Dry, dull, grey, brown sand surrounded me in every single direction. Even the sky was lifeless and colorless. The ground around me was maddeningly flat in every direction. The only sound that filled the silence was the rustle of the wind in the sand. The hot sun beat down on my face. I had forgotten just how bright the sun could be. Everything looked exactly the same out here. I felt tiny and helpless out here. I was just a tiny little speck in a sea of sand and nothingness.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Tiffany asked. I rushed to swallow all the nasty words I was about to use to describe the area around us.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” That felt like a safe answer. There wasn’t so much as one single speck of green anywhere around us. It was such a grim, stifling sight. How could she call this beautiful? Well, it was better than the colorful void. I should be thankful just to see the sun. Tiffany closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath.

  “I just love the way the air smells out here. It’s so clear and so clean.” I couldn’t smell anything. Maybe my nose was the problem. “So, are you ready to meet the “army” now?” She turned back to me. I chuckled.

  "Sure. How many people are there?" I asked.

  "Just three. There's only one who you haven't met yet," she said, grinning. "Some army, huh?"

  "Well, it's still amazing that they were able to save me," I said.

  "It really is. These are great people, Tyla. I'm so happy that you finally get to meet them," Tiffany said.

  We quickened our pace. Small, dusty shacks were scattered around this little chunk of nothingness, along with a few tents. Beverly and Ross were already waiting for us.

  Along with Beverly and Ross, there was a young man who looked around Tiffany’s age. He had bright red hair and was by far the skinniest person who I had ever seen in my entire life. I half expected the wind to knock him over; he was so tiny. There was another man, sitting in the shade of a nearby tent. His face was mostly hidden by the shadows. Tiffany waved to them.

  “Hello everyone. This is my stepsister Tyla. I know some of you have already met her, but to those of you who haven’t, here she is.” I nodded to them. The redhead came up to shake my hand.

  “I’m Roy White, good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” I guess everyone here had heard a whole lot about me already.

  “Well… it’s good to meet everyone,” I said, choosing my words very carefully. If these people were really that important to Tiffany I should try and make a not-horrific impression. “Thank you for helping me out and everything.” More polite nods.

  “Remember, Tyla, if you have any more questions, we’ll be happy to answer them for you,” said Ross.

  “Thank you, sir. I actually do have one thing that I’d like to know sooner rather than later,” I said.

  “Hm? What’s that?”

  "When can we go home?" I asked. "Do you think Alexander will ever get tired of looking for Tiffany?"

  "Tyla... it's not that simple," Tiffany said. Ross shook his head slowly.

  "As long as he is alive, he will look for her," Ross said.

  "Tyla... he spent every day of every year he could working with me. He never let me rest, he never left me alone," Tiffany explained. Her voice grew softer as she spoke. I could see the color fading from her cheeks.

  "So, it might never be safe for us to go home?" I asked.

  Nobody answered. Tiffany's eyes were full of fear now. She must be remembering something. I took her hand and squeezed it. "I understand," I whispered. Right now, I needed to keep Tiffany safe. She had just gotten her freedom back. I couldn't let Alexander drag her back to that awful place. I didn't want to cry again, but I could feel tears welling up inside of me.

  "Excuse me," I said quickly. I let go of Tiffany's hand and turned to leave. I knew it was rude to leave so quickly, but I didn't care. I didn't feel like talking. I should be happy. I was free. I was safe. But I just felt all hollow and empty inside. It was as if my heart had turned into a black hole that was slowly sucking away all my life. I just wanted to cry and cry until the hollowness left me. I didn't know where to go, so I found a shady corner near one of the tents to rest.

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  Here I could sob and scream and wallow in self-pity as much as I wanted to. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. My perfect little world had been flipped upside down. It was being ripped apart. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't need to look up to know that it was Tiffany.

  "Do you want me to leave you alone?" she asked. I shrugged. She sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tyla. This is my fault. If I had never sent that letter, we never would have ended up like this," she whispered.

  "I don't blame you," I mumbled. "I just want to go home!"

  "I know. I can't imagine how much you miss everything," she said. I looked up.

  "Don't you miss home too, Tiffany?"

