Breathless, he dropped the bloodied rock and staggered back, chest heaving. Bits of shell and grey ichor clung to his hands and arms. The creature twitched once, then stopped moving.

For a few seconds, none of us spoke. The only sound was the rasp of our own breathing and the ever-present hum of the desert wind.

Then, without missing a beat, Henry turned to me, wiping his arm on his shirt.

 “What the hell did you do to make it that angry?”

I chuckled, unsure what else to do. "I don't know, ask the bug."

Ignoring my joke, Benjamin leaned in closer to get a better look at the thing. Pushing the rock off the bug revealed a surprisingly intact body. However, its carapace on its head was caved in, with greyish liquid seeping out between the cracks.

"Can you carry it over?" Ella asked, motioning to a nearby rock.

Henry, appearing a bit squeamish, quickly declined the task. The rest followed suit, sharing a collective reluctance to touch the creature. Sighing deeply, I relented, picking up the lifeless bug by one of its legs and carrying it over to a rock that Ella had designated.

"Can I also have your knife?" Ella requested.

“Sure”

Handing over my knife, I watched as she, with Benjamin’s help, started dissecting the bug. The exoskeleton was surprisingly tough, making me wince every time Ella used the knife like a hammer to try to and crack it open. You're going to dull it, I thought, grimacing with each whack.

After a few more determined strikes, they finally managed to break through the hard outer shell, revealing the bug’s inner workings. Benjamin took over, his hands steady as he carefully peeled back the layers, identifying muscles and organs that looked vaguely similar to Earth’s creatures. But as he went deeper, he found something unfamiliar – a sac, tucked near the center, that seemed to pulse slightly.

When he made a small cut into it, a stream of liquid poured out.

"Is that… water?" Owen asked, eyes wide as he leaned in, fascinated.

Henry’s face lit up with excitement. "I think it is!"

Ella, ever enthusiastic, chimed in, "That makes sense! Camels have water sacs, too, right? It’s how they can go without drinking for so long."

Emily, who had been watching silently, raised an eyebrow. "Actually, that’s not how it works at all." She crossed her arms, her tone carrying a hint of authority. "Camels don’t store water in a special sac like people think. They store it in their bloodstream, in their red blood cells. It allows them to survive long periods without water by maintaining hydration internally."

Ella blinked, a frown forming. "Wait, really? I thought it was a water sack or something in their humps."

Emily shook her head, clearly in her element. "Nope. Their humps are mostly fat reserves. It’s a common misconception. Camels are efficient at retaining water, but they don’t carry it around in a pouch like people believe. They’re just really good at regulating how they lose water. That’s how they survive in the desert."

Ella still looked skeptical. "So, they don’t have a special way to store water? What about how long they can go without drinking?"

Emily gave a small smile, her patience showing. "They can survive for weeks without water, but that’s because they can lose up to 25% of their body weight in water and still function. When they do drink, they can gulp down about 30 gallons in one go. But no water sack. Trust me, I’ve read about it."

Ella paused, clearly absorbing the new information. "Huh... Okay..."

With the crucial question looming, I cut in. "So... is it drinkable?"

"We’ll have to test it," Benjamin said cautiously, "but it looks clean enough. We can’t be sure yet if it’s safe."

Ella nodded, still a little thrown by Emily’s correction but eager to help. She pulled out an empty can from her bag and carefully poured the liquid into it. "Better safe than sorry," she muttered.

Owen eagerly watched as she did so, wincing at each spill of water.

Ella sifted through her bag, retrieving a box containing various substances. She placed a small, silvery rock on a smooth surface and proceeded to pour the liquid onto it. To our astonishment, the mixture began to sputter and dissolve.

Ella confirmed the result with a grin. "Congrats, it's water!"

"What was that metal?" I asked, somewhat intrigued.

"It's a sodium mixture. It's highly reactive with water," Ella explained.

"That's pretty cool," Henry commented.

"All that's left to do now is to drink," Ella said, her voice carrying a hint of determination.

Before anyone could protest, she brought the container to her lips and took a hearty swig. We stared at her in shock as her eyes narrowed slightly, tasting it. She paused, swished the water around in her mouth, and then swallowed.

Finally, she pulled the container away, smacking her lips thoughtfully. "Hmm…It's... earthy… and a bit stale… But hey,  it’s water," she declared with a shrug, wiping her mouth.

"Ella! You can’t just drink that, even if it’s water. Think of the diseases," Benjamin scolded, his tone sharp with concern as he stepped forward, his brow furrowed in worry.

Ella just gave a small, reassuring smile. "I know, I know. But we don't exactly have choices out here. Better to risk a bit of weird water than dehydration."

Benjamin, while still concerned, understood her predicament, "I get it, but just be more careful next time, alright?"

Ella agreed, albeit with a hint of nonchalance, "Well, I guess we'll see if I get sick."

Amelia was quick to suggest we make the most of our newfound resources. "What about air-drying the meat?" she inquired, glancing at the creature.

Henry nodded, considering Amelia’s idea. "It’s hot enough out here, so as long as we keep it in the sun, it should dry out just fine."

With that plan in mind, we spent the rest of the day scouring the area for any additional resources. As we worked, a thought occurred to me about how we might find more of those bugs. Remembering my earlier encounter with the hollow rock, I decided to share the idea with the group.

"Hey, I think I’ve got an idea on how we can find more of those bugs," I said, catching everyone’s attention. "When I was checking out that rock earlier, I noticed it’s hollow inside. I tapped on it with a small stone, and that seemed to draw one of the bugs out. Maybe we can use the same method to coax more of them out."

