Trouble. That was Sarina's first thought as she landed on the ground in the tunnels her mother had just revealed to her. She looked up and watched as the last source of light she had was cutoff as her parents closed the door. She listened and heard the table being pushed back against the door. Then nothing.
Darkness. And silence. That was all that was left. Sarina laughed bitterly at herself because just an hour ago she had craved adventure, and now look! This is not what she meant but she guessed that was how it always worked. Her fear for her parents had now left her frozen, but what was she supposed to do? Even if she could climb back up the passage she had just fell in, then what? More tears fell from her eyes but she had to move. She couldn't bear to sit here. Maybe moving will help her think of a plan.
'Come one Sarina' she muttered to herself.
Lifting one leg and then the other, reaching a hand out to touch the wall, she let her hand guide her in the only direction the tunnel led. The stone was warm and smooth under her fingers, making her wonder how old this passage was. The air was warm and thick and smelled of dust. The tunnel was a head shorter than she was, making her bow her back as she walked.
Her mother was full of surprises, thought Sarina sadly. She couldn't keep her parents out of her mind as she walked as quickly as she could. She pictured her mother's beautiful face in her mind, imagining her golden brown eyes same as hers and her straight black hair that reached to her waist. Her peaceful face with round cheeks and full lips. Her heart ached as she continued to picture her mother. Sarina was very fond of her father but her mother was her best friend.
She held her mother's face in her mind as she took step after step. After what seemed like hours, Sarina was tempted to give into panic; when would this tunnel end! She stopped, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves and adjusted the bag that was slung on her shoulder. She began her trek again, and after another half hour or so, she felt a change in the air. It was colder and the stone she continued to touch felt cooler as well. She picked up her pace and maybe 30 more steps she walked right into a door, crashing against it roughly since it was still dark inside the passage.
Sarina moved her hands around feeling the door, which felt wooden and rough. Using her right hand, she felt around where she guessed there would be a handle and finally she felt a cool metal-like knob. She twisted and thanked the stars that it was unlocked. As the door opened it only revealed darkness and Sarina began to panic again. What if it only kept going? The only difference was she now smelled smoke. She touched the wall again and walked forward only to have her foot hit something. She lifted her foot, feeling the surface carefully before she realized it was a stair!
She took one stair and then another, going slowly until she felt something touch her head. She lifted her hands up and realized there was another doorway above her. She pushed and was met with no resistance as the door started lift and she continued to walk up the stairs. The door opened enough for her head to peek over the edge and her eyes were met with moonlit sand. She carefully climbed out of the tunnel, and immediately stretched her aching back from being hunched over for so long.
Sarina turned quickly to look behind her and up above the wall and was stunned. The sky above her city was blazing and fire appeared to engulf every building she could see. She couldn't tell where the tunnel had let out exactly, so she couldn't pinpoint her home in all of the chaos, but she barely had hope that her home had escaped unharmed. She wondered how long this feeling of dread would stay in her heart. The screams were faint but she could tell they were still occurring, so she ran into desert she had stared at all her life.
She ran and she ran and the blazing city behind her got smaller and smaller. The cold night air whipped against her cheeks and dried the tears that had fallen. The sky above her was filled with stars and a half moon hung above her, watching her as she ran. The sand pulled against her shoes and tried to slow her, but she strained her muscles and ran directionless. When her legs burned from exertion and chest heaved for air, she finally slowed, but she didn't stop. She walked forward, deciding she would find someone or something in all of this sand that could help her go back and try to rescue her family.
Sarina kept the thought of rescuing her mother and father in her mind and continued to move, searching the dunes for anything that might help her.
After more time had passed, Sarina began to feel the sleepless night she had. Still she was determined to continue, knowing that when the desert sun rose, walking would be almost unbearable in the heat. As if on queue, the sky began to lighten until the sun peeked up from behind her. She looked briefly behind her with tired eyes at the sun, and her city, Bamm, which looked small with so much distance between it and her. Looking back ahead, she continued walking with sore feet and an aching back.
Sarina began to think while she walked, why would someone attack? What did they want? Power? Resources? Her city was the largest in all of the surrounding areas with plenty of crops and even held metals such as silver. Maybe someone wanted their weapons. Or maybe it was a quarrel with the royal family. Her father told her they had been inactive for years. Sarina was very sheltered so she hadn't heard all of the rumors concerning the royal family. The sun continued to rise higher in the sky as she pondered why this had all happened.
As she was walking, she didn't realize her skin had turned from a beautiful olive to a pink and now, after hours was turning bright red. Her head began to fog and her steps dragged. Sarina paused and opened the satchel her mother made her and pulled out the water skin. She drank from it carefully before replacing it. Sarina wiped her brow that was hardly sweating and thought that might be a bad sign. She grabbed the thin maroon dress out of her bag and wrapped it around her head to get some cover from the sun. She was unbearably tired and tried to walk but stumbled and fell into the hot sand.
She pushed her upper body up and lifted her hand to try to wipe some of the sand that gotten on the side of her face. Useless, she thought and then laid back down in exhaustion. The intense heat was draining any energy she had left and she could barely keep her eyes open. She looked around her one last time and felt dull surprise when she saw what looked like a black silhouette in the distance. She blinked and didn't see the figure anymore and supposed she saw a mirage. She looked up at the sun, cursing the heat and fell unconscious from exhaustion.
As Sarina laid in the sand, a tall figure clad in all black drew closer. When the person was close enough to see a beautiful, but severely burnt girl laying in the dunes, they heaved out a sigh. Bending down, the stranger looked closer at the girl, curious what she was doing here. She looked young, with long dark lashes touching high cheeks that were harshly burned. Her nose was straight and her lips were full but chapped. Dark curls rested in a dark red dress that had been wrapped on her head. The mysterious person reached out and picked up the young lady, assuming she had fainted from sun exposure. The figure walked a little distance to where a camel was waiting. The stranger heaved the girl onto the camel, trying to touch her as little as possible, and then jumped on behind her, continuing their journey.
Sarina awoke to rocking back and forth. She squinted her eyes open and looked up, catching a glimpse of mans face swaying above her. She would've startled but she was still so tired. She looked down at the camel that was carrying her and then faded back into oblivion.