I don't know which tasted better, the breakfast or the lunch dishes that were served in the village. Even though it was just soup and bread, I still loved it.

  "Who made this?" I demanded.

  "I made the soup. But we normally take turns with the cooking," Beverly said.

  "It's amazing!" I cried. She laughed.

  "Well, I'm glad you think so. Honestly, I just threw a bunch of random things in the pot," she said.

  "Isn't it tasty?" I asked Tiffany.

  "It is," she said. The sun was rising up in the sky. With the sun came the burning desert heat. Within a matter of minutes, I found myself practically drowning in sweat.

  I had enjoyed a restful, slow morning. Part of me wanted to just go back to bed. But I knew there was still work to be done. I needed answers. I needed to talk to Ross. He was the leader for a reason, right? A shadow loomed over me. I glanced up. Just the person I had been looking for. Ross’s tired, sad face looked down at me. He looked like he had had an even worse night than Tiffany.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Hello, may I sit with you?” I nodded. He sat down next to me with a sigh. When had he had the operation? I wondered. How long had he had this ability? And what was his weakness? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you have to be here. I just don’t have any better ideas of how to keep people safe.” I nodded.

  "If there were any way that you could go back to your parents and not endanger them, I would let you. But Alexander is stronger than you could imagine.” Strong how? Rich, powerful, maybe, but strong? What did strong mean to Ross? “He has so much power. Even though he’s in charge of a tiny portion of the government, that portion has a lot of power. I’m only trying to protect you and your sister.” What had Alexander done to this poor man? The look in Ross’s eyes was painful to look at. The way he spoke about Alexander, he had been hurt by that monster.

  “You make him sound like a god. He’s not. You know, he’s just skin and bone like the rest of us.” A frown crossed Ross’s face.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “What I’d say, just from my own experience, is that he has a lot of power, but he himself is not a very powerful person.” The frown on Ross’s face grew.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Can you explain?” I really didn’t think it was that complicated.

  “I mean, he’s not unbreakable like a lot of the people here. Not to mention, I beat him up, and as much as I’d like to think I’m stronger than I am, my sister could destroy me with one hand tied behind her back. He also seems to go after a lot of people who are very vulnerable. I don’t know how old you were when you met him, but Tiffany was pretty young." I wondered if Ross had also been a child when he first met Alexander. A strange look crossed Ross's face. He looked away. I hoped I hadn't just caused him to remember something unpleasant.

  “Tiffany said that you had a dog. What’s his name?” I asked. Now I was trying to think of happier things to talk about.

  “Sam, would you like to meet him?” I nodded eagerly.

  “Sure!” He got up and I followed. “I never had a dog. I love them to death, but Tiffany can’t stand them, so we never got one.”

  “What does she not like about them?”

  “I think they just scare her a little bit.” Ross turned away with a smile on his face. Perhaps he too found the idea of someone like Tiffany being scared of a dog amusing. I heard the cheerful little barks well before we reached the little fenced-in area that I had failed to notice before.

  “He’s just through here,” Ross said. There, waiting on the other side of the fence, was the most beautiful, itty bitty, little dog I had ever seen. He let out a little yip and wagged his tail as we entered. I squealed as the adorable little fluff-ball rushed over to greet me.

  “He’s so, so cute! Where’d you find him?”

  “He was just wandering around the desert all alone. The poor thing was half-starved,” said Ross. Sam sniffed at me and gave my palm a tiny lick before rushing over to his master’s side.

  “Now I think even Tiffany would have to love this little guy.” Dang! I wish I could have at least had a dog at one point, or any little fluffy creature for that matter. I’m sorry, chickens just aren’t the same thing! Maybe if we had gotten a kitty, it would have been a win for me and Tiffany. I scratched Sam’s fluffy little ears as gently as I could. Ross smiled at the little dog.

  “I know it’s hard to imagine but he was even smaller when I found him,” he said.

  “That is hard to imagine.” Maybe I could convince Tiffany to meet Sam. Anyway, enough about adorable little creatures. I had questions that needed to be answered.

  “I have a question,” I said, trying to keep the joy out of my voice. “There was a woman who often worked with Alexander. Do you have any idea who she is? She had a sort of bitter, calm voice.” That was an awful way to describe it. “Anyway, she…I’m not sure, but she seemed to change her appearance. By that I mean she became a new person. It…it was like she changed her form. Have you ever heard of anything like that happening?”

  “Yes… I’m not sure I know if I know who you’re talking about. But I know what you’re describing.”

  “I take it that has something to do with the operation and the organ.” Ross nodded.

  “Yes. I don’t know how much Tiffany has told you, but if operated on in a particular way, you can gain other skills. More rare and unusual ones.”

  “So, is… shape shifting one of those skills then?” I asked.

  “Sometimes.”

  “Sounds almost like something out of a superhero movie,” I said. Ross laughed.

  “It really does.” I wondered if Tiffany had any kind of ability that she hadn’t yet told me about. It was an interesting thought. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised. She was already very unique compared to others with the organ. Knowing this, it wasn't fun to think about what Alexander could use these people's abilities for. Did he use them? Or did he just study them? It didn't really matter. What mattered was that he was a threat to my sister.

  I needed to bring him down. I couldn't do that alone. Ross also didn't seem like he wanted to fight Alexander. But what were we meant to do then? Just hide forever. Was Tiffany always going to live in fear? No! I had to stop Alexander. Tiffany deserved to be free. She had been a prisoner for so long. She would be set free. I didn't care what it took, Alexander would be stopped.