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Tina was mopping the deck, sighing as she listened to Zee and Louie fighting over food rations in the background. Zapook, who probably would've stopped the fighting by now, was below deck with Aussa, trying their best to tune up the inner workings since that chase did a number on the ship, which was getting worse under the stinging rays of the desert sun. Realizing that food would be scarce later on, they landed the ship and sent Louie and Zee out to gather extra food to make sure they'd be able to make it out of the desert without staving.

Onima's curiosity got the better of the group when she noticed a rope hanging down near the ship. The
rope didn't seem to be connected to anything and extended up to the sky. Though it was labeled 'Do Not Touch', Onima was obviously compelled to pull the rope, which did nothing but sent a cow plummeting down, punching a huge hole in the deck of the ship. As Zapook said, in less kinder words to Onima, it was lucky that the ship was grounded at the time, for that surely would've sent them crashing into the sand dunes below.
This didn't stop Zapook from wrestling with the cow and eventually...."subduing" it...and dragging it back to where the rest of the rations were being kept, which somewhat made up for the hole in the deck. Especially considering that Louie and Zee came back with only measly bird as their prize from hunting.

Between the heat, the condition of the ship, and the fact that they went through half their food, the six of them were growing irritable and tired. Some more than others...

Tina was out of it. After a few days of trying to help get the ship in shape again, she collapsed in the middle of fixing the hole in the deck with Aussa and Zee. Concerned for her sister, though she showed it as little as possible...Zee carried her to the hammocks below deck and took turns with Zapook as they both attempted to nurse her back to health.

After passing a few questionable landmarks, the crew realized that they wouldn't find any help in the desert unless another ship happened to pass and was able to spare some supplies and/or time.
No such luck.
Food was begining to run low, and Louie began to complain since Zapook cut everyone's rations to make food last a little longer.
Zee started to complain soon after, and began stalking Onima, stating that she was only looking to make sure she didn't cause trouble. Zapook began to worry more for Louie, who was becoming more and more irritable from hunger.

He slipped below deck one night, eluding everyone's watch...Except Zapook's. She followed their guide below decks, but soon lost him.
In a panic, she found her way to the barracks only to find Tina face down on the ground with what looked like tried blood around the corners of her mouth. After checking on her, and putting her back to bed, the enraged Zapook combed through the ship before making her way to the hold. Louie was just exiting, startled by Zapook's storming.

What did you do to Tina?

...I beg your pardon?

I saw her laying face down on the ground, you a*****e. What did you do to her.

Before he could answer, Onima made her way to the hold with an empty saucer, smiling.

...Excuse me...didn't you eat already? We are suppose to be limiting ourselves, remember?

I know.

I saw you leaving with a sandwich earlier.

Oh that! I brought that sammich to Tina. She seemed hungry.

Wait...What was on the sandwich you brought Tina?

Oh, Umm...lettuce, bbq sauce, bear meat i think. I can't remember, either bear or grunny.

...

...Did I do something wrong?

TINA'S A VEGETARIAN YOU IDIOT!!

I'm sorry! I forgot!

How could you forget something like...wait. Louie, you ate earlier too...why are you down here?

...I was ...Um... Hungry, so I thought I'd just get something small to snack on...

It then hit Zapook that Louie had been blocking the door to the hold since she first caught him leaving. After prying him from the door and peeking inside, it was clear what had happened.
Louie had eaten so much of the food, they only had enough to last another 2 days on meager rations.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?

Four days later, they were completely out of food. Louie, Zee, and even Zapook attempted to hunt a few more times, all being unsuccessful due to the harsh environment they were in.
This led everyone to watch Zee and Louie closely, though Zee had no energy to even chase Onima anymore, and was just leaning over the side of the ship complaining about how she was going to die.
In the middle of her groaning, she stops and starts laughing manically.

Yay! I'm seeing things!

What are you talking about...

Zee points down toward a sphinx wearing bright pink sunglasses and a silly grin.

...Either I'm crazy too, or we're landing this ship and checking this out.

Turns out the structure wasn't actually an inanimate object, though all he had to offer was luck. Tina, was still sick, but well enough to move about freely. As the rest of the crew grumbled and made their way back to the ship at the landmark's mere mention of luck, Tina stayed. Without the rest of them knowing, she gave the sphinx a small offering in exchange for showing concern toward the ship. With a gleaming smile, he quickly shouted out a random chant, leaving Tina confused as she slowly went back toward the ship.


They didn't get very far before they had to land again in another attempt at finding food. Zee went out alone this time, grumbling angrily, dragging one or two of the running vegetables as she looked for more to bring back, before stopping and staring in confusion at a large group of fish that were randomly flopping about on the ground. A smile slowly spread on her face, and after a short while, Zee returned to the ship with about 200lbs of food.

No one questioned her, and they all ate their fill while saving as much as they can to get out of the desert. Happy with their voyage once more, they continued on their way, that is, until Tina spotted something in the distance one night. Behind their ship, a dark cloud was growing, as if a storm was headed their way.