rocky walls of the three monoliths that had saved their lives, sentinels of stone, standing alone in a vast expanse of nothing. The glaring sun hovered somewhere out of sight. A bird of prey screeched far above, a drawn-out sound that echoed against the desert floor and lingered in the air.

He then looked at the sisters, who were sitting against the monolith opposite him in a separate patch of shade. Annyka’s closed eyelids were swollen and purple, Ashidi was staring at her feet with bloodshot eyes, and both of their faces were flushed red. Wet draggles of hair clung to both of their faces, matted down by sweat.

“What happened?” he thought. “How did we get here?”

The bird screeched again, this time lower and louder. Nathaniel squinted upwards and saw the dark...

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