It’s four days in total until the storm passes. Two weeks and three days until she’s out of food, and even less for water. I can drag her maybe a hundred miles before the next storm hits, and the nearest town I’m aware of is three times that. Other than Mara’s trench of course.

  I climb out of Cassie’s bed and begin to pile food, water, and medicine within her reach. I pop two skin plates open, tuck both my pistol and Cassie’s silenced one into the opening, and take Vince’s rifle into my hands. I’m going to be fighting at range, and Vince’s gun will be way more effective than a little 9mm pistol.

  “I’ll be back with a car. Is your gun loaded? Do you need anything?”

  “Drag a shirt behind you, it’ll help cover your tracks.” Cassie grabs her gun from beneath a conveniently placed pile of cloth and checks it. “I’ll be fine.”

  I’m not sure I will. How many people am I about to kill? Don’t think about it.

  “Ok. I’m not sure what kind of mental state I’ll be in when I get back, so uh, I don’t know. If I’m in bad shape, just make sure you take the car and get Corax somewhere safe.”

  “Shut up.” Cassie says quickly. “You’re going to be fine.”

  “I’m just saying. You getting somewhere safe is what matters.”

  “And I’m saying you’ll be fine. Now go do what you have to do.”

  “Right, thanks.” She’s right. I’ll be fine, somehow.

  I tie some cloth to each of my ankles and take a partial step out into the still dark, but quickly warming air. In just a few hours the world will be so hot that I have to be careful about burning Cassie without my silicone skin. Bare metal transfers heat far too quickly to be safe.

  That’s not important though. Just focus on the world in front of me. The endless dunes are completely different from yesterday, but the world is still empty as always. Mara’s trench is only a few miles away, even if I can’t see it. Cars are going to be sent out before long, and I need to be prepared for that.

  I need to find a place where I can ambush a single car, while still being close enough to quickly pick up Cassie and get out of here before anyone realizes anything happened. I can only think of two solutions: I either find some kind of ridge in the mountain to hide in and kill whoever’s driving, or I find a low point in a dune and wait for someone to drive by.

  The ridge is safer, heck, I could even just set up here in the entrance to the cave. I probably shouldn’t do that though, if I fail they would undoubtedly find Cassie. I would need to find a place a little ways away.

  The question is, does anyone have a reason to drive along the base of the mountain alone? As far as I can tell, we’re in the middle of the range, with no paths near us. Why would anyone drive a few miles south, only to turn ninety degrees east or west?

  No, I have to head out into the sand dunes. I can’t take the risk of not having a car pass by whatever ridge I set up on. I need to rescue Vince and Ivy as fast as possible. Wasting even a day is too long.

  That’s not to say hiding in some dune is safe, or even likely to succeed. The closer I get, the more likely a car will run into me. That also means that someone is more likely to hear the gunshots. I can use Cassie’s silent pistol, but that doesn’t guarantee I can stay hidden.

  Maybe I can just walk after all? I still have a copy of Eight’s AI’s database saved to my hard drives. I’m certain there’s a map of the surrounding area in there, but once again, that’s another massive risk. Plus, even if there is somewhere in walking range, the chances of us getting found on the way are high. And even if we do reach it, word would get back to Mara incredibly quickly.

  I need to calm down. The cars haven’t even left the base yet as far as I can tell. I have time to explore a few miles of the mountains in either direction. Maybe I can find some kind of path that cars are likely to travel through and increase my chances of being able to steal one.

  I complete my step out of the cave, turn to the side, and begin to run. It feels so good to finally do something after days spent trying to keep Cassie fed and warm.

  I run for miles, keeping my feet gliding just above the sand to let the fabric behind me clear away all evidence I was here. I run for five miles, my eyes scanning the horizon for any movement. A single car and I’ll have to sprint for cover, I cannot let myself beseen.

  After five miles I slow down and climb up the sandy mountain a bit for a better view. The mountain stretches unbroken, far beyond the horizon. There has to be something the other way. I won’t let this be a waste of time.

  On the run back I catch a flicker of movement between the endless sand dunes. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t have time to check. I sprint down the side of the mountain, diving for cover behind a large hill. I slowly climb back up the coarse sand and poke my head over the crest. A dozen cars are streaming across the landscape, headed south west from where Mara’s base in the distance should be.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  They’re heading towards the mountain. They’re heading towards the mountain! They’ll arrive far west of where Cassie’s cave is. If they’re not looking for her, there must be a path through.

  I move as quickly as I can in that direction without revealing myself to the convoy. It’s not easy finding a path, but it’s fine. I can’t take on a whole convoy, I don’t think I have enough bullets. There’s nothing wrong with letting them through and waiting for stragglers.

  It takes almost an hour to make it, but eventually I find the path. An artificial canyon has been blasted through the mountain, with sheer walls on either side. Large turrets dot the walls, and I quickly retract my head before they can see me.

