Endless desert flies by under my wings as I circle high above Blue. The smoldering remains of the car that was following us still glows far off in the distance.

I will not make her fight again.

The desert is barren, the miniscule amount of light from the headlights is the only living being in the world. Good. She's safe.

Despite the fact we're safe, I won't allow myself to relax. I keep my slow, looping circles far above the world. The only time I get to enjoy flying is when I check on Blue every ten minutes. She's worried, I'm not going to make things worse by disappearing all night.

I tuck my wings into my body and let myself plummet towards the earth. Wind rushes past, the sound roaring in my ears. My wings flare out at the last moment, straining against the force, bringing me to a stop right before slamming into the ground. Two flaps are all that's needed to stop my forward motion and land on the windshield.

"Safe." I reassure her and push myself back into the sky, strong wings carrying me up into the stars.

The rest of the night is quiet. Every time I return to Blue, Cassie's eyes drift a little further towards closed. My voice keeps her awake however, Blue needs her.

Eventually the sun rises, and with it I return to Blue. The moment I do, Cassie wraps her cloak around her and tosses her head covering over her eyes. Blue wraps a comforting arm around me and begins to read, sending Cassie to sleep almost instantly.

I remain in her arms, listening only to Blue's stories and Cassie's gentle breathing. Sometimes she stirs from her sleep, an unexplainable feeling telling me a nightmare is coming. I warn Blue of those times, and she reaches over to comfort her girlfriend. She's the only one who can settle Cassie down. Biting would unfortunately make things worse.

We keep that routine for ten hours straight, watching the sun drift slowly overhead, and eventually drop low behind us. We would have kept going long into the night if a mountain range didn't begin to peek over the horizon, welcoming and warning us of our arrival in equal measure.

Blue brings Cassie out of her sleep gently, first by ending her story, and then by placing a comforting hand on hers once she starts to rouse.

"Did you sleep well?" Blue asks.

"Yeah. Much better." Cassie reaches into her backpack for a breakfast food bar and some water.

"Ok good. We're two hours out."

"Great." She grabs my tablet off the center console to check our route again. She frowns at it while carefully checking every mile of the journey. "We'll be passing by a few ridgelines, perfect places for ambushes. We should send Corax ahead."

"Agreed." I will not let Blue be in danger again.

"But it's still daylight. Aren't people going to be living in the mountains?" Blue asks. "If anyone sees Corax, it's not hard to guess that we're there too, and to see an easy payday"

"Wait." I offer. I can simply fly the route once it's dark.

"If we wait until the sun goes down, Cassie and I aren't going to be able to see if we do get attacked." Blue says.

"If it's not safe, we just wait for sunrise." Cassie argues.

"We already know one person was following us, there could be more on the way."

"Safe." I insist. I didn't give the ones I killed time to send out a message, and I didn't see anyone during my flight.

A conflicted look dominates her face. I pushed her too far. I should have figured out a way to kill them silently, or maybe have just told her I accidentally dropped my bombs. She would see through my lies, but it may have stressed her less. As things are now, she's too afraid to risk me again, no matter how much she trusts my feelings.

"It's been hours since you checked. Someone else could have caught up."

I only stare at her. There are a few problems with that, problems I know she can figure out if I let her.

She silently stares back. I can see in her eyes she's already made the connection, but doesn't want to admit it.

"Fine." She eventually admits. "The chances aren't great, but it's still possible someone is close behind us."

We were hours outside the city before I attacked the car, and they were alone. Even if they managed to call for backup, they'd be many hours behind us. We can wait a few for the sun to go down.

"If we do see anyone, we'll head straight in." Cassie says.

Blue nods, but continues her current heading. She brings us closer to the mountain's base, and turns towards a large dune. She parks atop it, giving us an uninterrupted view of the desert for miles around.

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I climb onto Blue's shoulder, and she steps out of the car to get a better view.

"I should have waited to eat." Cassie joins the two of us outside the car.

"I'll make you something hot when we arrive." Blue promises.

"You better." Cassie jumps onto the hood of the car easily, with just a few steps of run-up before launching into the air. She sits on the edge of the roof, watching the way we came.

Blue climbs up beside her. No matter how much her shoulder sways while she climbs, it's still easy to remain on my perch. I do shift to her other shoulder though, the one furthest from Cassie to give the two of them a semblance of privacy.

Blue lets her head fall to the side, resting atop Cassie's.

"I had the weirdest fucking dream last night." Cassie says.

"Really?" Blue's eyes snap towards Cassie the moment she speaks, enraptured by her every word.

"Yeah." Cassie doesn't bother to explain.

"What happened?" Blue pushes a little bit.

"Nothing." A twinge of red reaches Cassie's cheeks.

