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  I nod and offer a feeble smile. Reyna releases me from her embrace and turns away. I reach out an unsteady hand. The handle of the door is slick and sticky with blood when I grasp it and draw it toward me. With the door shut, cold realization spreads throughout every fiber of my being. Two of our people are dead. Lark’s blood is on my hands. Their deaths are my fault. No matter what anyone says or what logic is offered to debate the point, the fact remains. Aiden and Lark’s deaths are my fault.

  Chapter 10

  A parched expanse of land stretches out before me. Dotted with occasional, low-growing clumps of dried fronds and another hostile-looking plants with long, sharp barbs, pale sand extends in every direction. An azure sky is pierced by craggy foothills in the distance. A bank of thick clouds hovers over them, shadowing some of the mountains so that they appear darker, ominous and unwelcoming.

  Days have passed since we made it out of the Uganna territory. The landscape has transformed. Vegetation has grown sparser and sparser. Rich greens and browns have blanched to what unfurls before me on all sides: wan, barren scenery, interrupted only by the mountain range looming along the horizon up ahead.

  “Is Sinsity there?” I point straight ahead. “Past the mountains?” My throat is dry and my voice sounds a bit raspy. Our water supply has run out, as has the dried beef.

  “Yep.” Garan bobs his head. “Trust me, you can’t miss it.” He shoots me a look that includes a lopsided grin.

  “What do you mean?” I look out the passenger side window. “I can’t imagine a city just pops up out here.” I squint into the sunlight, blindingly bright as it reflects off the sand. “I mean, there’s nothing out here.” I catch sight of a dried up creature just off the roadway. It is on its back, limbs in the air and stiff, with what looks like a long, skinny tongue hanging out the side of its open mouth. “Wait, I stand corrected. There’s that thing.” I point to it.

  Garan chuckles. “I’m sure it led a full life.”

  I turn and look at him, raising both eyebrows.

  “Okay, maybe not a full life,” he concedes.

  I continue looking at him with the same expression.

  Garan roll his eyes exaggeratedly. “Alright already! He died out there in the blazing heat from either starvation or thirst. Maybe he was even partially cooked before it happened. But I’m just guessing. Happy now?”

  I smirk and turn back so that I’m looking out the windshield once again. “Not at all.”

  Garan looks at me quizzically.

  “That creature could be us.” I’m only half-kidding.

  “We’re almost there. We’re very close to Sinsity.” His words are positive but his tone is tense. I watch as his eyes dart from the dashboard to the road ahead. His brow furrows.

  “What? What is it? Your expression just collapsed and died like the creature on the side of the road back there.” I toss my thumb over my shoulder, trying to keep the mood light when in my gut I sense something is truly wrong.

  Garan flicks his fingernail against the fuel gauge. It makes a ticking sound. “We’re almost out of gas.”

  I stare at him, dumbfounded. I try to process what he’s said and hope it’s a joke, though I don’t see anything funny about it if it is. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I wouldn’t kid about something like this.” He shakes his head.

  I rub my temples, trying to work through what I’ve heard. “I thought we took enough barrels of gas for the trip.”

  Garan shrugs. “So did I, but we used more than I anticipated.”

  I turn my head so that I face Garan. “How far away are we?”

  Scrubbing his face with his hand, Garan’s reply is vague. “We’re almost there. We may have to walk a few miles.” He pauses. “Maybe more than a few miles.”

  I stare at him, my face rendered expressionless. Pain creeps up the back of my neck and begins throbbing in time with my heart. I struggle to rein in my mounting frustration, careful to steady my voice. “You don’t know, do you?” I ask very calmly, my words coming out as a statement more than a question.

  Lowering his head sheepishly, Garan doesn’t speak right away. “Everything looks the same to me, too,” he blurts and gestures to the monochromatic world beyond the windshield. Desert sand with intermittent breaks of dry growth extends indefinitely. All that carves the beige landscape is the span of asphalt we travel upon.

