“Are you alright back there?” I let go of the steering wheel only long enough to tap on the tub of water that’s keeping Blue and Corax hidden.

  “Ok.” Corax responds.

  Great, she’s not feeling good enough to respond then. He better be able to keep her sane, I can’t stand seeing her lose it again.

  “Tell me before things get bad.”

  Of course the bird doesn’t respond. When does he ever? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s keeping Blue together, but god I just wish he was a little less frustrating. I guess I can’t be picky though. He’s the only reason she’s alive a few times over. I’ve put up with it for her sake before, and I’ll keep doing it.

  Focus.

  The once-underwater mountain range I need to make it up is just now appearing over the horizon. The route Blue drew out on the tablet is more than a little sketchy, but should hopefully keep us away from the bulk of any prying eyes. I’ll make it work, somehow.

  At the first sign of tire tracks in the sand, I begin to check my weapons. Pistols are good, and I even have Vince’s rifle ready at my side. I’m not sure how well firing it with one hand is going to work, but I’m hoping bracing the end against my knee or the windowsill will work.

  Driving and working the radio at the same time with only one hand is a miserable experience, but I make it work. At least I’ve stopped trying to grab shit with my phantom hand. It’s embarrassing how many times I’ve been surprised by the wheel turning on its own after I let go of it.

  It’s not long before I begin to see people on the horizon. This place is way busier than Corax made it sound. There must be tens of cars passing through here every hour. I keep my pistol in my hand as I drive. It’s unwieldy, but it slows the pit growing in my stomach.

  The short range radio is picking up staticky fragments of conversations. The rangers are demanding cars stop so they can interrogate them. Fucking great. Thanks for the warning Corax.

  How the fuck am I going to get past this? The mail on the tablet is great, but it’s obvious an AI could fake that. The physical letter is a good start, but- Fuck it, I’ll make it work. I’ve played enough tabletop roleplaying games with everyone, I can improvise. This is literally what we practiced for. I got past Leah and The Bitch, I can do this too.

  The pit in my stomach continues to grow.

  I put the tablet in my lap to read while I drive. I need to memorize every last detail. It’s just like those tests I’ve heard the top floors complain about on the radio.

  It’s not long before I’m out of time. I reach the base of the mountains, find my path through, and head inside. It’s a narrow, winding path through the mountains. Despite a few close calls, the path never narrows enough to get me stuck.

  The road is steep, and everything in the back seat shifts with every incline. It’s so steep in fact, that some barren rock is poking above the sandslides. I’m half expecting the generator to snap off with every bump.

  Somehow, it stays stable. Or at least the generator does. The car is so top heavy, it feels like it’s about to flip at any moment. Blue better have fucking thought of that possibility. Or we should have at least moved one of the water barrels into the passenger's seat to distribute the weight. Too late now I guess.

  I take things slow, I’m not going to be able to blast through here at 25 miles an hour. It’ll delay us by a little bit, but I haven’t heard anything on the radio about a storm. We have time to burn.

  After an hour, I turn a tight corner into a wide open valley. Ridges line either side, only a thousand feet across and a few miles long.

  Movement catches my eye on one of the ridges, just a flash of black cloth and the glint of a sniper scope.

  Fuck. That sight is normally comforting, the signs that Ivy is looking over us. That’s not her though.

  I slam the car into reverse, and duck behind the path I just left. No gunshot follows.

  The radio crackles to life only an instant later, receiving a shortwave signal.

  “Pull back out into the open.” A gravelly voice demands. Why do they all do that fake tough guy voice? How am I supposed to take them seriously?

  “Who are you?” I ask back into it. I’m not supposed to know Rangers are here. It’s not a big leap to go from having a drone, to potentially guessing I have Corax.

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  “We’re Rangers. We’re revealing one of our own. Feel free to check, but if you’re armed, we will fire.”

  I climb out of the car, keeping my pistol beneath my cloak, and poke around the corner. One lone man is standing on the ridge. His leather duster is barely concealing military grade body armor. A sigil shines brightly in the sun, pinned to his breast. Yep, that’s one of their outfits.

  I return to the car.

  “How do I know you didn’t just steal that armor?” I ask.

  “We already have someone above you. Pull out or we’ll put a bullet in your engine.”

  “Alright, I’m pulling out.” I put the car in drive and slowly move forward. I park just around the corner, where I can still back up into cover quickly if needed.

  “Why are you passing though?” The voice comes through the radio.

  “I’m a courier who’s running late.” I say, letting some annoyance creep into my voice.

