Finn was right. They arrive in Arlington where the sun is scorching their backs.
Rey has been sneaking glances at the rebel by her side. She is exhausted and starving but she can take it. The girl has lived in Jakku for almost a decade and has seen people die on the curb, their bodies morbidly twisted. Some of them looked as if they were in deep slumber. That is why a few of the local gangs have started to pick random places to lie down – playing dead and waiting for clueless fools who think they have found another corpse to loot. They would get their stomachs cut open before realizing something was off; as a result, people got smarter and the trend eventually died. Rey does not want anything of the sort to happen to Finn.
Arlington does not look much different from other cities in this part of Arizona. Rows of buildings on opposite sides of the road stand erect with scarce greenery here and there. The canyons tower over the houses, providing shelter for the city like a loving mother. There are two main aspects that distinguish bigger cities from other settlements: asphalt roads and tall buildings made of brick. Some of them have small awnings that cast shadows on the ground.
Rey sees a spot like this and immediately walks towards it. Finn drops on the ground next to her, groaning loudly. They sit in silence, save for Bebe's noisy breathing, for what seems like an eternity before the young man props himself on his elbows, searching for something with his eyes. When he finds it, he lets out a hoarse laugh and pats Rey's knee. He then points to a tap embedded in the soil.
"Look, Rey! Water!"
Bebe goes with Finn with its head hanging low but Rey lags behind. The man turns on the tap, laughing cheerfully. He cups his palms to form a dish of water and puts them in front of Bebe's snout. His offer is met with great enthusiasm. The dog starts lapping at the clear liquid gratefully.
The scavenger gets up on her sore feet, grabs the jacket she had taken off due to heat, and slowly approaches her comrades. Once Bebe feels satisfied, Finns turns to her. She drops to her knees and greedily drinks from the rebel's hands. He is the last one to quench his thirst.
Now, the question is - where do they go?
Rey does not feel as dizzy but her legs are mildly shaking. She also fails to notice a speeder cruising down the street, prompting Finn to yank her backwards by her elbow. She leans onto his chest.
"There's a food joint," he points to a building. It has an outside eating area where several customers are consuming their meals. "Maybe those guys will know something."
She knows he is desperately searching for a way to make their situation better. They will leave Arizona only if they happen to stumble across a good Samaritan who offers them a ride, which is unlikely to transpire. Nevertheless, Rey lets Finn lead her to a wooden bench across the restaurant. He tells her to stay with Bebe while he talks to the men preoccupied with their meals.
After a moment, the scavenger spots a group of males standing near the food joint at the car park. They are obnoxious and loud, looking similar to the desert thugs – sleazy scoundrels that will not hesitate to do anything for some coin.
One of them notices her staring, so the girl quickly averts her eyes. Unfortunately, he approaches her.
"Hey there, girlie. What's a pretty little thing like you doin' here?"
She forces herself to look at her hands folded on her lap. There is dirt under her fingernails. He should take a hint and leave if she ignores him long enough. It is fine if he does not; she can take care of herself.
"That's a nice dog," he continues after crouching down.
It is clear the damn nerf herder is not going to back off. Rey gets up to walk away but before she can even take a step, he grabs her roughly. His friends have circled Finn, too.
"Hey, don't touch her!" the young rebel yells.
As the girl looks up at the thug's face, she sees everything she despises. His dirty face is twisted in the form of a smug smirk showing off his yellow teeth. His white, hot touch is burning her skin but she is too tired to free herself from his grip.
"What's going on here?"
A middle-aged man is standing near a vehicle. He is rather tall and well-built. His hair has started to turn grey. Judging from his outfit, the man is a police officer. The uniform is dark navy and without a single crease. A shiny badge is pinned to his chest, blindingly bright like a beacon. It is painfully obvious that the man does not want to be here, but his hand on the holster on his hip says he will not hesitate to use force.
He sighs deeply. "Let her go, Varr'en."
The thug does as he is told. Finn is by Rey's side in an instant. They both take a few steps backwards, trying to get as far away from the guy as possible. Eventually, Bebe joins them while growling.
Surprisingly, the police officer seems to have some degree of authority as he towers over the thug. In the past, there must have been a similar confrontation between these two men. The thug, who was excessively confident just seconds before, is now cowering in shame. Rey has never seen anything like this. From her experience, it is usually stormtroopers that bully the desert dwellers. Thankfully, she was spared that treatment because she was under Unkar's protection. No one would touch the girl as long as she worked for him. Others were not as lucky.
"Get outta here before I fine you again."
The thugs leave without uttering a single word. Rey hears her companion exhale with relief. For some odd reason, the young scavenger feels sympathetic towards the rebel. He should not be here in the first place, in this Maker forgotten land, where his friend died. She does not know what his mission is but wants to make sure he at least manages to reach the Rebellion base.
"You kids not local?" the officer asks the couple.
Rey shakes her head. "N-no, no. I'm from Jakku," she admits hesitantly.
"Jakku, huh?" he says gruffly. Distaste is evident in his voice.
Finn huffs in annoyance. In a gesture of comfort, Rey squeezes his clammy hand tightly. There is no point in arguing with the man.
The answer Rey has given him seems unsatisfactory, so the officer digs deeper.
"Jakku is a long way from here," he notes. "What're you doing out here?"
"Just getting my friend back home."
The man nods slowly. He then squints and bites the inside of his cheek, deep in thought. "You got any papers?
They do not and the man mumbles something that sounds a lot like 'you gotta come with me'. The girl is not sure about Finn but she has never owned any type of identification documents. Those are simply not needed. Everyone knows everyone, whether it is by face or by name. Rey knew a man with an ID once. It seemed like something out of this world - a piece of plastic with all of his information printed on it. When she looked at the photo on the card, it looked as if another person was depicted on it. The girl saw a handsome boy with a crew cut, whereas the man that was in front of her resembled death itself. She wanted to ask the man about it but he died shortly after, leaving her without any answers. Rey kept the ID for herself after burying him. From that day on, she has thought of it as a remnant of the colourful past.
The memory gives the scavenger no comfort as she is being led to the officer's car. She just wishes Finn would not look so guilty.