The person is drawing closer and closer. When they reach me, I notice that they’re wearing army fatigues. They bend at the knees, and shadows judder against their face, obscuring their features.

“You can do better than this, soldier,” the voice says.

It’s my dad’s voice. I recognize it instantly.

“I can’t go on,” I say. “I’m dying, aren’t I?”

“Not on my watch, soldier.”

In a split second, he disappears, taking the blanket of stars and the dark, empty sky with him. Suddenly, everything is replaced by the blistering heat, the bright, white daylight, and the searing pain of dehydration and starvation. There’s a noise in my ear like a roaring sound. It takes me a long time to realize it’s the sound of an engine.

I’m in a vehicle, moving forward, bumping along. Is this another dream? I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore.

“She’s waking up, sir!” someone shouts.

A woman’s face appears above me. She’s a soldier, dressed in a US military uniform. Her face is harsh and lined, but she’s looking at me in a kind way.

“Can you tell me your name?” she says.

I try to speak, but my mouth feels like it’s filled with cotton wool. The soldier helps scoop my head up in her hand. She tips water from a canteen into my mouth. It’s tepid, but I don’t care. It tastes delicious. I still can’t tell whether I’m dead or alive—but if I did pass away during the night, this is surely heaven.

“Brooke,” I finally say. “Brooke Moore.”

The soldier’s features change right away. She looks over at someone out of my sight line.

“Did you hear that?” she says to the other person. “She says her name is Brooke Moore. You’d better call the Commander.”

I reach out and grab the soldier’s arm, relieved to discover I’m no longer paralyzed.

“Where’s my sister?” I stammer. “My friends? Did they make it?”

The woman smiles. “They made it,” she says. “And so did you. Brooke, we’re taking you to your father.”

PART FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE