"You're kidding," Wared said and shook his head as he stepped down the steps onto the garage floor and gestured towards the vehicle in the middle of the room. It was partly covered with a blue tarp but what was visible showed the skeleton of a vehicle. Body panels were stacked against a side wall covered with dust.

"I know what it looks like," Randee said, "but it's not as bad as it looks. I've been working on this rig on and off for the last year. Functionally, there's nothing wrong with it. The engine runs, there are enough seats for the three of us and—"

"But it doesn't have any doors. Or windows," Wared said and made a sweeping gesture towards the vehicle.

"You can stay behind, if you like," Randee said as he stepped forward and grabbed a corner of the tarp and pulled it off in one fluid motion, revealing the rest of the vehicle. Wared shook his head and rubbed his eyes. The rest of the vehicle looked exactly the way he had feared it would. It had four wheels, two rows of seats, a front window and an engine but not much else.

"Randee—" Shea started, a hand on her hip.

Randee held up both of his hands. "Listen, I know it doesn't look like much but like I said, we can stand here and bicker about how this thing looks, or we can get in and get out of here."

Shea sighed and grabbed Wared's arm. "He's right. We've got to go. We can't stay here. It's only a matter of time before they find us."

Wared nodded. He knew she was right. As unsafe as Randee's contraption looked, it was their only option. Staying behind to face whomever was chasing them was not an option. Tarun had stayed behind to give them a chance to make a difference. He couldn't throw that away because he didn't like the looks of their transportation.

"You're right, of course," he said and took a step forward with a sigh. "Where do I sit?"

A brief smile flashed across Randee's face. "Shea, grabbed the bug out bags in the closet," he said and pointed towards a set of doors. "Wared, hop in the back seat. I'll drive."

Shea ran around the vehicle to the storage closet while Wared hopped into the back seat. Randee stepped over to a workbench next to the vehicle and rooted through a pile of debris, emerging with a triumphant smile on his face and a set of keys in his hands.

"There they are," he said as he climbed into the driver's seat. Shea tossed two large backpacks into the back seat next to Wared.

"No offense, but we weren't expected visitors so we only have two of these," Randee said over his shoulder while Shea ran over to the garage door controls. "Don't worry though, there's enough for all of us in there."

The garage doors opened with a loud rattle as Randee handed Wared a bulky set of goggles. "You'll need these, to protect against the dust. Plus," he said with a grin, "they're night vision so we're not driving blind."

With the garage door open, Randee turned the key and an instrument panel came alive. As he released the brake and pressed the accelerator, as the vehicle lurched forward and exited the garage. Shea jabbed the button to close the garage door and hopped into the passenger seat.

"You two better strap in," Randee said as put on his goggles. "I don't want either of you falling out."

Moments later, the facility disappeared behind them in the dark. It took a few minutes for Wared to get used to the goggles. They were heavier than anything he had ever worn on his face before and more bulky but within a few minutes, it was as if they weren't even there.

"Where are we going?" Wared said as he leaned forward between the front seats.

"We're following the tube," Shea said and pointed towards a raised ridge that cut through the otherwise flat landscape.

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"That's it?"

Shea nodded. "Yes. It was buried part-way into the ground and then covered. We don't know why it just wasn't buried all the way but we suspect it had something to do with how much work that would have involved."

Wared looked back across his shoulder towards the . Even with his night vision goggles, he could no longer make out where it was unless he followed the path of the ridge Shea had pointed out backwards.

They initial adrenaline surge of their escape soon gave way to the discomfort of the terrain they traversed. Wared held on tightly as their vehicle moved up and down over the uneven terrain. Their progress was slow and painful and Wared couldn't help but look over his shoulder every few minutes, concerned their progress wasn't fast enough to stay ahead of the Protectorate.

