Sisters of the Sands

That night

That night I tried adjusting my sleeping position, but it was no use, these rocks were too uncomfortable. Eno was already fast asleep beside me, and thankfully he was warm enough.

In addition to the sound of running water from the nearby river, I also had Tau’s crying to contend with. I gripped my knife, stood, and wrapped the blanket tight around Eno.

Tau sat against a pillar of rock, tied up around it. Other than the robes we had found for her, she didn’t have anything else to keep her warm. She had been sobbing quietly, perhaps trying not to wake us.

When she noticed me walking over she stopped and focused on the dark waters. Her newfound silence was betrayed by moonlit tears.

I stopped in front of her and concealed the knife in my robes. ‘I’m trying to sleep. What’s the matter now?’ I whispered, careful not to wake Eno.

She kept staring out at the water. ‘Nothing,’ she whispered back.

I started back towards my uncomfortable bed.

‘Wait,’ she said, now looking into my eyes. ‘The real reason I jumped was...’

I shrugged. ‘What?’

‘I jumped because... I had something to prove. To myself, and to my friends. The others weren’t going to...’

Was she trying to get on my good side again? ‘Why didn’t the others help?’

’Because... we weren’t supposed to go down into the tunnels. Too much of a risk. That and... most of them don’t like me. I’m not a very good soldier.′

I scoffed. ‘Well, you hunted us down easily enough.’

She frowned and looked out into the water again. ‘Yeah, but I’ve never made a single kill... or a capture. I had to do it this time.’ She shook her head. ‘You nomads have always scared me. When I was little, all of my squad sisters were killed by your people. I was all alone and...’

There was a long pause between us, and the cold night air picked up.

She shivered. ‘Remind me why we can’t have a fire again?’

‘Air patrols. They always fly over any areas close to fresh water. The fire would draw them here, not just your people but the Male Dominion, too. There’s also bandits... and necrolisks.’

She shook her head. ‘Alright, alright, I get it. So how do you expect me to sleep, let alone walk through the desert again tomorrow?’ she whined, now raising her voice. ‘I’m exhausted, I’m freezing, and these rocks are driving into my back!’

Eno stirred and I shot Tau an angry look. ‘Keep quiet.’

She followed my gaze. ‘Sorry.’

I moved in closer. ‘Thanks to you, we lost almost everything in our bags. That blanket is for us and you’ll just have to make do.’

She sighed. ‘I’m hungry.’

‘We all are. We’ll go fishing in the morning. Until then, stop complaining.’

‘Okay,’ she said, looking down at my feet, before lifting her eyes again. ‘Why did you save me? I’ve been going over it in my head, trying to put myself in your position. Dragging me through the desert on the slim chance the Female Dominion catches up with us? I’m just slowing you both down. It doesn’t make any sense.’

I smirked. ‘I seem to remember you being so sure your friends were going to get “the drop” on me.’

She shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, I’m still here, aren’t I? So, no more lies. Why did you save me?’

‘Hmm, no more lies, huh?’ I began, before stopping myself. The real reason I saved her?

She leant forward expectantly. I glanced over at Eno to make sure he was still asleep and then sat down on the raised, fractured bedrock, which was the perfect height.

I gestured over at Eno. ‘You have to promise not to tell him, got it?’ I whispered.

Her eyebrows raised, intrigued. ‘Yes, okay, I promise.’

I sighed and dropped my chin to my chest. ‘I used to be in the Female Dominion, like you.’

Tau’s eyes blinked rapidly. ‘What?’

‘It was a long time ago now. I escaped and my family adopted me. They pretended I was really their daughter so that the other nomads wouldn’t kill me. But I always knew...’

A smile spread across her face. ’That’s... that’s fantastic news! You can come back home again. Do you remember what city you were from?′

Her question stirred long-dormant memories. I remembered what the bright, silver city looked like, but not its name. And the only person’s face that stuck with me after all this time was my trainer’s. I remember her being the only kind adult, a mother figure. I hoped she was okay.

I broke away from the fantasy. ’No, but it doesn’t matter. I’m never leaving Eno’s side. I’m the only family he’s got left.′

‘But... he isn’t your real brother?’

‘No, he is. Where I came from means nothing. He is my brother, and I’d do anything to protect him.’ I glanced back at Eno again, then back at her. ‘I saved you because I saw myself in your position. I couldn’t let you die, because if I turned out okay...’

‘I’m not a bad person,’ Tau said, straightening up against the rock.

