The group left the oasis behind with far less confidence than when they first arrived there. The brief period of comfort had done more damage than good. Water had soothed their throats, shade had cooled their skin, and a warm meal had dulled the edge of starvation just enough to remind them what comfort felt like.
Now that all of it was behind them again, the absence felt sharper, like the desert had only allowed them to breathe so it could make suffocation feel personal afterward.
The desert night was merciless in a different way than the day. Where the sun had scorched exposed skin and baked sweat into salt, the night gnawed at them through cold winds that slipped beneath armor, under cloth, and through every gap and opening. The sand itself no longer burned beneath their boots. Instead, it leeched warmth from them with each step, stealing heat slowly enough that the body noticed every grain.