  He has a point. From where I sit, it looks like the exact same landscape rolling out before us. I don’t know whether it’s the lack of water or lack of food getting to me, the lack of proper sleep or all that I’ve seen in the last month or so—perhaps it’s all of them conspiring against me at once—but it’s as if we’re frozen in time. I hear the whir of the engine and the steady hum of the tires passing over pavement, but it feels like the wheels on the truck are spinning but the world around us isn’t moving “You’re right,” I admit. “It all looks the same. It almost feels like we haven’t moved.” I don’t go into detail trying to articulate what my experience is. I’m confident Garan is all too aware. “So now what? Will it be days of walking?” My worry and annoyance are evident in both my demeanor and tone.

  “I doubt it.” Garan doesn’t offer a finite answer. How could he?

  The creature on the side of the road several miles back fills my mind’s eye. “If it is, we’ll die without food and water. And in the heat,” I say.

  “Yes, we will,” he agrees.

  It isn’t what I want to hear. Not by a longshot. “I’d better tell the others. They deserve to know what’s going on.” I rake a hand through the front of my hair. “Maybe they can rest or something. Conserve their energy.” I release a loud breath. “I don’t know.” I know one thing for sure. I won’t be able to rest at this point I’m far too stressed out, entertaining all sorts of grim scenarios of us wandering the desert, thirsty and hungry to begin with.

  Garan nods his head somberly in response.

  I rise slowly, my legs a bit weaker than normal, and make my way to the back of the truck. As soon as I reach the first row, crystal-blue eyes land on me. Reyna smiles. It is a sad smile. The loss of two in our group weighs heavily upon her—upon all of us. It weighs upon me, too. I try to force it to the back of my mind. I do not want it to drown me, though I know it could. Their deaths are my fault. And now new challenges face us. “Hey, guys,” I start. Clearing my throat, I glance around and take in all of the faces. Everyone looks worn and weary. “As you know, we’ve run out of water and food.” Nods ripple through the group. My stomach clenches. I dread telling them that we’ve run out of fuel and will have to walk, putting us in danger not with Urthmen or Uganna, or even deeply disturbed humans, but with the elements. With the harsh environment, hunger and thirst. They deserve to know. They have to know. I swallow hard, my throat feeling as if it’s coated with the same sand that coats the world beyond our truck, and speak. “Now, we’re just about out of fuel, as well.” The words are out. I’ve said them. I feel no relief whatsoever.

  A long pause stretches between us.

  Xan breaks the silence. “Nothing but good news today, huh?” He rolls his eyes. “We ate the last of our food supply, our water is gone and now we’re out of fuel. Great.” His sarcasm is neither overly bitter nor aimed at me. “What’s next, another roadblock with Uganna? Or maybe it’ll be Urthmen this time?”

  “That would be next,” Micah agrees.

  I know we’d have a clear view of any barricade set up in the distance, but after going for so many days without the threat of Uganna or Urthmen, the thought of a run-in sets me on edge. I turn and look over my shoulder, straining my eyes to look out the windshield and as far ahead of us as possible.

  “Are you seriously looking for one?” Xan catches me, sees what I’m doing.

  “Um, yes,” I don’t bother trying to deny it and answer.

  Xan laughs at my response. “Ah Lucas, at least you’re honest.” He scratches his chin then points to where I was looking just a second ago. “Even Ur
thmen can’t survive out there,” he says. “There’s nothing. It’s the middle of nowhere.”

  He doesn’t realize he’s arguing on behalf of the endless worry and fear hammering through me at the moment. “There’s no place to live, no lakes or rivers, and there aren’t any animals as far as I can tell.” He cranes his neck exaggeratedly, looking down the aisle toward the windshield. “I guess now that we’re out of food, water and fuel, we’ll find out for sure.”

  “I guess so,” I murmur under my breath. A small tremor of panic vibrates through my body. Life seems absent on the stretch of land we travel. Plants are scarce, and other than the dead creature, I haven’t seen a single animal. And forget about water. Water is nonexistent. All I’ve seen is sand, rocks and hostile-looking growth dotting the landscape.

  “We’ll be okay, right?” Ara asks. Her pellucid green eyes plead with me.

