Chapter 4

Sandy snatched the bracelet right off my wrist before I could pull away. My head was still buzzing from the shock.

The bracelet had been made from my parents' ashes, and I'd never even taken it off to shower. Not only was it the last thing they had left me, but it was also the only thing keeping me going all this time.

I had always believed that no matter how cruel or misguided Sandy could be, she would never lay a hand on something belonging to the dead.

My eyes bulged with rage as I staggered forward, only for my knees to buckle and send me crashing to the ground. The wounds on my knees struck the scorching sand, and the pain was so intense that my vision went black.

"Give it back, Sandy! Or I swear I'll make you pay!"

Sandy appraised the bracelet disdainfully. "You? What can you possibly do? It's just some worthless trinket. Clifford, what do you think would happen if I tossed it somewhere into this desert?

"Would you even be able to find it? Do you think your parents could rest in peace knowing they gave birth to such a useless son?"

"Shut up!" I roared, my eyes blazing red with fury.

Luke chimed in at just the right moment, "Sandy, don't do this. Those are Clifford's parents' remains, after all. If he really loses them, he'll go crazy. Who knows what he might do then?"

The livestream comments only added fuel to the fire, as if they were desperate to see someone die.

"Throw it away! Do it!"

"I want to see what this useless loser does when he's pushed to his limit. And to think he actually had the nerve to threaten Sandy—what a joke."

"This is too funny. He actually treats trash like it's treasure. Once a loser, always a loser."

Luke put on an urgent, pained expression, as though he couldn't bear to watch any longer.

"Clifford, how have you still not figured it out by now? As long as you do what Sandy says, she won't make things difficult for you. Why do you insist on pushing things to the point where there's no turning back?"

Sandy didn't hesitate for a second. She was determined to make me bow my head.

"Clifford, I'll count to three. Get on your knees and apologize to me and Luke, then we'll call it even. Otherwise, I'll throw this bracelet away. One!"

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. I was so consumed by hatred that I could almost taste blood.

"Two!"

Luke couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed my head and slammed it hard against the ground.

"Clifford!"

My head crashed into the sand. Scorching grains filled my eyes, mouth, and nose, leaving me coughing uncontrollably.

"Three!"

Sandy flung her arm, sending the bracelet arcing through the air.

As I watched the bracelet about to disappear into the scorching dunes, I let out a desperate roar. Tears finally spilled from the corners of my eyes as I screamed, "No!"

But the bracelet suddenly stopped in mid-air. A hand had shot down from above and caught it firmly.

Sandy froze, then looked up in shock.

At last, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. I collapsed onto the ground, tears mingling with sweat as they streamed down my face.

I knew my rescuer had finally arrived.

The next second, a deafening roar thundered across the sky.

A massive cloud of sand swept over us as a military helicopter bearing my family's insignia slowly descended, and suspended beneath it was a woman.