It was one of the hottest days of the dry season on Temrack. The sun heated up the large sand dunes evaporating any moisture left from last week’s rainfall. The fourth planet from its sun, Temrack and all its glory was not for the faintest of heart. Kahree wrapped one of the sweaters around her head trying to stay cool. She then tore the lower half of her shirt off to expose her stomach. She was covered in sweat and panting like a dog begging for water. Sakiya however was something totally different... the heat didn’t bother her at all.

  “Here, take the rest of the water...” Sakiya handed Kahree the silver water bottle that was almost empty. “Hopefully, we get to a city soon before nightfall.” She climbed on the nearest sand dune to get a better look. There was nothing for miles it seemed... Just thick waves of heat which made the dunes seem like they were moving.

  Without Sakiya noticing, Kahree dropped down to her knees. She was panting so much there was a ring of sand forming around her dry cracked lips. “Fuck it, Sky I give up. Why couldn’t you have crashed in the damn city?” She took a fistful of sand in her hands and threw it to the wind only for it to fly back into her face. Kahree spit and shook her head furious for what just happened. “I’m going to fucking die out here while you’ll be just fine with you being half fire and all. I’m too hot to move anymore.”

  Sakiya sighed deeply and looked around trying to find some shade. “You are such a drama queen... we’ve only been out here for a few hours.” With no shade anywhere in their area, Sakiya decided the best thing to do was to keep moving.

  “I mean, how are you not irritated? Everything has been moving so fast! It was only twenty-four hours ago when we were summoned home to Stella. Only to watch our father bleed out in the middle of the sanctuary, which I’m sure has never happened before. Then we get shoved into a busted ass mail carrier, witness our father’s advisor get arrested, run out of gas and food to only crash in the middle of quicksand. Did I miss anything? I’m so fucking confusion and tired of this half cocked shit!” Kahree dropped her head down and began to sob. “I just want to go home, Sky.”

  “Come on, get on my back. I’ll carry you.” Without hesitation, Sakiya kneeled with her back facing her sister. “Get on before I change my mind.” Kahree huffed and moaned while getting to her feet. She climbed on Sakiya’s back then wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck. “Feel better? I understand how you feel serious; I do. I honestly don't know how to feel or think either. We were rushed out because Father didn’t want anyone to see us, remember? You’re right, Father is not the one to operate ‘half cocked’. There’s something serious fucked up going on... Once we get to a city we’ll sit down and figure this shit out.”

  Kahree sighed in relief, “You’re right... Do you think someone really betrayed us? Betrayed the Star Counsel? Father said someone is trying to focus reform but to what? I find all this hard to believe.”

  “I think we’ll find out more once we look through the silver briefcase... Honestly, for how things have been going lately I wouldn’t put betrayal pass anyone.” Sakiya looked around only to still see nothing but more sand dunes. She stopped not sure which way to keep going. “Damn... The compass broke when we landed.”

  “If I had to guess we’re going North.” Kahree stated while looking moving her head from side to side.

  “What makes you think that?” asked Sakiya.

  “Well, you see those birds over there? The ones who’s been following us since we landed. Those birds are called Haren Zerk, named after the well, Haren Zerk. He discovered that these little flying rats like to stalk their food. They will follow a meal for miles if they believe it’ll be fresh. They think we’re going to die out here so they can eat us.”

  Sakiya stopped in her tracks and replied, “And how is that supposed to help us again?”

  “I was getting there...” Kahree stated with a snippy tone. “Before nightfall the bird returns to its home which is always due North. It’s like they somehow know which direction North is. If we don’t come across a town before nightfall, I think we should follow them. Plus, they are really freakin’ tasty.”

  Sakiya laughed as Kahree moaned over her stomach growling. “Now, who’s the geek? And you just called them ‘flying rats’.”

  “It’s not funny.” Kahree slapped the back of her right’s shoulder. “At least I have a plan for us to possibly survive out here. What have you come up with?”

  Sakiya pondered the idea as she stared at the black and red birds flying above them. Their sharp small yellow beaks opened widely to quail a loud noise. For a bird no bigger than a boot, it was very loud. Several of them about ten circled the girls as they wondered the desert. “I was thinking I could shoot us into the air like I did on Eval and propel us to a nearby city, but we risk someone seeing us. Otherwise, I would have done that hours ago. It seems like we’re literally left with no choice but to be ‘one of them’... Total undercover. No powers unless necessary.” That’s when the idea dawned on her. “Why don’t you do your hypnotize thingy on the birds? Instead of us waiting for nightfall for them to return to their nest, we can follow them now. You said they’ll travel north, right?”

