We made our way over to the shade without seeing anyone or anything, and started to worry.

"Danny!" I heard Connor call, letting me know that I should do the same. We went on like this for a while, taking turns calling Danny's name.

As we went through the valley, we saw nothing but sand and mountains. Each corner we turned, every plant we passed, all started to look alike after a while. "I think we're going in circles, Connor," I told him, as we passed a cactus that I was sure I remembered seeing at least a dozen times before.

"No, look," he said, pointing into the shade of a large cliff, where I saw a small figure in what, at least from a distance, looked like a red plaid shirt. "Danny!" I called, knowing that from this far away, he would surely hear me.

The figure stayed completely still, forcing us to immediately think the worst. Connor and I exchanged a worried look, before we started to move towards Danny.

Even though we were slowed down quite a bit, what with Connor's broken ankle and all, we still managed to reach him rather quickly.

I knelt down to check Danny's pulse, hearing myself sigh with relief as I felt the light tapping against my fingers. "Yeah," I told Connor, nodding at him. He let out a deep breath, knowing he could rest easy now that Danny was going to be alright.

"I think he's got a bit of heat stroke," I said, looking up at Connor. "Well, is there anything we can—" "We'll need to help him to get him through the anomalies," I interrupted.

"Danny, you're going to need to wake up," I said, almost to myself, gently patting him on his cheeks and forehead. I saw his eyes flicker open, like he was struggling to pry them apart. "Abby? Where's Connor?" he asked weakly, holding out a hand for me to help him up.

Connor waved at him, grinning. "Here," he said, forcing me to laugh and roll my eyes. I helped Danny up, ignoring Connor's insisting on doing something. "You can't be doing anything now," I told him.

As we started to move back towards the anomaly, Danny on one side, insisting he didn't need any help and was fine, and Connor on the other, our arms around each other to help support him, we noticed that the bright sun above us was slowly growing duller.

The three of us stopped and exchanged a worried look, all thinking the same thing. Danny spoke first. "We should make it before dark if we hurry."

We kept going, stopping every time either Connor or Danny needed to catch his breath.

"What's wrong with you, anyway?" I heard Danny ask him while we were stopped. "Ankle," we both answered at the same time, feeling myself blush and looking down at my feet soon after. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Connor shot me a confused look, hearing Danny chuckle to my right. "Cute," he mumbled.

"Um…we should get going, yeah?" I offered, not being one at awkward situations. I had always been that way, squirming at any mention of me and my life or anyone or anything that half concerned it, and changing the subject as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, that might be best," Connor agreed, glancing at me for approval.

"Sure," Danny said, grinning from ear to ear, as he stepped forward to get a head start on us.

We ended up reaching the anomaly just after dark, when the three of us had to squint to be able to see where we were going. "Alright," Danny said, nodding at us to go ahead of him.

Connor absentmindedly tightened his arms around me, anxious to get to the other side. He waited for me as I took a deep breath before stepping through the anomaly.

Again, I cannot tell you enough how important it is for me to know what you think of my story, so PLEASE review! nothing long or anything, just a short review will do. PLEASE just tell me what you think. you've read it, you must have some thoughts, right? :D