Into the Desert
Ryu and the others reached the danger zone and what stumbled upon their view was endless desert still. The sun blazed down relentlessly, and the landscape offered no respite. The scent of dust and dry earth makes breathing wearisome.
"Where do we go from here?" Though Seraphina asked the question, there wasn't any landmark nor rocks to mark the path. It was just endless sand. He was surprised that the others could still find their way.
"We navigate using colored twigs in here." Marcus flipped the map in his hands that were put together through weeks of effort of searching for the exit. "Our group uses red-colored twigs as a path, and we made it a rule to return in camp whenever the Left Oasis was just a dot in our eyes."
No wonder there was nothing on the map, Ryu thought. "Let's forget about the map and search where the others left off."
Everyone agreed, and the red twigs stuck in the sand led them to a more barren land.