“Lucas!” I yell out while knocking on his door. I’m sure he can’t sleep. I’m not sure if any of us will be able to. “Lucas, I have some good news.”

“What is it, Vince?” He asks from behind it. His voice is shaky. He’s been crying.

“Coming back here was worth it! We have a plan to bring her back to reality.”

“How?” His voice carries the faintest bit of hope.

“Poetry. Cassie says she takes hours to understand a single poem. You’re going to give her a book and that’s hopefully going to ground her back in reality.”

“Hopefully?”

“There are no guarantees of course. But I think it’s more likely than not to work.” That’s a lie. I have no idea if it’ll work or not. Not to mention the possibility that Blue's already dead. I have to keep him going though. A little lie to help him sleep is more than worth it. I wait a moment for his response which never comes. “Get some sleep, alright? I promise we’ll get her back.”

I wait another minute for a response which never comes. He’s a hopeful guy but even he has his limits. Nothing more to do about it I guess.

I head to my door and open it without even checking the lock. Ivy wouldn’t be anywhere other than here. She sits on my bed with her hair pulled back and a beer in her hand. An empty one already sits on the floor surrounded by a dozen unopened beers. Two gallons of water sit on our nightstand. Glad she’s always thinking ahead.

“Did you hear all that?” I ask.

In one smooth motion she grabs a beer from the ground and tosses it to me.

“Of course I did. Do you really think it’ll work?”

“God I don’t know.” I drop down on my bed next to her. I spend a moment to open my beer and down it all in just a few seconds. “Another please.”

“When was the last time you slept?” She asks me while handing me an open beer. I know she already knows the answer.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I didn’t work for 12 hours straight. At least tell me you’re not drinking on an empty stomach.”

“I grabbed a sandwich.” We lean into each other. Our weight supports each other both physically and emotionally. “Do you think we did the right thing?”

“I don’t think either of us are drunk enough to ask questions that big.” She says. I don’t even need to look at her to know she’s smiling.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re going to say that regardless of how wasted you are.”

“True!” She says happily while taking a big swig from her beer.

“Come on, be serious.” I playfully dig my elbow into her side.

“Hey! Alright! I’ll talk.” She spends a moment to collect her thoughts. “I think we did the best we could.”

“That’s a cop out.”

“Would you rather an ‘I told you so’ so you can wallow in your misery? We did the best we could, now we have to live with it. There’s nothing else to do and nothing else to say.”

I guess she’s right. Even if I don’t entirely believe her I can put my trust in her words. We did the best that we could.

“I can live with that. Cheers.”

My memory of that night ends right then.

I came to consciousness with a hangover for the ages. I haven’t had one this bad in close to a decade. Even the tiny bit of light streaming through the blinds is enough to set my head pounding.

Ivy is quietly snoring next to me, and wearing my shirt? What did we get up to last night? Two dozen empty bottles are strewn about the room. A lot, apparently. One of the two gallon jugs of water is still full. Bless her. I down half of it and leave the rest for Ivy.

Since she had water ready for us, it’s only fair if I get her food. I throw on a not too dirty shirt and head out. My head is pounding with every step and sound, but one of us is going to have to make the run. It might as well be me.

Luckily the canteen is mostly abandoned when I get there. John, a mountain of a man and our chef, is in the process of putting away lunch. God it’s way later than I expected.

“You look like hell.” John says way louder than he needed to.

“So I keep hearing. Bread or crackers or somethin’ for two please.”

“Sure. How much do you remember ‘bout last night?”

I just slowly shake my head. The last thing I want right now is a conversation.

“I’ll leave you to figure it out. That’s half the fun of blacking out, aint it?” He asks me loudly once again while handing me a plate of food.

“Sure. Thanks.”

On the way back to my room I run into Cassie. She’s wearing gym clothes and looks like she just got done with a run around the city.

“Vince!” She yells from not far away. Her voice sends waves of pain and nausea through me. “How are you feeling!”

“Not you too.” I mumble. How many people know about whatever last night’s adventure was? “John was loud enough.”

“Sorry, sorry.” She chuckles, quieting down enough to prevent too much more pain. She can laugh all she wants if she stays quiet. “Couldn’t resist. Go get some sleep.”

“Before you go, did I do anything embarrassing last night?”

“Nah, nothing too bad. I do remember you knocking on my door at 4am for more beer though. You owe me forty bucks by the way.”

I search through my pockets and find I left my wallet in my room.

“I’ll get that to you later. See ya.”

“Take care of yourself, alright?” She’s trying to act cool, but her face betrays her concern. I guess I am a little too old to be doing this.

“Of course. This was a one time mistake.” I step forward to ruffle her hair. “Trust me, I’m too old to do this again.”

