Maybe I should do this with a clear head... nah!



Cromwell reached into his pouch and pulled out a plastic Hello Kitty flask with faded designs covering it. The air was dry, and the sun made the vast barren landscape a cool 44C... He took a sip of the warm stale water as his stomach groweled in hunger.

It had been fifteen years since the accident with the convoy. Fifteen long years wondering if anyone else was out there alive. The desert had taken it's toll on his body, and it was everything he could do to survive. Why had God chosen to keep him alive?

As he sat under the shade of a rock, he noticed what looked like a man on a horse approaching...

"What if the man is dangerous?" Cromwell thought, and considered hiding behind the rock. Desperation for food, however, dominated his thoughts, and he jumped up from his spot, intending to flag down the man on the horse. Before he could consider his action, it was too late -- he had risen too quickly, and the heat got the better of him. Cromwell passed out where he stood, his vision blurring into darkness as the man on the horse appeared to stand above him...

The mysterious man on the horse had a face just as rough and weathered as Cromwells. He peered down at him from atop the horse with greedy eyes. A little flask, some tattered clothes... He probably wasn't worth getting off the horse to check until something caught the strangers eye. It was a small silver emblem sitting in the sand, tied by a thread around Cromwell's dry neck.

The man climbed down off the horse, crouched down beside Cromwell, and fingered the glistening piece of silver. "This symbol..." spoke the man quietly to the downed Cromwell. "Where did you find this, my friend?"