I gestured at Eno. ‘Well, neither are we. And look at what you’ve done to our family.’ I sighed. ‘Look at him, does he look like a cannibal to you?’

Tau shook her head. ‘No.’

‘If I died, I don’t know if he’d survive on his own. And if that happens, I blame you.’

She creased her brow. ‘I wasn’t the one that killed your grandfather.’

‘You may as well have been.’

Tau took a deep breath. ‘So where do we go now? What’s your plan?’

‘We can’t stay on the river for too long because everyone else does. So, we continue west.’ I stood up and walked over to her. I pulled out my knife, and she panicked.

‘You won’t survive alone either,’ I said. ’If you run, or try to hurt us, I will kill you. I can’t guarantee that I’ll find food and water for all three of us. You need to pull your weight. In return, I’ll one day make sure you get back to your big, safe city, a place where you can forget about what your people really do out here. Deal?′

She nodded, and I cut her binds. I waited until she wiped away her tears, then I helped her up and brought her over to Eno. We both lay down next to him, keeping him in the middle. I clenched my knife tightly as I brought the blanket over the three of us.

I could hear the soft swishing of the water in my canteen with each step up the sand dune. It felt light, almost empty. Three days had passed, and the heat rose from all around us. The smell of desert herbs was carried on the stinging wind.

Reaching the top of the ridge, I shielded my eyes from the bright vista. The dry sand in the distance hummed, something the desert did that I’d never gotten used to. There were craggy peaks on the horizon, beyond the vast wasteland before us. There was a hint of green on the cliffs. The great forest was so close.

Eno was keeping up with me, but Tau stumbled and panted from exhaustion. Was this the first time she had traversed the desert without the aid of technology? Her face was bright red, burnt from the sun’s harsh rays.

Funny, I wished she had been this feeble when she chased us earlier. Although a well-trained soldier, it was almost laughable how ill-prepared she was for this. That said, we could all use a little water.

Without Aberym, I had no idea where to go next, other than farther west into Metus. Even if I did know, I didn’t think I had it in me to follow through on his plan to unite all of the nomadic peoples against the Dominions. Anywhere that had shelter would be fine, a place where we were safe. Perhaps with other good people, but I’d prefer if it was just Eno and I. As for Tau, I still didn’t know what to do with her.

’You’re really slow!′ Eno called back.

‘We’re almost there,’ I yelled, hoping to motivate her. ‘Ready for another jump?’

A look of relief replaced her fatigued expression, and her pace quickened. ‘Can we teleport somewhere with shade this time?’ she asked, joining us on top of the ridge. She, too, raised her hand to shelter her eyes from the harsh light. ‘Can you make the distance to those mountains?’

‘Of course she can,’ Eno said.

I looked out to the distant cliffs. ‘I have enough energy for a couple more tries, but then it looks like we’re walking the rest of the way from there. There’s an old forest beyond those hills and more rivers than we would know what to do with.’

‘How do you know what’s over there?’ Tau asked.

I shot an angry look back at her. ’Our grandfather had a map, and we were trying to follow it.′

She lowered her brow. ‘I said I was sorry!’

I circled my fingers as she spoke. Even though I was tired, I was surprised I was able to conjure this many portals in this amount of time, much more than when I was a kid. Perhaps the stress was just what I needed to get better at this?

As I focused on a point in front of us and one far in the distance, the desert wind picked up and shifted the sands like waves in an ocean. An upright portal opened before us. I looked beside the portal to the green hills, and then back at the portal and saw the same image magnified.

I walked through with Eno, followed by Tau. As I closed the portal, I faced the mountains. We were much closer, but my captive wasn’t impressed. She slumped to the ground with an exasperated sigh.

‘Break time is it?’ I called back.

‘Yes... just... give me a chance to rest,’ she said, and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

It was just as well. I didn’t think I had another portal in me for a while.

Eno gazed at the canteen on my belt. ‘I should get more water than her because I’m not complaining, right?’

I eased down into the sand. ‘We’ve only got a little bit left; we need to ration it.’

Eno groaned, collapsed, and rolled onto his back. He stared up at the sky. We sat in silence, listening to desert wind.

‘Look!’ Eno shouted and pointing into the distant sky. ‘More L lines!’

I squinted at the distant skyline and saw two lines crisscrossing each other.

‘Grandpa would say that’s good luck,’ Eno said, smiling at me. ‘We’re going the right way.’

’Eno, Grandpa wasn’talwaysright. L lines are a natural phenomenon, like the wind or... the rain. The sun and moon,′ I scoffed.

