During a class trip to the Sahara Desert, a bizarre choice for a group of children, but our teacher had insisted, it became clear that things were not as they seemed. Most of the students were more interested in the adventure than the desolate landscape. Our teacher, an absent-minded woman at the best of times, had wandered off with another woman who was to take her to a local healer. A handful of students followed, leaving the rest of us with the so-called tour guide.
This "tour guide" was more fascinated by the parade of sports cars speeding past us in a whirlwind of sand and exhaust. A rapper was there, filming a music video to flaunt his fortune. The guide's eyes were glued to the spectacle, distracted and enthralled by the roaring engines and flashing cameras.
That's when Tasha made her move. With a devilish glint in her eye, she and her posse sidled up to me. "Come on, Liora," Tasha urged, her voice dripping with mock enthusiasm. "Let's ride camels to an oasis near the hills." Her words were a trap, the bait wrapped in the peer pressure of those watching.
I hesitated, the warnings of the desert's dangers echoing in my mind. But then the others began to pressure me, their voices combining into a singular force I couldn't resist. "Are you scared?" they taunted. "What's the matter, rich girl? Afraid of a little adventure?" I couldn't refuse, not when their eyes were burning holes into me, waiting for me to falter. So I agreed.
We took the camels and ventured toward the hills. The roaring of the sports cars faded into the distance as we moved further away, replaced by an unsettling silence. Upon reaching the hills, I looked around in confusion. There was no oasis, just an expanse of endless sand. Something felt off. I turned to question Tasha, but before I could speak, she shoved me. I tumbled down the dune, sand spraying around me as I rolled. I managed to scramble to my feet, my heart pounding, only to be hit by a barrage of sharp, crystalline specks that stung like a swarm of angry bees.
I fell to the ground again, wincing in pain. Above me stood Tasha and her minions, their shadows stretched long against the sand. Tasha's grin was venomous, her eyes gleaming with malice. This wasn't just a prank; this was something far more sinister. I tried to rise, my body screaming in protest, but another shower of crystal shards forced me back down.
"Run, little princess!" Tasha mocked, her voice carrying over the desert wind. I staggered to my feet and did the only thing I could, I ran. I ran toward the other side of the hills, where the camels were tied, my only means of escape. I heard their laughter behind me, the taunts growing louder as they gave chase. My heart hammered in my chest, my legs burning as I pushed myself forward.
I reached the camels, my last hope of getting away, but then I noticed them , men standing near the animals. There was something wrong with their smiles, a predatory gleam in their eyes. They called out to me, their voices dripping with mockery, taunting me in a language I didn't fully understand, but their intent was clear.
"Come here, little girl," one of them sneered. "Why don't you come play with us?"
Panic surged through me as I glanced back. Tasha and her gang were watching from a distance, smirking, their faces twisted with satisfaction. They had led me here, to this trap, knowing full well what awaited. The men approached the camels, their laughter mingling with the taunts. They untied the animals and mounted them, still calling out crude, inappropriate things as they rode away, leaving me stranded.
I sank to the ground, my hands digging into my hair, my mind racing with the realization that there was no way out. I had been abandoned in this wasteland. Before I could break down, Tasha and her followers surrounded me.
"Look what you've done," Tasha sneered, her voice filled with contempt. "You lost our only way out, you useless brat!" She shoved my shoulder, hard. I stumbled, but managed to keep my footing. "What are you gonna do now, huh?" she spat. The others joined in, pushing me, calling me names, jeering at my helplessness. Tasha's face twisted into a mask of fury as she shoved me again, harder this time. I raised my hand to defend myself, pushing her arm away in a desperate act of self-defense.
Tasha's eyes flared with rage. Without hesitation, she slapped me across the face, the impact sending me sprawling into the sand. They laughed as I lay there, the taste of blood and grit filling my mouth. Tears stung my eyes, not just from the pain but from the humiliation, the sheer helplessness of it all. I looked up at Tasha, her silhouette towering over me as she called me names, her voice mingling with the cruel chants of the others: "Daddy's money! Daddy's money!"
I got up slowly, my body trembling, my hair a tangled mess, my skin coated in dust. My heart was a drum in my chest, a steady, relentless beat that drowned out their taunts. I stumbled forward, tears blurring my vision. I fell to my knees, my hands slamming into the sand. Rage surged through me, a burning fury that threatened to consume me. I screamed, a primal sound ripped from the depths of my being. Tasha recoiled, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her face.
"Look, the clown is going to hit the-" Tasha began to mock.
But before she could finish, something inside me snapped. The ground beneath us shuddered as if the earth itself had awakened. A shockwave burst from the sand, a violent tremor that sent them all crashing to the ground. The desert quaked, the sand leaping as though it were alive, enveloping them in a blinding storm.
When the dust settled, they were sprawled within the newly formed crater, their faces a mixture of terror and disbelief. They looked around frantically, searching for me, but I was no longer there. Panic set in as they called my name, their voices trembling. "Where is she? Where did she go?" one of them cried out.
"Look up there!," a voice screamed, their tone laced with horror.
They all turned their eyes to the sky, and there I was floating above them, my body surrounded by an aura of crackling, purple energy. My eyes glowed like twin amethysts, piercing through the haze of sand. I raised my hand, and with a single, deliberate motion, the desert obeyed my command. The winds howled as a sandstorm erupted, swirling into a massive vortex that consumed the crater. The sand rose like a living beast, rushing toward them, enveloping them in its grasp.
There was no time for them to scream, no chance for mercy. The storm swallowed them whole, the sands choking off their pleas as the ground buried them alive.
As the storm subsided, I descended gracefully to the ground. The blizzard of sand parted around me, leaving me untouched, pristine amidst the chaos. I walked away from the settling dust, my steps steady, unwavering. I turned my head slightly, my voice as cold as the desert night.
"They were always beneath me," I whispered, my words vanishing into the stillness.
The next day, the authorities swarmed the area. The children were reported missing, their parents frantically searching for answers. I stood there, calm and unruffled, as I accused the men, the ones who had taken the camels. I told them how those men had buried my classmates alive, leaving me the sole survivor of a cruel and senseless act.
No one questioned my story. After all, who would dare doubt the word of a SacraFortis?