Aram scoffed at Amer's words, his eyes filled with astonishment and disdain.
"What nonsense is this, Amer? Are you starting to imagine things now?"
Professor Juan, with a clear sense of authority in his voice, tried to bring things back on track and responded calmly:
"Sit down, Amer. Let's continue the discussion. There's still much for us to contemplate."
But Amer, with a calm smile and steady gaze, replied in a low voice, yet one filled with power:
"I don't care for this empty discussion. There's no need to continue speaking about something so pointless."
The Guide turned to Amer, seeking depth in his words:
"Impossible? What do you mean by that?"
Meanwhile, Professor Maher watched the scene silently and spoke firmly:
"Leave this to us, Amer. We'll take care of it."
But Amer, despite his outward calm, swiftly shattered their certainty:
"Do you really think you can handle this? How do you explain a reality you don't even understand? Haven't you noticed that our country doesn't have a desert? Have you forgotten that the nearest desert is over 6,000 kilometers away?"
Amer's words struck like thunder. Everyone froze where they stood, bewildered—as if the world itself had paused for a moment.
The Guide tried to regain his composure in the face of this horrifying truth:
"You speak with excessive confidence, Amer. Even if the distance is great, they could've flown by plane."
But Amer, smiling with a calm yet defiant expression, replied with conviction:
"Do you think acquiring a private plane while carrying 27 unconscious people would be that easy? Do you really believe traveling like that is possible under such circumstances?"
Professor Mahyar stopped himself for a moment, as if doubts had begun creeping in from every direction. He then answered in a cautious tone:
"Air travel isn't the only means of transportation, but we can't rule out every possibility. We must be prepared for anything."
The Guide looked at him with eyes full of seriousness and certainty, speaking in a low voice that carried immense weight:
"They could've split the group into smaller parts, transporting each person separately. Nothing is impossible in their world, Amer."
Amer smirked and said mockingly:
"My dear friend, we didn't travel—not by plane nor by any other means. We never left this place."
The Guide stared at him with suspicion and said:
"And what makes you so certain we weren't cleverly abducted and transported here without realizing it?"
Amer replied with unwavering confidence, not a hint of hesitation in his voice:
"The taste of the food I last ate is still fresh in my mouth. I came with you, unprepared for any journey. I didn't even bring my toothbrush. I went to sleep without brushing my teeth, and yet, the taste of that meal still lingers as if I just ate it. If we had traveled—if we had crossed vast distances—that taste would've faded by now."
The Guide sighed and spoke cautiously:
"You speak as if you hold absolute certainty, but you know nothing of the organizations that control the outside world. You don't know their methods, their minds, or what they're capable of."
Amer laughed with scorn before replying:
"A force capable of abducting 27 people and transporting them 6,000 kilometers by any means they possess—if such a power truly exists—tell me, Guide, why waste their time on us? Why not kidnap a high-ranking political figure or a man of wealth and influence? What's the point of taking us?"
A heavy silence followed, as if his words had frozen midair, leaving a deep, lingering echo.
Professor Mahyar, the disappointment plain on his face, spoke in a weary, sarcastic tone:
"Another world? That's your explanation, Amer? That's all you have?"
Amer answered with a calm tone, his eyes glowing with challenge:
"Do any of you have an explanation that disproves mine? Do you have a stronger answer?"
Silence... a thick, stifling silence that carried with it an unspoken surrender. Eyes met, but no one dared to speak.
Amer took a deep breath, then spoke with a bitterness that rang clear:
"Whether we're in another world or not, whether this is a kidnapping or something else, whether negotiations succeed or fail... none of that matters. What matters is that I'm suffocating from this stillness, from sitting and waiting for an unknown fate. And if the end is death, then let me face it on my own terms. I won't let it come for me while I'm curled up in this corner."
He paused for a moment, then continued, his voice growing sharper, cutting through the silence like a sword:
"I am not asking you to stay, nor am I asking you to leave. What I offer you is the freedom to choose... between dying here, sitting, clinging to the illusion of staying, or dying while chasing the unknown, towards a chance—however small—that could allow you to survive. The choice is yours... but I have already made mine."
He looked around, trying to read their faces, then turned without hesitation, heading toward the horizon before him, whispering:
"You cannot fill a bucket with just patience, hope, and optimism. Sometimes, you need to change the bucket or fix it. And sadly, our situation cannot be changed or fixed… what fate has corrupted."
The caravan moved slowly through the heart of the desert, the sand shifting with the wind as though it were watching them. At the front, Professor Juan led them with his sharp eyes, calculating every step and every mile on the scorched earth. Beside him, Mahyar walked with confidence, as if facing a challenge he was not unfamiliar with.
In the middle, Amer moved with heavy steps, his eyes empty as he stared at the horizon. Sarah followed, searching for meaning amidst the barren landscapes.
"Are we close to something?"
She asked, her voice tired, but she already knew the answer: no one knew.
Aram moved silently beside them, his eyes tracing the small details of the surroundings. Everything here hid a mystery waiting to be uncovered.
At the back, Ishtar walked steadily, her eyes never leaving the sand, as though watching something invisible.