  “Yea...” Kahree said in a not so confident tone. “Do you know how hard it is to hypnotize animals? It’s hard! I have to make eye contact for at least a few seconds or touch one of them. You know this Sky!”

  “Then stare at one of them Ree! We need to know which direction north is. The cities we’re looking for are on the northside of Temrack. That much I remember... If we’re going in the opposite direction, we’ll surely die out here. Is that clearly enough for you?” Sakiya bounced her sister back to the center of her back. “Focus Kahree, just try...”

  Kahree huffed before turning her focus on the Zeck bird that suddenly and quickly landed right next to Sakiya as she passed. The bird bounced around on the hot sand picking through the sand for the desert bugs. “Sky, stop walking. It’ll be easier to make eye contact when I’m not moving.” As her sister stopped in her tracks, Kahree took a deep breath and looked directly at the small bird. Once she got its attention, the bird stopped flapping its wings.

  “Good Ree, keep it up. Make it want to go home.” Sakiya suggested in a whisper.

  Kahree cocked her head to the side as she realized she had the bird under her control. “Hello, birdy. I need you to do something for me.” She spoke in a soft voice to the bird who quailed back like it understood her instructions. “I think it worked, follow it!”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The Zerk bird shot off flapping its wings hard into the air. It made a sharp left heading in the opposite direction of the sun. The bird flied solo as it led the girls north for two and half hours. The sun was going down however it still beamed strong with no wind blowing, not even a slight breeze. The trip was becoming unbearable even for the Child of Fire. With no food or water, if they didn’t find their destination soon the desert was going to be their grave.

  “Look! Mountains Sky! We’re getting somewhere! Fuck yea!” The girls bounced around in excitement for they knew seeing the mountains was good thing. Just then, the solo guide quailed one last time as it fell out of the air. Kahree rushed over it to as it looked aimlessly at her before taking its last breath. “Oh no, poor birdie...” She said as she picked up the bird and stroked its feathers.

  “Hand it to me...” Sky demanded, she grabbed the bird by its yellow and orange feet and hung it upside down. “It must have died from pure exhaustion. I know the feeling... At least we have dinner.”

  Sakiya looked to the horizon as she finished plucking the feathers off the bird. Taking the pocketknife from her boot, she sliced opened the bird emptying its insides. After cleaning their next meal as best as she could Sky quickly lit the small bird on fire. Letting it slowly roast while still in her hands. After a few moments later, Sakiya shook the cooked bird extinguishing the fire. She pulled a leg slowly and began to blow the steam. “You know you want a piece... It’s yummy...”

  Kahree looked at her sister stuff her face before asking for a piece. Both nearly finished the entire bird before throwing the rest to the ground. “Oh, my goodness, that was a good idea.” She said while licking her fingers. Again, Sakiya looked to the horizon and notice the sky’s changing colors from blue to red. She was lost in thought until Kahree interrupted her, “So, when we get there what is the plan?”

  “The plan? The plan is to at least get somewhere before nightfall. It looks like we only have about two hours left. Let’s keep walking north.”

  “No, I’m talking about the details. I’m changing my name to Ree with two e’s instead of one. Also, I suggest we say we’re cousins instead of sisters. We have to keep make sure we have the same story.” Kahree stated as a matter of fact.

  Sakiya huffed before replying, “This is not my first rodeo with you, Ree... and your name is already spelled with two e’s, but ok I’ll play along. I’ll go by Sky since that’s what you call me anyway. We should say we’re from the Colonies.”

  That made Kahree stopped in her tracks. “What? The Colonies on Sage’s moon Blackius? Sage is one of the Star Counsel’s biggest allies. Don’t you look that would look suspect?”

  “Nope not at all...” Sakiya kept walking never skipping a beat. “If you think about it, the rebels first started on Blackius. It might earn us some brownie points.”

  Kahree rolled her eyes before replying, “I don’t know Sky, I feel like that might draw attention.”

  Sakiya was a few paces ahead when she turned around to face her sister. Before she could get a word out, she noticed a small cloud of sand coming their way. The expression on her face made Kahree also turned around to see for herself. “Is that a sandstorm coming?”

