Valentina ReyesThe desert stretched out like an endless, mocking grave, the sand cold under my bare feet as I limped forward, each step sending sharp pains up my legs from the cuts and bruises. The hoodie clung to my skin, damp with sweat and blood, and the purse bounced against my hip with every uneven stride, the $11,800 inside feeling heavier than it should, like a curse rather than salvation. The gunshots from the border still echoed in my ears, a constant reminder that I’d left the group behind and the woman’s scream as she shielded her baby, the kid’s terrified cry, the men’s curses as they scattered into the night. Javier’s van had been a fireball when I’d glanced back, his body slumped against the wheel, the guide sprawled in the dirt. I was the only one who made it through, or at least the only one I could see in the chaos, and the guilt twisted in my gut like a knife, mixing with the fear that kept my eyes darting to every shadow, every rustle in the wind.I had no plan bey
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