  “Do you have proof?”

  “‘Course I do.” I reach out of my makeshift cloak and grab the tablet, as well as Blue’s letter. I hold both of them up clearly for them to see. “I have letters going as far as the east coast, and I’m already behind schedule.”

  The radio is silent for a few seconds before the same voice comes through.

  “We’re sending down a drone. Place your items on it.”

  Fuck, I can’t let them get have Blue’s letter. I’m not going to break her trust like that. And it also has her name on it, that’s bad too.

  “I’ll send up the tablet, but I can’t let you see the physical letter.” I say.

  “This isn’t up for negotiation.” The voice responds.

  “Yeah, I agree. I’m sorry, but I have a reputation to maintain, if this letter is anything less than perfect, I’m ruined. There’s more than enough proof on the tablet.”

  The radio goes silent once again while they discuss. Their words drift down into the canyon, an argument is brewing, but I can’t make out the words.

  “We’ll see.” A drone hovers just outside my door with a metal platform hanging below it.

  I step outside the car and place it gently on the platform. Everything I’ve learned screams at me to stay in cover. I wish I had my left arm and could at least hold onto my pistol. The drone flies away the moment I retract my hand.

  “Open all the doors and the trunk.”

  I do so without responding. We prepared for this, she’s invisible.

  Once I’m done, I step back to give them an unobstructed view.

  “Show me your left arm.” The ranger’s voice comes over the radio again.

  So he did notice me only using one arm. It’s a good thing we used the bloody rags. Here we go. I pull back my cloak, giving them a clear view of my fake arm.

  “Remove the bandages.”

  Fuck. Alright, how do I get out of this? It’s bloody, I’m injured. That’s a good reason.

  I head back to the radio and hit the transmit button.

  “It got shredded by an explosion. I barely managed to stem the bleeding the first time. I don’t want to bleed out here to prove a point.” That’s a good lie.

  “How? Where?” The man pushes for more answers.

  “There’s a small town a little to the west beneath a mountain, Duskglow. It got attacked while I was there, and an explosion shredded my arm.” It’s a good fucking thing I studied that map. I didn’t bother to learn the name while we were at that town.

  “By who?”

  “I have no idea, but I’d assume raiders. I ran for a tunnel the moment the fighting started.” One of the most obvious ways to tell a lie is when people add needless details to support their claims. If what I said was true, I’d naturally let it stand as its own proof, not desperately try to make it sound more realistic. I learned that lesson early on after I started traveling.

  The radio goes silent while they pretend to discuss. I can’t hear any sign of their arguments anymore, they’re probably watching me for any sign of nervousness. I stay sitting casually in the driver’s seat. I’ve had plenty of time to learn to hide my fear.

  The world stays silent for several minutes. If I don’t do something I’m going to go insane. That’s not even from the stress, I’m just genuinely bored. I reach into the glovebox and pull out my book. Reading with one hand sucks, but it’s doable.

  “Did you report the attack?” The radio eventually crackles to life, and I place my bookmark back in its place.

  “I told a few travelers, yeah. But either there were no Ranger stations nearby, or my radio isn’t strong enough. I was going to swing by San Diego on my way to Vegas and report it to you guys.”

  “And why didn’t you report it when we first started talking?” The voice asks.

  Fuck, that’s a good question.

  “I’m sorry, but I kind of had bigger problems. My focus was on answering your questions, not discussing an attack where there’s no one left to save.”

  “Alright. Remove all cargo and you’re free to go.”

  “Are you fucking robbing me?” I can’t help but let my anger flare up. “I’m not leaving without my stuff and my mail.”

  “We don’t want your stuff. You can put it back when we’re done, we just need to ensure you’re not hiding anyone.” A bit of his fake gruff voice has disappeared. Good, he’s on the back foot.

  “Buddy! I’m under 5 foot and have one functional arm! These things are full of water and I can’t move them alone! Either you get down here and help, or let me go so I won’t be late.” It’s a bit of a risk, but I can’t imagine them leaving their perch. There’s no easy way down, and it’s far too dangerous. If a second car came in behind me while someone was down here, well, there’s a lot of bounties on Rangers.

  “Fine. you’re free to go.” The drone appears over the lip of the ridge and begins to slowly descend.

  “Thank you.” The moment the drone is in range, I grab my tablet and stash it safely in the glovebox. They definitely bugged this thing, I’m not stupid. I let out a sigh and continue, happy to leave the valley as quickly as possible.

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