  Standing side by side, both watched as the fast-moving sand cloud came toward them at what seemed like unnatural speeds. Finally, seeing what was causing the sand being disturbed Sakiya couldn’t believe her eyes. “It’s not a sandstorm it’s a person on a wagon coming super-fast.”

  Within minutes, a small figure began to emerge into a focus. The man from afar, slapped his rains hard against the two gigantic creatures that resembled horses to keep up their speed. He was going so fast the amount of sand behind him looked like a small sandstorm. As the stranger got closer, the girls gathered their belongs and made sure the black Vix glass necklaces were around their necks. “No matter what happens, we’re getting on this wagon.” Sakiya whispered in her sister’s ear. Kahree nodded in agreement.

  “Whoa there!” The older man shouted to his four-legged creatures. He pulled his reins all the way back until his body began to arch. Small clouds of sand trailed behind them as they came to a complete stop. The man wore a blue raggedy cowboy hat with matching blue jeans, an open blue vest and dark brown boots. His was dark and weathered skin was burned from the sun. The girls could tell the dark skin wasn’t his original complexion. “There you are!” He shouted flashing a mouth half full of teeth. “I thought I’d never find you before dark. And I never thought I’d find two females out here alone.” The strange man jumped down from his wagon. “Was that carrier that crashed a few miles back, yours?”

  Sakiya was closer to the stranger than Kahree, so she answered the question. “Something like that... We ran out of fuel trying to get to the city.”

  The three of them stood in silence and looked at one another before the strange old man began moving around them in a circle. He looked at the girls like he was trying to see if they were a threat. “Is there something wrong, sir?” Kahree asked with a concern and innocence in her voice.

  “Nothing, nothing at all. I’m just amazed how you two survived one of the harshest deserts in the universe. Come along, now we have about an hour left of sunlight before everything starts to change.” The girls looked at one another as they followed the stranger back to his wagon. “Oh! I almost forgot!” The old man shoved his hand down a small pocket on his vest. He pulled out a small blue metallic rock the size of a large coin. An essence stone...

  This time the old man stretched out his skinny arm as far as it would allow as he tried to get closer to the girls. His demeanor changed to suspicion as he waved the blue rock around waiting for its answer. But nothing happened. The blue rock stayed the dull unlit color. Sakiya and Kahree clutched on to each other while they waited for the show to end. To their own surprise and relief, the Vix Glass necklaces worked.

  Once the old man saw the essence stone did not react, he let out a huge sigh of relief. “Well, sorry about that!” He slapped the back of his neck and began to laugh showing a mouth full of missing teeth. The girls could see his rib cage as he lifted his arm around his head. “I had to make sure you know! Where I’m headed, the peoples there are not to kind to them Star children folks. Where are my manners, my name is Phobos. A traveling merchant who goes from town to town selling and buying all kinds of things. Come and hop on board!”

  Again, the girls made a quick glance at one another as they got aboard Phobo’s wagon. He noticed Sakiya studying the massive animals that was pulling them. “They’re called Mammoth Horses. I found these two siblings on the planet of Corra. I have to keep their hair short while I’m here on Temrack because their hair can grow all the way down to their feet.” The blonde hair horse huffed as Phobos spoke. “Yea, I’m talking about you Goldie.”

  “So where are we headed, Mr. Phobos?” Sakiya asked in a calm soft voice.

  “Oh, just call me Phobos! Calling me mister makes me feel old.” He let out a roar of a laugh. “We’re headed to the city that never sleeps, Freeland.” The merchant again stretched out his arm and pointed ahead of him. Strobe lights filled the afternoon sky, as dusk approached. “Like I said, they are one hundred percent anti anything to do with the Star Counsel including its children.”

  Sakiya nodded her head as her attention turned back to strobe lights that filled the dusk sky. The colors slowly began to mix from blue to red to purple as the sun set behind the sand dunes. As they approached the light filled city, they could hear music and what sounded like shouting or maybe laughter. As the nightfall fell, the city of Freeland ‘turned up’ all the way. The whole night sky became alive with bright and elaborate colors. The girls were shocked how the night brought some much life. They would have had no problem finding the city once the sun went down. “Welcome to Freeland, ladies. Try not to get into too much trouble.” Phobo said as he picked up his speed toward the entrance gates.