  "I really wish I could see Mama and Papa again," she said. I frowned. I knew that she had always wanted to travel and see the world, but wasn't she homesick? She belonged on the farm, with me. I sobbed harder.

  "But home! Don't you miss home?" I buried my face in my hands as sobs shook my whole body. Tiffany just held me tightly. I let my body relax. I let my tears flow. It was so easy to close my eyes and forget everything that had happened. It was so easy to pretend that nothing had changed and that we were still two little girls whose lives were filled with small, everyday struggles.

  I shut out the blistering heat of the air around me. I shut out my own pain and sadness. I thought back and allowed myself to get lost in memories. Soon I was back home. I was a girl again and I was walking home from school.

  “I can’t wait till summer,” I said. Tiffany and I were walking home from school. “It will be a break from all the horrors of school!” Tiffany smiled.

  “Horrors?”

  “People being mean.”

  “The people who said you can be rude?”

  “I was thinking of someone else.”

  “Who?”

  “Abby! I hate her so much!” I said.

  "What did she do this time?"

  “She called me stupid! I’m not stupid, Tiffany! Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “No, but I think you need to take yourself less seriously. Trust me, people will pick on you less that way. It’s a hard thing to do. I know, but….” She trailed off. Then stopped dead in her tracks.

  “What is it, Tiffany?” I asked. She shook herself.

  “Nothing, sorry.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, I’m fine. I just thought I heard something.” She quickened her pace. Suddenly, a huge black dog leaped out of the shadows right in front of us.

  “Puppy!” I shouted, starting forward. Tiffany yanked me back.

  “Please, don’t go any closer!” she had her eyes squeezed shut now. “If we just stay very still and silent, then it’ll leave us alone.” But now the dog was approaching us.

  “Maybe it’s a nice..." a growl cut me off. “Oh. Leave us alone!”

  “Hush!” Tiffany’s eyes were darting around. “Maybe we should climb a tree. Dogs can’t climb trees. Right?” she started backing up, towards the large oak tree that hung over the road. But the moment she moved the dog charged at her. Tiffany let out a scream and covered her face. I jumped in front of her and lunged towards the dog. The two of us collided and I was tackled to the ground.

  “Tyla!” Tiffany shrieked.

  “Leave her alone!” I shouted in the dog’s face. The dog’s reply was to bite my shoulder, so of course I bit the dog right back. Tiffany screamed louder.

  I heard Tiffany running off, screaming for help. Yes! I had saved her. But now my shoulder hurt a lot and I was getting dizzy. The dog rolled off me and started running. But this time, it ran back into the woods.

  "You'd better run!" I screamed with triumph, before bursting into tears and clutching at my shoulder.

  “I take it back, Tyla, you are stupid,” Tiffany said. She was sitting next to my hospital bed. “You shouldn’t have lunged at the dog like that! It could have killed you.”

  “I don’t care; he was scaring you.”

  “Tyla!”

  “What? You said I should take things less seriously.” I couldn’t help but tease her.

  “You knew what I meant!”

  “But I thought you said I was stupid.”

  “Tyla!” Tears filled her eyes, and she buried her face in her hands.

  “Sorry.” I had gone too far.

  “No, don’t say that. I’m the one who should be sorry! I just stood there while it tore you to bits!” she sobbed. “I should have protected you!”

  “I’m not angry, Tiffany.”

  “I know! That just makes me feel worse.” I smiled. Now she knew how I felt.

  “You sound just like me!”

  “I kind of do… I’m sorry. Tyla. I should have taken better care of you! It was my job to look out for you!” She lowered her voice. “It’s not like I could have felt anything anyway. I could have protected you. I think I need to do better. I will.”

  “And I think you need to take yourself less seriously,” I said. Tiffany froze and glared at me for a solid three minutes before bursting out laughing. I laughed with her.

  “When will I ever learn? But I’m sorry. I’ll take better care of you.”

  “You take great care of me!” Tiffany smiled.

  “You think so?”

  “Of course!” I grabbed her with my arm that hadn’t been injured and gave her the tightest one arm hug that I could. “You’re an amazing teacher!” She really was, and I was thankful for everything that she gave me, taught me, showed me. But it was my job to protect her, it was my job to protect sweet little Tiffany. That was the way it always would be.