“Sit down!” The Aquarite barked as I rose to my feet, his hand fully wrapping around the grip of his pistol. “I said do not move,” he hissed. “Fluffy dragon, hurry. We cannot linger here. Not with these…” his snout wrinkled as he glanced at me. I returned the look with contempt, my hands balling into fists. I spared a glance at Isabelle, who was still on the top bunk. She looked exhausted, but her mind was racing, weighing her options. Part of me wished I could understand what was going through her head because her behavior always seemed laced with some sort of fakeness. If only Umbrite really could read minds, huh? Never mind that. Focus. I blinked, trying to regain my train of thought. The cell was frozen in a sort of stalemate. Isabelle was thinking intensely, Ava’s foot was tapping rapidly, and the Aquarite seemed to be losing patience by the second.

“Come on,” he said, almost as if on cue, the bioluminescent scales next to his eyes flashing. “There is no time to waste.” The Dragonborn glanced over his shoulder. “I do not know when my friend will wake-”

“No,” Isabelle replied, lowering herself from the bunk with a quiet grunt.

The man stared at her, his blue eyes incredulous. “Wh-what do you mean no? This is of utmost importance. Our time is running low-”

“I mean I’m not going with you, unless you bring them with us.”

“B-but…” he struggled with the word for a moment before gritting his teeth, glancing down the hallway. “We need to leave now, fluffy dragon. You do not understand.”

“I understand perfectly well,” she replied stubbornly. “They go where I go.”

Frustratedly, the man hit the iron bars of the cell, making me flinch. “Fine,” he hissed as if his tongue was getting raked through hot coals. “Come quickly. Our time is limited.”

As we followed him down the hallway, I felt a small spark of hope in my chest. This was the second time Isabelle had purposefully made a beneficial decision for the group so far, the first being in the alleys of St. Gogron. To be fair, that had been a life-or-death situation, but the fact she had decided to warn Ava and me instead of hanging us out to dry gave me a little bit of hope for her. But she could just be doing all this for personal gain, my mind muttered. She couldn’t even care about you or Ava. All she wants is to get to California and fulfill her goals. I shook my head, trying to get those thoughts out of my mind, deciding to focus elsewhere. We passed by other cells as we followed the Dragonborn, most of which were empty. One or two had some indeterminable species inside, sleeping soundly. My gaze lingered on a slumped-over Aquarite, who seemed to have been in the middle of watching a video before our—I hesitated to call him savior, but I wasn’t sure how else to refer to him—savior had choked her out.

As the lavender Dragonborn led us, I traced our path in my mind. The prison was quite small, maybe a dozen cells. It’s not gonna take long for us to get back to the entrance, then, I thought. Wait, but there are tons of guards through there. I glanced at the back of the Aquarite’s head, anticipation creeping up my spine. He wasn’t going to try and bring us through the guard room, right? Before I knew it, we were at the door connected to the middle room, dread quickly replacing my anticipation. He’s insane. I watched as he punched in a code, turned a key, and swung open the door. He ushered us inside, and we followed tentatively, glancing around the small room as if turrets were going to pop out of the walls and gun us down. The most perplexing part was that the soldier behind the counter was missing. I assumed it was the middle of the night, so perhaps he was just sleeping. The other door swung open with a creak, and the Aquarite stepped through, glancing side to side, his shoulders hunched.

He waved us through once more, and my heart skipped several beats as I glanced around the room. All around us were passed-out Aquarite soldiers, the smell of alcohol heavy in the air. Some were slumped on the couch, bottles still in hand. One was balanced precariously on a plastic chair. Another seemed to have blacked out in the middle of playing pool and crushed the rickety-looking table underneath his weight. A TV blared some odd Aquarite-made show featuring what looked like a mermaid hunting crew. I stared at the lavender Dragonborn, dumbfounded. My lips began to move, but Isabelle stole the words right from my mouth.

“What the h…heck happened here?” She asked, baffled. There was a distinct look of concern and disgust across her face.

“I ensured that we could leave safely,” he responded calmly.

“By getting them drunk?”

