Cassie and I hold onto each other throughout the entire night. I'm happy to once again let her keep my arm the entire time if it helps her sleep, even if driving and using the radio with only one hand is a little inconvenient.

Corax, as always, checks on me regularly. We're thankfully alone out here, nobody around for miles, and not even any lights along the horizon.

Despite that, even out here in the middle of nowhere, the radio can still catch signals. Cassie and I are no longer the only thing people are talking about, other, newer drama and bounties have begun to take our place. Most of the conversation about us is still reporting us in random towns, but a bit of the discussion has turned to discussing the possibility we died in a storm and are buried, never to be rediscovered. I'm perfectly fine with that story.

I watch the desert roll by for hours, my only companions being Vince, Ivy, and Cassie's soft breathing, Corax's occasional visits, and the awe inspiring night sky. The moon travels steadily through the sky, lighting my way.

Driving at night isn't nearly as lonely as it normally is. I have a full car, and two more following close behind. I'm not alone, I'm with everyone I care about, even if they're asleep. Or I guess everyone I care about minus Lucas, and a few people at the compound and city.

An hour before sunrise I activate the data lines between me and the car, and connect to everyone else.

"I'm going to wake everyone up and make breakfast. We're only a few hours away from the pass."

"Sounds good." Lance responds.

Nimda's annoyance seeps into the network, but she holds her opinions to herself. I pull myself out of the network before she can change her mind.

Shaking my arm gently in an attempt to wake up Cassie is enough for her to jerk to consciousness and push herself away from me, her hand tightly gripping her knife. That sudden movement is enough to wake up Vince, who also reaches for his weapons. Ivy pretends to stay asleep, but the change in her breathing gives away the fact that she's awake.

"Everything's ok!" I say quickly. "I'm just going to make everyone breakfast."

"Right." Cassie slowly relaxes her hand and reaches up to rub sleep out of her eyes. "I'll help."

"Alright." I slow the car to a stop and step out, heading immediately for the trunk.

"Did you sleep well?" I ask.

"Yeah. How much food do we have left?"

"A couple of days of comfortable meals, a week and a half if we stretch it." We ended up leaving as much food behind as we could without risking our own lives to try to make things a little easier on the town before their crops grow.

"I'm so sick of stretching our food. We better get at least to Vegas."

"We will." I reassure her. The tires on all three cars are looking a little shredded, but ok for the most part, and that's our biggest worry. We swapped out all the spares we had and did what repairs we could before we left.

I open up the trunk and both of us begin to grab what we can.

"I want to keep moving. Let's just make oatmeal." Cassie says.

"Alright."

The two of us work as a perfect team. I fill up a pot with enough water and place it on the hot plate Cassie has already prepared. As soon as it begins to boil she pours in the oats, and I focus on stirring. Just a few minutes later we ladle three portions into bowels, making sure not to waste a drop.

We return to the car, pass Vince and Ivy their meals, and resume our drive. Ivy's stopped pretending to sleep, and is doing her best to sit up.

"Thanks you two." Vince says.

Vince fights to keep from inhaling his meal, taking measured bites and ensuring he chews before swallowing.

"Sorry it's simple." I say. "Cassie wanted to get moving."

"You're alright, it's the right choice."

The stars disappear and sky begins to lighten while everyone eats. That's Corax's signal to return from his scouting, and he does as always. He appears on the open windowsill, and hops easily onto my shoulder.

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While everyone is focused on their food, I plug myself into the car.

"Nimda? Can you ask Clover if we're safe to head though the pass? Or if there's a specific route we need to take?" I ask.

"One moment." The connection goes quiet for a few seconds. "I cannot wake her up."

"Corax?" Just a single word is enough for him to dutifully jump out the window, and only a few seconds later, Nimda sends a message over.

"She says it's safe. Take the same route as last time."

"Ok, thank you."

Just an hour later the peaks of mountains appear over the horizon. I don't even need to say anything, the moment we see it, everyone begins to prepare. Cassie puts on her covering, and drops mine over my head. I pass my pistols to Ivy for her to check while I focus on driving. Sure, we all cleaned and prepared them before we left the city, but a second check won't hurt anything.

