Shattered Bonds

Chapter 3

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cover created by Kyra Shirley

31st of July, 2026 - my birthday. I woke up at 12:30am, just about to text my friends because I couldn’t hold my excitement in. Hearing the jingling and jangling of my phone charms, I snatched my phone off from under my headphones and started typing my head off. Realising how revolting my room smelt from all my three-months-old clothes, I dug through my ebony, Nike bag, trying to find my perfume. A wave of lavender (and a hint of vanilla) wooshed through my nose as I scrambled through an empty pack of gum, my muddy football shoes, half-ripped receipts and my broken earbuds. For once, it was going to be just me and my partners in crime. I rarely got to hang out with them outside of school. 

Once I took notice of the sun beaming through my window, I threw my blanket onto the floor and dashed down the stairs to find three suitcases being zipped up by my parents. They were back from their business trip, after all that time. They really intended to just appear after two months! To make it even worse: on my birthday! Were my parents leaving me again? They weren’t throwing away all my stuff, were they? With… suitcases? 

“Umm, where are you guys going?” I asked. “You just came back.”
“Us two?” My mum said, pointing at herself and my dad. “No, no, no. You’re coming too; it’s your birthday. Anyway, your dad and I have to catch the plane to New York in five days, and we wanted to celebrate your birthday properly. So, we thought going to Wadi Rum would be a good idea. Leo would’ve liked it.”
I felt my fists clench, my eyebrows point downwards, and my face turned bright red. “Guys, it’s my birthday if you didn’t know. NOT yours. Anyways, it’s not like my brother cared about us. He left us, left us! After all he’s done, you're still thinking about him! I planned to go bowling with my friends, and now you’ve just completely ruined it!” 

Furiously, I stormed up the stairs, unable to hold in my emotions. Tears shot out of my eyes, and as soon as I finished crying (which took about an hour) no more tears could come out.

Life isn’t fair. Why did they have to bring up Leo, of all people!? Imagine your favourite person leaving you without telling you why. I didn’t even get to say bye to him. Now we were going to one of his favourite places, and a place which I absolutely loathed. I always went for him because I knew he loved it, and I’d do anything to keep him happy. Well, I used to. 

There was rat a-tat-tat on my door, and I knew my parents were out there. “Ever heard of privacy?” I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the deafening knocking. Then I heard the rat a-tat-tat again. “Go away!” I screamed. Though the noise wouldn’t stop. Before I was able to lock the door, it steadily opened. “WHAT DO YOU-?” I paused. My parents weren’t the ones knocking on the door. They were the ones being dragged along on the floor, by the people knocking on the door. Their hands wrapped around my neck, squeezing it so tight that I couldn’t breathe. The last thing I caught sight of was my clock: 10:32am.

I bolted upright, almost hitting my head on the bed frame, relieved it was just a dream. Catching sight of my clock caused my heart to sink. The numbers flicked to 10:32am, and the door creaked open. It was the same feeling; a sharp pain went through my heart to have to experience it again: this was no dream. Their putrid breath drew closer to me as I caught sight of their jet-black masks. They looked so sturdy and strong as they sprang onto me, trying to grab my throat. Dry, rubbery fingertips were just able to slip around my neck as I leaped out my window…

And ran for my life.

Ran ‘till my heart wasn’t able to pump blood around my body, ran ‘till my lungs felt like they had been dried under the sun, ran ‘till all I could do was stop. I had no one and nothing. Before I was alone, but not like this. Now it was just me, and when I’m mad, I don’t have anyone to scream at, nor anyone to punch. Luckily, I’m not that type of person who just gives up when they know their life is about to end. Failure is something; not trying…well, that doesn’t belong in my dictionary.

Instinctively, I knew I had to go to Wadi Rum. There was this feeling inside of me that I’ve never experienced before. People always say to follow your heart, and I think it was time to listen to somebody else's advice even if I may not like it. The question was: how was I going to get there? The only place I could find money was at home, and home was the last place I needed to be. Last time I was there, I nearly got killed. My parents were already gone, so I didn’t need to go either. Eventually, an idea popped into my head: a job. I needed a job.

Walking along the streets of my town, I felt a chill in my bones as if a ghost was searching me. In the corner of my eye, I witnessed a corner shop awaiting new people to hire. I opened the door to hear a “ding”, and a man who was covered with a foul-smelling, smoky coloured robe on. Piles of alcohol bottles, packets of crisps, and a couple of cigarettes lay beside him.  No wonder they were hiring; the owner of this shop couldn’t do his job. I cleared my throat, hoping that his eyes would open. He awoke in a split second: “Eh!” Perhaps he was a little puzzled, since I was not only the first here to ask for a job, but probably also the first one to actually step inside. “Who are you? What d’you want!?”
At this point, I was petrified. I could already feel danger creeping towards me. “Actually, I was wondering if you’re still hiring? I need the money to go somewhere, and this job might really help. I could give you customers.”
He grunted. “How much you expectin’?”
I wanted to say: can I just have all the money now? Though that wasn’t possible. Stumbling over my words, I told him, “I-uh. £10 an hour would be decent. I’ll work 10 hours a day!” He gave me an unsure stare, and with that, I walked out the door.

