Sam squinted into the distance, but he could hardly see anything beyond the swarming sand. Even with most of his body covered in clothes and with sunglasses on, he still felt as if the tiny particles were digging into his soul.
Despite not needing to see beyond the shadow moving in front of him, his stomach still ached and something felt off. Even more so when a second shadow appeared through the sandstorm and continued to make its way towards him. It was barely three feet away when Sam realized it was Tom.
"Where's Angie?" he yelled over the howling wind.
"What do you mean?" Sam yelled back. He had no idea where Angie was because his position was between Skye and Jessie, so he hadn't really been paying attention to the movement of the others.
"I mean I think she fell behind." Without waiting for another answer, Tom charged forward and disappeared in the storm.
"Tom!"
There was no use. His twin was gone and he had no idea what to do. Jessie had surpassed him already, so he was last in line. If he didn't move, he would either lose Tom or Skye. Screaming made no difference because it was impossible to hear anything.
Just what the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't leave Tom in the middle of a sandstorm. He took his compass out and tried to pinpoint his direction. Skye was not going to move until he surpassed her. So keeping a straight line due east, he started walking, one shaky step after the other, his eyes squinted and peeled for any sign of movement.
It was stupid. Tom had gone off running. There was no way he would catch up this way, but running away from the others felt like suicide. Not like Tom had given him much of a choice. If only he could see properly, he was sure he'd be able to--
He froze as a shadow appeared through the wall of sand, growing larger with each passing second. Sam held his breath and could only let it out once he identified the approaching silhouette as his twin carrying an unconscious Angie.
"How far are we?" he yelled, continuing his stride towards the others.
Sam followed him gladly, half-running to keep up. "I think we should be there in about a half an hour."
"Angie's passed out and most likely severely dehydrated. She needs a hospital."
Sam agreed. They were all in danger of dehydration since their water supplies had run out about an hour ago and they still had to move. But now they had a new drive to increase their speed. So Sam jogged ahead and informed everyone that they had to get out of there now.
With a little less care, but more speed, they continued their way and finally got to Wadi El Rayan. The moment they found shelter, Skye and Jessie took over to care for Angie, but there was nothing they could do. She needed IV fluids as soon as possible.
A mad race to Cairo ensued, courtesy of Tom and Kyle, and in less then two hours, they were inside the hospital, waiting for the doctors to confirm what they already knew.
"We can't discharge her until she wakes up," the doctor said when Jessie raised the issue that they needed to get out of there like two hours ago.
"Predictably enough," she mumbled.
Sam bit his lip, totally getting why she was bouncing off the walls with nerves. Jerry and Jimmy would be landing soon and she wanted to be there. All of them did. And if they didn't catch the next plane out of there, no way that was happening.
"You guys should go," Tom said. Everyone turned to him, but he just shrugged. "We all want to be somewhere else, and there's not point for all of us to stay behind. Angie just needs someone to look after her and take her home."
YOU ARE READING
Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)
Adventure"It's never going to end, is it? The rivalry, the hatred, the madness. Not even now. Not even after so many years." It has been three years since the last jewel was recovered, and the Agency seems to have put the project to rest. They have a new tar...