Over the course of another hour we approach the pass. Distant cars peak over the horizon, cresting large dunes at the same time as us.

Even if we have very little to worry about, I still keep us away from other cars as best I can. There's no need to take the risk of someone recognizing one of us.

Tension grows by the moment. Sure, we made it past the first time, but passing through a straight path with snipers on every ridge and nowhere to run is uncomfortable, to say the least.

I slow down a little bit to ensure we head into a wide pass alone. Massive walls dominate either side of us. Glints of light on either ridge reveal the Rangers watching us.

Ivy grabs her tablet and quickly types something out before reaching for her rifle again.

"Right. One recognized us. Just left."

I pass her message to the other cars.

"Fucking great." Cassie mumbles. "I swear, if she screws us."

"Clover got us through the first time. If we were in danger, Kismet would tell her." I reassure her.

"Yeah, maybe if she's conscious."

"She's spent days helping the child. She's not just going to let her be in danger."

Everyone's eyes keep flicking across the ridge, our weapons low, but ready. Cassie doesn't even pay attention to the radio, she just keeps the volume up and the headphones around her neck.

I drive slowly, but steadily, never daring to stop. I don't want them to have a single reason to start asking questions.

The Rangers never take their eyes off of us as we pass through. The glint of their rifle scopes a constant reminder that we're only being let through because they're allowing us to live.

Nobody says anything while we pass through, and thankfully the radio stays silent. Just a few tense hours later, we're back into the barren, endless desert. Nobody lets out a sigh of relief until we're a few miles away from the pass.

Ivy is the first to relax, leaning her rifle against the car wall and returning her head to resting on Vince's lap. Cassie and Vince take a while longer, but Cassie eventually puts her headphones back on, and Vince puts his rifle right next to Ivy's.

"I told you she'd keep us safe." I say quietly to Cassie.

"Yeah, yeah. How long until we arrive?"

"Around twenty four hours."

"Alright, good."

The rest of the day is much less stressful. We do see a few cars, likely coming to and from Vegas. Thankfully, it's easy enough to keep away from them.

Cassie and I end up making lunch and dinner before the sun sets once again. Cassie stays up as long as she can, but sleep eventually takes her, leaving me alone yet again. The stars in the sky occasionally wink out of existence as Corax circles high above. I want to fly with him again one day, to just meld and experience every flight he's ever taken. It'd be a nice way to relax.

We pass by Vegas in the dead of night and stay far enough away to not see anyone, but Corax does report the endless line of people trying to get inside. Even if we have a VIP room and don't have to go through the public entrance, I think I'd be happy to never set foot in that city again.

Everyone ends up eating some of our pre-packaged meals for breakfast. I think everyone is too concerned about making it this far and getting hit by a storm to spend time cooking.

When we reach the mountains that the city is hidden inside, it's daytime. Despite that, Corax takes the risk and scouts the way.

"So where are we going?" Vince asks. "I don't think I recognize this path."

"Ivy, can I see your tablet?" I ask and she hands it over. I unplug myself from the car and into the tablet just long enough to add our route to the map. "We're going here." I pass it back to the two of them.

"Huh, alright. I've heard of a few towns around Pole Creek, but no place full of AI."

"I'd be amazed if you knew about it. We would have never found it without Zero's help."

"Well alright."

We creep down the endless paths through the mountain. Corax being in the air and watching over us does little to help everyone else's anxiety.

"Are those cameras theirs?" Ivy asks, pointing her rifle at a barren wall.

"I don't know, actually." I forward the question to Nimda and Lance.

"I'm surprised she could see that." I let Nimda's voice come out of my mouth. "Yes, those are ours."

A shiver goes down Cassie's spine, and I give her an apologetic look.

"I guess that's better than the alternative." Vince mumbles to himself.

It takes another two hours under Corax's watchful eye to reach our destination. All three cars pull into a dead end, a circular opening with only one way out. A large section of a flat stone wall recesses inwards and begins to silently slide to the side. Behind it sits a large, metal garage with a familiar person standing at the far end.

We pull in, all three cars barely fitting inside. Video steps up to our open window.

"It's so good to see all of you again."

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