Location: 33°28'54.54"N 104°37'08.56"W

Time since asteroid impact: 3 Years 5 months 1 Day


No horizon was visible, in fact no landscape beyond a couple of tens of feet could be seen. Russel bowed his head down, protecting himself from the wind that sand-blasted across any surface. While he wouldn't normally admit it, he felt responsible for not seeing the dust storm before it was virtually on top of them. That was morning, now in the afternoon it was becoming less hopeful that he would find anyone else before nightfall. Indeed the storm had become so bad that they had all lost sight of each other, and by now he had the feeling that they were going in different paths. A small clearing in the midst of the dust came to fruition, however Russel did his best to avoid it having learnt the hard way not too long prior. Dust storms like these were rare, so the fact it was right here meant that it at least shouldn't of been surprising that the dust funnels were also in existence, lurking inside the storm waiting to blast the fine sand at much more powerful speeds than the surrounding weather phenomena ever could.

And the sound, so loud that even if he did call out that it was unlikely to be heard by anyone nearby, even if he did try a few dozen times. There were times he was sure that he did hear someone, though what direction it came from was just as vague. Everything about the dust storm made it apparent that it would result in at least a mild setback, even if it stopped at this very moment. Instead it continued on, and if Russel hadn't looked up just in time, he would've missed something new amongst the blanket of dust. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Russel to start running in the general direction, calling out for anyone who he may have potentially seen.

The running ended sooner than he expected when he bumped into something hard enough to make him almost loose balance. Having to adjust meant it took time before he saw what, or rather who, he had collided with. "Have you seen the others?" Russel shouted, to him it sounded more like a whisper, as the winds of the storm were that loud. Fortunately, they found each other near a small crevice, though large enough such that they could talk at a more comfortable volume.

"I'm fine, if that's what you were asking." Libby responded. "That's good, though I was asking if you had seen the others." Russel corrected, though frustrated upon Libby shaking her head. For now though, having found at least one other was good, though it was going to take a lot more effort to find anyone else. As much as he wanted to go back out, the winds felt like they were starting to finally slow down. No storm did last forever, so it was no surprise that it wouldn't likely last all the way to evening. Continuing to call out for others, both he and Libby were surprised to see two more, Nash and Ida, arrive. Although they were missing Buck, Ramsey, and Ethine, it was hopeful that they would soon find the three. The storm continued to die down, and the sun had started to poke its way through the clouds, allowing for better viewing distance.

With the setting sun casting long shadows, most of the dust had settled, and the wind had slowed down to a small gust. Due to this, they were finally able to find the rest of the group, however all three were looking at Russel in a way that would suggest he had kept something a secret, which alienated him greatly, to the point where he stumbled back a little. "We're so glad you three are all right." Russel began, going for the more diplomatic route of the conversation.

"Don't play games Russel, Ethine told us everything. Now where is Henry?" Ramsey and Buck asked, the fact that they both said it at the same time made it harder for everyone else to understand.

"I... wait what? I've never seen Henry, at least not since childhood- but still, I have no idea where he is!" Russel protested, who by now had wondered why Ethine had said such an accusation.

"Then why did you tell me you knew where both he, Pelias and Negev were?" Ethine chimed in, and while some behind Russel were only now starting to understand the situation, Russel couldn't of looked more confused about what they were insinuating. "I haven't seen you since that dust storm came around. In fact the first individual I met up with was Libby."

Ida was the next to speak, surprisingly on Ethine's side, "So what you're saying is that Ethine met someone who looked like you?"

Resisting the urge to place his head into the ground, Russel responded, "I don't know, did I have the scar on my leg from when we were attacked by those rustlers? Even if I knew where they were, that would mean they have to be close by, unless you're suggesting that I've somehow known where my brother has been for longer than today, and I have some motivation to make sure none of his family knew about it- which I don't." Everyone fell silent, and turned towards Ethine for answers.

"I... No, he didn't." Ethine muttered, loud enough for Russel to get the gist of what she said. "What, did this Russel say?"

"Well... I accidentally just bumped into him and he apologised and everything, before telling me that Henry was near- something about being a couple of days from the mountain, but I didn't catch anything else before the storm picked up and he was no longer in sight." At this, there was a new ambient noise; a small crowd talking. Really it was just the rest of the group talking amongst one another, before Nash spoke, "If they're only a couple of days from Clawtooth, they're gonna be waitin' for at least a few days before we can get to them."

"We'll have to pick up our speed if we're gonna try to close that gap." Ida spoke up, "And we still don't know how far Verena and Arlo are either, they could be already there or they might arrive after us."

"In that case, we need to be at Clawtooth for when they arrive at least. How far exactly from here?" Buck asked, Nash looked over the map to get a rough estimate of their position, "Well well well, we're actually not as far as I thought. All right everyone, lets get to Clawtooth Mountain!"


Audio Message #36: Subject Members 4, 5, and 6 - aka Ida, Buck, and Libby respectively - have traveled 791 miles (1,273 Km's). Although the dust storm held them back for a day, it is now evident that they're continuing to make up for the time lost. Once again someone else seems to be around, helping them get to Clawtooth Mountain, only this time I'm now fairly confident as to who it is. If I'm correct however, things may get complicated. Anyways, their survival ratings are all at roughly 4.8 out of 5.

End of message.


A/N: N/A

Next chapter: Contemplating the Future

Fun Facts: N/A