True to her word, Cassie sleeps soundly through the night. She still tosses and turns, but I don’t think she has another nightmare. Which is good, because I’m not sure where I would find a big stick.

  It’s well after noon before I hear someone moving in the living room. Cassie’s been fine for close to eight hours, it should be safe for me to leave her alone. Corax hops to my shoulder and I very slowly stand up and sneak out of the room.

  The second I’m out, Ivy turns to me with a cocked eyebrow and a knowing smile.

  “How was your night Little Blue?” Vince tries to keep his confusion from his face, but doesn’t quite succeed. Deep circles sit beneath his eyes, I wonder how much sleep he actually got st night?

  “I’m feeling much better than yesterday.” I’m not sure how to describe st night. Tense? Nice? I’m not even sure I know how I feel about it. “I took a shower for the first time, and it was really great.”

  “You have to brush your hair after a shower.” Ivy says. “Come here.” She pats the chair beside her and pulls out a small comb.

  “Enjoy it while you can. The storm is already ending and we have quite a ways to travel.” Vince says.

  “I don’t think I should.” I sit down with my back to Ivy, who gets to work untangling my hair. “I’m worried it’ll be addicting.”

  “That sounds like a pretty smart decision.” Vince says.

  “Are you feeling better?” I ask him.

  “I will be as soon as we’re out of the city. Sorry about st night.”

  “It’s ok. I’m just trying to forget it.” It might not be a good thing, but I’m getting really good at avoiding my problems.

  “Ah, right. Sorry.”

  “It’s ok.”

  A knock on the door saves the conversation from getting too awkward. Vince takes the opportunity and heads towards it. Another robotic butler stands on the other side.

  “Your order, sir.” He gives a deep bow.

  “Thank you very much.” Vince takes the ptter and closes the door before the butler has a chance. Gd to see he’s just as sick of that as I am. He pces the ptter on the table and turns to me. “How much sleep did Cassie end up getting?”

  “A little over eight hours total.”

  “Alright, good.” He grabs a pte of chocote chip pancakes with bananas on the side and heads to Cassie’s room.

  “Spill it.” Ivy says the second Vince closes the door behind him.

  “Spill what?”

  “What happened between you and Cassie st night?”

  “Oh, uh, not much?” How much would Cassie want me to share? She’s said that her and Ivy share everything, so I guess it’s fine for me to tell her. “Cassie fell asleep while reading with me, had a nightmare, and I think she wanted me to watch in case she had another.”

  Ivy gives me a look I can’t decipher.

  “That’s it?” She asks. What does she mean by that? Like always, I can’t get any hint from the tone of her voice.

  “Yes? Is that a problem?”

  “No, it’s fine.” Ivy returns to working on my hair.

  “It doesn’t sound like it’s fine?” Did I not give enough information? “You can ask Cassie if you want to know more.”

  “Don’t worry, I pn on it.” She says with a smile I can feel, even if I can’t see it.

  I really hope I didn’t just get her in trouble or anything. Cassie’s door opens before I can ask, and Vince returns to his seat and begins to eat a bowl of pin oatmeal.

  “She’ll be out in a minute.” Vince informs the both of us.

  Ivy finishes with my hair, gives me a small tap on the top of my head, and grabs another pte from the ptter. She’s eating the same pancakes that Cassie is.

  I wonder why Vince is eating something different to everyone else? He definitely likes chocote if the look on his face when Cassie shared her cookie with him is anything to go on. I guess the only way to know is to ask.

  “Hey Vince, why aren’t you eating the same thing as everyone else?”

  “Ah, I uh. I’m not proud about what I did to earn this pce. I’d rather not be rewarded for it.” His voice is full of deep regret and shame.

  “He wouldn’t even sleep in the bed the st few nights.” Ivy says.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Should I not have been resting on the bed?”

  “Oh no Little Blue. I’m gd everyone else can enjoy it.” He says with a sad smile.

  Cassie finally exits her room, dressed in her standard clothes and her weapons on her hips. Ivy gives her another look I can’t decipher and Cassie rolls her eyes in return. She sits down at the far end of the table and dives into her pancakes.

  “Alright, here’s the pn.” Vince says in between bites of oatmeal. “We’re going to stop by San Francisco before heading into the salt fts. It’s a 500-mile journey, so we’re going to make it as far as we can through the night. We’ll spend tomorrow recharging the batteries, and arrive day after tomorrow. Any questions?”

  “San Francisco still exists?” I ask.

  “Yeah. Before the ocean receded, they had the resources to turn saltwater into drinkable stuff. They provided water to half the country for the first ten years. Sure, losing access to water hurt, but they were hanging in there st time I was there.”

