fter celia had set up camp, she napped. it must have been the warmth in the air, the dry wind, or maybe the cactus-plant gave off sleeping spores? all she knew was that one second she was comfortably leaning back on the backpack studying, and the next she was shocked awake by a bird-like screech and the all too familiar sound of cracking bones. she barely had time to wipe the drool from her lip before the damn thing swallowed it whole.

the sun was still up, and would be for a few hours. she’d be hard pressed to get most of her research done, but it was possible. celia removed her umbrella hat, patting it affectionately as she set it aside. there was NO way she was giving that back. she was quick to start a fire in case things got bad. which, in most cases, they did.

celia leaned forward, sniffing at the thorns. no immediate scent, which was either good or bad. she inched closer, eyes centimeters away from the hardened pinpricks. she could see the most miniscule of holes, with a tiny droplet of liquid. so it had more protection that just thorns, eh? celia nodded to herself, noting that the spikes were most likely poisonous. she leaned closer still, examining the rough leathery skin of the beast.

celia saw someone approach from the corner of her eye and waved her over quickly. “shhh,” she whispered, eyes wide and white. one eye remained on the thorn, while the other flicked to the visitor to examine her. she looked a little travel weary, so celia reached into her backpack – without looking – and handed her a purple vial. “for thirst,” she murmured, her one eye snapping back to focus on the thorn.

celia could almost imagine herself being suck into the puny hole of the spike, becoming one of the cells and traveling through the trap-cactus. she could feel the sun beat down, nourishing and providing energy, water from rain eons ago deep within the earth still replenishing life today, and the life force of the bird just eaten slowly ebb into nothing. celia snapped back, tilting and nearly falling to the side. wow what a ride!

she let out a quick breath, and drew her filet knife. science was fun, but it was also dirty. celia said a quick prayer for the cactus before she planned to end its life. woe filled her heart as it always did when this time came. she cast a sad glance towards the girl to her right, screeching when she saw the vial she handed her. she snatched it, probably a little quicker than she meant to. celia brought her palm to her face, one eye peeking from between her fingers. “did you drink it?” she asked lowly, dread filled her voice. to be honest, if the girl did ingest it she’d be fine because she had an antidote, but being dramatic was fun and she wanted to test her reaction.

elia studied the woman with both eyes this time, being quick to take a mental note. she was a curious one – which could be either good or bad for the both of them. good for celia that she’d have a free guinea pig, bad for visitor having to be the guinea pig. bad for celia that she might reveal too much and lose her edge, good for visitor that she could not effectively poison or incapacitate her enemies. to be honest, she’d rather experiment on the watchers. they were all high and mighty and it was hilarious to watch them get taken down a notch when they couldn’t control their bowels. celia laughed to herself as she adjusted her skirt, attempting to catch the roses that were trying to shrink away. those pesky floral patterns were always trying to escape! she had to pat them down daily to make sure they’d stick. why couldn’t she just have normal clothes for once?

celia nodded to the traveler, taking the plastic vial and replacing it with the purple thirst quenching juice with a sideways smile. “yes, here here,” she ushered. oh a handshake? what was that thing she was supposed to remember about handshakes? celia tapped her finger on her chin as a stale wind blew around them. ah, oh well. earth pleasantries didn’t matter here anyways! “farrah,” she repeated to herself, taking her hand with both of hers and examining it closely. feminine in shape, but hardy and calloused, tell tale signs of a hard worker, someone who got shit done. “you’re a nomad,” celia decided, leaning back into her heels.

she pointed her thumb at herself proudly, “celia, scientist.” As if that concluded anything, she turned sharply and slashed her knife across the belly of the cactus, cringing as it let out a terrible dying screech. celia wasn’t sure how long it kept at it, just that the octave made her brain feel like it was a bag of popcorn, and she could feel her eardrums vibrating uncontrollably until there was an incredibly painful pop, then it just felt like an incredible pressure that made her entire face hurt. hands pawed at her ears and cheeks as everything felt like she was inside of a giant boombox.


celia probably shouldn’t have stabbed it without prepping more, but excitement was the undoing of many a scientist, and she’d be no different. the beastly thing thrashed, its gaping mouth snapping inches from the top of their heads before it shuddered and went limp. celia hollered, taking no care to wipe the blood that drained from her ears. she lifted her knife in victory, hands pumping in the air as the life slowly ebbed from her victim. why was she sad to do this again? getting a kick out of something dying was… psychopathic at best. lets just agree that celia is a VERY strange person.

but now came the fun part! she was thankful that farrah would be her newly appointed desert assistant. from the wound she inflicted, a thick lime green slime slowly oozed, sizzling as it disintegrated the sand beneath them. a few bones clattered out, clean as a whistle. celia gave her new friend a clap on the back. “let’s get to work!” she chimed, handing her plastic tupperware and glass vials to place over the hot burner. somewhere in the back of her head, something told her that the screech it let out might attract unwanted visitors. But in the heat of the moment, she filed that in her “think about later” drawer, which was already over filled with miscellaneous facts and happenings. why spoil the moment?

elia's brow creased as she fought to steady her hand. the woman carefully pick up a hot beaker with boiling water, calculating every movement as she poured the steaming liquid onto the acidic blood of the creature. it smoked and sizzled, sending a plume of gas up in the air. celia leaned back, making sure to avoid inhalation, swinging herself forward once it passed. just as she suspected – it turned gelatinous. whatever chemical compounds this mysterious liquid had was very similar to superacid from the late earth. it devoured organic matter hungrily – but left refined items like glass alone. perfect.

somewhere in the woman’s mind little buzzers rang out, telling her to pay attention to her surroundings. celia came to, blinking rapidly as her mind focused on reality once more. to her right, she could already see farrah had taken a tentative step back, and judging by her body language, intended to leave. the self proclaimed shaman gave her a stern look from over the tip of her glasses, taking a quick hand to wipe crusted blood from her ears and neck. “you are correct, i have dawdled a little too long. i fear that we may have attracted attention – look,” celia waved her hand to the horizon near the drop point. something was awake, and it was fairly large, sending up a flurry of sand in its wake.

she was quick to repack her portable laboratory, measuring out three vials of acid and storing it carefully so the didn’t break. celia had no intentions to die today – and she would be damned to get wounded from making a rushed naïve mistake. it had happened once in her scientific career, a memory she was not very fond of – one where she burned her both hands so terribly she no longer had fingerprints.

celia hefted the backpack over her shoulders, rolling up on the balls of her feet to feel the weight out. she smacked her lips once as she cast a gaze back to the sandstorm that was most likely in pursuit – noting how dry and chapped they were. chapstick would have been a lovely thing to have in this moment, but she’d settle for water and her life. celia stomped out the last smoldering coals of her fire, and bowed once to bless the spirit of the cactus. “i plan to head further east, the land whispers of untold treasures and discovery. uou are free to join, if you choose. you’ll just have to keep up!” She chirped merrily, skipping further into the desert. if there was one thing celia was sure of, is that a desert will almost always have an oasis. and wherever that was, she was going to find it.