When Miriam fell, sand rose and went into her mouth. She spat and coughed but the grains stuck to her tongue. She tried to ignore the pain in her knees as she stood. The other girl lay down, moaning and clutching at her arm. Miriam didn't wait for her to get over it. She ran away as fast as her legs would allow.

The sand shifted under her feet, making running harder and slower. She was surrounded by shifting sand dunes, most of which were tall enough to hide behind. However, even going as fast as she could, progress was slow. With every step, her foot would sink a little and she felt the full weight of her legs as she dragged them forward. She heard the girl give a strangled cry, but Miriam didn't look back to see if she was being followed.

She kept going until she was around a bend and out of breath. Finally, she looked back and saw that no one was behind. She scanned the landscape for signs of other people but it was empty and silent. She couldn't even hear the slight wind that blew sand into her face between laboured breaths, but she could feel. She could see it in it the ripples of the moving sand, the way it danced in the strange light of half-buried street-lights.

Her eyes stung and she had to spit again. She pulled her t-shirt up over her mouth and narrowed her eyes almost to the point of closing them. Slowly, the adrenaline wore off and she came to realise that she was alone in a place that she couldn't navigate.

She could be walking in circles, for all she knew. The run and panic had made her sweat, sweat which was now cooled and gluing her freezing clothes to her skin. The breeze was slight but still bitterly cold.

Miriam looked at the sandy terrain, and chewed the inside of her cheek. The scenery hadn't changed. It was still empty. Another cuttingly cold wind swept across her arms and she danced from foot to foot, breathing her hot breath into her chest. She rubbed her arms, feeling an army of raised goosebumps, and looked back over her shoulder to check if the other girl had caught up with her. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her gut was proving difficult.

There could be a road or a sign or something just beyond those dunes. She couldn't go back even if she wanted to. She hadn't spotted any landmarks that stood out. She swallowed and instantly regretted it as the sand already in her mouth slid down her throat. She took a long, deep breath and nodded.

There wasn't a sign around the next mound, or the one after that. She did come across a sharp rock sticking out of the sand and she picked it up. Most of it was smooth but it had one sharp edge. It was probably a part of a larger rock that had fallen off. Still, she hoped it had been shaped by a person. She clutched it in her clammy hand and kept walking.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

To her surprise, she did eventually come across a smooth trail of compacted sand. It wasn't the tarmac that she was used to, but it was a road. She jumped onto it and did a little dance of joy, letting her t-shirt slip from her mouth as she fist-pumped the air in triumph. True, she had no idea where she was. True, she had no food or water. But she had a road! She couldn't help but smile as she walked along it.

Before long she could see a new light ahead of her. A small little spot not too far off. High enough above the road to be a street light that wasn't buried. That's when she started running again. Maybe it had one of those emergency phones under it. They sometimes had those on long roads. She had a few coins jingling in her pocket should it need money. She didn't think it would though, being an emergency phone and all. She could call the police or her mom. Hell, she was even feeling good enough to give her dad a call. Someone could come and take her home.

As she got closer, it became clear that there wasn't a phone under it. She felt her heart quiver but pushed the feeling down, and marched towards the light. No phone, but maybe it had a sign attached to it. It could point towards a town, towards people.

There was no sign either, she saw as she got closer. The road stretched off into the darkness and curved around some high sand dunes. Tired and disappointed, she sat under the light and waited for a car to drive by. The road didn't look abandoned and she was less likely to be run over if she stayed where she was.

As Miriam tried for the fifth time to get the sand out of her clothes, she noticed something in the corner of her eye. A small black cat walked around the pole of the light and looked at her curiously. It moved away when she tried to pet it, but did so casually and sat by her feet. It had a coating of sand on its black fur but looked very healthy and very well cared for. She clutched her knees for warmth, but her arms were exposed.

The cat watched her from near her feet. Miriam watched it right back. It seemed healthy, and used to people.

"Where'd you come from then?" she asked, "Are we close to your home?"

The cat began playing with a string trailing from the end of her jeans. One of the swinging claws caught Miriam's sock and scratched her foot but she didn't move. If she did the cat might run off and she'd be alone again.

"You're no help," she said after a few minutes. "Hey, maybe someone will come looking for you? Anyway, it's nice to have a bit of normal company."

When she said it, she thought of the girl-who-had-her-face and how she had left her in the dessert. The chances of the two of them finding a road probably weren't great.

"I'm sure she's fine," she told the cat, who didn't seem worried in the least bit. "She probably knows this place..."

Miriam stood up again. Sitting by the light wasn't helping. It was too cold to stay there. She had to keep moving.