“If you have any better ideas, I would love to see them,” the Aquarite said sarcastically. “Now move.”

We began following him for a few steps, but Ava paused. “What about our weapons? We need them.”

The Dragonborn’s blue eyes flicked over his shoulder. “Take one of theirs.” His robotic hand flicked toward a pair of soldiers whose rifles were laid across their laps. “It will work just fine.” He continued ahead, disregarding Ava’s sounds of protest. Isabelle went around us, and followed the man, shrugging helplessly as Ava stared at her in disbelief. Without another word, the human marched over to the two soldiers, snatching their rifles from them. She shoved one into my arms, and it occurred to me simply how comically oversized Aquarite weapons were. The grip was almost too big for my hand, and reaching the trigger was uncomfortable, not to mention the weight, which felt like I was carrying a small barbell.

Thankfully, it had a strap which I threw over my shoulder, moving to catch up with Isabelle and the lavender Aquarite. My nerves felt alight with tension and fear. Every time one of the soldiers snorted or mumbled in their sleep, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Every sound I made was too loud despite the TV blaring, and it was a miracle they hadn’t been woken up by the sound of my shoes scuffling quietly or the hammering of my heart in my chest. I glanced to the right, and felt my anxiety skyrocket; a passed-out soldier was facing toward us. Him opening his eyes was all it would take to blow this entire escape to smithereens. Don’t think about that. Focus. Despite that, I couldn’t stop all the nightmare scenarios that might happen from flooding through my head. You have a gun, it’s gonna be alright, I reassured myself. But they’re all trained soldiers, and outnumber you two to one, and—stop it. I rubbed my eyes and forced myself to pay attention to putting one foot in front of the other, which didn’t last as long as I thought it would. We had reached the main door.

“Here is the p-pl… goal,” the Aquarite whispered urgently. “We will make it to the car lot in the northwest corner, however, you all will follow me in the shadows. I will distract anyone who comes near. When we reach the truck, you all will climb in as fast as possible, and I will drive us out. Clear?” The bioluminescent scales around his eyes flashed with the final word, placing further emphasis on the importance of his sentence.

“But what if we get caught?” I asked, unable to keep the nervousness out of my voice.

“That will not happen,” he said confidently. “Now follow.”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Ava demanded as the Aquarite opened the door.

“Yes, let me knock out my colleague, and stage an elaborate rescue mission just to throw it into the ravine,” he muttered sarcastically. “Shut up or double-crossing you will be the goal.” With that, he stepped outside and glanced back expectantly. We followed him, and I breathed in the smell of cold desert air; dusty, crisp, and laced with the bittersweet scent of fuel. “Stay to the shadows,” the Dragonborn ordered, flicking his tail toward a collection of crates nearby. We obeyed, crouching down behind them. I took the front and motioned at Isabelle to pull her hood up. Her pale blue fur was practically begging to get seen. Watching from behind the crates, the Aquarite began walking nonchalantly, keeping his eyes straight, and his pace slow enough for us to follow.

As I motioned to move behind another collection of crates, Ava began whispering. “Who the fuck is that pendejo, and why’re you so quick to trust him?”

I could practically feel the indignancy radiating off of Isabelle. “What? Would you rather be stuck in prison? You saw what they did to Kéron. Mad you didn’t get a turn?”

“Look here, you rica imbécil-”

“Ava, just fucking stop,” I snapped, turning around suddenly. The pair stumbled into each other, because of my stopping abruptly. “You too, Isabelle. If you two want to tear each other’s throats out, do it when we’re not trying to sneak out of a fucking military base. Got it?” The both of them nodded, matching expressions of surprise on their faces. “Good. Let’s go.” Thanks to that little intervention, we had fallen a few yards behind the Aquarite and had to catch back up to him. Luckily, our path was clear of soldiers, and I led Isabelle and Ava around crates and the backs of darkened tents, keeping close to the lavender Dragonborn. I assumed they were some sort of barracks, so it was good that the girls had finally shut up, even though most of the soldiers seemed to have blacked out back in the prison. A twinge of guilt poked at me as I thought that, but at the same time, the silence was welcome. The constant bickering and insults were grating, and it struck me as a miracle that the both of them hadn’t killed each other yet.

