Bernie's eyes opened, blinking rapidly as her eyes desperately tried to adjust to the rising sun reflecting off the golden sand.

Sand? 

She questioned where she was for a moment before remembering. In the desert. Looking around, she saw that mostly everyone was still asleep.

Fey and Henry were no where to be found. Aelix was prodding the very beginnings of a fire, and Max was helping her.

Bernie's attention was caught by Marko. He was sitting. That, of course, was nothing that she would normally pay attention to. But he was very... twitchy, and he seemed to stare at nothing with not-so-occasional glances in Aelix's general direction.

She tried to brush it off.

Finny was wide awake. He honestly looked like he hadn't slept at all, and Bernie wouldn't exactly be surprised if that were the case. Underneath both of his eyes were heavy dark bags, and he was slouched over more intensely than usual.

Interestingly enough, Sawyer was also awake. She was sitting next to Regina. Bernie saw her place a hand tenderly on her forehead--after fumbling around for a moment trying to find it. Her hand fell to her side dejectedly.

Everyone else was still asleep. No one that was awake paid any attention to her.

Bernie decided her efforts would be best spent with Sawyer. She stepped over to her, settling down on the other side of Regina--who was entangled in a restless, miserable sleep.

"How is she?" Bernie asked quietly. Sawyer did not flinch.

"Not good. She's got a fever. Could you get some water?"

Bernie nodded, then paused. She awkwardly said out loud as she climbed to her feet, "Yeah."

Bernie never knew how to act around Sawyer. She felt like the answer should be obvious: exactly like Bernie would act around anyone else. But it wasn't quite that simple. Sawyer wasn't quite like "anyone else". She always felt really awkward, trying to explain what she was doing aloud so that Sawyer wouldn't be scared. 

Sawyer usually just told her not to try so hard. So maybe she should give that a try? Honestly, Bernie couldn't explain why she hadn't done that already.

Bernie returned with the water, trying her best to be smooth. "Here. Do you want to do it?"

Sawyer nodded, holding out her hand. Bernie placed the water bottle in her hand, and then Sawyer moved her fingertips across it to get a feel. She paused for a second with a thoughtful look on her face.

Sawyer then reached out to Regina. Bernie watched in silence as Regina gently touched Regina's face, before pouring a small amount of water into her hand and gently smearing it on Regina's face.

Sawyer said, "She needs to drink some, too, but I don't want to wake her up..."

Bernie opened her mouth, but then realized that Sawyer wasn't even talking to her. She wasn't talking to anyone but herself.

Sawyer blinked a couple times, before gently grabbing onto Regina's shoulder and giving her a soft shake.

"Regina," Sawyer said in a low tone, "Wake up. Have a drink."

Regina's eyes slowly opened, and Bernie moved her hands into an awkward position to shield them from the sun.

Regina looked even worse awake. Her face had lost all color. She could barely move; she was so weak. It was clear from the expression written on her face that she was in intense pain. She drew in a deep breath, and opened her mouth.

"Sh, don't speak," Sawyer said, seeming to sense that Regina was going to talk. "Just drink."

Sawyer held out the water bottle, placing it directly at Regina's mouth with no effort. Regina's eyes were half-closed, and her breaths came out ragged, like wheezes, with sporadic coughing every time she breathed in too deeply.

Not a single one of them said a word, but it went all unspoken. Regina, Sawyer, Bernie. They all knew it.

Regina was dying.

☀☀☀

"I don't know. It doesn't really make any sense."

Henry and Fey currently found themselves trudging, ankle-deep, through desert sand in the middle of nowhere.

Henry raised his eyebrows, looking over at the older girl. "Aren't we supposed to be... say, hunting? I doubt these kids have had any fresh food in months, if they're telling the truth."

"Why would they lie?"

"Kids lie when they're scared. If they've done something they shouldn't have, they'll lie."

"...Maybe," Fey admitted. "But how could they ever have come up with such a crazy lie?"

Henry glanced down at the spear he held in his hands. 

"I think you might be, ah--"

Henry hated not being able to think of the right word. He always thought that English was too jævla complicated.

"...underestimating them?" Fey offered quietly. Henry scoffed, and Fey took that as a yes. She didn't say anything else about it. "I guess I see what you mean. But it's just so... impossible to believe. If they were just going to lie, why wouldn't they have come up with something simpler?"

"Do you think there could be any reasons to be in the middle of a desert all alone that would be simple?"

"Ours!"

"Oh, yes. Forgive me," he rolled his eyes. "I must've forgotten how simple it is that some crazy kuk brought his family and friends into the desert 70 years ago for no reason at all." 

"It wasn't for no reason! Oleander Wilhelm had a doomsday prediction! And you know what, it came true! That's the only reason we're alive today!"

"Like I said, crazy kuk."

Fey's mouth shot open to continue arguing, but Henry shushed her. She was ready to be offended, but then he pointed to a shimmering, blue oasis that had appeared on the horizon. And even more importantly, the herd of gazelle that had gathered around it.

Henry's grip on the spear tightened, his argument with Fey forgotten.

He locked eyes with her, and she nodded.