She awoke with the dawn. The sunlight streaming in through the mouth of the cave blinded her and caused her momentary panic. Isabel, not seeing the light in so long, felt a temporary return for the love of the God she had used to believe in. Stepping out into the morning, she was stunned to see the desert in a new and wondrous light. The sun was a huge red and orange fireball in the sky, touching everything in its warmth. She gazed at the scenery around her for several moments before she started making her way southward once again.
She had walked for over an hour when the sun's rays started to become overwhelming. Isabel stopped and pulled a water pouch from her robes, taking a long and delicious drink of the fresh rainwater she had gathered the previous night. It was then that she noticed the railroad tracks, barely noticeable under the constantly shifting sand. She followed them. Several miles she followed them until she came upon the scene of a wreck. A freight train, several miles long, lay in shattered pieces. The wreckage scattered around her in all directions. She didn't stay long enough to investigate. She could smell fear and rage and wanted nothing more than to leave the steel carnage behind her.
A sudden scream filled the air. Isabel whirled around, afraid and wishing she had not have come this way. The scream died on the wind. Isabel's heart was thudding wildly in her chest. Straining her ears, she began to wonder if she had imagined it. It came again, rising and falling on the wind: a scream of pain and pure rage. Instinct took over and she was running before she was even aware of doing so. She leaped over a chunk of partially melted steel and nearly fell on top of a badly burned man.
She gasped and knelt down to see if she could help. His face was smeared with dirt and blood and his clothing was in tatters. She pulled out the water pouch and placed it at his lips. He drank greedily and looked at her with brown-yellow eyes.
"Thank you," he croaked.
"You're welcome," Isabel answered as she returned the now empty pouch to her robes.
His gaze was very intense, his eyes seemed to burn with the ferocity of the sun as he took her in.
"You're a priest," he said, noticing her robes.
"Yes," Isabel said. "At least, I used to be."