The man just looked at them, completely unimpressed, before speaking without batting an eye. “Yes, you do.” And then left without another word, leaving Ever alone in the room. With a huff they walked over to the lounge, collapsing onto it, skin scraping against the rough fabric. Ever draped their arms over their eyes as they let out a sigh. ‘How did my life end up like this?’ Ever thought to themselves as they lay in silence, trying not to let the stress that had been building in their chest escape through their eyes. These people were helping them, at least that's what they claimed, so why did it feel like they were only making things worse. They clenched their fists, knowing full well just who was responsible for their current situation. ‘Tesla.’ Ever glared up at the ceiling, clenching their teeth. ‘If I ever see you again, I’ll fucking kill you.’ 

The sound of the door opening and someone letting out a surprised shout. “Why are you in your underwear?” 

Ever gave an apathetic wave. “Why not?” Ever ignored the feeling of eyes on their person. What was the point in fighting it at this point? 

A sigh came from Cia and Ever casually glanced at her through narrowed eyes. “Can you get dressed? We need to get going.” Ever let out an agitated sigh, pushing themselves up and moving to where their clothes lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. Part of them wished they could just join them there. 

Ever reached down, picking up their shirt and lethargically pulling it over their head. They did the same with their pants before turning to Cia. “Let’s just get this over with.” They brushed past her and into the hall, anger and frustration making them more than a little impatient. 

Ever followed Cia through the halls until they returned to the small meeting room where people were rushing back and forth, a feeling of panic tingling in the air. They watched as Cia moved into the rushing crowd, yelling. “What’s going on here!?”

“Hendrix fucking bailed on us! Said he’s not risking his neck for a single drifter!” One of the D.A.F.T officers yelled over the din of the bustling crowd, which only caused the noise to intensify. 

The elder slammed his hands into the desk, bellowing. “Enough!” His voice echoed through the room, which was quickly filled with a heavy silence. “So,” He looked over the crowd. “We don’t have a transporter? What is the SOP for this situation?” The crowd began to murmur lowly amongst themselves as they went back to work once more. 

Ever pulled out a seat, quietly sliding into it as people moved back and forth in renewed hurry. They followed the D.A.F.T agents with their eyes, trying to ignore the pain in their stomach. Slumping forward, the pain from the gunshot wound spiked before fading into a dull throb, as Ever pressed their forehead into the table, closing their eyes. ‘What has become of my life…’ They didn’t know when they had fallen asleep, but at some point, their chair was jerked out from under them, only to be held up by a pair of hands. 

Before Ever could really process what was happening, a pile of clothes were thrust into their arms, and they were shoved into a closet. ‘And here I thought I was out of the closet for good.’ They laughed at their own joke, but the intensity at which they had been dumped into the closet with no explanation made it come out weak and uneasy. Although the intention of their actions were clear. ‘Put these on. Now.’ 

Closing their eyes and taking a moment to collect themselves, Ever began changing into the outfit that had been unceremoniously thrust into their arms. Said outfit consisted of a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants made of a similar material. They wrapped the thin scarf around their neck, just as the door flew open, revealing Cruz. “Good. You’re dressed.” He grabbed them by the arm, dragging them from the closet, and pushed them toward the door. “We don’t have much time. We have to hurry.” 

“Hurry for what?” Ever tried to ask, to get any information they could from the people who they were trusting with their life. 

“No time to explain,” Cruz said shortly as they were shoved toward the open door of the base, steadied by Cia. 

“Come on. We have to go.” She began to usher them toward the opening, and they barely managed to disengage themselves from the officer, stumbling backward. “Ever, we’re wasting daylight here.” 

“I’m not moving from this spot until somebody tells me what the hell is going on!?” 

“We don’t have time for an explanation,” Cia said, no pleaded, with them, but Ever stood firm. “Please.” 

“No. Tell me where you're taking me.” Ever reached up, crossing their arms over their chest. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have trusted these people.’
Cia reached up, running a hand over her face. “We found another person who's willing to transport you across the desert, but it's a limited window. We need to go.” She paused and widened her eyes. “Now!” She tugged at Ever, who hesitantly let themselves be pulled forward. 

The sun had long since set and the bazaar had lost its life, people having closed up shop, leaving barren booths. The only signs of life were the lanterns that were placed at uneven intervals, casting long shadows across the ground. They turned sharp corners, moving quickly toward an unknown destination, Ever stumbled over their own feet barely managing to stay upright. 

Cia came to a sudden stop, causing Ever to collide with her back. She whipped her head around before Ever was jerked forward toward where a caravan was waiting near the desert's edge. “Are you Sorrel?” Cia called, causing an older woman with an eye patch over her left eye to turn toward them. 

“You with D.A.F.T?” She tilted her head to the side. “I only agreed to take one of you to the waypoint.” 

“You’re taking her.” Cia shoved Ever forward, causing them to stumble forward ungracefully. 

“Alright. Get in.” Sorrel jerked her thumb over her shoulder toward the back of the covered wagon. Ever tried to move back, but a hand on their back pushed them forward toward the merchant. Against their will, they walked toward the back of the wagon, noticing the animal that was hooked up to its front as they approached. It was an ostrich-looking creature but with more muscular legs, and a thicker and wider chest a long with a stout neck covered in desert sand-colored feathers. It let out a deep trill shaking its head as Ever walked past, causing them to stumble away. 

Climbing into the back of the wagon, Ever collapsed to the bottom of it, ignoring the talking of Cia and Sorrel as they discussed something that they were far too tired to worry about. 

The talking faded, and then Sorrel let out a loud. ‘Hiya!’ and the wagon began to move. “There's a bag of supplies for you back there. A week of supplies of food and a few canteens of water.” 

Ever grabbed the bag that sat in front of them, opening it to look through the rations and canteens that weighed the bags down. There was also a notebook with a piece of charcoal tied to its front. They clutched the bag to their chest, clumping against the wall, eyes closing lightly as the rumbling of the moving wagon lulled them into a half-sleep. 

A sudden stop jerked Ever out of what little sleep they had been getting. They looked around just as Sorrel called over her shoulder. “End of the line, kiddo.” Ever looked at the woman’s back before reluctantly standing up, and jumping out into the still dark…desert? 

‘Wait? Weren’t they going to take me across–’ The thought was cut off when the caravan began to move forward, kicking up sand, causing Ever to stumbled back into something hard as they held their arm up to cover their eyes, coughing. The sand slowly settled, and Ever pried their eyes open, watching as the caravan disappeared into the dark of night. They ran forward, calling out. “Hey! Where are you…” They trailed off as they realized the pointlessness of doing so. 

Turning around, Ever looked over toward a wooden sign which announced itself as a ‘Way Station’. They wandered toward it before collapsing into the coarse sand, where they pulled their legs up against their chest, staring out at the desert where they had disappeared. They were going to come back, right? They weren’t going to just leave them here, were they? Ever watched as a small crustacean dug through the sand, leaving a small sinkhole in its wake. They closed their eyes, doing their best to ignore the chill that was seeping into their bones as they drifted into an uneasy sleep