The journey from the north had been remarkably easy. The ground was flat, but sloped gently downhill. It was nothing like the rugged terrain back home, filled with ridges, steep slopes and jagged rises, and all too many detours. Despite the ease of the terrain, however, the sun beat down without mercy. They had abandoned the rough terrain of the Redwood forests, and so the shade of those lands had abandoned them. Gerhard and his guide thus continued their trek in silence.<br/><br/>"How long until we reach the base camp, Simian?" He said. The sun was beating down upon them both, sapping them of strength and energy.<br/><br/>Simian wiped his brow with a soft cotton cloth. The tag on the side said "Mr. Clean", such that Gerhard could not help but give a small smirk. Their situation was no laughing matter, however. Simian hesitated to reply, but in the end shrugged his shoulders, and said only, "I miscalculated, Sir Gerhard. I'm sorry."<br/><br/>"What exactly do you mean, Miscalculated, friend?" Gerhard leaned forward into his saddle. He held the rains loosely, so that they dangled gently below his horses neck. The mare, for her part, chewed back and forth the metal bridle.<br/><br/>"Sir... we out of water. There aren't no streams nearby. It's still two days to base camp, and..." Simian dismounted from his horse. "You feel it too, don't you? Your throat is parched? Sorry sir. It's hard for me to talk."<br/><br/>Indeed, there was a desperation in Simian's eyes, bordering on despair. Gerhard, however, did not seem to share Simian's temperament. "Oh, is that all?" he said, "Jesus Christ, Simian, grow a pair of cojones, please." Gerhard then scanned the horizon, looking for a very specific type of rock formation. They were further north of the old Hopi ruins, but if he could find those ruins in the distance, then just maybe..."Aha!"<br/><br/>Gerhard jumped off his horse and went up to Simian. Kneeling down, he put his face close the man, and pointed out a small cliff in the distance. "See that outcropping right there? We go in that direction. Now move."<br/><br/>Simian looked up in surprise. "But... Sir, we-"<br/><br/>"If we're going to die, we might as well die doing something, Simian. And if we head towards that rock, we might even survive, now get going. Cluck cluck!" Gerhard and Simian spurred their horses towards the rock. The Horses themselves were tired, but they seemed willing enough. Despite their thirst, they were underneath the rock outcropping before sundown, albeit the detour cost them another day in the journey towards headquarters.<br/><br/>"Here, Simian. Help me up to the top of this. There'll be some large Saguaros atop here." Gerhard said, and indeed there were. A small grotto of grass and cactus stood, majestically, before a light breeze. Gerhard took out his hunting knife and quickly began shaving a cactus of it's needles. Cutting out a large chunk of flesh, he passed it to his companion, and the two settled down to sit at the edge of the outcropping.<br/><br/>The outcropping stuck only about 12 feet from the ground, but the ground itself sloped downward in the direction of their sight. They thus could see for miles and miles, the beautiful red of the desert.<br/><br/>Simian tossed his head back and laughed. It was a large, throaty, belly jiggling laugh of a man who knows he has been saved. "Mister, how did you know 'bout this place, sir? Out here in the desert, no one knows the land!" He grinned at Gerhard, showing a set a gleaming, pearly white chompers.<br/><br/>Gerhard pointed out towards the distant horizon. "Do you see that small blip right there, Simian? On the very edge of the horizon?"<br/><br/>Simian leaned forward, squinting his eyes. "Yes... I see something, Mister. Don't know what 'tis though. Maybe a town? Large boulder, even."<br/><br/>Gerhard laughed. "You're not far off the mark, Simian." Gerhard grinned and too a big bite out of his cactus. He then got up and carved up some more chunks for the horses, and put some more aside for the journey inside his satchel. "It's an old Hopi settlement. An ancient people lived there, far more ancient than you know. If you can find that, you can find anything up in this region of the world."<br/><br/>Simian nodded, and by way of a grunt, signaled his understanding. The two of them sat back down and listened to the wind whistle through the cracks in the rocks. The sun was setting. They would have to make camp here, and it would be one more day of travel for the both of them. "My boy be out there, somewhere, Mister. He left me and my wife to join the bandits when he was 12."<br/><br/>Simian wrung his hands together. They hung between his knees. "Sometimes, it keep me up at night. Knowing, or not knowing, is he gonna be alive tommorrow? Maybe he already dead?"<br/><br/>Gerhard did not respond, but he did hear his guide, and understood. His thoughts drifted to his daughter, whom he had left in the care of his most trusted friend back at the outpost. She was capable of fending for herself. He had taught her that much, but still... finally, he spoke up, "Yes, sometimes it does keep one up at night." Gerhard sudddenly turned and looked at the cactus he had just butchered.<br/><br/>"It's a shame it hasn't rained lately. These cactii bloom such lovely flowers." Gerhard took another large bite out of his meal, and the two of them watched the sunset in silence.