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Edward sat back in his usual spot contemplating the wasted moments going by. To be a patient man was one thing but his current enforcers were anything but engaging. The one, a distasteful old man, kept the cart moving as best he could, while normally not the talkative type, Edward sensed a deliberate avoidance of attention toward both Edward and the woman. The cart clattered on with nothing more than a glance from the geezer to which Edward only suspected was to make sure nothing was amiss.
The other, the woman, was not at the old man’s side. She rarely talked and Edward suspected she had been staring at him whenever he wasn’t looking. It could have been his bias opinion about himself but with her he wouldn’t be surprised. She followed the cart a few feet behind, walking rather calmly. Her jitters and wondering eyes focused at the pavement as she held a rusty shovel over her shoulder.
Of course neither had been on Edward’s mind for the last hour or so. For the moment only one thing mattered as Edward glared at his opponent with as much distain and hatred as he could muster, he was a man to fear and he wanted the one being in the universe to stand before him to know he stood before greatness. The tiny lizard ignored him and crawled closer, its tongue mockingly shooting out at him. It was a little thing, no bigger than his hand from head to tail and on any other day would completely run under his radar.
Of course today of all days he had no such luck. It wandered up to him without a worry and rested upon his foot. Edward wiggled a bit but the lizard stayed strong. “Get off of me you stupid thing.” He muttered as the cart hit another bump, sending the contents of scrap to rattle around him.
Edward shifted as his bindings rubbed his already burned skin making him wince. He might have groaned a little but not much. He may have been a prisoner but he did have a little dignity left.
“Quite you’re bellyaching.” Growled the old man as he snapped the reigns, forcing the mule to work a little harder, only to be answered with a puff of smoke. “We’re almost there. Might as well make peace with whatever you hold dear now. No telling what’ll happen once we hand ya over.”
Edward leaned a bit off the side for a better look. What had been nothing more than a dot on the horizon had now become a full town filled with makeshift structures and even a little movement. Edward sighed inwardly, he had expected to have a little more time. “The chips may be down but I have a few more hands to play before all this is over.”
The geezer rubbed his hand through his wrinkles along the bridge of his nose before responding. “We get it. You play cards. Sign a new tune already.” He spat.
Edward bit his lip to hold back a smile. “Speaking of singing you have an awful lot of records back here.” He commented off handily.
“No.”
“Just like that? You didn’t even think about it.”
“Do you want me to take the hat back?”
Said hat still wrapped itself around Edward’s cranium. It was one size too big but it did it’s job well. However his captors were sometimes amused at something every so often which made him suspect something was amiss with it. “…no.” he answered quietly. His face still hurt reminding him it was the only thing keeping him from the sun’s demonic gaze. “But think of this as a last request, an ACE in the hole.” He added, not even trying to hide his boy-ish grin this time.
Of course it was hollow as the old man spit off the side of the bench. “You’re lucky you’re not gagged and shoved in the corner. Now shut up or I’ll shut you up!” He gritted his teeth and snapped the reigns to go faster.
The mule answered with a loud wine, a series of pings, flying bolts, and everything jerking to a full stop. Edward’s head swam as the last few moments of him slamming his noggin against the bench was nothing but a blur. The old man cursed, spit, and cursed again. “WE WERE RIGHT THERE!!” He yelled at the heap of metal as he hopped off his seat into the dust.
“Probably would have made it if some of us weren’t so side tracked earlier-OW!” Edward howled, as something hard smacked the back of his head. His mind swam a second time only to find the lizard was now on his stomach.
The woman stood at the side, leaning on the shovel. Strands of hair dangled from the confines of her hat. “Not the brightest sort are you.” She stated without even looking at him.
Edward licked his lips, his mouth felt dry. “The way I figure it either he shoots me now or I get hanged later.” Neither was a particularly great option but it had to be said. “Course then how else will you pay for that broken animal.”
She was less than impressed as she adjusted her hair behind her ear. “He is a scavenger. He’s lived this long without you. Whether you live or die won’t change who fixes it, only how he pays for it.” She answered coldly. Edward shivered at the tone of her voice and focused on the lizard on his shirt rather than on her. Whatever flower he thought she was had been replaced with thorns.
