Trisha lay in a coma on life support, her parents crying near her hospital bed. Time was running out and the decision to discontinue the life support was being discussed. But unknown to her family and doctors she wasn't dead, but trapped inside, ins...
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Gusts of wind blew fine grains of sand over large rolling dunes stretching for as far as the eye could see. Dune after dune rose and fell until finally sinking into the horizon. There was no scenery, just sand. Heat rose from the baked landscape warping the air and sucking any moisture away in an instant. There were no animals, no insects, no plants, nothing lived in this desert. A dead zone, void of life.
The Dreamers had only been walking for an hour in the desert, following the two suns to the west, and already they were nearly out of water. The intense heat sucked the moisture out of their bodies so quickly, even though they had all changed into white loose-fitting long-sleeved shirts and pants, a wide-brimmed hat with a closed crown and sturdy hiking boots. This protected them from the sun's rays and allowed air to circulate, helping keep them cool. But they couldn't get enough water. With no idea how far or even where the oasis was they were in trouble.
"I'm dry." Nate complained looking at his water bottle with disgust.
"So am I." Crystal said shaking her water bottle over her wide open mouth. "How much farther to the oasis you think?" She asked Trisha.
"No idea." Trisha shook her head. "It doesn't give distances on the map.
"I wish we could have waited until after dark." Mike complained. "We aren't getting anywhere very fast walking through loose sand. I only hope it slows the undead down more than it does us."
They had reached the top of a rather large dune, hoping it would show where the oasis was. But when they reached it they were disappointed to only see more sand dunes all the way to the horizon. A short way behind them was the cave mountain, the base falling into the dunes. It looked like it was only a mile away but it had to be further. They had made so little progress from so much effort.
Trisha looked behind her. Fluffy was panting hot breath on the back of her neck, not helping. His huge tongue was hanging out, but no saliva was dripping from his mouth as usual. "Guys, we forgot water for Fluffy!"
Nate smacked himself in the head. "Crap! Why didn't I think of that?" He said walking over to his wolf. "I'm sorry buddy. We'll find some water." He thought about heading back to the creek, but it would be dark by the time they got there and the undead would be coming down the mountain. "This is bad guys! What do we do?"
Trisha looked past Fluffy and at the Verdak, its huge body casting a monstrous shadow down the dune they had just climbed. "We should walk behind him in the shade." She thought to herself. Then she looked at his poor wings stretched out on either side of him with burned holes.
"Hey, remember what I saw before we heard the Verdak in the forest?" She asked everyone.
"You saw a shadow, right?" Mike answered.
"Yeah, I think it was his." She pointed at the Verdak. "He was flying over us."