Why would she bring up a topic if she's only going to be embarrassed by the mention of it? I'll never understand her.

"What's dreaming like?" Blue asks, her voice full of wistful longing.

"It's weird, like you're living in a strange world where nothing makes sense and anything can happen at any time, but you just accept everything that's happening as normal."

"Oh. That sounds awful." Whatever desire Blue had to dream is instantly gone.

Cassie bursts into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah I can imagine you hating that."

I tune them out as I give my full attention to our surroundings. Even if I'm certain we're safe, I will not put her in danger.

The world stays dead, a gentle breeze sending sand rolling down dunes is the only movement. I watch the sun drift lower, and keep an eye on every entrance to the mountains. The second it drops beyond the horizon, I interrupt their conversation.

"Back soon."

"Please be careful." Blue begs.

"Safe."

I can't rise too high without revealing myself to the sun once again, instead I leap from her shoulder, letting my wings skim me across the sand, leaving a trail of dust in my wake. One flap brings me high enough to crest the dune, and I dip back down the other side. I follow the rolling landscape away from the mountain, slowly climbing higher as the sun dips lower.

It's not long before I'm once again high above the world, with miles of empty sand laid out before me. Even flying miles west of the car I don't see any signs of life. It's still empty, with nobody following.

I tuck my wings into my body and plummet towards earth once again. I land easily on Blue's shoulder, causing Cassie to unconsciously jump in surprise.

"Safe." I reassure her. "Route."

Blue is conflicted, wanting so badly to beg me to stay, to try to keep me safe. Instead, she hops off the car and I have to dig my claws into her shirt to remain standing.

"Here." She offers me a cord plugged into her tablet, and I slot it in under my wing.

I hate this feeling. The tablet tries to make it a part of me, but I want nothing more than my body. It feels foreign, incorrect. I quickly grab the data and rip the tablet out of my body and mind.

"Back soon."

"If you see anything, please come right back."

"Ok." I hop through the open door and return to the skies. The path is long and winding, taking small, out-of-the-way routes towards the heart of the mountain range. I trace that route from high above, invisible against the black sky.

The deeper I get into the mountains the more signs of life I see. Trash has survived the storms. Old, sand filled plastic bottles poke out of the ground. Strips of cloth, bones, and rusty metal pepper the paths. I land at a few piles of junk and carefully inspect them for traps. They're just trash.

Tracks in the sand fill the major, open paths, and distant lights illuminate valleys. I fly over one and see a small town of people reveling in the dark, celebrating something I cannot stay to figure out. This is not our destination, these people don't matter.

The mountains are full of life, but our path is clear. It squeezes between settlements, keeping as much distance from all of them as possible. We're never even close to being in sight of anyone possibly dangerous.

The ridges we pass are empty, and so far from towns that won't change before we pass through. Even if it does, I still have one bomb. I can fix one problem.

The path leads deep into the mountains, eventually ending in a large, empty clearing with only one entrance. This is our destination, why is it empty? I circle high above, looking for any sign of life. Despite seeing nothing, something grows within me. A powerful emotion overwhelms my mind.

A good feeling.

I drop to the ground, landing smoothly in the sand directly in the center of the valley. A glint of light catches my eye. A camera well hidden in the rock face stares at me, the moon reflecting off its lens.

I stare back.

This is who we are to meet. This is it. Zero wasn't lying.

"Back soon."

I take to the skies once again, pushing my body to its limits. I won't leave her waiting longer than I have to.

I soon return to the car, Blue and Cassie still sitting on the roof. Worry fills Blue's face, and Cassie is doing what little she can to help. She's not good at it, but her attempts help prevent a complete spiral.

I land on Blue's shoulder and pull her ear hard to return her focus to me.

"Safe. Battery."

The worry melts from Blue's face, and she reaches up to hold me tight. I let myself be encompassed by her warm body, gracing her with the sound of my internals whirring happily.

Blue carries me to the driver's seat and plugs herself into the car before removing my harness. I flop on my back in her lap to give easy access to my battery.

I've lived her experiences driving the car, and I still don't understand how she can handle the feeling. She cares so much for her body, and yet she inevitably grows dependent on more after only a few hours. If I let her be a part of the car for a day she would never leave.

Cassie climbs in next to Blue, and the car begins to move forward of its own accord.

I wait as power trickles into my body, refreshing me far more than a night's sleep used to do.

My battery isn't that low, and it doesn't take long to top it off. Once done I roll down the window and hop on it.

"Scout." I inform her, and climb high above the car. I check offshoots and ensure intersections are clear. I check caves and ridges. I keep her safe. I only return to her hours later when she finally arrives in the empty clearing.

"Here."

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