The sun rose, its light gently waking up Karma and Rita.
Ren was already awake, since he had kept watch the whole night.
'It's been strangely peaceful lately…' Ren noticed.
The more they approached the base, the less defiled they would encounter.
And since they hadn't even seen a single footprint, they must be getting close.
"…Is it morning already..? Ah crap, my hair!" Karma muttered to himself before turning. "Rita? Are you awake?"
Rita was very pale now, her lips almost colorless. Her eyes fluttered open, and she barely managed a weak, breathless "Yeah…"
Karma was already at her side. He slid one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, lifting her carefully, like she might break if he wasn't gentle enough.
"We need to move. "Ren said. His voice was flat, but sharp. "She's getting dangerously weak."
"Oh yeah?" Karma snapped immediately. "And why do you care?"
Ren stopped walking and looked at him for a long second.
"I'm only warning you, since you care so much." he said at last. "Either way, I'm right. We don't know how much longer she'll last."
Karma clenched his jaw. His gaze flickered back to Rita's face, to the way her head lolled slightly against his shoulder.
"…Fine," he whispered. "Let's go."
Ren turned and moved ahead without another word.
Karma followed, holding Rita close.
—————
They walked for hours.
No monsters. No screams. No sudden movements beneath the sand.
The desert felt… emptied. Like something had swept through recently and taken everything dangerous with it. The air was cooler now, the sun less aggressive, but that only made the silence heavier.
Ren glanced back.
Karma was sweating, his breathing uneven. Rita's head was resting against his shoulder, her arms hanging limp. Every few steps, she let out a shallow cough, like her body was forgetting how it was supposed to breathe.
Ren turned forward again.
His pace unconsciously adjusting to stay within their reach.
They eventually reached a stretch where the sand suddenly dipped, revealing a wide, cracked ravine. They couldn't see the end.
"Great!" Karma shouted, "Now what?"
"We walk around it…?" Ren said.
The two of them then looked at Rita, and then the length of the ravine.
Karma shook his head:
"We don't have enough time for that!"
Ren looked around for a while, searching for a solution.
"Let's find somewhere the ravine is thinner." Ren said.
Neither of them sounded convinced.
They started moving along the edge, careful not to get too close. The sand crumbled under their feet every now and then, sliding down into the darkness below.
Rita let out a weak cough.
Ren clenched his jaw.
"Be careful," Ren muttered after pulling Karma a bit further from the edge. "If this collapses-"
"I know!" Karma snapped his arm away, before adjusting Rita on his back. "I'm not blind.
————
They walked in silence for a while, and luckily, the ravine did narrow, enough for the to jump to the other side.
"Okay.. go on first, give me Rita and I'll throw her back to you." Ren told Karma as he threw is own bag to the other side.
"Throw- you're not throwing anyone! You'll probably make her fall on purpose!" Karma shouted.
"What cause you got a better plan?!" Ren shouted back, irritated.
"You little shit-"
"Calm down!" Rita forced out of her failing lungs, "It's fine Karma, I trust him.."
Karma looked dumbfounded, he wanted to argue back, but the second he looked at her faint smile, he gave up and handed her over to Ren.
Ren carefully took her, and watched from the side as Karma jumped from one side to another.
"You better toss her carefully!" He shouted from the other side.
Ren walked as close as he could to the edge without falling, and Kamra did the same.
And the he threw her towards Karma.
Rita had become very light, much lighter than a human should be, making it easier.
She stayed in the air for a second or two, before finally falling into Karma's arms.
"I got you!" Said Karma as he embraced Rita in his arms and walked away from the edge.
It was Ren's turn now.
He walked back a bit, and started running towards the ravine, he was still painfully slow.
Once near the edge, he jumped as far as he could, and finally landed right over the edge of the other side.
"Okay, I made it-"
just as he was about to sigh in relief, the ground under his feet cracked and broke.
"Shit-" Ren cursed as he grabbed on to the ledge.
"Goddamn it!" He said to himself as he held on to the edge.
Just as the ground he was holding on to started to crack, Karma grabbed his hand and pulled him back up.
"God, you're heavy!" He said as he fell on the ground after helping Ren back up.
They both lied in the ground catching their breath for a few second, Rita was sitting, holding herself up with Ren's bag.
Ren stood back up.
"T-thanks.." he said his voice trembling just a little.
Karma nodded as he struggled back up before walking towards Rita.
As he picked her back up, Rita coughed hard, Dark liquid splattered on Karma's clothes.
"Rita-?" Karma froze.
She coughed again, this time over Karma's shoulder, as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, thick and darkened.
"Crap-" Ren muttered. "This is bad..!"
Rita gasped, her fingers digging weakly into Karma's clothes.
Karma panicked. "Ren- what the hell do we do?!"
"Run!" He shouted at him, "We're not stopping anymore!"
They took off.
Karma pushed himself harder than before, but exhaustion caught up fast. His foot slipped on loose sand.
He tripped.
Rita slipped from his grasp and hit the ground with a dull thud.
"RITA!"
Before Karma could even kneel, Ren was already there.
He grabbed Rita, lifting her without hesitation.
She was somehow even lighter than a few moments ago.
"What are you doing?!" Karma shouted.
"Move!" Ren barked. "I've got her!"
Karma stared at him, stunned, then ran.
Ren carried her.
Her breathing was ragged now, uneven. Blood stained his clothes, warm against his arms.
"… you look worried." Rita whispered in his ears.
"Shut it!" Ren said, tightening his grip. "We're almost there!"
They ran until their lungs burned.
And then-
"Over there!" Karma gasped, looking ahead.
Ren looked up.
A tall metal structure stood in the desert, much different from the abandoned bases they had encountered before.
Not that it mattered right now.
Ren didn't slow down to think, he just kept running, while carrying Rita's sleeping body.
They reached the entrance gasping for air.
Just as they did, a tall man in a white robe appeared from seemingly nowhere, he was at least 2 meter tall, his robe covered his whole body and some more, and a mask covered his whole face, not showing even the smallest amount of skin.
"Hello, my dear survivors, it seems I have the pleasure to welcome you into the safe base under the protection of dear lady Mythra herself-" He said before being cut off by Karma.
"Cut the crap! We need you to take care of our friend right now!" He shouted as Ren quietly brought Rita to him.
"Ooh, quite the fiesty little thing!" The man said rather extravagantly.
"Come on already! Help her!" Ren followed.
The tall man laughed quietly before finally looking at Rita. After looking at her do a while, he turned away, and walked towards the door.
"My apologies dear survivors, but it seems your friends flame as already died… what a shame…"
Both Ren and Karma stared at the man's back as he walked away.
Ren looked at Rita, and checked her pulse.
He was right.
Rita was dead.
Just as Ren realized that, Karma looked towards him, before running towards the tall man in his white robe screaming and crying for him to help them.
Ren was now alone with Rita's corpse.
Just as Karma left, Rita's body started glowing in a dim white light.
"What the..?" Ren quietly muttered as a white orb escaped from Rita's body it trembled and shakes as if it was about to explode.
Ren's instinct told him to immediately get away from the thing, and so he tried to do, but in vain as the second he tried to follow Karma and the man inside, the orb already slammed against his back, entering his body.
Extreme pain flooded Ren's body before he finally collapsed to the ground, and let his tired body rest.