  That’s fine, I don’t have to set up an ambush here. I know where they’re coming from and I know where they’re going, I can prepare anywhere else in the desert.

  I walk directly towards Mara’s ravine. It doesn’t matter how far away I get from the ravine or the pass, the sound of my gunshot will travel for miles. If I fire Vince’s rifle, I have to be quick.

  Eventually I come across the perfect place. Great sightlines, while still being below larger, surrounding dunes. I lay atop a hill, Vince’s rifle at the ready, and wait. They’re far more likely to come from the ravine right now, and the second they do, they’re dead.

  I wait for hours as the sun slowly climbs over the horizon. Cassie has food and water. She’ll be fine if I come home late.

  Only a few hours after dawn, the roof of a car crests the hill a few hundred feet in front of me. They fully crest the hill, and two unknown men sit in the front seats while a third has pulled himself over the console, mid laugh.

  Don’t think. I aim at the driver and pull.

  “Don’t forget the wind.” A familiar hand comes from nowhere and nudges the gun to the left.

  The car window collapses, and the driver’s skull with it.

  I control the recoil, level, and fire twice more. All three men are dead before the window shards finally reach the ground.

  “Ivy?” I look up at her, standing proudly in the open.

  “Not the real one.” She says.

  “Right, I knew that.” I scramble to my feet and sprint to the car.

  “You can’t even lie to your own head.” She laughs, not bothering to follow me to the car.

  I try the handle, only to find it locked. That’s not a problem for me of course, it’s not like a broken window can cut me or anything.

  I climb in over the hood, unlock the door, and open it. When I unbuckle the driver’s seatbelt, his head turns to me and stares into my soul. I don’t feel malice from him, just sadness.

  “Fine, I’ll bury you later.” I shove the man into the passenger's seat, piling him atop his friend.

  Don’t think about the red liquid slowly seeping into my clothes. Just drive. I can’t break down now.

  I park the car at the base of the mountain and scramble up the side a short distance to Cassie’s cave.

  When I crest the entrance, Cassie already has her pistol trained on my head. I trust her, she won’t shoot. Sure enough, she drops the gun to the side.

  “You got a car?” She asks.

  “Yeah.” Of course she already knows, she probably heard me drive up.

  Cassie has already wrapped all our supplies inside her discarded blanket. She really shouldn’t be moving this much, but I can’t say I’m upset about it. I scoop the small package up and hand it to her. Cassie holds it tight to her chest and I pick her and Corax up.

  I carried both of them through the storm, I can carry them to the car. It’s only a short walk, but I have to go slow to not slip.

  Cassie reaches out to open the door for me, only to recoil the moment she sees inside.

  “What the hell Blue?” She yells.

  “I promised I’d bury them.” I set her down on the back seat, doing my best to avoid putting her on the bone, blood, and brain matter splattered through the car.

  “What the fuck does that even mean? Just push them out!” Blood is rapidly draining from Cassie’s face.

  “We don’t have time to bury them right now.” I hop into the driver’s seat and begin to head north east.

  “Just shove them out!” Cassie yells.

  “I can’t, they’d never forgive me. I can’t have them taunting me later.” I can’t risk not being able to handle it.

  “They’re dead! They can’t do anything!”

  “You know that’s not true.” Huh, I would have expected my voice to be sad, not emotionless and monotone. I don’t know what that means, but I don’t think I’m equipped to figure it out right now.

  “Then do it real quick! I’m not riding with three corpses next to me.”

  “Someone almost certainly heard the gunshots. They’re going to be investigating any moment. We don’t have time to waste. I’ll bury them in a few hours.”

  “You know people shit themselves when they die, right? I’m not spending hours sitting in this fucking car!”

  “They do?” I must have stored that fact in a hard drive and not bothered to learn it.

  “They sure as shit do!”

  “It’ll be just a few hours.” She can handle that.

  “I’m going to vomit if you don’t do something quick.” I look back, and her face has only gotten paler.

  Which is more dangerous? Losing all of today's calories and a lot of water, or stopping to bury these three? I’m not sure how long the car’s battery is going to last. We might end up having to walk part of the way, and she’s going to need every ounce of water she can get.

  “Alright.” I pull the car into a low point between two dunes and put it in park. I don’t have long, so I rush out, throw the doors open, and pull out the bodies.

  I lay them next to each other, and spend a few minutes pulling sand atop them. Once they’re entirely covered, I spend just a moment staring at the graves that will get unearthed with only a strong breeze.

  “Sorry I couldn't give you better.”

  I hop back in the car and begin to drive.

  Come join the Discord to talk about the chapter!

  Or come join my Patreon to get the next 20 chapters instantly for only 10 bucks, or 10 chapters for 5!

  Book 1 is for sale on Amazon in both paperback and ebook!

  Book 2 is also for sale!