I spent the night tossing and turning and staring at the digital clock on the counter beside my bed. I have no idea what happened to Matt.All I know is that he didn’t come back.I sit in the lobby waiting for the others, fearing the worst, and scared of what’s to come. Members of security are pacing. A guard keeps looking out the window like Matt will walk up and it will be like nothing happened.My stomach twists in knots as we ride out to the desert. The bus is silent. Two people have traveled and only one person came back.I don’t know what it means for the rest of us.If they’ll still send us back or if they’ll cancel the rest of the program and just keep us here.I don’t know what it means for my mother.We take off our goggles and pile out of the bus. The desert is empty. We stay close to the bus and the air conditioning that blows out on us. It’s the only way to stay alive out here.We all came back to wait for Matt. Maybe he missed a vortex, so his return has been delayed.
