Panic flooded Ever’s system, and they looked for a way out as he began to pull them away from the Airship. They had nearly given up hope when they noticed the knife stuck in his belt, and they then noticed that he was gripping their left arm, and an idea formed in their mind. 

Ever twisted their arm off as fast as they could before reaching for the knife the man had stuck in his belt. They pulled it from his belt and brought it straight up, slicing the flesh over his right eye with the tip, causing him to drop their arm. “Ah, futz!” Grabbing their arm, Ever started running as fast as they could, refusing to look back as they reattached their arm and stuck the knife in their belt. The distant pained cries of the man in charge were enough to let Ever know that he wasn’t following them.

As they began to climb the stairs, they heard the man in charge bellowed. “Jace! Thresh! After her! I want that drifter dead!” Ever continued to climb the stairs, noticing Tesla standing at the top of the stairs.

“Catch her Tesla! Drax wants them dead!” The first man said, and when she reached out, Ever didn’t waste any time in taking her hand. She pulled Ever onto the platform just as a steam whistle blew and people began pouring out of the airships. ‘Perfect timing.’ 

Tesla pointed toward the back of the platform, yelling over the din of people. “Get on the eastbound Airship. I’ll hold ‘em off. Go!” Ever ran, pushing past the people headed in the opposite direction. Ever pushed and pushed until the throngs of people thinned enough for them to run. 

And run they did straight for the eastbound airship which was sitting in its dock, and as they approached they saw the familiar face of the conductor.

Ever came to a stop in front of the open doors and reached for their wallet, only to find it wasn’t in their pocket. They hadn’t thought to grab it before leaving this morning. Why would they have when they weren’t planning on buying anything? 

They looked over their shoulder to see the men pushing their way through the crowd, and they stepped onto the airship, looking up at the conductor. “I don’t have my wallet on me, but I really need to get away from here. There are some bad people after me. They have guns, and they want me dead, and I don’t want to die. Please, help me.” 

The words spilled from Ever’s lips, toppling over each other in their rush to get them out. And they realized the truth of their statement. They didn't want to die. They wanted to live. Oh god, they wanted to live.

The conductor looked down at them with pity in his eyes as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Get on. What kinda man would I be if didn’ help a scared kid in need of it.” Ever moved into the airship as the conductor asked. “How far you headin’?”

“As far as you can take me.” Ever crossed their arms over their chest, glancing over their shoulder in panic, causing their breath to come in gasps. 

He seemed to think for a while before saying. “Well, that will cost ya.” He held up a single finger. “One handshake.” 

Ever looked out the window to see the men were getting increasingly close to the airship. Far too close for comfort. They stuck out their hand and the conductor took it, giving it a hearty shake before pulling the lever and closing the door. 

He pulled down the microphone and spoke into it, causing his voice to echo out over the airship station. “The eastbound airship is leaving ahead of schedule. The eastbound airship is leaving Angel Falls station ahead of schedule.” He hooked the microphone back into place and Ever walked over to a seat, climbed onto it and looked out the window. 

Ever watched as the two men and Tesla gathered at the edge of the platform. The men glared up at them, while Tesla stared at them with remorseful eyes. 

Ever wondered why she looked so guilty until they remembered the conversation they had caught the tail end of a day ago and the slogan that was sprawled across one of Tesla’s propaganda posters was brought to the forefront of Ever’s thoughts, ‘Report. Apprehend. Detain.’ Ever felt an all too familiar something fill their chest as they watched Tesla and the F.A.D soldiers get further and further away. 

Red-hot rage.

“Help drifters, my ass!” Ever’s voice came out strained as tears fell from their eyes, slamming a clenched fist against the window in frustration. How had they been so stupid? How had they not noticed all the warning signs? No, they had noticed them. They had simply chosen to ignore them. Ignorance is bliss and all that, and Ever wanted to go back to living the blissful life of peaceful ignorance. 

But they knew Ever couldn’t. Tesla had betrayed them. They could never forget that fact. Ever had trusted her, and she had thrown them to the goddamned wolves. “You goddamned traitor.” Their voice had lost its power as they slid and turned around. “I trusted you.” Ever sniffed, wiping away unshed tears. “I really trusted you.” 

Ever leaned their head against the window, exhaustion finally hitting them like a ton of bricks. They pulled their knees to their chest, wincing as pain shot through their stomach. They looked down to see a dark red stain bleeding through their shirt, and they realized. ‘Oh, it seems I’ve been shot.’

Ever had never been shot before, but they assumed it was supposed to hurt when it first happened, not after you had lost nearly a liter of blood. They guessed that the adrenaline and panic had numbed the pain, but they didn’t think it would be to the point of not realizing you had been shot. 

Ever pressed their hand to their stomach, attempting to keep what little blood they had left where it belonged, as they closed their eyes and pulled their legs back up to their chest despite the pain. ‘I guess this is my life now.’ Ever thought bitterly as they let the movement of the airship rock them to sleep.

X x x x x X

Ever was jerked awake by a hand gently shaking their shoulder. They rapidly blinked their eyes looking up at the conductor who looked down at them with a soft smile. “End of the line, little lady. Welcome to Zahara.” Ever stood up, wincing as pain shot through their stomach.

They made their way toward the front of the airship, nodding to the conductor. “Thank you for the ride.”

He tipped his hat at them and said. “Is there anything else I can do for ya?” Ever stopped at the entrance, looking from the conductor and then out the door.

“I was an apprentice to a cog smith back in Liberty. If you could tell him not to worry, but that I won’t be coming after the celebration.” Ever spoke, words leaving a bitter aftertaste in the back of their mouth. Stomach twisting itself into knots. They really wouldn’t be going back to Angel Falls after this. If they went back, would there even be a place for them? Had Jaxson and Matron Julia been involved in everything? Or was Tesla working alone? God, how stupid had they been to allow themselves to get comfortable. To think that they could have a life where they could be comfortable and themselves. 

“What’s his name?”

“Cogsworth. He runs Cogsworth’s Cog Smith.” Ever mumbled, looking over their shoulder again before looking back at the conductor. “Thank you again.” He tipped his hat to them as they stepped off the airship and onto the platform, a wave of dry and hot air hitting them. 

Ever watched as the doors closed, and the airship took off, heading back towards Angel Falls. 

To a place where they no longer belonged. 

Ever turned back to look at the platform, which looked completely different from the ones in Angel Falls and Liberty. Instead of copper piping and bronze grating, it was made of stone and rock. The platform and roof were made of sandstone with shells and rocks blended into it, while the roof was held up by reddish stone pillars that had been carved into cylinders. 

Ever walked over to the edge of the platform, which was defined by an iron rail guard. They placed their hand on the railing looking out over the city. It rested on the edge of the desert, and the buildings looked like they had been built from a similar material as the airship station. There was a spot of color near the center where reds, blues, yellows, and oranges all mixed together. There were colors attached to the drab-looking building as well, but most of the colors seemed to be concentrated in the center of the city. 

Ever gripped the railing and let out a sigh.

Perhaps this city on a sea of sand would be the safe haven that the steampunk metropolis hadn’t been.