Alice

I couldn't sleep well that night, even when I knew that Shun and most of my friends were safe and beside me. Maybe it was the cold night, or the fact that the Officials had been a couple of miles from us. That alone was enough to keep my nerves on end. How did we know that they weren't still out there, searching for us?

Out in the middle of this bipolar environment, we were wide open and exposed. I was laying against Shun's chest, thankful that I didn't have to depend on Marquis for another night of warmth; his smell had given me enough trauma the night before. But sadly, Murucho had taken my place, and I was sure he passed out from the stench of sweat and fish. Shun moved next to me, and I found his tired amber eyes looking down at me.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I shook my head and told him, "Can't." I thought back to how overjoyed I had been when I saw him and the other part of my friends. I thought it would be impossible to find them, but we did. He sighed, and I felt his chest rise as he took in the heavy breath. I moved my eyes up to look at him and asked, "What happened to you the night we all got separated?"

Shun brought his hand up and shook some sand from his hair. "I heard Feliciana and the dog sled team scream, so I ran forward to try and see if I could find any sign of them. But I ended up falling in this sand trap with the rest of them and was knocked unconscious till morning….What about you?"

I shrugged and said, "Guess we just wandered away from everyone else like the rest of the group." I ran my hand across the sand. It was cold on the top, but still warm underneath from the time it spent under the sun. I stared at the remains of the pitiful fire we attempted to build; it never stayed going for more than an hour at the most.

But that was surprising on its own since we had none of the materials to build one; we were only able to use some randomly scattered pieces of wood that were no bigger than my hand. It did its job thought and kept us somewhat warm as long as it burned.

Shun's gaze was fixed in front of him when his asked, "Do you think we'll find the rest of the people we brought with us? I don't mean all of them, but at least some." Again, I added together the odds that it took for us to run into Shun and the others.

They were slim on their own, and I knew the odds for finding over a hundred people in this huge desert, was impossible. Maybe we'd find a wanderer or two, but I really wasn't expecting we'd find anyone else. Not even Runo. I felt myself sadden with the thought of my loyal friend freezing out in the desert night, possibly not having anyone to share warmth with.

"I don't know if we'll find anyone else. I hope we do though," I responded. I blinked back a tear that was forming due to the thought of my closest friend being gone. It almost gave me as much grief as when I wondered if Shun was still alive or not.

Shun ran a hand through my hair, which relaxed me. It seemed to be doing the same for him as well because his eyes were starting to fight their way closed. Or maybe he was just tired and unable to sleep, unlike me. But with my hair being stroked, I felt myself starting to join him in that same state.

Shun

"I'm beginning to wonder if anyone even lives out in this over," Dan grumbled. Like anyone else, he had figured that a change of climate meant that we were upon another civilization of people. So far, the only people we had encountered were those Officials from the other day.

Murucho looked at the map and said, "There's something out here that's been circled. So, I'm guessing people do live out in this desert." It was kind of hard the grasp the concept if they did. What would anybody eat or drink in such an unforgiving place?

At least the Tribe people had some animals that lived in the Snow Zone that they could hunt for food. I heard the sound of somebody trying to hurl, and turned to see Marcus was the source. He coughed up nothing but his own stomach acid; not having eaten for a while.

The heat was getting to each of us in different ways, and was already taking its toll. The majority being in dehydration and over exposure to the heat. I prayed for the day I could finally wash away all the sweat and sand from my skin. I wasn't the only one thinking that either.

We all wore that kind of thought on our faces. Mainly Julie and Alice's; Feliciana looked like she could care less. Murucho growled in frustration and shook the map. "Gah!" Alice, Dan, and I stared at the blonde. The brunette told him, "Relax, Murucho."

Murucho whipped around and narrowed his eyes at Dan. "I'll relax when I can figure this map out! According to my calculations, we should be at the spot marked on this map, but do you see anything? Cause I don't," he snapped. He began stomping up and down on the sand like it would accomplish something.

All it did was make him look like a mad kid. He had been out in the sun and trying his best to steer us in the right direction, so I didn't say anything. If anything, Murucho needed to let out some steam. Alice, in her gentlest voice, said, "I'm sure we're near it, Murucho."

The short blonde hung his head down and sighed. A few feet from us, I saw Julie walking around and surveying the area when she fell and hit the hot sand. She sat up and said, "Darn it. I tripped on something sticking out of the ground." We walked over to her and looked around for what caused her to fall.

