Part Two: Tiffany

  The world around me was a sparkling river of gleaming silver sand. Up above the sky was a dazzling pale blue. The land seemed to be waiting with great excitement for the rising of the sun. You could already make out the first few eager rays, poking their head up beyond the horizon. Next to me, fast asleep with her head resting on my shoulder was Tyla, who was very focused on her task of getting drool all over my sleeve. Everything around me was soaked in comfort. If only the world could always be like this. My eyes and I savored the image. I would remember this, whenever I needed something bright and hopeful. I would cling to this moment, along with the many others I held in my heart. And it would be added the cheery image to my mental library of happiness.

  Tyla let out a cheerful little grunt in her sleep. I smiled down at her. She looked so peaceful and relaxed. She must be lost in a delightful dreamland. That was good after all these past nights when I had woken up to her screaming and crying in her sleep. I leaned over till our foreheads touched and shut my eyes again. Out of a white fog appeared a small brick house. It was surrounded by a pale blue fence. Home, of course, that’s what she’s dreaming of. There wasn’t a single night that she hadn’t dreamed of it.

  She missed it more than anything. I sighed and leaned back. Someday, when this was all over, we’d be free to go back there again. Then Tyla’s smiles would reach her eyes again. For now, I just wanted to think about happy things, about sunlight and desert sand. I glanced down the slope to where our messy campsite stood. Hm, how long should we wait? We didn’t have all day; the minutes were ticking by. Yet, I would hate to wake Tyla when she was so deeply asleep.

  She would be very grouchy for the rest of the day if I did that. We'd wait another five minutes. I’d count it in my head. The next few days were going to be very difficult, not in terms of danger or travel, but in terms of having to explain things to Tyla. It was a wonder she hadn’t attacked me with a hundred questions about how I found the sanctuary.

  She seemed happy with the answer. I just stumbled upon it. No further questions asked. But the more my plan came to be, the more I was going to have to explain to her. Although, it was possible that she had already figured out some of it herself. It would be one thing to tell her of my abilities and understanding of Alexander’s plans. Honestly, I wanted to share some of that with her. I needed to get it off my chest. There were just so many things I knew now that keeping it all to myself was driving me mad. But that was very different from explaining my plan and how long I had had it. I had no way of knowing how she’d react to all of that. I just needed to make it clear to her that I had never had any intention of placing her in danger.

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  That I had meant to leave her out of this.Yet… even if I got that across, I would still have to admit to her just how many times I had lied to her. There was no telling what she’d think after I told her that. She’d probably be angry and confused. She’d probably feel betrayed and hurt. She’d probably never trust me again, and I wouldn’t blame her one bit. Tyla… she trusted everything I told her.

  Why? She always had questions when it came to everyone else. But there was nothing but blind trust when it came to me. I wished she wasn’t like that. I would feel better knowing she had been mistrustful of me all along. But no, she followed wherever I went, listened to everything I said and just made me feel worse. I took a deep breath.Worrying wasn’t going to get me anywhere, and it sure wasn’t going to help save our friends. Five, four, three, two, one. I shook Tyla gently. She let out a snort, a groan, a sneeze and a yawn before opening up her eyes

  “Good morning, we should get going before too much longer,” I said.

  “Gah!” She closed her eyes and buried her face in my shoulder.

  “I already let you sleep in. If you don’t hurry, we won’t have any time to finish breakfast.” That did the trick. Tyla was sprinting down the hill in a matter of seconds. I followed more slowly. I had eaten earlier.

  “Is everything all set to go?” Tyla asked through her mouthful of food. I nodded. “How much longer before we get there?”

  “About two more days, but I don’t remember exactly.” Tyla’s eyes grew huge.

  “You mean you walked this way with no food or water for five days straight!”

  “No. It was longer because I didn’t have a car.”

  “That’s crazy! You’re crazy! You’re amazing!” I ignored her praises and turned my attention back to the map.

  “I just hope I remember the exact way I took last time,” I said.

  It was only a matter of time before all her bottled-up frustration came bursting out in some kind of way. If I were to guess, she was planning on taking out some of that rage on Alexander. The issue was, I wasn’t going to let her do that. But maybe it was alright. I didn’t know for sure. There was no real way of telling… well, there was but that would require peering deeper into her thoughts than I cared to do. “Are you alright?” she asked cheerily.

  “I’m fine. Just thinking through things in my mind, planning our next steps and things of that nature.”

  “Tyla, listen to me.” That sounded way too harsh.

  “Yes? What is it?” I smiled at her, hoping to seem less stern.

  “The last thing we want is for both of us to end up captured again, right?"

  “If you say so.” I could see her imagining worse outcomes.

  “We don’t want that to happen right?”

  “Right.”

  “So, when we get there, I don’t want you to follow me inside. Remember, your role is waiting and helping the others once they get out.”

  “Right.” Huh. She took that really well. Should I be worried by how well she had taken it? No! What was wrong with me! I should be proud and thankful. She was probably upset and making a heroic effort to hide it. Well… that was better than asking me a million questions.