  “And when were you there?” Ivy asks.

  “Ten years?” Vince does not sound confident.

  “I’ve never been there.” Cassie interjects.

  “Let’s call it fifteen then. Twenty at most.”

  “And if the city isn’t still alive?” Cassie asks.

  “We’ll be right on the old coast. I know a few cave hideouts in the area we can stay in. And if none of those are avaible, then we’ll fight for a spot in whatever’s left of the city.”

  “Great.” Cassie mumbles and returns to her food.

  “From there, it’s a few days trip through the salt fts to get to Mara’s ocean trench. Thanks to Little Blue here, I’ve got some information on it, but not as much as I’d like. Far as I can see, it’s just a normal town she’s set up her base in, so we need to be careful about civilians.”

  “That makes things a little harder.” Ivy frowns.

  “Yeah.”

  It sounds like those two had some kind of pn that’s been ruined by innocent people being there. Maybe that’s what the explosives he packed were for, it can’t be all that hard to cause a ndslide.

  Breakfast wraps up quickly, and we all begin to pack up everything we brought. Or at least, everyone else does, I never unpacked my backpack. Instead, Corax and I rest in our room until everyone is ready.

  “Bnket?” Corax asks me.

  “I can ask.” I find Vince in his room. “Hey Vince? Corax wants to know if we can steal one of the comforters.”

  “Sorry Corax, I’ve tried before. The elevator won’t move if we take anything the hotel owns.” Vince fits another shirt into his satchel.

  Corax looks disappointed, but doesn’t argue.

  “Are you two packed up?” Vince asks.

  “Yeah.”

  “Good.” Vince drops one st pair of socks into his satchel. “Let’s get moving then.”

  The five of us climb into the elevator, and it mirrors its movements from when we first arrived. Down, sideways, and then finishing its downwards movement.

  The car’s outside is spotless. Every grain of sand has been washed away, and every scratch repaired. The inside, however, is just as messy as we left it.

  Ivy takes the driver’s seat and Vince takes one of the back ones without so much as gncing at the car.

  “Shouldn’t we check for bugs?” Cassie asks, mimicking my thoughts.

  “Zero doesn’t much care for what goes on outside his city. Plus, we’ll be out of range in just a few hours, and unless something big has changed, he wouldn’t waste the resources on bugs that won’t help him.” Vince expins.

  “Alright.” Cassie hops into the passenger’s seat, and Corax and I slide in next to Vince.

  The door behind us slides open the moment Ivy starts up the car, and she backs out into the long row of identical, heavy metal doors. The door we first entered through is already sliding open, and Ivy slowly creeps the car towards it. A camera folds down from the ceiling, moving along a track to keep up with us.

  “Come again soon!” The same voice that first let us into Vegas calls.

  “Hopefully we won’t.” Vince rolls down the window and replies.

  “Well, if you do, you’ll always have a pce here.”

  Ivy accelerates to get away from the camera just a little sooner. The camera can’t follow us beyond the door, and the climb to the surface goes quickly.

  We emerge into the blinding light to an empty wastend. The st remnants of the storm still gently throws grains against our metal shell. Ivy turns the car west, and we finally leave the city behind.

  “We’ll have to go through another pass in a little over eight hours when we reach the Sierra Nevada. Wake me up when we get close, please.” Vince leans his seat back as far as it will go, and drops his hat over his eyes. Within seconds his breathing slows.

  “Did he sleep at all st night?” I whisper to Ivy.

  She shakes her head.

  “He was pouring over the data you found all night. Plus, he didn’t sleep well even on the first night.” She expins.

  I should be quiet and let him sleep then. I grab a few bnkets, form a little nest in my p, and then Corax corrects it in a hundred tiny ways.

  “Sorry it’s not as good as the hotel room.” I whisper to him.

  “Cozier.” He settles down and tosses a bnket over his back.

  There’s nothing else to do but to pet Corax and watch the world crawl by. Once the wind finally dies down, Corax takes to the skies. I end up dismantling his nest and draping the bnkets over Vince.

  I guess that leaves only one thing to do, I grab my book and begin to read.

  The sun slowly creeps below the horizon, painting the sky in a hundred shades of orange, red, and pink.

  A bck streak falls in front of the sun. Corax pulls out of his dive just an instant before colliding with the sand. He swoops back up, putting on a show. He’s visible only when he blocks out the light, and then crosses back from a random direction. Even Cassie stops paying attention to the radio to enjoy his small performance.

  JanePtinum