“Wait.” I stopped, too agitated to look back. “Turn ‘round, will ya?” I turned to face his cold eyes as he pointed at the wall. It wasn’t just any old wall; a passage opened and through it -I thought- was…Wadi Rum.  “Quick, go through before anyone notices.” Not that anyone would notice. The streets are so quiet nowadays. Even though I felt as terrified as ever, I’ve faced worse. It was just a normal day, right? Going through a secret passageway that opens in a wall, inside a corner shop was completely normal. 

I think.

Closing my eyes, I stepped inside. The first thing that came to my head was: IT WAS SO HOT! I could already feel sweat dripping down my forehead, my back was so itchy and my face turned brick-red. Other than that, it looked exquisite. Mountains swam over the scene, I could smell the bitter sand travelling up my nose. Rocks, caves and arches; I now knew why this was my brother’s favourite place. When the night comes, the sky would fill with a glamorous pool of stars. A galaxy you would only be able to experience once in your life. Shaking the thought away, I carried on walking until I found a handful of glamping tents. Instantaneously, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. No, no, no, no. Those people back home weren’t following me all the way here, were they? No. They can't have, nobody was in the shop with me and the owner would’ve seen them anyway. Ponderously and cautiously, I twisted my face to scan who stood behind me.

A wave of relief flushed over me; it was just a girl who, most likely, worked here.
“Hello,” she stated. Her voice was as soft as clouds, which sort of made me forget about all the bad stuff and just made me focus on how much I could enjoy it here.
I held out my hand to say, “Hi. Umm, I don’t have any money but do you think you could let me stay here for a couple nights.”
“No worries. It seems you’ve already paid for a tent.” Have I? I thought to myself. She escorted me to a contemporary, cream tent with a single bed inside, a few flowers, fairy lights, a table and a wardrobe. Best of all: free cookies! Everything was perfect, but I still felt a little uneasy for some reason. Yes, it looked safe and everyone else who I witnessed looked as if they were having the time of their lives. I just had to remember to look for my parents. If I succeed in that, there’s nothing else to worry about. Or was there…

A day had already passed by, and I grew a love for the place so strong that it was stronger than the love for my parents. I wanted to live here, stay here ‘till the very last day of my life. All I could think of was the hundreds of free cookies, smoothies and the unlimited time I could spend doing whatever I want. The same girl knocked on my door, so I let her in. 

“Would you like more cookies?” She placed another two more handfuls on my bedside table. She didn’t need an answer; it was always going to be a yes. I munched the first handful down in a few seconds. Already, I made a commitment to myself. My heart now belongs here, and I don’t want to move it. I didn’t realise it, but the cookies kept coming and coming and coming. For once, I felt…

Unstoppable.

“Enjoy,” she said. I never met someone as sweet as her. She would always do what I asked, give me a discount on the food. I just wished she was part of my family.

As soon as she walked out, my door swung open once again. I thought I was just seeing things, but somebody really was there and it wasn’t the girl. He said something as his lips moved up and down, but I couldn’t quite hear what he was trying to say. All of sudden, it came to me. The low, bold voice swam round my ear, forcing the few memories I had of family, into my head. It was my own little reunion, though I couldn’t feel the happiness in my one memory. The past shot through my head and out my eyes; my mum, my dad, my brother and I all laid down on the picnic blanket laughing our heads off, trying to take in Leo’s horrible jokes. Painful, beautiful images, all brought to life by the sound of the voice in the room. The moment I tried to step away, a large, maroon bag covered my head. I couldn’t move. 

Once the bag was taken off me, I was in an empty room, the window produced the only light in there. Except, I wasn’t alone. There, in front of my very eyes, was the brother who left me. I burst into tears. I didn’t know whether I should hug him, or kill him.
“HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME! I spent seven years without you. You left me all alone with mum and dad. REALLY? Now, you decide to just show up!” I bellowed. Clearly, he was nervous. I could feel the anger rise up in the room, but I could also feel his guilt. 

“Sarah, I wanted to come back. Really, I did. But those people out there are evil, they imprisoned me! They’re poisoning you, Sarah! It’s been weeks since you’ve arrived.”
“WHAT! No it hasn’t, I arrived yesterday.” 

“Here, drink this.” He handed me a cup of water. Without thinking, I swallowed it down whole. I was awake. “Do you feel better?”
“What happened to me?” I then realised that this whole trip was a lie. Everything came back to me. The girl's smile didn’t reach her eyes - it stretched too wide, too perfect, too… practised. Sometimes the kindest faces hide the sharpest blades. I was tricked.
“You know, don’t you? If I hadn't saved you, you’d probably be dead by now. Sarah, we need to save our parents. First, remember this: No one’s that nice without wanting something in return.” All I wanted to do was strangle him, forcing answers to my questions. Why did you leave us? Why didn’t you say bye? Right now, it was best to just follow his instructions. 