“Alright Vincent.” She gives me a quick hug after making sure nobody else is around. I’m too hungover to complain about her calling me Vincent. I’m not, however, too hungover to not get revenge.

“Love you Cassandra.”

“Shut up.” She says with a grin while lightly punching my arm. She’d be liable to do way worse to anyone else who used that name. “Glad to see you’re not too hungover to be a dick. Love you too.” She pretends to be reluctant about saying that last part.

I head inside my room to see Ivy still asleep. I walk over to her and gently shake her shoulder.

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“Hey, sleepyhead, I brought some food.”

“Ugh.” She comes too and tries to push me away. “Why didn’t you let me just sleep this off?” She pulls her hair over both of her eyes to block out the light.

“Only way this is going to get better is with water and food. Now come on, I feel just as bad.” I prop her up and sit behind her, cradling her in my arms. “Drink.” I bring the jug of water up to her lips. She doesn't argue and downs a third of the gallon.

We sit there cuddling in miserable silence together, eating the smallest bites of bread possible.

“This is the last time I do this.” I whisper to her seriously.

“You’re the one who got the second dozen.”

“And the tequila bottle over there?”

“I couldn’t let you win.” She says without a hint of regret in her voice.

We force down most of a loaf of bread before drifting back off to sleep with her in my arms. I wake up to the sounds of her re-entering the room.

“Morning sleepyhead.” She teases me. She sounds much better than she was, but still not good. “Dinner time.” She tucks her hair behind her ears, revealing her hidden eye.

It must be nice having a clock built into that thing. Although considering how risky surgeries that close to the brain are? I’ll stick with my organics.

“I thought I’d pay you back for lunch.” She places a plate of nearly plain noodles on my chest.

“Thanks, I didn’t even hear you leave.”

“Just because I’m hungover doesn't mean I’m sloppy.” She says through a mouthful of noodles.

I grab what John pretends is spaghetti. The smallest bit of tomato spread too thin over pure wheat noodles. Sure the food has always been pretty basic, but this is another level. Silver’s either having a tough time financially or planning something big, and I don’t like either of those options.

“So how’d you end up with my shirt?”

“I was cold and you smell nice.”

“Was the real me not enough for you?” I tease her.

“Like you’ve never stolen my sweatshirts when I’m right next to you before.” She rolls her eyes as she speaks. Although I can see a faint smile on her face.

“Yeah yeah. Come here.” I gently pull her onto the bed before leaning into her.

We eat in much less miserable silence before falling asleep arm in arm.

The next few days go much the same, although without a drop of alcohol. Ivy thankfully never leaves me to myself. I’m sure Cassie’s doing this same for Lucas, although I don’t see much of them. He does have a boyfriend now, so maybe they’re together? I have no idea who’s keeping Cassie company then, maybe she’s just with her books.

Eventually Hummingbird’s voice comes through the intercom built into the wall.

“Hey Vince! Storm should be letting up soon, Silver wants to give you your mission personally.”

“Great. Thanks Hummingbird.”

“You’re welcome!” Her conversation android responds, happy as ever.

“Thank you too Trochilidae.”

“You're welcome!” Hummingbird responds.

“Good luck.” Ivy sits up in the bed behind me and gives me a quick peck on my cheek.

“I know what they’re going to say. There’s not much luck needed.”

“I mean good luck they don’t bite your head off.”

“We’ll see. Love you. Can you tell the others to get the car ready?” I kiss her back.

“Sure. Love you too.”

“And don’t forget the books!” I yell as I step into the hallway.

I make my way quickly to Silver’s office. The hallways are starting to flood with people headed to the yard. Hopefully I can avoid the worst of it though. Before heading into Silver’s office I stop at the reception desk.

“Anyone in there?” I nod towards their office.

“Nope. You’re lucky number one.”

“Thanks Oscar, although I'm not so sure I'm lucky.”

I take a deep breath before stepping inside.

“Vincent.” They say without looking away from their computer. There’s a short list of people who can call me that name, and Silver has more than earned it. “Repeat your mission for me.”

“Bring back Blue.” I say plainly.

“Bring back Blue, what?” They prod me to continue.

“No matter what.”

“Storm hit from the east, the junkyard is probably buried. Check it out and dig her out if possible. If not, report to Seven at our Denver outpost. If you return without Blue I’m heading out to fix the problem myself. Am I clear?”

Great. Him.

“You put Seven in charge of the outpost? Really?”

“He gets results. I don’t let personal issues decide who’s best for the job. I won’t ask again, am I clear?”

“I’ll get it done. We have a plan to bring her back.”

“I hope so, for your sake. You’re dismissed.”

