I drink a few more handfuls, but Bernard refuses. “You’re going to get dehydrated,” I warn.

He shrugs, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “Then I guess I’ll get dehydrated.”

His moodiness is starting to wear on my nerves. I take him by the arm and pull him aside. “Look, I understand how hard this is, but being a jerk isn’t going to help. So can you just drink some water so I don’t have to worry about you killing over?”

He smirks. “Nah, I’d rather not.” He gives me a mocking pat on the back. “Oh yeah, and you’re welcome for me saving you last night.” He lowers his voice. “I could have easily just let the water take you away, and then I would have been the one calling all the shots.”

What concerns me more than his words is that he’s not afraid anymore. The once erratic and terrified boy has suddenly vanished.

We head across the desert, whereabouts and destination unknown. Bellies grumble, lips crack, bodies ache, and even through the smoke and clouds, the sun’s heat manages to gleam down.

“I’m tired,” Maci says after a while. “I need a break.”

Bernard’s got the hood of his jacket tugged over his head, his hands up in his sleeves.

“Aren’t you hot?” I ask. “And thirsty.”

He shakes his head. “Nope.”

But I am and so is Maci. The puddles are becoming scarcer and I decide it’s time to take a break. We move beside into the shadows of the rocks, concealing ourselves in the shade, and drink from the puddles. All except Bernard.

I wipe the water from my chin. “Do you have a death wish?”

He only smiles through his hood. “Death doesn’t seem so bad, really.” He turns his back on me, hikes off to a cluster of rocks, and sits down.

“Don’t worry, Kayla,” Maci whispers, wiping the water dripping from her lips. “He won’t die without water ‘cause he’s already dead.”

My hands slip apart and water spills to the ground. “Bernard’s going to die … did you see that?”

She shakes her head. “No, he’s already dead. He stole one of those vials of medicine last night and injected it into himself, so now he’s dead forever.”

I quickly check my pockets and only find two black vials and two syringes. “Maci, you have to try and remember what’s in theses. Did the Angel say anything about what would happen when we injected it into us?”

She nods. “He said it’d save us.”

“Save us from what?” I pause as I hear it.

A heartbeat.

My ability has returned. At first I think the heartbeat’s either mine or Maci’s, but when I realize it’s not, I turn to Bernard. But he’s gone.