I peeked around the corner of a crate, and found a row of portable toilets, wrinkling my snout at the stench wafting from them. They were arranged in a way so that the doors faced away from the main area of the complex and pointed toward the wall to our right. The lavender Aquarite kept on walking, offering me little time to make a decision. Hurriedly, I waved the girls forward, and moved up to the toilets, pulling my scarf over my snout in an attempt to nullify the smell. I flinched as a booming, familiar voice rang out.

“Sarillim, you old sea lion! Up burning the midnight oil?” A female Aquarite said cheerfully. I recognized her voice. She was the one who had interrogated me. My hands curled into fists subconsciously, and I peeked out from behind the toilets. Her back was facing me, and she seemed to be patting Sarillim on the shoulders roughly.

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Sarillim’s spine straightened, and he laced his hands together in front of him. “Er—yes, ma’am.”

“Must be those prisoners, huh? First time you’ve brought back something alive in a while, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The officer’s eyes scanned his face, and her brow furrowed slightly. “Come on, Sar, don’t have anything else to say?”

“No, m-” Sarillim caught himself and cleared his throat. “What am I supposed to say?”

“What do you think of our prisoners?” She prodded. “I read the report you sent in—that girl really the governor of Utah’s daughter?”

“Adopted. And yes, she is. The scanner has rarely failed us, and this time I am dead certain that she is the governor’s daughter.”

“Well, shit. Fillet my fingers…” the officer muttered. “The brass’re gonna have a field day with this.”

“What about the other prisoners?” Sarillim asked. My ears tilted toward the sound of his voice, and I strained to hear better.

“They’re just a couple of nobodies. Seems they have a bounty on them, but it’s not worth pursuing. No one would notice if they didn’t come home, especially not that Umbrite.” She chuckled cruelly, and my hands balled into fists. I almost wanted to storm around the corner and place my hands on her eyes and—I shut down the train of thought, small licks of flame trying to escape into my mind.

“So…”

“Neutralize them. Tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sarillim responded, his voice somewhat shaky. The officer clapped him on the shoulder one last time before she walked away. A breath I didn’t even know I was holding escaped my lungs. “Er, officer?” The soldier called out. “Any news on my reassignment inquiry?”

“No luck,” she called back. “In my opinion, you’re better off just getting comfortable with border duty. Goodnight, Sarillim.”

The Dragonborn’s shoulders sagged, and his arms hung limp at his sides. “Goodnight,” he muttered quietly. He stood in the floodlight, staring at the ground, his shoulders rising and falling slightly. Despite the fact he most likely hated me and my friends, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, although tomorrow he most likely would’ve been putting a bullet between my eyes. Part of me resonated with his desire to get out of what I assumed was a boring, repetitive job. Wanting something more interesting. More fulfilling. Only problem is that I didn’t know what I wanted, exactly. Before all this, I couldn’t have imagined leaving Utah, except in fleeting moments. A sound behind me snapped me out of my thoughts, and I whipped around to find one of the stalls opening up.

“Scramble!” I hissed, not waiting for Isabelle and Ava to respond, just hoping they could move fast enough. I threw myself under a tall carrier truck, gasping quietly as my head hit part of the undercarriage. My ears rang as I glanced over to find that the girls had seemingly disappeared. That’s one good thing, at least. A soldier stepped out of the toilet, glancing in the general direction of Sarillim. “Poor bastard,” he muttered. I watched as he walked away, yawning, my eyes scanning for the girls. The bad thing is I don’t know where the hell they’ve gone. My claws dug into the earth and I ground my teeth. Ava could handle herself perfectly fine. This wasn’t the first time we had become separated, but Isabelle… The most danger she’s ever been in was her dad threatening to ground her for not paying attention during sacrament meetings. After waiting another long moment, I crawled out from underneath the truck, dusting myself off.