“When do we start?”
He smiled a smile which I haven’t seen in a while. It was warm, comforting, and even if he was right next to me, I still missed him. “I think I know where they are. Through the path over there,” he said, pointing to his right, “are the cells. That’s where they imprisoned me, and it’s revolting! If mum and dad stay there for another few weeks, they’re gonna rot. Like, actually rot.” 

Rot? He wasn’t serious, right? From the few memories I had, I knew what his serious face was, and he was putting a very serious face on. I nodded, and tailed along behind him, making sure nobody was following us.

The path was as narrow as anything, cobwebs hung from the sides, insects crawled out from nowhere, it smelt of animal puke, the walls were painted with blood stains and it looked like a never-ending maze. After what felt like months, we arrived in an immense room swimming with jail cells with screaming people inside of them. No guards. Nobody at all. It couldn't have been that easy. 

It wasn’t. 

As soon as my brother stepped inside, lasers filled the room; I knew it wasn't that easy. “I'll go through first, we don’t want you blowing anything up on the first step.” To be honest, I was offended. I achieved survival without him, and now he thinks I can’t handle a few lasers. Without thinking, I pushed him to the side, and tried to go through the trap. I flipped, skipped, jumped and turned. At first, I thought: looks like I’m not “blowing up” anything after all. All of a sudden, I heard a “beep, beep, beep,” sound. Then I realised. 

“RUN!” my brother screamed. I failed my one job to show my brother that I’m not just a nobody. But running was the only thing I needed to focus on then. People with masks on ran behind us,  their footsteps went on, beating like a drum. The wind forced me to run slower, slow enough to get caught. It was the same feeling I had back home. Bare, dry hands grabbed my neck and squeezed it so tight, tighter than ever. My eyes steadily closed, until I saw…darkness.

I found myself in one of the cells. At least I wasn’t dead. How foolish of me to think my brother would wait and save me?! This time I didn't miss him, not one bit. It seems like I would rot with my parents, and sometimes I wished my brother was here to rot too.  

“Hello? Sarah?” As soon as I heard my name, I turned round in the direction where I heard it from. He was back. He really was. I couldn’t see him, but I could hear him. I could hear his heavy footsteps travel closer to me, his breath getting louder each time, and his sniffles growing stronger. This pushed off a large weight off my shoulders as I then knew that my heart would be beating for longer. Until I realised that it wasn’t just his footsteps, wasn’t just his stomach-churning breath, wasn’t just his sniffles. I wasn’t the only one who got caught. He got caught too. I wanted to scream his name, but I didn’t know if that would be a risk or a life-saver, because then, everything I did had made everything worse.

“SARAH!” This time it wasn’t my brother’s voice; I could imagine somebody grabbing onto my brother’s arm forcing him through the room. “SARAH!” It came again. I whimpered loud enough for them to hear, since I didn’t dare answer. I heard a small chuckle, and within those few frightening seconds, my brother and a man stood in front of my cell.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” The man mused.  Tears slowly trickled down my cheeks as I saw a gun being put against the side of my brother’s head. “You know, I was just going to kill your brother. But then I realised he has a sister, so I was like: why not kill them both? You’ve barely lived together, so really, I’m just doing you a favour. Now you can die and stay together until the world ends.”

“Please, I’m begging you. Kill me, but let my brother go!” I exclaimed.
“Aww, that’s very sweet of you, but there’s no need to beg. In a few moments, you and your brother will be finished.” It was a dead end, and I was ready to die. Just as I lifted my hands up and closed my eyes for him to kill me, my ears sensed a scream of agony. Slowly opening my eyes, a body of man, dripping with blood, lay in front of me. For a second, I thought my brother had been killed, but no, he was very well alive. 

“You didn’t think I came to save you empty handed, did you?”
Even though we were both in the worst state, I couldn’t help but laugh. “You haven’t saved me yet.”
“Oh, right.” He snatched the keys from the man’s pocket to unlock my door. I was finally free. It felt amazing. “Now all we have to do is find out which one our parents are in.”

I took his hand and pulled him. “Wait. I need to ask you something first. Why did you leave us?” 

He sighed a sigh that was heroic but poor. “This place was in danger, Sarah. The people here were being hypnotised. The guy you met in the door? He’s one of my best friends, and I knew you were coming, but I needed you to come safely.” This was better than an answer from a maths question; it was the answer to my whole life. 

We walked, metres and metres until we reached, what looked like, the cell of my parents. They looked so sick, so shrivelled, so pale, so…

Dead. 

We were too late, our parents were already gone. My brother pulled me in to give me a hug. It was one of the first hugs I’ve had after a while, but for some reason, I didn’t feel anything. 

“Hey, look on the bright side. At least we have each other.” He was right, we had each other, and that was the most important thing that mattered. With that, we walked our way home. 

No, my brother didn’t succeed in his mission. He will though, just this time, it’ll have to be with me. 

AUTHOR: KYRA SHIRLEY