  I don’t want to lie to her, but I can’t bring myself to dash her hopes. “Garan’s not positive but he thinks Sinsity is close,” I say.

  “How close?” Xan’s question drills me the second my response to Ara leaves my lips.

  “He said it could be a few miles. Maybe more.” I watch as Xan’s eyes narrow and his brows furrow. “If we’re out there for more than a day, we’re dead. It’s that simple.”

  “I’m hoping it isn’t that far.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes. The headache I have intensifies, moving up my skull from the back of my neck to my face. “We’ve come this far. We’re going to get there,” I think out loud and mumble.

  “That’s right!” Xan’s voice booms like a clap of thunder. I didn’t realize anyone could hear what I’d said to myself. “No matter what, we have to fight. We have to live and make it to Sinsity.”

  Enthusiasm, though weak, remains in our group. Claps and agreements ring out. My mood is bolstered considerably. “We will live and make it to Sinsity,” I agree. My comment draws even more of a response. Reyna winks at me, smiling at me in a way that makes me want to go to her and scoop her up in my arms. I take several steps toward her, forgetting myself and the circumstances, but stop awkwardly. I look around to see who, if anyone, noticed. Kai is the only one who appears to have. His eyes, dark and shiny as polished onyx, dance with amusement. He lifts one brow at me then looks from Reyna to me. His smirk makes him look like a little boy who’s trying desperately to keep a secret to himself but can no longer contain it. I close my eyes and shake my head at him. When I open them, his expression is even more impish. I fumble for a moment, regaining my composure. I return to the pressing matter with which we’re faced. “What we need to do now is rest as much as we can. Lack of water and food and the heat will take a lot out of us.”

  “He’s right,” Aaron agrees. Everyone nods in agreement.

  I turn to take my seat in the front of the truck, leaving what remains of our group to wrap their minds around our predicament and attempt to rest.

  “How did it go?” Garan asks as soon as I sit.

  “As good as it possibly could,” I reply.

  Garan and I sit in silence for what I guess is less than an hour before the truck begins to sputter and shake. The bucking and juddering gives way to the engine ceasing. We coast for a few minutes before stopping altogether.

  “We’re on foot from here I take it?” I ask Garan despite knowing the answer already.

  “Yes we are.” He shifts the gearshift into park as he steps down onto the brake pedal. “The sun is low in the sky. At least we have that going for us, right?”

  I look at him blankly. Walking in the dark on no food or water and very little sleep sounds challenging in its own way. I’m not sure whether it’s better. Or worse for that matter.

  “The gas ran out?” Xan calls from the rear.

  “Yep. We’re walking the rest of the way,” I reply. I stand and turn. I move to my sister and brother first. “We’ll be okay. We’ve got a few hours of daylight left. Maybe we’ll luck out and find a plant that holds water or is edible,” I offer, though I don’t know if such plants exists. Who’d try it to find out if it’s safe? I wouldn’t risk ingesting a poisonous plant and dying a few miles from Sinsity. Or anywhere. And I wouldn’t allow anyone else to either. “That was stupid of me to say.” I blush at the stupidity of my words. “We’ll get to Sinsity and drink and eat until our bellies are full.

  Ara offers me a weak smile.

  Reyna places a comforting hand on my back.

  Garan joins us. He claps his hands together. “Grab you weapons, boys and girls. We’re hiking to Sinsity.”

  No one is amused. But everyone scatters and retrieves his or her weapons. I slip the straps of my scabbard over my shoulders and sheathe my sword. The weight at my back is familiar, comforting almost. Once each of us has what we need, we file out of the back of the truck.

  Bright, unfiltered light greets me. I blink several times, and then attempt to squint. But the glare from the pale sand at my feet and the intense white light beating down from overhead prevents me from doing even that. I clamp my eyes shut, the brilliant red behind my lids a welcome reprieve, before I try again. My eyes adjust slowly. They tear profusely at first before gradually acclimating to the blindingly bright world around me.

  My eyes are not the only part of me slow to grow accustomed to the desert environment. The sun sears not only my retinas but my skin as well. Feeling so overheated my skin feels two sizes too tight for my insides, my body feels as if it will spontaneously burst into flames at any given minute.