Smoke escaped the busted animal’s frame and the clanging of tools were met only with curses. Edward sneered at the lizard but it was just as effective as before, namely not at all. He licked his lips again. “Ever hear the tale of the Traveler and Student?” When she didn’t answer he continued, “It goes like this, see there was this Student at a University. Very smart like. One day he met a Traveler telling impossible stories that he claimed were true. The Student called the Traveler’s bull and so they made a bet. If the Student went with the Traveler to the market and back without anything impossible happening then the Traveler would admit his tales were foolish and made up. The Student agreed and an hour later they returned to the University his pockets lighter but had a xylophone strapped to his back. The Traveler admitted he was wrong and left without a trace.”
Edward tried to swallow for some saliva but only coughed. “Now you could get a great number of things from this story and who was right or what not but that was never the point. It was a tale of knowledge versus experience. While they both got what they wanted in the end, the impossible did happen.” Edward took a deep breath, his throat dry and horse.
A canteen came into view and pressed against his lips. Warm, liquidy goodness spilled down his throat with the grace of a goddess. It was heaven and the once iced voice hinted a coming spring. “The Student actually went with the Traveler with the possibility of the impossible happening.” She leveled the canteen as Edward got the last few drops on his tongue. “Otherwise what was the point of going.” She drew back and the canteen disappeared within her cloak.
Edward shook his head. “What? No. He brought back a xylophone. You know how heavy those can get? There’s no way a bookworm could carry that.” He leaned forward to try and crane his neck toward his mostly silent guard. The ropes rubbing made him cringe a little but nothing noticeable.
She held a hand to her mouth, holding back a chuckle. Edward humphed.
“Hey is everything alright?” At that the moment was gone. Two newcomers with rifles, though out and meant to imply some sort of authority, hung nonchalantly in their arms. The one who spoke, the taller man, tipped back his hat as he examined the mess of cogs the old man worked helplessly on.
The shorter more portly newcomer whistled, “Whoa, that ain’t getting up.” That, Edward was sure, was met with a dagger shooting glare from the geezer as the shorter man stepped back.
The old man dusted off his clothes, or at least to toss off the parts in his lap, to stand. Though Edward could swear he heard his bones creak as he did. “And just who are you two idiots then? The town guard?” the geezer growled.
The two newcomers shared a glance and then the taller one coughed before speaking. “Well, er, yeah actually. Sort of. Deputies anyway. I’m Stanly. This is Brian. It’s nesting season you know. Can’t be too sure what we might find in the outskirts around this time. Um, you look like you could use some help.”
Brian nodded his chubby little face, noticing the ever increasing scowl on the old man’s face. They continued to talk but Edward quickly lost interest. His final destination and last bit of freedom coming to a close. The lizard had moved again. This time felt something wiggle along his neck. His breathing increased a little as he barely noticed the woman next to him lean against the cart until she whispered in his ear. “You could call out you know.” He jumped at that both at her sudden voice and immediate closeness.
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before answering. “There’s no point. All it’d do is cause a moment of confusion, yelling, and then I’d be gaged.” He wanted to slick his fingers through his hair, maybe even stretch out a little to take in his surroundings one last time. There really wasn’t much to see. It was the desert. There was sand, dead brush, boulders, and an endless horizon but for right now this was everything. Even the deadly sun and bright rays comforted him in some way. “Try not to let things bother you so much in the future.”
She said nothing to this. The only jester was a hand on his shoulder, a squeeze, and she was gone. Her cloak flowed with her silently as she made her way over to the others, leaving Edward alone with his thoughts.
What little serenity he had shot out the window as he felt the little demon creature crawl up his cheek. He snapped his mouth shut, keeping the lizard out at the last second. Edward fought, shaking his head up, down, back, and forth but the bugger refused to let go. Every motion reminded Edward of the sun’s deadly kiss and his eyes watered but he wouldn’t lose to this thing. He just wouldn’t. It crawled up to his eyes, as they too were tightly closed. Seeing his opportunity he yelled out. “HELP!” Edward called, “I can’t keep the lizard out of my mouth!” He clamped his mouth shut at the little reptile reached his nostril.
The voices stopped mid conversation. His reply was a bellow of hearty laughter. If his face could be any redder it would have been but for the moment it was unimportant as he tried to whip the lizard off. It only gave him a headache. He snorted, preparing himself to go as long as he could to free his face from the torment as it crawled all over with its rough toes.
They all were in full amusement at his expense yet the lizard was snatched away and flew into the endless desert from once it came. She stood over him with a raised eyebrow. He didn’t make eye contact. For some reason that plant over there was the most interesting thing he had seen in his entire life time.