No one ever told her there was such a thing as a dark night. In Zion the lights always shine, constant and unchanging. But on the surface there is no warm golden glow to light her way over the uneven ground, not at this hour. The greyness above her had just, faded, over time, and now it's all gone. The world is black.

Except for the red light of that sick fairytale castle, the Ruby City.

Nuala stumbles again, almost tripping. Dare she risk stopping for the night?

No. They might find her. And that would mean disaster.

Reaching a compromise, she crouches in the dirt, taking a flask of water out of her pack. One sip, just enough to wet her mouth and throat and make her long for more.

No. she can't afford to waste it. Neither can she afford to waste time.

Slowly she stands, ignoring the tingling feeling in the soles of her feet. And the sting of her grazed palms. And the stab in her lower back. And the ache in her neck. And the way her eyes wish to slide shut and stay that way for at least six hours.

No. And again, no.

Instead she fixes her tired eyes on that red light ahead of her, and forces herself to keep going.

Why are you doing this? What are you going to do once you get to the plant? Try rescue a human like they once tried to rescue the babies in the pods? You'll fail. They'll kill you. You don't even know why they're all in there, do you? You have no idea what Their master plan is. And how can you ever work it out? Give up and go home. This isn't going to work.

She grits her teeth.

Oh shut up and get screwed.

Nice comeback Nuala. So very original.

She begins to hum, partly to keep herself awake and partly to muffle the voice of Doubt.

"Got some pictures in my pocket

And a lot of time to kill

Hey sunshine,

I haven't seen you in a long time

Why don't you show your face and bend my mind?"

Keeping her eyes on the ground she can barely see before her, she continues, murmuring the song under her breath. By midmorning tomorrow she will have reached those towers.

And what then?

What then indeed.

(Lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel's "Cloudy")