Ella’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Sounds like a plan."

I pulled the small rock from my pocket and approached one of the larger rock formations nearby. "It’s simple," I explained, "Just tap in a rhythmic pattern, like this." I demonstrated by tapping the rock, the sound echoing faintly through the hollow space beneath.

The others gathered around, watching closely as I continued tapping, the rhythm steady and deliberate. For a while, there was nothing – just the echo of the taps and the soft rustle of the desert wind. I kept at it, determined, even as the seconds stretched into what felt like minutes.

Just as I began to wonder if the method would work again, a faint movement caught my eye. It was subtle at first, just a slight twitch in the shadows of a crack. I continued tapping, and gradually, more movement followed—small legs and antennae slowly emerging from the crevices in the rocks. The bugs were cautious at first, but eventually, they began to creep out into the open, drawn by the persistent rhythm.

Using this method, we managed to coax out two more of the ant-like creatures, along with a smaller beetle-like one. Unlike the others, the beetle didn’t seem to have the same water-storing ability, but it was another source of food, and we weren’t about to be picky.

We set up some rocks in the scorching sunlight to cook the bug meat, the heat quickly working its magic. As the smell of cooking filled the air, we kept a close eye on our meager supplies, making sure to stretch what little we had as far as it would go. The heat was relentless, but there was a quiet satisfaction in knowing we were making progress, however small.

As we sat down to rest, Amelia voiced a concern that had been on all our minds. "These bugs still don’t provide us with everything we need. With the amount of food we have at the moment, it’ll last us at most a day and a half."

Ethan, who had been surprisingly quiet the past day, leaned forward with a thoughtful look. His tone was calmer, less sharp than usual. "Any chance we’ll find more rocky terrain? Seems like the best place for bugs."

Amelia glanced toward the horizon, squinting as if she could will the terrain into something more promising. "Hard to say for sure, but it does look like we’re heading toward rougher ground. There are a few more rocky spots in the distance we could check out. It could be good for a camp."

Emily, always ready with a bit of optimism, nodded in agreement. "I noticed the same. If we keep hitting places like that, we might actually find enough to keep moving. Plus, it gives us a goal to aim for, right?" Her words carried a certain hopefulness, a rare comfort.

Henry paused thoughtfully, his eyes drifting over the drying strips of meat as he considered our options. "If we manage to catch at least two more of those creatures," he began, gesturing toward the drying meat and continuing, "we could stretch it out for another two days. As long as we keep catching more before we run out, this should sustain us for a while."

A quiet agreement was settled between us. The heat was as unrelenting as ever, our exhaustion growing with each passing hour, but having a plan, however fragile, was enough to keep us moving.

Shortly after, we packed up and set out toward the next rocky outcrop, falling into a familiar rhythm. The days blurred together as we searched tirelessly, flipping over stones and testing the ground for signs of holes. Our bodies ached, and the desert stretched on endlessly, but we kept going. The rocky formations offered just enough shelter to sustain our hunt – never enough to make us feel secure, but enough to keep us alive.

It was during these days of endless trekking that Ella began documenting our surroundings. With the salvaged notebook in hand, she recorded everything: landmarks, potential food sources, and strange animal behaviors. Benjamin, who was surprisingly skilled at art, helped her sketch rough yet detailed illustrations of the creatures they encountered. The drawings added a strange sense of permanence, as if we were carving out proof that we existed here, that we were learning and adapting.

The small journal became our record of survival, a growing collection of knowledge about the land around us.

Then, on the third day, something changed.

As we reached the crest of a small ridge, the land before us shifted. Against the horizon, jagged peaks of a distant mountain range rose like the teeth of an ancient beast, their sharp silhouettes cutting through the haze.

We stopped in our tracks, staring in disbelief.

"Hell yeah! Tell me you see that!" I blurted out, hardly able to believe my own eyes. It was the first sign of real progress in days.

Henry, standing beside me, let out a low whistle. "Don’t worry, you’re not losing it, Atlas. I see them too." His voice held a rare tone of optimism, something that had been missing since we’d begun this journey.

The sight of those mountains was like a mirage, but this time, it wasn’t a trick. It was real, and the hope it stirred in us was almost palpable. My legs were screaming, my throat dry as sandpaper, but seeing that range on the horizon gave me the push I needed to keep going.

Amelia nodded, her eyes reflecting that same glimmer of hope. "Let’s not waste any more time. We can rest once we get there.”

With renewed determination, we pressed on, quickening our pace. The rocky terrain began to take over the barren desert, giving us firmer ground to walk on. Every step brought us closer to those towering peaks. The jagged edges of the mountains loomed larger with each passing minute, standing tall like guardians, promising shelter and relief from the relentless sunlight.

But just as that sense of progress began to take hold, I noticed something strange. Peering into the distance, the dunes ahead seemed to move, almost as if they were alive. I blinked, thinking it was a mirage, a trick of the heat. I took a quick swig of water, trying to shake off the creeping delirium.

When I looked back, the illusion had solidified into something far more real. The dunes were rising like something massive was stirring beneath them. A heavy weight settled in my chest as the ground beneath us began to quake. The air pulsed with a strange, ominous energy that sent a chill down my spine. I barely had time to process it before the rumble grew louder, shaking the earth beneath our feet.

I turned to the others, alarmed, but before I could speak, the ground split open in the distance. A mound of sand swelled unnaturally before erupting, and then, two towering fins sliced through the surface like jagged blades. They jutted upward, rigid at first, before flexing and undulating, catching the wind like something testing the air. 

Then, the creature emerged.