We both took turns practicing with the guns. Papa had shown us how to shoot many times before back home on the farm. But it had been a while since either of us had shot. We didn’t have forever to practice, but it would be foolish to just walk in without practicing a little bit first. And with most things in life once you start practicing you see just how much practice you truly need.

  “Stop closing your eyes, Tiffany!” Tyla burst out.

  “I know, I’m working on it.” I gritted my teeth and turned back to the pistol in my hand. We weren’t really shooting at anything. We didn’t have a target or anything that we could really use in place of one. But if we were going to practice at all, it was now or never. Soon, we’d leave the desert and reach the city. For the most part, we had only come across little towns where we’d refill gas and spend the night in cheap motels. But soon we’d be reaching city limits and the main road that just could not be avoided. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe the sight of more people would cheer Tyla up a little bit.

  “Can I try again?”

  “Sure. We’ll switch.” I handed the pistol over to her. “Now remember, we can’t waste too much.” I sighed. “If only I had thought to do this sooner.” If only the plan hadn’t been so rushed and frantic.

  “It’s a pity, but I think we should rely more on you being unstoppable, unbreakable, and unbeatable, more than anything else,” Tyla piped up.

  "But it is possible that I do have a weakness that we just don’t know about.” However, I had tried many different and creative ways of ending my life in the past. None of them had worked. I flinched as Tyla took another shot and the sound rang out across the empty land around us. I glanced down at the gun in my hands. What on earth was I even doing? I sat down on the ground with a sigh. There was not enough time for this. We needed more time. But minutes just kept on slipping by.

  A million horrible things could have happened to the others during this time, things that we would be too late to prevent. What if some of them were already dead? No! Surely Alexander wouldn’t kill them. He needed them, right? But what if he got extremely angry and lost it? They were the only people I knew of who were just like me. I couldn’t lose them! What if I did. Not to mention, our parents were normal people who could die! What if I lost everyone? What if I was left all alone? But still, I’d have to go on living.

  “Tiffany.” I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Your hands are shaking again.” Great. Now I was also freaking out my sister.

  “I’m alright.”

  “You can’t die! Remember, you’ll be fine.” Oh! Don’t remind me.

  “I know. I just don’t want to go back.” I looked away. I despised the worry in my voice with every fiber of my being.

  “You know, once he’s gone, you won’t have to be afraid of him ever again,” Tyla said gently. That was true. She took my hand. Once he’s gone, we can go home and everything will be alright again, Tyla was thinking. This was nothing more than an obstacle in the way. I’d give just about anything to be like that. I gave her hand a little squeeze. I had no real reason to be frightened. Tyla was the one who in theory would be put in the most danger. She wasn’t the least bit worried. She was excited, so why couldn’t I also be? I needed to be better. I needed to be the one to make her feel safe. That was what I had always done with Connie. Why couldn’t I bring myself to do it with Tyla? Maybe it was just because Tyla wasn’t a baby, maybe it was just because so much time had passed by, and I wasn’t the same person I had once been. But the reason didn’t matter. What mattered was that I was going to change things, starting now. I reloaded the gun and turned back to the horizon. We had one more day, one more day of travel before we arrived. I wasn’t going to die, I wasn’t going to get caught, I wasn’t going to put my sister in danger. And I wasn’t going to give up.

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  “It’s huge,” Tyla breathed as we entered the city.

  “The buildings?” I asked.

  “Everything!” I couldn’t help but laugh. I guess it made sense. She hadn’t been in a city this large in all her life.

  “Well… I’d say you’ll get used to it, but I don’t think we’ll really be here long enough for you to get used to it,” I said.

  “I’m not sure I want to get used to it. You really used to live here?” I nodded.

  “But I must admit, it has gotten larger since I was living here. After a while, you’ll just learn to tune out the noise. Don’t worry.”

  “Like I said, I don’t want to get used to this. I don’t want to learn to tune it out. I just want to be out of it,” said Tyla. I laughed. However, Tyla seemed to have had a change of heart by the time we had checked into the hotel. “I take it back.”

  “Take what back?” I asked as we opened the door to our room.

  “Please Tiffany! Teach me how to tune it all out, all the noise.” I could help but chuckle a little bit.

  “Don’t worry, it’s just for one night,” I said, patting her back.

  “Fine. I’m just not going to sleep tonight,” she said bitterly.

  “Well, if you don’t plan on sleeping you might as help me plan where we’ll have breakfast,” I said.

  “Oh! I’d love to do that. What are the rules?"

  “Just make sure it’s not too expensive. We’re running really low on cash.” We really were. That meant either we get our friends back and everything works out, or we fail and end up on the streets with no hope of going home.

  “We’re right here, correct?” Tyla asked, tapping a spot on the map.

  “That’s the city, yes.”

  “Show me where home is!” I sat down next to her with a sigh.

  “Do you really not remember the last time I showed you?” She shook her head. I rolled my eyes. I didn’t need to see into her thoughts to know that was a lie. She knew that I knew it. I’d humor her. I knew it must be comforting to be told directly by someone where your home was. “Home is right here.” I slammed my pinkie finger down with such force that you could almost hear it.

  “Thanks!” Tyla smiled down at the tiny little speck with such warmth and affection in her eyes. I could practically see the fumes of blue homesickness rising off of her. Upon entering the city, we had been bombarded with warnings of the fumes. I had thought briefly about buying masks for us but thought better of it. We needed money and we were only going to be here for a little while anyway. But there was no getting rid of the homesickness Tyla reeked of. I rested my chin on her shoulder and slipped my arms around her.

  “It’s almost over, Tyla, it’s almost done. Soon, very soon we can go home. If we make it out of this, I promise I’ll get you back home, Tyla,” I whispered. I was saying to myself just as much as to her. These were the words that I needed to hear.

  “We’ll be okay,” Tyla said softly, “We have to be…we have to be,” she sighed.

  “Yes. Now let’s head to bed. There’s no telling what could happen in the morning. We need all the rest and relaxation we can get.”