A Tracker's Trail: Awakening

 

Today I came across footprints in the sand. They are spread slightly wider than those I have been taking lately, however I can’t be sure they are not mine.  I followed them all afternoon, and they keep an even pace. Perhaps I have travelled in a circle, or maybe I’m not alone in this desert. This is the first sign of life I’ve seen, and the first bit of hope I’ve felt. Still, it may turn out to be a disappointment. I will follow this track and see where it leads. I’ll keep my tracks to one side so I’ll know if I come full circle again. God bless these solar cells.

 

Another set of footsteps have joined the first. I do not believe I have been following them long enough to have made a circle. These must be the tracks of a hunting party or a scouting party, possibly searching for me either way. I believe I have no choice but to follow them and see for myself if they belong to friends or not. I have no idea how long I have been in this desert. 

 

Today I saw smoke on the horizon. There was a point where the tracks I am following stopped, as if the dune walkers had paused to look at the smoke. They continued in their original direction, however, and I decided to keep following them rather than investigate the smoke. I found a lens in the sand today too. It was right in the middle of the track but the sun was shining off of it. I took it with me.

 

The track seems to be following the rim of the dunes, but is steadily turning towards the pillar of smoke. It has become thinner and less pronounced overnight but I am eager to see what is there. I doubt it is a camp fire as it is far too obvious and easily noticed from far away. I know little of these people but I know they are not that careless.

 

The sand is starting to slow me down. I seem to be sinking further into it with each step. I am surprised that these tracks have remained so defined for so many days, but then I haven’t noticed even the hint of a breeze the whole time I’ve been here. Or maybe I am closer behind these dune walkers than I realize. I believe I will reach the source of the smoke around midday tomorrow.

 

I have been walking in a circle. I have come back around to the crash site. The source of the smoke was the landing pod I arrived in a week ago. This is the end of my hope for rescue. These dune walkers must have been tracking me since they saw the pod come down. The two sets of footprints separated just before I came upon the crash site, so I believe they approached the pod with caution. This leads me to think they are either hostile or simply uneasy. They stripped the pod and piled all of my equipment alongside it and torched everything. They don’t seem to of taken anything at all, however there is a pair of goggles that were not mine. They have a lens missing, and the one I found fits the spot perfectly. Their footprints are all over the area and lead off alongside the path I originally took when I first left the crash site. I’ll wager they are at the other end of the circle tracking my footprints as we speak. I suppose all I can do is wait for them to come back around.

 

Today passed with no event. I suspect my followers will be yet another day if indeed they are tracking me as I tracked them. I repaired the goggles with the missing lens. Their previous owner probably didn’t know the lens had come loose, it was an easy fix. I don’t, however, see the use in them in this environment. Perhaps there are sudden and violent sand storms. I think I’ll keep the goggles just in case.

 

I spotted my followers approaching the crash site. They completed the circle following my trail. I saw them while they were still a long way away so their later attempts to be subtle in their approach were useless. They were nervous when they came near me, and spent a long time talking amongst themselves. I believe they were arguing about which one should come up to me first, although I don’t understand their language. They made a camp fire or a signal fire, I’m not sure which. It was a cautious distance from me as they are still nervous about my presence. Perhaps they have never seen one such as myself before.

 

The trackers have made no attempt to communicate with me, however I noticed another pillar of smoke on the horizon to the west. As the day progressed I saw two more, both in the west but far more distant. I estimate that the first group is a day’s travel from my location, if indeed they are coming my way. I wonder what they want with me. Perhaps their leader will attempt communication.

 

Four more arrived early this morning. They must have walked all night, and by the tone of their voices I figure I am a matter of some urgency to them. They have made a temporary camp here at the crash site, and slept all day in shifts of three. The three that were awake at any time positioned themselves far apart, one directly in front of me and facing my direction, the other two roaming my flanks, eyes facing outwards. I know now that I am under guard.

 

The first of the signal fires lit up again today, and I spotted a person on a high dune in the distance signalling with a mirror. When my companions noticed it, they grouped in the centre of the camp and produced some rope and what appears to be a toboggan. I was impressed with how quickly they dismantled the camp. I hadn’t realized, but I mustn’t have moved at all for the past few days, as when I stood to join them on their journey it sent them into a panic. At first they scattered and ran, then approached again with their weapons raised. I gestured peace in as many ways as I know how, and respectfully seated myself again. I still do not understand their language, so the rest of the day was a wasted effort on their part.

 

I was not at the crash site this morning. It took me a while to get my bearings and I caused quite a stir as I stood and calibrated the sun’s position. There was a signal fire burning here as well, and judging by the drag marks in the sand and the fact that I was lying on the toboggan I have concluded that I am at the first of their signal fires. There are more of them here as well, although their camp only sleeps four. I can only believe that we will continue trekking along the path marked by the fires. As such, I began the journey myself to demonstrate that I do not need to be carried. They shouted at me and surrounded me, braver now that there are more of them. I realised that the best thing to do was to leave them in control, so I seated myself on the toboggan and waited to be transported. It took all day, and I only moved to correct my balance as we ascended a dune.