“Ava?” I called my voice just above a whisper. “Isabelle?” My ears perked up, but I heard no response. They were either being smart, and holding their tongues, or they had moved on already. I should do the same. What did he say…? I turned in a circle, gaining my bearings. Quickly, I pieced together where we had come from, and where I needed to go. The northwest corner; the carpool. Only problem was that I—and the girls—would need to cross the road between us and the carpool. I pray to Umbra that Isabelle can handle this. My feet felt glued to the ground, paralyzed between trying to meet up with Sarillim or rejoining with the girls. A spike of adrenaline jolted through me as I heard a pair of footsteps approaching quietly, dirt crunching underfoot. A voice in my head screamed at me to hit the ground and roll back under the truck, but another quieter voice told me to wait and see. Despite my nerves, I listened to the second, and remained in place, my nerves on full blast as the footsteps came closer and closer. To my relief, Isabelle and Ava rounded the corner.

Ava’s face lit up, and she hurried over to me. She grabbed my hand heartily, hooking our fingers, before pulling me into a hug. “Good to see you’re safe, hermano,” she said.

“You, too,” I replied, pulling back. “You as well, Isabelle.”

Ava scowled slightly and crossed her arms. “So, what’s the plan? We’re near the stack of boxes I was talking about. Could just crawl up there and vámanos.”

“You know that’s a stupid idea, Ava,” I chided. “In this case, you’re not gonna be ‘sticking it to the man.’ You’re gonna be shooting yourself in the foot.” She stared at the ground, her foot tapping irritatedly. “So let’s find our way to the carpool, which is…” Ava and Isabelle’s eyes followed my finger as I pointed diagonally, toward the far left corner of the base. I clapped her on the shoulder and motioned for them to follow me. It felt necessary to take charge in this situation, what with Ava’s clear distaste for the CPG. I wasn’t happy with it, either, but I understood that Sarillim was our best chance of getting out of the base in a way that didn’t end with us dying in the middle of the desert. As we approached the barren dirt road, I crouched down, the pair following suit. Several checks to both the left and right revealed no signs of life. To the right appeared to be the main gate, and to the left was a small collection of the few buildings made of solid material. Every single one of my scales from the tip of my snout to the end of my tail was ablaze with tension. Regardless, I motioned with my hand, and sprinted across the narrow path, skidding to a stop beside another crate. Isabelle and Ava were right behind me, thankfully.

After a moment of listening, straining to hear, the sound of alarms and voices shouting didn’t come, much to my relief. I whispered for the girls to follow me, and led them through the various crates and tents that lay between us and the carpool. Our footsteps crunched quietly on the dirt, and I wished that there was a way to make them silent. You’re almost there anyway. Just keep moving. As if on cue, I rounded the corner and was met by a row of large armored vehicles. Some of them had turrets, some of them had tracks, and all of them were painted tan with small runic engravings carved into portions of the armor. The stench of fuel was overpowering. At the end of the row was Sarillim’s truck, which wasn’t armored, and was painted white. I crept up to the truck, my head on a swivel.

The truck was empty, and I couldn’t see anything through the caged windows in the back. I peeked in the bed, and even underneath the truck, but Sarillim simply didn’t seem to be around. Worries began creeping down my spine, chilling me to the bone. Isabelle and Ava seemed to be just as clueless as me, with Ava glowering, seemingly on the verge of saying “I told you so.” I prayed her doubts weren’t true. It didn’t make sense for Sarillim to choke out his colleague, get everyone drunk, and drag us all the way out here just to turn us in. But then again, everything I knew about Provisional Marines told me they were cruel, bizarre, and dangerous. The officer had shown me that much. The claw marks across my cheek and the bruises across my body were a stark reminder of that. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but hope. Deep in thought, I didn’t notice the sound of footsteps until they were almost right behind me. I whipped around, terrified, to find that it was the lavender Aquarite. A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

“You are all here?” He asked, obviously looking for Isabelle, who stepped forward. “Very good. Let us g-”

Suddenly, across from us, the doors of a shipping container swung open, revealing two Aquarite, who were giggling quietly. Their clothes were disheveled, and their faces were flushed. “C-c’mon, let’s get back, or… or they’ll s-start worrying,” the woman muttered, unable to stop herself from smiling.