  “It’s so hot.” Ara shields her eyes with one hand and looks to the sun overhead. “The forest was never like this.”

  Without a canopy of trees to block it, direct sunlight burns from above. “There aren’t any trees to shield us from the sun,” I tell her. Her cheeks are pink already. I fear for her pale skin, for my pale skin. “The sun is strong. You have to keep your skin covered in order to protect it. Roll down your sleeves and take that piece of fabric at the bottom of your shirt.” I point to the hem of her shirt. “Rip it off and drape it over your head.”

  Ara tilts her head to one side skeptically.

  “I’m serious. Just do it. I’m going to also.” I run back into the truck and grab the first piece of fabric I see. It’s far from clean and either has blood or dirt caked on it in spots. But I don’t care. I place it on my head and step outside once again. “See, I’m doing it too.” I show my sister that I’m following my own advice and she smiles.

  “All right, let’s get moving. We don’t want to waste any time. Sinsity is close. Let’s get there.” Garan rallies us then turns and begins walking in the sand and heading parallel to the roadway.

  We walk for what feels like forever. Heat unlike any I’ve ever experienced singes every part of me. My lungs ache and my throat burns. My entire body throbs in time with my galloping heart. Dry heat feels as if it’s cooking me. My clothes, damp earlier, are dry now. Rumbling loudly, my stomach somersaults, hunger making known its demand for food. But there isn’t any food. And there isn’t any water. The sight of a shimmering silver lake crawling across the landscape would make me weep with joy. So would the sight of a plump rabbit, or a squirrel. Heck, I’d take a rat at this point! But I know none of what I wish for is possible. The climate is inhospitable. Animals can’t survive, not without a source of food or water, which doesn’t bode well for us.

  A quick glance at Ara concerns me. Her cheeks are a red so unhealthy they border on magenta. She pants, her breathing short and shallow. She catches me watching her and offers up a thin but determined smile. I smile back at her then, speeding my pace so that I am beside Garan, I ask, “Are we almost there?”

  “Soon,” is all he wheezes through labored breathes.

  I fall back into step with Ara, remaining protectively at her side as the sun sinks lower and lower into the horizon line.

  “It’ll be dark soon. Does anyone want to rest?” Garan asks.

  “I just want to get to Sinsity, then rest,” Xan says.

/>   “Does it get cooler at night?” Micah asks.

  “I can answer that actually,” Aaron pipes up. Xan and Micah focus their attention on him. “It does cool down considerably in the desert at nighttime. It might actually be easier to travel.” He pushes his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, sweat likely causing them to slip from their position.

  “Let’s vote,” I suggest. “All in favor of walking after the sun sets raise your hand.” I watch as every hand shoots into the air. “Okay. I guess we’re walking.”

  We continue after the sun collapses into the skyline. Before long, the sky above is an inky canvas speckled with more stars than I’ve ever seen in my life. The moon, round and fat, seems closer than usual. It casts stony light all around us. Cold has settled over the terrain. My mind struggles to comprehend how the daylight hours were so warm yet as soon as the sun plummeted, so too did the temperature. My eyes roam the group. Ara is shivering visibly. Her gaze locks on me. “I’m f-freezing,” she says.

  “Me, too,” I answer. Every muscle in my body begs to rest. The notion of walking makes me want to cry, in truth. But trying to sleep when I’m thirsty, hungry and shivering doesn’t sound much better. Everyone moves slowly, creeping at the pace of those who’ve been battered so badly their legs creak with every step. In many ways, we are. We walk until the moon disappears, awakening the sun. Looking to the horizon, the sun is an eager ball of fire cresting the land. Deep orange pales to salmon and stretches, melding with breadths of lavender and periwinkle. The sky is bursting with colors, rich and vibrant as it contrasts the monochromatic earth below it. But the landscape has changed. Tall structures are in the distance, not far at all. A large pyramid. Shiny glass shimmers. The scene ahead, the shapes and colors, defy reality. “What is that?” My voice croaks from thirst as I point to what I see, asking Garan.