The Dead Wander

In the City of Brimford a group of explorers from the cities National History Museum were given a task, to travel to the deepest depths of the Arabian Desert in search for century old lost artefacts that were lost during a battle between the rulers of East and West, which was won by The East.

There's an old legend that seemed tied to this part of the desert, it is said that people who have died here during the great war roam these parts in search for vengeance. As with all legends there was no proof of this with many calling it nothing more than the work of idle minds but then others swear by it and claim to have witnessed these dead soldiers. It is said to cause insanity to those who witness it with repeated whispers of "The Dead Wander".

Upon reaching the destination the explorers were split into groups to speed up the search, the desert can be a harsh terrain so the less time spent out there the better.  Caleb an egotistical individual was a member of group x-4, the group who went the furthest. During the search they were hit by a sandstorm which separated many of the group, Caleb found himself alone realising he has lost his companions and all that was around him was the view of endless desert.

Hours pass and day turns into night, he meanders through the scorching heat for hours losing a little ray of hope with every drawn out step he takes and dehydration slowly setting in. Eventually, he passes out only to wake to find the light of the sun blindingly in his eyes reflecting off what looked like an old ancient ruins dating back centuries judging by the writing on the walls and in particular this one wall. Caleb studied Arabic and knew what this meant "Dead Wander" he had heard about the legend of the dead roaming this part of the desert before but never thought more of it.

He reached a sort of old kitchen area where he splashed water on his face while looking in this cracked old mirror wondering how this has happened. As he prepares to walk away he hears whispers but couldn't make out what it was, the whispers grew faster, louder and closer as if someone was whispering directly in his ear. He turns and goes to run out knocking over old ornaments in his disoriented state, he reaches the exit where he is greeted by what can only be described as some kind of hideous looking creature in the shape of a man a little smaller than himself but clearly a man in build.

He turned and noticed three more surrounding him on all exits, they had this foul stench and a strange looking wet saggy face with their mouths able to open as far as they pleased. They edge closer to Caleb whispering as they close in, their arms reaching out to him and mouths opening as if they were preparing a morning yawn. Caleb's eyes begin to close resembling him nodding off to sleep until slowly it fades to black .

"Caleb,Caleb are you there" he starts to come around and upon opening his eyes he see's the other members of his group who explain to him that they got separated during the sandstorm and found him lying unconscious not far from where the storm hit. He starts to mumble "The Dead Wander" repeatedly with the others visibly concerned and confused they prepare for their exit.

No one knows what exactly happened to Caleb, who is now institusionalised, many think the dehydration and time spent alone caused him to hallucinate and drive him insane but others believe his insanity was a cause of the old legend coming to fruition and indeed deep in the Arabic Desert the Dead Does Wander.