“Who…” hic. “Cares what th-they, think? Stay with m-me, baby,” the guy replied. The woman froze and stared at us, shock scrawled across her face. I recognized her as one of the soldiers who had escorted us into the prison. Sobriety hit her like a brick, and she started fumbling for her pistol, which wasn’t there. Sarillim surged forward and pistol-whipped her, sending her to the ground. The guy gaped at him, and seemingly gaining his senses, screamed at the top of his lungs, “HELP! THE PRISONERS ESC-” Ava kicked him in the snout, and he toppled backward, holding his face and whimpering.

“Go!” Sarillim barked, slamming the doors of the shipping container shut. “Get to the truck!” Before I had even begun moving, alarms were blaring, hurting my ears and painting the complex red. Isabelle obeyed, jumping into the back of the truck as fast as her legs could carry her, but Ava and I lingered. “If you two are not going to hide, then come with me. I need help.” Ava and I exchanged a glance and came to a mutual agreement; helping him was our best chance of survival. I followed Sarillim as he ran down the row of vehicles, skidding to a stop in front of a collection of jerry cans. I understood immediately and helped him throw the cans in the direction of the enemy. We had to stop all too soon, as soldiers rounded the corner. They didn’t hesitate to open fire, and Sarillim and I were forced into cover. Ava wasted no time slinging lead, the recoil from her rifle slamming into her shoulder, a furiously gleeful expression on her face.

I peeked out from behind the crates we had hunkered down behind and spotted all the cans lying untouched. Bullets whizzed around me, and the gunfire was deafening. My ears clamped against the side of my head reflexively, and adrenaline raced through my veins. With a grunt, I hefted my rifle and trained the sights on a can. My finger squeezed the trigger, and the recoil practically punched me, the gun attempting to escape my grasp. In the flashing red light of the alarms, I could make out the ground around the can growing darker. I tightened my grip and fired again, the recoil easier to control this time. I moved on to the next can. And the next. Flashes of gunfire were all around me, almost like I was caught in the middle of a thunderstorm. As I worked on the cans, Ava and Sarillim kept the soldiers pinned down. Regardless, the Dragonborn kept moving up, even as they caught bullets to the chest and arms, new soldiers replacing the injured. They seemed endless. Sarillim grabbed my shoulder suddenly, shouting at me to fall back. I could barely hear him over the cacophony around us.

As one, we hurried back to the truck, squeezing off the occasional shot to keep the attackers at bay. Ava jumped in the front, and I jumped in the back, finding Isabelle curled up with her hands over her ears. A twinge of pity spiked my heart, but before I even had the time to pull the door shut, the wheels of the truck were kicking up dirt and we were moving. Hurriedly, I peeled off my glove, revealing pale orange scales. I grabbed the handle above my head, and my heart leaped into my throat as the truck swung around, my side fully exposed to the Aquarite soldiers. Without time to waste, I extended my exposed hand, and grit my teeth. My veins in my right arm felt like they were being set ablaze as orange fire gushed out of my palm, washing over the cans. The puddles of fuel erupted in flame, burning pale blue. Several soldiers were caught in the eruption, but I was pulling myself back into the truck as Sarillim crashed through the main gate. Ava unloaded her rifle in the direction of the soldiers, despite them being behind a wall of fire. She only stopped once the weapon was empty, tossing it out the window.

“Fuck yeah!” She shouted, laughing. “¡Chupa una polla, palitos de pescado! Fuck you!” She leaned back in, grinning as we sped down a barren dirt road. But I couldn’t feel the same joy. As I stared back at the camp, fear and dread were settling over me like a cloud. Breathing was difficult. The world felt like it was going to disappear from underneath me. Silhouetted by blue fire and flashing red lights, was a massive, spindly horned figure. And even from this distance, I could feel pure hatred and loathing stabbing into my soul.

I thought it was dead.

The wendigo remained motionless as we rounded a corner, leaving the burning compound behind. But the wendigo’s eyes still burned through my scales, burrowing into my mind.