Operation Desert Storm

-“Do you feel lucky, punk?” he wheezed out of the corner of his mouth, squinting at her with a challenging look. She blinked twice, not knowing whether this guy was real, or another mirage. The heat was really playing tricks with her head, and this wasn't the first time she'd doubted both her eyes and sanity since she first started her walk across the desert.  

-“Do you feel lucky, punk?” he wheezed out of the corner of his mouth, squinting at her with a challenging look. She blinked twice, not knowing whether this guy was real, or another mirage. The heat was really playing tricks with her head, and this wasn't the first time she'd doubted both her eyes and sanity since she first started her walk across the desert.

Not sure if you're actually supposed to ignore or answer a mirage she tried shaking her head in response. The man still didn't speak. Chewing at a cigar stub he measured her up in silence, and eventually nodded west.

-"That way, kiddo."

She headed off in the direction he had pointed, facing nothing but more sand. This desert seemed never ending, unless maybe she was walking in circles. A compass would have been a smart addition to her preparations, instead of all the other useless junk she had brought.

When the idea first had come up, about three days ago, it had seemed so cool to use this week off with some exploring in Africa and she had gotten all excited - starting to prepare her "Operation Desert Storm" by picking up some sandals, a big white tunic and a military looking backpack with a survival knife in the side pocket. Zac and Rada had rolled their eyes at her, that way that only teenagers know how to, pointing out she wasn't exactly a wilderness survival expert. The thought of asking someone who actually knew what was needed to survive struck her, but just then she'd found a white and black keffiyeh, and instantly felt very professional and extremely well prepared so that thought had fast passed.

And here she was now. Hopelessly lost, seeing things, and with a keffiyeh that she didn't even know how to properly wrap for it to protect her from the blazing sun.

Cursing to herself, she stopped to rub another grain of sand out of her eye. They were shot red by now, from the squinting to the sun and the wind, which kept whirring sand into her face.

-“Sunglasses would have been clever, you moron.” she mumbled to heself as she blinked to be able to see again.

Fourty minutes walking later she collapsed, face down in the sand. She has walked north-north west for hours now, in unbearable heat and every time she had thought she saw a city skyline or vegetation in the distance it had soon turned out to be nothing but her own wishful thinking.

-"What the hell was I thinking? And why did I go alone?"

She rolled over on her back and covered her face with the scarf. Lying there all still for a good ten minutes.

-"The kids are right, as much as I love adventure I really have no clue how to survive this sort of thing. But I'll be damned if I don't.. I can't die here."

A shade passed by through the cloth, like a flash. She blinked. 

The shade came back, stopping just in the corner of her left eye. She didn't move. She could feel the surface of the sand shifting, someone was clearly standing there. It wasn't just her immagination this time.

A minute later, the shade leaned in over her and lifted the cloth off her face. She squinted up at whoever it was, first seing nothing but the white suit, patterns of silver and gold stars, rubys and whatever stones they were all over it, all of them sparkling away in the sun.

-"What the.. ?"

She sat up, staring in disbelief at the odd looking appearance. She looked up higher and came to a sharp collar, equally covered in bling, and a silk scarf thrown around the mans' neck.

-"Who the hell are you?", she asked bluntly.

To her surprise, he burst out singing: -"A little less conversation, a little more action please. All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me."

-"Aggravation!? Well sorry, but it's not every day I get a visit by a suit like that".

He stopped singing and looked at her, calm but very serious: -"You can do anything, but lay off of my blue suede shoes."

-"Hey, I'll lay off all I own if you lend me those wicked sun glasses of yours for a while. Are you trying to get the hell out of here, too?"

He nodded.

She heaved herself up and wrapped the cloth around her head again, into some sort of overgrown turban.

-"Sweet. I would sure love the company - and help. Shall we go? "

-"It's now or never, come hold me tight. Kiss me my darling, be mine tonight" his soft, velvety voice sounded another song.

-"Hey, don't smother me."