Ivy is waiting for me when I step out of the office.

“How’d it go?” She asks as we head to the garage.

“I still can’t believe they’re the same person I used to run with. Same with Cassie now that I think about it.”

“Yeah, I still don’t believe your stories sometimes. It’s not just them though, Cassie tells me just how unrecognizable you are.”

“I really hope I am. You would have hated me back then.”

Our reminiscing is cut short as we arrive at the garage. Cassie is sitting with the door open. Her leg is bouncing a mile a minute. Lucas is shoulder deep in the engine, doing god knows what.

“How’s she looking?” I ask Lucas.

“Fully stocked and looking good. I’m just swapping out some old connectors that have started to rust.” That must be record time for the two of them. We’re all itching to go.

“Good. You’re driving.” I say to him before hopping into the back seat next to Cassie. “You brought your books, right?”

“Course I did.” She responds without looking at me. “Are we going to the junkyard with Silver’s blessing or going anyway?”

“Our orders are to not come back without her, and we won’t.”

There’s nothing more to talk about. Ivy takes the passenger seat and Lucas soon takes his place as the driver. The car is once again emptier than it used to be.

Fifteen minutes later Silver kicks a box to the front of the garage and waits for everyone to quiet down. They don’t even need to say anything, their sheer presence gets everyone's attention.

“First of all, as always, there is no such thing as a routine mission. If anyone has any doubts, any fears, nobody will think any less of you if you wish to stay here. Does anyone have any doubts?” Their quiet voice fills the room. I still have no idea what kind of modification lets them do that. Nobody moves from their car.

“I thank you for your risk. I sincerely hope I see each and every one of you again. However, if I don’t, know that I will not let your sacrifice be in vain. Everyone, stay careful, stay smart, stay safe. I’d give up every dollar I own for any one of you. Good luck, and thank you.” They hop down from their box and step aside.

Each car one by one pulls out of the compound, and then the city. The last remnants of the storm pelt our car. I do a quick, last minute check of my rifle and ammo.

“Ivy, keep your rifle on standby. I’m feeling anxious.”

“I think we all are.” She responds, but still loads a bullet into her rifle. “But sure, car stopper is in.”

Cassie checks her pistol silently before putting her radio headphones on. The other cars spread out quickly from the city. Very few cars are headed this direction. Not much of a reason to when the storm hit from the east. Everything is going to be covered, but we have to check. Most cars are headed north west to Denver.

After five hours of driving in silence the rocky mountains begin to peek over some of the dunes. Another half hour later and we should be able to see the scrap piles. Everyone knows what that means but nobody wants to be the one to say it. After another half hour Lucas stops the car in the middle of nowhere.

“We’re here.” There’s not a hint of surprise in his voice. “I brought some shovels.” He hops out of the driver seat.

“Lucas, wait.” I hop out behind him. “Another storm is going to hit before we get to her.”

“We have to try.”

“I did the math before we left.” Cassie says from the car. It's sounds like she's repeating a speech she's been preparing for days. “On average, it’d be 185,367 cubic feet of sand we would have to shovel. Let’s say we can each do 40 cubic feet an hour, which is a fucking lot. We don’t have almost 1,200 hours. At minimum. Hell even if we could do 400 an hour we wouldn’t have enough time. And that’s assuming we’re even in the right spot.”

“We can’t just leave her there! Ivy, you told me we couldn’t just tie her up! How do you think she’s doing down there? Trapped for another god knows how long. How is this any better than a six hour drive?” He grabs a shovel from the trunk and starts frantically digging. He slows to a stop as the sand just keeps refilling any hole he makes and falls to his knees.

Ivy steps out of the car and heads to him. She embraces his head and slowly runs her hands through his hair. I walk over next to him and crouch down.

“I have a plan.” I say quietly to him. I know Cassie will hear me, even if I whisper. “We head to Denver. It’s closer to the junkyard than the city is. We do some work there in exchange for a crew or an excavator to come out after the next storm. She’ll be out of there in no more than a week.”

“That’s too long.” He says sadly from Ivy’s arms. “We have to do something. What about water! Wet sand doesn't collapse as easily!”

“There’s no way we have enough water.” Cassie says from the car. “I can run the math to be sure, but there’s no chance.”

“We could…” His eyes search the sands for an answer. “We could use the car! Take off the hood or a door and use that as a makeshift shovel or plow.” You can hear his hope leaving with every word. He knows better than anyone that will just end up with the car getting stuck in the sand. And if that happens we’re dead.

“We’ll save her as soon as possible, ok? Four hours after the next storm we’ll be right here. But we have to go to Denver first.”

Lucas wordlessly takes one of the back seats.