Episode 06 - Small Talk

The sun, poised above the ragged horizon, was like a hammer of living flame. The shattered mantle of the earth gave up its heat as shimmering ghosts, their timeless passage forming a circle which grew neither closer nor fell behind Sai, Raidon, and Sora.

He wore his longcoat and wide-brimmed hat, their color turning him into a grey-blue shade that was out of place on the ochre scenescape of sand and rock. He drank in the sights, for there was nothing else to see. The colors of the desert were always sharp, burning bright and fast. Sai's were colder, alien to the desert vibrancy. He'd found his coat and hat, and gunbelt, in a pack on Raidon, just like Coyote had said. Just before Coyote had tried to put him down. He lost sight of the desert, lapsing into thought. Had Coyote known? Known Ghost-Eye would sacrifice Coyote to whatever weird end those absent eyes were fixed upon?

The three travelers reached the top of a swell and saw a dark spot in the distance. "We'll stop when we get to those trees," Sai said, not bothering to point at the grove of blasted stumps clinging to life in a small circle, feeding on the little bounty to be had from the soil.