‘Why... are we doing this?’ Tau asked.

‘What?’ Eno replied. ‘Travelling? Dying of thirst?’

I glanced at Tau. ‘You mean the war?’

Tau closed her eyes and pointed in Eno’s general direction. ‘No, he got it. As for the war, the men started it almost 600 cycles ago.’

Eno’s face screwed up. ’Yeah? Well,maybeit’s because the women wouldn’t stop complaining.′

I could hear a soft buzzing in the distance. I glanced in all directions to find its source.

Tau smirked. ‘Or maybe it’s because the men are violent, destructive, and stupid?’

Eno sat up again. ‘I bet any man can survive in the deserts longer than you can.’ He picked up a handful of sand and cast it in her direction.

A dark spot hovered in the distant skyline. An aircraft. Had they already seen us? It was too soon to tell. I didn’t have enough energy for another long-distance portal, and it would be foolish to run through the empty wasteland. There was only sand in all directions. I shot up and scouted for something we could hide behind, anything.

Tau noticed my worried expression. ‘What is it?’ Then she, too, heard the noise and turned towards the aircraft.

‘Get down!’ I shouted. I ran over and pulled them both behind the dune’s ridge.

Tau’s stare bounced between me and the craft. Her eyes were wide, and she took quick, shallow breaths. Was she about to run? If she signalled them, it’d be over.

I slowly shook my head. ‘Don’t.’

She breathed heavily. ‘But... it could be my way home?’

‘Or it could be the Male Dominion!’ I yelled, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her back into the sand. ’Do you know what they’ll doto you if you’re caught?′

I focused on the horizon. The distant droning was becoming far more distinct. Eno and Tau were now lying on the ground to hide, and so I did the same. Eno grabbed onto my leg tightly.

I started twirling my fingers and mustered up as much strength as I could. The veins in my forehead throbbed. I focused on a point just above all of our heads and another point on the sand.

The two portals opened; the first above us, facing up, and the other on the ground as far away from here as I could make it, facing down. I tried making them as wide as I could by stretching my fingers. This should work. From our side, the portal just showed the sky, but from their point of view, we should be nothing but another patch of sand.

I had opened it just in time for the aircraft to fly over us. Its turbines emitted a high-pitched whirring. As it passed, I examined its sleek frame for the insignia that denoted its faction. An intimidating symbol on its tail was similar to that of a necrolisk’s head and claws; it was the Male Dominion.

‘You were right, it’s them,’ Tau confirmed.

The craft abruptly veered left and turned around.

‘It’s coming back,’ I said. ‘Down!’

Tau knelt back in the sand.

I shifted the portal above us in the direction of the aircraft with one swift pull, positioning it like a shield. Did they see us? The illusion should’ve concealed us. I continued to track the aircraft with my portal so that it was always facing them.

The aircraft slowed and the machine let out a sickening hiss. It circled our spot numerous times before landing on the top of the dune above us. The whirring of the turbines slowed, and a mechanical shriek sounded − as if something had been left unoiled. It came from the side of the fuselage.

A long ramp winded down and rested onto the sand. I poked my head to the side of my portal for a better look. Three fully armoured soldiers stepped out the doorway, so I hid again. The men stomped down the ramp.

‘Nothing. Honestly, Izuk, this is the last time we put you on scanner duty,’ one of the soldiers said in a gravelly voice, muffled by his mask. ‘There’s nothing here. Get back in the AV!’

‘But, sir,’ another soldier said. ‘I know what I saw. It was bandits!’

I heard the thud of body armour, possibly of someone being punched.

‘Get back in the AV. Now!’ The other two soldiers walked back up the ramp.

My fingers twitched and my elbow ached.Hurry up and leave already.

‘Wait,’ the leader said, and the footsteps on the ramp halted. I could hear more footsteps in the sand. They were getting closer. ‘You were right. There are footprints over here.’

How was I going to get us out of here? This illusion wasn’t going to fool them up close. Our grandfather taught me how to fight against unarmed combatants, but this was different. Should I bring the portal down over us to teleport a few dunes over? No, we wouldn’t be able to outrun them. I needed to act, and it was now or never.

‘What is this thing?’

I threw my hand forward and the portal in front of us flew into the nearest soldier. The sand on the face of the portal smacked into him and flung him over the dune and behind the aircraft. The illusion was broken, and the two remaining men spotted us.

‘What the?’

They trained their weapons on us and went to clench their triggers. I wouldn’t be able to retrieve the portal in time. This was the end.