Nyko looked across the vast desert, a sandstorm inching close. He pulled hard on the carriage, feeling the scorching sun on his back. The wheels growled against the swirling red sands, but it refused to move. He tried to free it, but the wheel was stuck on a six-foot silver cylinder. It was probably another relic from the ancient world.

 

A mechanical whirring sound blared and caught Nyko by surprise as the mysterious cylinder opened. A young woman lay within it, her breathing faint. He’d heard of cryo-chambers, but he had never seen one before.

 

The digital monitor on his wrist flashed Warning as clouds of dust and sand galloped toward them. He couldn’t just leave her here. He rushed to disconnect the myriad tubes holding her and placed her in the back of his carriage.

 

* * *

 

The young woman stirred and gasped for air, her face covered in a film of sand and dust. She tried to speak, but her mouth was parched. The dog tag around her neck read Enara.

 

“Careful, sip it slowly,” Nyko said, handing Enara his flask.

 

“Where am I?” Enara asked, looking at the rows of dead computers around her.

 

“We’re in an old Data Facility in the Borderlands.”

 

“Are these the colonies? How long have I been in cryo-sleep?”

 

Time meant little these days for Nyko, but he hated to be the bearer of bad news. “This is home; this is Earth.”

 

A look of panic flashed through her eyes. “I was a passenger in the Athena VI transporter ship on the way to the colonies. What year is this?”

 

“I found a register from before the War of the Machines when I was a young boy, so I reckon we must be in the 2200s.”

 

“No… that’s over a century! I left on the 14th of May 2095. Where’s Henryk? Where’s my father?”

 

Nyko shrugged. “I’m sorry. I scavenge the desert plains for parts. I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone.”

 

“You’re on your own out here?”

 

“The machines destroyed the cities and everything in their path. Not much remains from the time before.”

 

“The ship must have failed and left me stranded here… Where is my cryo-chamber?” Enara said, struggling to sit up. She was frail, her muscles atrophied.

 

“Not far from here.”

 

“ There must be other survivors. Can you take me there?”

 

“The sandstorm has probably buried it by now.”

 

“Please, I need to try.”

 

Nyko knew the impossible odds, but Enara looked devastated. “We’ll go once the storm clears. Rest for now.”

 

“Wait —  where are you going?”

 

“I’m headed down to the reservoir. These old data facilities used to consume vast quantities of water to prevent the computers from overheating. Everything is obsolete, of course, except for the reservoir under our feet. It’s what sustains life around here.”

 

* * *

 

They searched the dunes, scanning the surface for the chamber, but found only pieces of junk and old artifacts. It looked like the earth had swallowed it whole.

 

Enara dropped to her knees, broken by grief. “They’re all gone… Everyone I know, my entire world, lost.”

 

“I’m so sorry,” Nyko said, putting his hand on her shoulder. He knew loss, too. It came in waves, piercing and unrelenting.

 

“Is this all we have left? A desert and a broken world? You should have left me to rot in that chamber, Nyko.”

 

“Listen… they say there’s an ocean out west. It’s a rumour, it may not even exist. I’ve scavenged all I can out here —  what if we try to find it together?”

 

Enara wiped the tears streaming down her face. “What’s the point? I have nothing left.”

 

Nyko held out his hand, knowing that they were probably chasing a dream that was all but dead. It was difficult to know what to say anymore. “You know what? I’ve been out here alone for so long, I’d forgotten what it was like to have company again. I would love for you to join me on the road. Perhaps even give your future self a chance to find some joy.”

 

Enara held her head in her hands and wiped her tears. “So, we just head out?”

 

“The Machines robbed us of our possessions, but life has to be more than this. Come with me —  what have you got to lose?”

 

Enara grabbed Nyko’s hand tightly. She’d seen enough sand in these wastelands to last her a lifetime.

 

“This way to the Ocean.” Nyko said, smiling.

He loved how those words sounded. He’d been dreaming of the ocean since he was a child, wondering how the salt water would feel, running through his fingers. Did fish and other sea creatures still live? It was dangerous to hope or even dare to think of a better life. Perhaps he’d get it right this time… Perhaps they’d find survivors along the road.