Behind her, the Guide walked slowly, his mouth shut, his eyes focused on the ground ahead. He carried many secrets, and each step he took seemed as if it were leading them toward an unknown fate.
After half an hour of walking in suffocating silence, with the sand gently falling beneath their feet, the stillness was suddenly broken.
Aram turned his face, smiling sarcastically, and said to Amer:
"Amer, what happened to you just now? That strange look, have you entered another world? Perhaps when we return home, I'll find a cure to bring back your lost mind."
Sarah tried to ease the tension with a calm voice:
"Everyone agreed to form the caravan under the leadership of the professors. Let them take charge, they're the most capable of handling it."
But Zahra couldn't contain herself, and her words burst out harshly:
"You don't realize how foolish what you did was, making interpretations and analyses as if you're an expert. You're still only fifteen, so don't drown in fantasies beyond your abilities. Don't pretend to be wise or strategic."
Amer continued walking, showing no sign of being affected by what was said. His eyes were lost in the distant horizon, frowning, gazing at the pale desert, carrying a sadness in his eyes that no one understood.
Aram, who never missed an opportunity to be sarcastic, continued to make his remarks:
"Do you really believe in those parallel worlds and fairy tales? Have you become addicted to fantasy movies? Please, keep your mind intact!"
But Zahra was even harsher, adding:
"If he even has a mind, that is."
At the front of the caravan, a heavy silence hung between the professors, until Mahyar broke it, his voice tinged with hesitation:
"I still believe that if we had stayed where we were, things wouldn't have gotten this complicated."
Professor Juan replied sharply, as though cutting through the threads of doubt:
"Stop your stubbornness and denial. You know very well that this is the best choice. What you fear is not the unknown, but the truth. Your cowardice has grown since you heard Amer's words, and now we see how his simple words have affected you."
Mahyar replied angrily, trying to diminish the weight of Juan's words:
"Don't mock me. I don't care about what that boy said. Amer is still too young to understand what we're about to face. Maybe he just wanted to appear as a hero or take on the role of a leader for a few moments."
Juan smiled with a mysterious grin, then simply said:
"Don't worry about him. It's just youthful enthusiasm. Let them dream as they wish. As for us, as long as we're here, things are under our control."
Suddenly, it seemed as though the desert had swallowed them all, and in the deadly silence, a deep sound emerged from the bowels of the earth, resonating in the heart of the sands, shaking the foundations and sending shivers through their bodies.
The sound, as loud as thunder, grew louder with every passing second, as if time itself had fallen into the grasp of something incomprehensible.
Everyone froze in place, as if their hearts had stopped beating, rising to their throats, their eyes rapidly scanning for any trace that might indicate the source of the mysterious sound.
The guide, his hands trembling, shouted with a hoarse voice, as though the words refused to come out:
"Hold on to each other! Sit down on the ground! Don't leave anyone alone!"
But at that moment, what came from the unknown had already surpassed them all.
From a distance, the source of the sound appeared in all its fury: a massive sandstorm charging toward them at a terrifying speed, like a giant corpse seeking revenge. The sky and earth were consumed in an instant, while the sands flew in every direction, carrying with them mysterious and deep powers. Even the sun suddenly disappeared, as if it had been swallowed in the heart of that natural fury.
The guide, his screams growing louder, looked around in confusion, his face pale with terror:
"Now! Hurry!"
Ishtar, looking at the approaching storm in horror, moved her lips with difficulty, while her eyelids fluttered:
"We won't survive...!"
With every passing moment, the storm's power multiplied. It was as if its rage was directed specifically at them, as if it had been waiting for them since eternity.
Amer, trying to break through the roaring winds, attempted to make himself heard over the terrifying sound:
"Follow the guide's instructions! Sit down quickly!"
But the storm was faster than them all. It spread in seconds as if it had stolen time itself, the sands swirling around them in an endless vortex, and the ground disappearing beneath their feet. The deafening noise was the only sound filling their ears, mixed with their rapid breaths.
Ishtar, who was beginning to vanish with the sands, her voice distorted under the pressure of the winds, screamed:
"No... we... we..."
Then they were engulfed by complete darkness, and an eerie silence, as if time itself had stopped.
After moments of indescribable hell, the sound of the storm began to fade gradually, while the violent sands that had torn everything around them disappeared, as if a cloud of chaos had suddenly vanished.
The air became calmer, but the ground they had been standing on, now covered with sand dunes, turned into a battlefield, where everyone collapsed onto the sand in silence, trying to make sure they were still alive.
The moments passed as if they lasted an eternity, each breath exhaled silently, while the shock cast its shadow over everyone.
In the midst of this silence, the guide began to move among them thoughtfully, his eyes carefully observing their faces, following every detail as if something was missing that he could not explain. Fear was evident in his eyes.
Juan stepped forward, his voice low but charged with concern, and asked:
"What's wrong, guide? Is there a source of water?"
At that moment, hope flared in their eyes. There might be a glimmer of salvation. All eyes were on the guide.
The guide remained silent for a few moments, then suddenly stood up, lifting his head toward the distant horizon where the storm had disappeared. His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with shock.
He said in a calm voice, but it carried a terrifying weight:
"Teacher Ishtar is gone... and three students are missing... I apologize."