipe her eyes off, smearing the sticky fluid all over her face. The lizard zipped away, darting under a nearby rock. She managed to get most of the fluid from her eyes and then stormed over to the rock the lizard was hiding under and kicked it. The rock sailed off away and the lizard looked up and hissed at her again. She stomped on it a few times, crushing it under her foot.

“FUCK YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!” she shouted as she smashed it flat.

She walked away from the now very dead lizard, still trying to wipe the rest of the goop from her face. After a few minutes of smearing it around on her face, she stopped and scrapped some of the hard rough sandy soil up with her hands before rubbing it on her face in the hopes of drying out the goop so she could get it off.

After a few handfuls of dirt, she was able to get most of it off her face and hands. She started to walk down the path, kicking the lizards when one got near her.

Stupid thing spitting on me!

She reached the crossroads two weeks after she left the village. She stepped off the rough path onto a wide road and glanced up and down for a moment before turning to the south and heading for what she hoped was a village. The road was hard-packed dirt and well-traveled if the ruts gouged into its surface were any indication.

I know I’m not supposed to complain about gifts, but I really wish the map was to scale. Seriously, I have no idea how long this road is. I mean, I could get to the town or whatever it is tomorrow, or I could get there in six months! I mean, it’s probably not six months away, but it could be. I mean, I’m still happy that the red person gave me the map, but I’d really like to know how far everything was apart.

She sighed.

Oh well. I’ll never get there if I don’t keep walking.

The road was long and dusty, and the days wore on. After another week passed, she came across a welcome sight.

OH YES! A LAKE!!!

She walked off the road and headed for the turquoise-colored lake. Steam rose from the water, reminding her of the public baths.

I haven’t had a bath in months!

She placed her satchel near the shore and looked around, making sure nothing would get into her things before diving in. Bubbles started to come off her body the moment she touched the water. The filth she’d been covered in seemed to float away on its own. She swam to the deep part of the lake and used her hands to scrape off any of the grime that didn’t come off on its own before running her fingers through her hair, trying to clean it as best as she could.

The water seemed to help, and she managed to get all the filth from her long curly hair quickly. She swam to the surface where she leaned back and just started to float around.

I’m surprised there aren’t people around here. I mean, a lake this big right next to a road in the middle of a wasteland, there should be a town or even a city right next to it. Maybe it’s the weird smell. I mean, it does smell bad, but still, it's water in a wasteland. People shouldn’t be so picky.

She floated around for a while before swimming to shore, picking up her satchel, and walking away.

She walked the rest of the day, letting herself dry off before stopping to eat some of the dried meat.

Only a nibble. I don’t have much left. Hey, what happened to my bag?! It’s all messed up now!

The satchel she’d been carrying with her for the last few weeks was covered in holes where it had been resting against her skin.

“The lake!” she said.

She examined the damage to the satchel for a few more minutes before shaking her head.

No wonder no one lived there.

She took a bite from a piece of dried meat, enjoying the taste of food before getting up and heading back down the road.

This place is crazy.