Chapter 14: Heat Wave Nightmare

The heat was growing more intense as the heat wave was pouring heavily on San Theodoros. The waters had already dried up, turning the ocean into a dry desert. The hot air soon began to gain strength, suddenly turning into forceful winds. The winds swayed in every direction as it grew stronger, making walking on the surface difficult.

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The heat hit Malina's body hard as she walked across the dry oceans. She held her hands to shield her face from the dust that blew on her. It hurt her to see that the crystal blue ocean was gone and was now nothing but a slew of dry sand that held the ships still in their positions. The shiny green leaves on the trees were now charred and dry under the heat.

Lifting her head, Malina tried to find Young. "Young!" she cried out. But nobody was able to hear her from the howling winds that drowned out her words. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was out there somewhere in the mountains. This was it! This would be her last chance at survival! But she seemed to grow slower as she walked even more. She grew weaker with every new step she took.

The winds swirled more violently now, which ended up picking Rascal up from the sand! "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Don't worry about me! I'll catch up!"

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Not too far from the castle, but completely engulfed by the dusty winds, Young was galloping through the sandy deserts with Chabela, desperately trying to reach Malina. As he passed the overhead masts of ships, the sand was growing more thicker and denser. One of the ships began to shift and wobble as it hung precariously on top of the riders. "Come on, Chabela!" Young commanded. "Faster, girl!" Chabela obeyed and raced hurriedly from the moving ship that was soon to crush them.

Suddenly, the ship had tipped over from the violent winds and caused to fall over, ready to topple above Young. Young saw the impending danger and tried to race out of the way as soon as possible.

The ship fell over, crashing and splintering into pieces. The sand underneath Chabela''s feet began to give way to the ground. Chabela bravely jumped over the loose sand and bucked her rider off to safety on hard land. Then, she fell into the sand.

"Chabela!" Young cried out. "Chabela!"

Suddenly, the horse popped up from the sand with great force and landed on a nearby piece of large wood. She nodded over to Young to tell him that she was okay.

"Good girl!" Young said. Then, he changed his direction to the other side in an effort to find Malina.

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Meanwhile, amidst the heat and sand storms, Alex was lost in the desert that used to be the sea. She tried to look for Malina, but to no abide. She was still lost, somewhere, in this massive heat wave. Alex was worried Malina would never survive this heat wave. She could possibly be lost forever in this heat wave.

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Soon, Ian was out on the hot desert, struggling to survive the raging dust storms. He was already pursuing Alex, and by the time he reached the edge of the desert, he nearly had her at his hands.

"Alex!" Ian called out amidst the howling winds and raging heat. "You can't run from this!"

Alex turned and saw Ian, but with hurt in her eyes, she turned away from him. But he was persistent, so she turned back to him. "Don't try and stop me," Alex exclaimed back at him. "Please. Just take good care of my sister!"

"Your sister?" Ian laughed. "She returned from the mountains weak and hot. She said you melted her heart."

Alex gasped. "Oh no!" she whispered under her breath. She was overwhelmed at what her powers had done. Her worst fears were coming true!

"I tried to save her, but it was too late," Ian lied. "Her skin was fire. Her hair turned black. Your sister is dead because of you."

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With mighty force, Alex dropped to her knees and buried her head in her hands.

At that moment, the winds had stopped abruptly in response to Alex's overwhelming despair. The driving dust had ceased, leaving dust particles suspended in the air. Everything grew eerily still.

In the stillness of the air, the people of San Theodoros gathered at the dry shore, staring out among the dry desert. The view was finally clear, and they could catch a glimpse of their queen kneeling in the sand, bowing her head. Prince Ian stood just behind her.