Alejandra had managed to find cover near Stewart Bay. She hopes none of her uncle’s people come after her. She watches as the sun slowly raises into the morning sky. She covers up a yawn as she slowly let her eyes close. She was so tired and the adrenaline she had felt, was slowly fading causing her to feel tired. She curls up in the seat of the dune buggy and try to get some sleep in.

Before she fell asleep, she checked the fuel gauge on her primary tank which was at half a tank and her secondary tank was full. She had two five-gallon tanks that were attached to the dune buggy if she needed extra fuel.

Alejandra wakes-up twelve hours later. She was more tired then she thought she was. She gets out of the dune buggy and finds some bushes she could do her business without any one seeing her. Once she was done, she walks over to the edge of water and slip her batter shoes off
and walk into the water. The coolness from the water felt nice against her bruised skinned.

She kneels and splash some of the cool water onto her face. She has no idea what she is going to do, but anything was better then being her uncle’s slave. After a few minutes she walks back to the dune buggy and changes out of the clothes she had. They were old and a little big on her, but they were clean and better then what she had on.

She pops open the glove compartment, after pressing a few buttons to open it. Inside was some money she found while going through the cars. There wasn’t much, but at least she could get something to eat and drink. Alejandra climbs back into the dune buggy and start it up.

She presses the restaurant app on the GPS she found and get inside the dune buggy. It gives her direction to a nearby McDonald’s. She parks the buggy and heads inside to place her order.

As she is pulling the money out of her pocket, Detective Branston business card falls out of her pocket. She picks it up and look at it. Maybe she should call him, but what if he finds out that she is illegal?

She walks back over to her dune buggy and sit in it as she eats her lunch.

Forensic Department, Mesquite Police Department:
Edward checks the power level on the cellphone and notices it was fully charged. He tries to log on, but it was pass coded. He uses a few tricks he knows and manages to crack the code. He looks through all the apps and pictures. He finally finds some information and a video the girl made when they were out partying and when they got hit on the highway. He saves the footage on his laptop and contacts Detective Branston.

Mesquite, Police Department:
Detective Branston was sitting at his desk when he received a message from Edward. He checks the email and notices two video files had been sent to him. He plays the first one and watches as all the kids went to Desert Rose and were having fun. He keeps watching and after about thirty minutes, two guys come over to talk with the kids and with Belka. It seems that they knew the two men.

They joined them out on the dance floor and when they came back. Belka was acting like she was drunk. The group just let the two guys take Belka away from their group.

“So, the whole thing was a set-up from the beginning. They planned on killing her, but why?” Detective Branston wonders why her foster parents would try to kill her.

He plays the next video and it shows the group of kids in the SUV and heading down the highway. They were having fun and laughing. Music was blaring and they were tossing money around inside the SUV. Then the vehicle shook as it had been hit.

The girl holding the phone had turned around to catch what was hitting them. Even though it was night time, he could make out a truck slamming into the rear of the SUV, causing the driver to lose control and flip several times.

Detective Branston pauses the video and looks at the pictures he took of the wreck SUV and notices where the other vehicle smacked the rear end of it. He brings the State Trooper report up and reads it. It mentioned nothing about the SUV being forced off the highway.

He leans back into his chair and thinks about what he has found out. Either the State Troopers were in on it or they were incompetent. The question now was, who were the two men that took Belka out of the club and dumped her out in the desert and why? The second question was, who wanted to kill the kids that set Belka up?

The Crystal Palace:
Belka was sitting at a spot she found that gave her a wonderful scene of the desert as the sun rose up into the sky. She had her easel stand and canvas setup as she painted the scene. So, far she has done four pictures and two paintings since she came to The Crystal Palace. Isa commissioned her to do one of the Palace itself and had it hung up in the place.

Some of the residents in town commissioned her to do drawings for them. The sheriff asked her to design a new sign for his office but keep it the style the town was founded on. Belka loved drawing and painting. There was something about the feeling of allowing the brush express how she felt inside. The colors were so close to the originals, that it was like she was replicating them exactly.

Isa stood a few feet behind Belka and watched as she painted. She could see that Belka was talented. The way she captured the valley before them was remarkable.

She thinks about the conversion her and Belka had the other day about her future. She wanted to go to art school and become a famous artist. Isa knew, most artist didn’t become famous, till after their deaths. She did however consider that maybe they should open an art gallery in town to display local artist work.

She arranged a meeting with the tribal council that allowed her to operate on tribal land and who had bankrolled the restoration of the town itself. She had managed to pay the money back at the interest rate they gave her. When Belka approached her about her future and getting the surgery she needed to become a woman. She went to them again to see if there were any grants or scholarships that Belka could apply for. She told them she would match any for her.

The tribal council didn’t have any that Belka could apply for. If she was Native American, she could have applied for. However, there were a few from the state that she could apply for, since she was in foster care.

Isa helped her apply for them and she found a few grants that Belka could get because she was a female. It was a fine line about that, but because her doctor said she suffered from gender dysphoria. Belka applied for them and was waiting to hear back if she was going to get it or not. Isa was willing to fund Belka’s college fund.

Normally, Isa would be in bed now, but she wanted to see Belka had been sneaking off too. Some of the staff have been looking after Belka, making sure she was safe. She just stands there and watch Belka paint. An hour or two go by, before Belka takes a break and a sip from her water bottle.

“You’ve done a good job painting that.” Isa walks towards Belka.

Belka nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears Isa’s voice. She turns around and notices Isa was walking towards her.

“Thank you.” Belka hadn’t realized that Isa had followed her.

Once Isa got closer to look at the painting, it was really good. It was like she captured the scene with a high-quality camera. Belka caught all the little details in her painting.

“Are you planning on selling that one or keeping it for yourself?” Isa figured if Belka was going to sale it, she would buy it for the Palace.

“I haven’t decided yet.” Belka looks back at it and really liked it.

“Well, when you do, let me know.” A smile forms on Isa’s face.

“I will and thank you for the art supplies.” Belka found them in her room after she came up from helping in the kitchen.

“You’re welcome. I have decided to pay for your operation, when your doctor gives the okay. I know what it is like to feel uncomfortable in your own body.” Isa knew that feeling very well.

“Thank you, Isa.” Belka couldn’t wait to get her surgery.

Isa walks over to Belka and just hold her in her arms. She never thought about having children before, but if she ever did, she would want them to be like Belka.

They stay like that for a while, before Isa must head back to the Crystal Palace. She does help Belka pack everything away on the horse she rode. Belka is careful with her painting, since the paint was still wet.

She rides beside Isa as they head back to town. Belka does look over to Isa “has there been any word on why I left out in the desert?”

“None yet. Don’t dwell on why they did that to you. That’s in your past now. Concentrate what your future is going to be and let karma sort the rest out.” Isa knew from her studies of Wicca that the universe had a way of returning bad things back to the sender.