Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
brAXTON
“What is that?” Ry asks from where he sits beside me, at the front of the wagon.
We’ve been searching for Penny for six days, with no luck.
If she’s somewhere out here in this desert…
there is no way she could survive this long in the state she was in with no provisions.
Not to mention the sandcrawler’s poison would be in her system.
It isn’t necessarily deadly, but without care it could be.
At this point, I think we’re all expecting to come across her body, unsure how else she could have survived.
The thought of losing her makes me nauseous and angry.
But there is a part of me, a big part of me, that doesn’t believe she’s dead.
I’d know if she was gone, wouldn’t I? Yes, I felt hopeless and devastated, but I could still feel my connection to her in my chest, in my heart.
I don’t know if I’m just clinging to hope or if that feeling has a deeper meaning.
None of us have spoken in days, so when Ry asks the question, I lift my head to see where he’s pointing. To the southwest of us is a strange darkness in the sky. But it’s only over one small area.
I frown, trying to squint against the bright sun. “I don’t know. Indy, Silver?” I call louder, so they look towards us. They turn the horses around and move closer as Ryker points in the direction of the darkness again. “Any ideas?” I ask.
They both frown at it for a moment before Indy’s eyebrows shoot up. “I think that’s a rain cloud.”
“In the desert? What does that mean?”
“It means it’s a sign of life, let’s go,” Indy says as we all turn in that direction and pick up speed. It’s far off, maybe a day’s ride away, but it’s the first sign of anything we’ve seen since we lost her in the dead of night.
I will never forget the moment I saw her reach out towards the sandcrawler.
I swear my own life flashed before my eyes.
Indy jumped on his horse and took off after her, but it didn’t take him long to return, saying it was too dark and the beast was so fast, he couldn’t follow its trail and lost it.
We spoke all night about the best plan of action for the morning.
And when the sun rose and there was zero trail left to follow, thanks to the winds, we debated again.
In the end, we decided we had no choice but to all stay with the wagon for the water.
The riders would sometimes move a mile north or south as we made our way east. As east was the direction the sandcrawler initially went off in, it was all we had to go on.
But what I feared the most was getting out the other side with no sign of her.
What would we do then? How could we do anything without closure?
And if she was out in this desert somewhere, I would never stop looking for her.
She was my entire world and I feel like my heart has cracked in half.
I didn’t want to eat or sleep, but Silver forced us, saying she would be upset if we found her and we looked like shit or couldn’t take care of her through our own weakness.
So, as we move across the desert towards that dark cloud, I pray to any god that will listen that she is okay.
“It’s disappearing,” Silver says, about twenty-five minutes later. “That’s so strange, normally a storm would move, not just… vanish.”
We’re all terrified that without the dark cloud, we’ll veer off course, so I don’t even so much as turn my head as I stare at the spot in the distance where it was.
After a few hours, I find myself blinking hard.
Am I seeing things or… or is there actually something out there? Right in the spot I’ve been watching.
“Do you guys see that? Something on the horizon?”
“Oh good, I thought I was seeing things,” Ryker breathes out.
“What is it?” Silver asks. Nobody responds, as we have no idea.
It’s just a tiny dark spot in the distance.
But the good news is not only does it give us a direction to head towards, but it also means that there is something out here, in the middle of the desert.
We are way too far from the southern edge for it to be the edge of the forest.
Hours pass and the sun slowly sets. We decide we have to camp as we can no longer see where we’re heading and the horses need the rest. I try to sleep, but I toss and turn, as do the other three, by the sounds of things.
“Brax, you awake?” Ry asks.
“Yeah,” I respond, staring up at the starry sky.
“Do you think she’s there?”
Fuck, I hope so. Before I can respond, Indy does. “Yes, I think we’ll find her alive and well. I can still feel her in my heart. I know she’s still alive.” I wish I had his optimism.
“I can’t believe this is out here,” Ry murmurs for the third time today. Hours ago, as we headed toward our destination and shapes started to form, we realized it was an oasis. Now that we’re close, we can’t help but pick up our speed again, desperate to get there and find Penny.
“Remember, we have to stay together. We need to assess the situation in case there are other people there that aren’t so friendly,” Silver warns us, and we nod.
He told us the same thing when Indy tried to ride ahead the moment we knew what it was.
But Silver was right, we need to be careful for ourselves as well as Penny, if she’s there.
Almost an hour later, we finally reach the edge.
We decide to keep our horses and wagon at the edge and move ahead on foot.
So after giving the horses a quick drink, in case we have to make a fast exit, we silently stalk through the palm trees and bushes.
The sound of water draws my attention and I motion the direction to the others, who nod in return.
When I finally see the pond, my gaze is instantly drawn to the man crouched at the edge with his back to us. He’s shirtless and his broad back is covered in small scars and his hair is braided down the back of his head. I’m pretty sure I could take him if I had to.
Ry taps my shoulder, getting my attention, and when I look at where he’s pointing, my eyes go wide.
Laying on a rock near the edge of the pond is Penny’s dress.
The one she was wearing when she went missing.
I know we decided to make a plan before taking action, but I can’t stop myself from leaping out of the trees with a roar.
The man spins in surprise as I yell, “WHERE IS MY WIFE?!” Tackling him to the ground beneath me.
My hand is clutching his throat, not enough to hurt him, but enough that he knows I could. And as I search his face, my anger turns to confusion.
“Indy?”
“What is it?” I hear him say from over my shoulder. Because of course I knew this couldn’t be Indy, but he looks just like him.
I hear his steps approach and then a sharp intake of breath before he whispers, “Apollo?”