I opened my eyes to find Tiffany leaning over me.

  “You’re alive!” she burst out.

  “I am!” Tears dripped down from her face to mine.

  “Don’t cry, I think I’m okay.”

  “I know, I’m just happy. What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. The void chased us to the desert, and you passed out, so I went back to get you,” I said.

  “You mean you saved me!” She burst into tears afresh.

  “You could say that.

  “Thank you!” She pulled me into a hug and cried into my shoulder. For a moment, I let myself relax and feel happy. We were okay, and we were together.

  “Well, I do owe you a whole lot, Tiffany.”

  “Please think of all of your debts as being repaid!” she sobbed. “You saved me!” I had “You did amazing!” I did.

  “Whatever you say.” Way off in the distance, I could see the colorful cloud fading away. We had escaped it.

  “Alright. Now you need a doctor. Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe,” Tiffany hoisted me onto her back. Now I felt really weak, but to be fair she was two years older than me.

  “Hold on tight, I’m going to get you back to the village. The others will be able to help you.”

  “They aren’t going to be there,” I said. Tiffany froze.

  "What do you mean?”

  “They left when they saw the cloud approaching, and they left the village.” A hurt expression crossed Tiffany’s face.

  “Oh. Well… that’s the nearest shelter, and you need water.” She started walking. “Try to stay awake, okay?”

  “I’ll try.” The hot sun beat down on us cruelly, but still Tiffany kept going. Stopping Alexander could be so easy. Tiffany could do it all alone if she wanted to. Alexander was nothing special, not like Tiffany. He never could be. I could see the village in the distance now. “Am I seeing things, or are we getting close?” I asked.

  “We’re getting close.”

  “Good. Just checking.” We were moving very quickly. Sure enough, there was no one else there. But there was plenty of food and water left.

  “So, I guess they got away then?” Tiffany said softly.

  “Well, that’s something.” Tiffany’s shoulders slumped.

  “I’m still here for you!” I whispered. She flung her arms around my neck.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I know you are! And I’m thankful!”

  “What should our next move be?”

  "I don't know! I just want to rest! But stuff keeps happening!" Tiffany said.

  "Who says we can't rest?" I asked.

  "We should find the others."

  "They might end up coming back. Besides, we can look for them in the morning. Maybe we should just rest and think things through for now."

  "You know, that's not a bad idea, Tyla." Tiffany nodded.

  "Lets just think about it in the morning."

  "Agreed."

  I was awakened by a hand over my mouth. Fear shot through me.

  “Don’t scream. It’s me.” The sound of Tiffany’s voice relaxed me.

  “Just stay very, very still. Just listen.” Her voice was tense and quiet. I nodded silently. “There are other people here, and I don’t mean Ross and his friends. I think they might be looking for us.” I strained my ears. Sure enough, clear as day we were surrounded by muttering voices. “Don’t worry, I already cleaned everything up from dinner.” Clever Tiffany.

  “Why do we have to keep coming back here?” a voice said.

  “Because we didn’t capture the girls. They weren’t with the others.”

  “I know! But we searched this place over and over again. I’ll bet they are both somewhere far away in the desert. The younger one is probably dead already.”

  “We only need the pale girl.”

  “That’s just as well. Her sister is probably dead by now. But we won’t need her, now that we have their parents.” What did that mean?

  “I just don’t think we’ll find her here. Crazy! Both of them headed right into the cloud, instead of running into the trap with the others.” Trap! This had been a trap! No! Did that mean that the others had been captured?

  “Yes, and if we don’t find them, I don’t know what Alexander is going to do to us!” Alexander? He was alive, and worst of all, now he had our parents. The voices were drowned out by the pounding of my own heart. No! He couldn’t have them! We needed to get them back. “Let’s spread out, instead of searching the same two places.” The voices were growing fainter now. “We just need to find them before the morning.” Tiffany and I lay there for a while. We hardly dared to breathe. It was only when daylight came streaming in through the tent door that we sat up and allowed ourselves to speak.

  “Well, now I’m extra glad I came back for you,” I said. Tiffany wasn’t listening. Her fists were clenched, and her eyes were blazing.

  “This is the last straw,” she muttered, “this will be the last time he ever hurts anyone!” I leaned over and rested my chin on her shoulder.

  “Want to go kick his ass?”

  “Don’t cuss.”

  “That’s not a curse word. Besides, I’m old enough to cuss and there aren’t any kids around.”

  “You’re a kid, or at least you act like one.” We both laughed. There were guns and knives stored around the village. There was gas in the car. We had everything we needed. “Well, shall we? What do you think we should do?” Tiffany asked as we packed the last bag.

  “I’ll follow your lead from now on. I trust you to do the right thing,” I told her. Yes, it was time for me to let go of the control that I had never really had over her. It was time for me to let her go where she wanted and stand on her own feet. But I would still follow her, support her, stay by her side, and have her back. But I didn’t have to do everything. I needed to let her take care of me. I reached out and took Tiffany’s hand. I saw no fear or concerns in her eyes. There was an air of peace about her.

  “Are you worried?” I asked. She shook her head.

  “Not yet. I think you were right. I think this is the right thing to do. Besides,” her eyes darkened. “I can’t help but enjoy the idea of destroying him.” Now that was something we could both agree on.

  “I love you, Tiffany.”

  “I love you too, Tyla. I have no idea where I’d be without you.” I sighed. “It’s true!” Tiffany insisted.

  “I should have been kinder; I should have been wiser. I should have been a better sister.”

  “Tyla, look at me.” I did so. “I’m not going to lie to you and say that you’re perfect. But you are, without a doubt, the sister I needed.”

  “You really think so, huh?”

  “I do.” She slipped her arm around my shoulder. “I wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  “You mean that in a good way, right?” Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Yes. You showed me how to be fearless and brave; you showed me how to enjoy life again.” I rested my head on her shoulder. We just stood there for a moment, holding each other. The sun rose and painted the sand gold once more. I didn’t know what the future held for us. I didn’t know where the road would take us, but I didn’t care anymore. We were together, and even if we were parted, our bond was not something that could be ripped away. Not by death. Not by separation. Because relationships are like mistakes, the traces of them will live on forever. That was the only thing I could control, and it was all I needed to control. That was what I now knew.

  “Are you ready to go?” Tiffany asked after a little while.

  "Ready as I'll ever be."