As the darkness gave way to the first rays of dawn, the trio found themselves covered in dust from the barren landscape. The tires of their rover left a cloud of dust behind them from the dry landscape around them. Short bushes dotted the langscape while tall mesas rose up around them. The ridge they had followed stretched out into the distance, snaking between the mesas like a snake slithering through the desert.

When the suns rose above the horizon, Randee slowed down and parked in the shadow of a mesa and powered down the rover.

"Why are we stopping?" Wared asked as he unbuckled and climbed out of the rover on shaky legs. He took the bottle of water Shea held out for him and drank eagerly. Dark streaks appeared on his chin as water trickled out of the corner of his mouth, mixed with the dust on his face and ran down his neck.

Randee sat down on the ground and leaned back against the cool rock surface and drank a bit before he answered. "We all need a break, I think."

"Have we put enough distance between us and the pump station?" Wared said.

Randee shrugged. "There's no way of knowing. The garage we left from is on the other side of the pump station. If we're lucky, they found the garage empty and never even knew how we left."

Wared sat down next to Randee, his gaze in the direction they had come from. "How far do we have to go?"

"Not sure," Shea said. "It all depends on the terrain up ahead. The map we have wasn't exactly to scale and seemed pretty basic. There's no telling what's up ahead."

"That didn't take long," Shea said and sighed.

"We should get going," Wared said and took a step towards the rover. "How far ahead do you think we are?"

"Hard to say," Shea said. "Half an hour?"

"Half an hour?" Wared said and turned to face Shea, his eyes wide. "That's it?"

"Wared, the Protecorate has a lot better equipment than we do," Shea said and gestured towards their rover.

"Ok, come on now," Randee said. "It's not that terrible, is it?"

Shea glared at Randee. "It's not terrible, Randee, but what difference does that make if their stuff is better?"

Randee rolled his eyes and stomped off towards the rover and climbed into the driver's seat.

"What's his problem?" Wared said in a hushed voice.

"His pride is easily wounded. But, that doesn't matter now. Come on, we need to get going if we're going to be able to stay ahead of them."

They joined Randee in the rover. As soon as they were buckled in, he put the rover in gear and accelerated away from their rest spot.

As the dust cloud once again rose behind them, Wared leaned forward. "Maybe slow down to reduce the dust?" he suggested to Randee.

Randee simply shook his head and made a gesture forward. Full speed ahead. Wared turned and looked behind them. Through the cloud rising behind them, it was difficult to see the cloud of those behind them. There was no way of knowing how close they were while they kicked up a dust behind them.

Over the next hours, Wared was occasionally able to steal a glimpse of the dust cloud of their pursuers. Every time, he felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach. They were losing ground. Fast. How long was it realistic to think they'd be able to stay ahead? Eventually, the Protectorate would catch up. Then what? Wared had taught since his younger years that the Protectorate was there to protect them, the citizens. They were to be respected and revered as they ensured the longterm survival of their colony. It felt strange to now be on the other side of that conversation, where the Protectorate was instead seen as an entity that did not put his well being first but instead hunted him like a wild animal. He shuddered at the thought.

Shea's hand on his leg pulled him out of the scenarios his mind was conjuring. "Are you ok?" she said, concern evident on her face.

He nodded, then shook his head and gestured towards the cloud behind them. "They're going to catch us, aren't they?"

"Not if we can help it," Shea said with a smile and put her hand on Randee's shoulder. "I have confidence in Randee."

Wared returned the smile but he wasn't so sure. The had left the mesa's behind them and were now ascending a flat slope. A mountain range teased there was more to be seen beyond the horizon. As they bounced upward, fatigue overtook him and he felt himself slipping into a fitful state of half asleep where time accelerated but he still felt every bump and rock they drove over.

He was pulled back to reality when he was thrown forward against his seatbelt. With a groan , he blinked and straightened up with alarm.

"What's going on?" he said as he leaned between the two front seats.

Randee pointed through the windshield without saying a word. Wared gasped and felt the color drain from his face.

~~~