"I don't see anything, Julie," said Dan. Her eyes scanned the sand. "I know I felt my foot trip over something sticking out of the group- There it is!" she shouted. Julie pointed her index finger out in front of her. I saw the object, but had no clue what it was.

Alice helped Julie to her feet while the rest of us walked over to the mystery object jutting from the sand. Murucho knelt down and started brushing sand and dirt away from it, and we soon found out that whatever it was, it was big and buried beneath tons of sand.

Dan and Murucho dug down the side until we found the one thing that told us what it was. A window. This was a house that had been buried under the sand. But I doubted it was some elaborate design by people that lived in it. The cracks in the window's glass were proof of that. Feliciana was standing a good distance from the underground house we found.

She said, "I think I found what was marked on the map." When I looked closer, I noticed more similar looking things jutting out from under the sand. A sudden gust of wind, revealed even more of them. This was the most recent stop we had to make, and it wasn't even here anymore.

Taken away by sand and gone. It was a bittersweet discovery. Now we wouldn't have the worry about taking more people with us, or leaving them behind for the Officials. But now, our resting place was wiped off from the face of the Earth. Any food or water they may of have, was no longer there for us.

Feliciana asked Murucho, "Where do we go from here?" Murucho pulled out the map and told her, "Now that I'm certain where we're at….We need to go back that way." He motioned towards what he told us was South. That was the way when we first departed from on the start of our journey.

All this travel, and now we got to return back and scale the mountain and see what was on the other side of it. But the risks involved going by the City that was now overrun with Officials. It also meant I got to go back by my old home. I didn't want to. I didn't want to see what atrocities the Officials committed there; if there was anything left of it to look at.

"Let's get moving then," said Feliciana. Dan jumped in front of her, making her stop walking. "So you're just going to leave all the people we brought with us behind? What about your people?" Her eyes were cold and narrowed at the brunette.

She said bitterly, "My people haven't survived this heat. The only reason my sled team and I have is because we had food and water with us. The rest of the Tribe didn't. As much as I don't want to admit it, they're dead." I snuck a look at the sled team. Their heads were held low. They thought the same thing as well.

Maybe it was true. The Tribe people weren't designed to live through this kind of heat; they were so accustomed to the chilling climate of their homes. They probably were gone. All those people we brought with us, wouldn't get to see the end of our journey.

The only ones left of them were Feliciana and the sled team. I didn't feel all alone anymore though. I was the only Outcast left. But the Tribe was more closely relatable to Alice and her friends. They weren't the last one left alive from where they came from. Dan bowed up and snapped, "You might not have any faith that your people are alive, but I might want to make sure all of my friends are."

And by his friends, he meant Runo. Alice stepped between them and said, "How about we leave something behind in case anyone else finds this place?" Dan looked reluctant to the idea, but he knew we couldn't stay out here in this desert much longer. "Fine," he said and walked away from Feliciana.

Alice found a dried limb laying in the sand, and tore a piece of fabric from her tattered dress. She then tied it to the top of the stick, and stuck the other in into the sandy ground. Now, a little purple flag waved in the scorching wind. Dan made a quick remark.

"How will they know where to go from here if they do find it?" Murucho looked at the map, and found a way to secure it to the stick. "I can tell which way South is by looking at the sun. They need it more than us right now," he told us. I stared at the flag. The only signal that people once lived here. A marker of our most recent stop. Val was fanning himself and said, "Great. Can we get the hell out of this…Hell?"

In their eyes, I saw they didn't want to leave either. But they knew from the start that not everyone would make it through this journey. We started to walk South, and I turned to see Dan still staring at the makeshift flag. I glanced quickly at our moving group, and ran towards the brunette.

"Are you coming with us?" I asked, already knowing that he would. "What would you do if Alice was still out here? Would you leave, or stay and try and find her?" he asked, not taking his eyes from the purple flag. I sighed. "I'd stay and look for her if she was still out here. But that's my own decision. It's whatever you feel you should do," I told him.

He lowered his head. "I'd stay and look for her, but I don't even know where to start. I'm sure on my own I would die way before I found anybody. Guess all I can do is hope that they find this place," he said solemnly before walking after the others.

wish me luck for tomorrow, for i have an English state test. (which will take most of the school day and will be boring us to death) read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~