Disclaimer: The following chapter is the non-edited draft of what was written during NaNoWriMo 2018. My apologies in advance for plot holes and other inconsistencies.

Note that this is the last chapter written mostly during NaNoWriMo.

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Potter stomped on the accelerator in an attempt to make his truck move faster. With an iron grip of the wheel, the truck was careening across the dry, desert surface, a cloud billowing behind it. Two of his most trusted wingmen flanked him on each side.

He still couldn't believe Gibson's betrayal. There would be hell to pay later, that much he had promised himself as he had left Gibson in the dust in the Cauldron. Potter was tired of the games his rival played. Enough is enough.

Potter gripped the wheel harder as he kept his eyes on the path ahead. He needed to forget Gibson for the time being and focus on the pursuit. Up ahead, the cloud from vehicle his watchmen had spotted was clearly visible, hanging over the horizon like an immobile cloud. With his faster vehicle, Potter knew that it would just be a matter of time before he caught up with them. He allowed himself a smirk as he slammed the wheel to the left to easily avoid a dip in the road. Running was pointless. I always get my prey.

Up ahead, the dust cloud seemed to subside and clear. If Potter hadn't known better, it would have been an indicator that the vehicle he was in pursuit of had slowed their speed. He knew that wasn't the case. The Mudflat Canyons were up ahead and that in itself explained the decreasing amount of dust. His target had begun its descent into a maze few dared enter. Excellent.

"Eagle's Nest, this is Potter. Proceed to the canyon choke point, pronto!"

After a few moments of silence, the lead spotter on the Eagle's Nest team replied.

"You want us to leave our observation post?" the man said slowly, enunciating each word.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Potter yelled into the mic. "I need you at the choke point."

"What about the Nomads?"

"What about them? I'm right behind our target, the Nomads can do without a watching eye for a few hours. What else could they possibly do?"

"All right, if you say so. Proceeding to choke point. Over and out."

Potter shook his head in disgust. Getting his own people to listen was such a challenge sometimes. Were they really questioning his decision making? It was obvious that their target was within reach and they wanted to argue about it? Were they getting too comfortable sitting in one spot? Yes, that had to be the answer. They were too comfortable just sitting around. He'd make sure the shifts rotated more often. He couldn't have his spotters sitting on a rock, complacent and comfortable.

A few minutes later, the dusty ground ahead of Potter began to slope down and within a few minutes, jagged walls of red and brown rock rose up on each side of his truck. The chattering of small rocks hitting the wheel wells on the desert flats had been replaced by a flapping sound produced by the mud that flew off the heavy tires of his truck. Pieces of mud sprayed outward on each side as Potter kept his foot to the floor and his eyes on the muddy tracks in front of him that led deeper into the canyons. Within seconds, he was forced to slow down somewhat to allow the wipers a chance to keep up with the mud that smeared across the windshield.

Potter slammed his hand on the steering wheel as he slowed down and shifted down to a lower gear, muttering under his breath. A rut in the trail pulled the wheel to the left, forcing him to grab the wheel with a steel grip as he fought to keep the truck on the trail. It was too late. The truck spun around 180 degrees and he found himself facing the direction he had come from. His wingmen slowed down to help but Potter waived them on.

"Keep going," he shouted in the mic, then threw it onto the dash. He engaged the differential lock, shifter to the lowest gear and gently coaxed the truck out of the deeper mud it had landed in. A grin exploded on his face as the truck crawled out of its predicament and back onto the main trail.

"Here I come," he said through his teeth, disengaged the differential lock and picked up speed. "It's time for this to end."

Up ahead, the canyon opened up to a wide, flat valley. He saw the tracks of the three trucks up ahead, his two wingmen chasing the single tire tracks of their target toward one of the many canyons that converged into the valley from all directions. Potter knew this part well. He couldn't help but smile. Their target had clearly underestimated Potter and his men. Had they listened to the Nomads, they would have known that Potter knew these canyons like the back of his hand. Driving into this maze without knowing the layout was begging for trouble on a normal day. When chased, it wasn't a good place to be.

"Bad choice, bad choice," Potter muttered as he stepped on it. His truck shot forward, slinging mud high up in the air behind him. Unfortunately for his target, Potter also knew a shortcut and he wasted no time going straight for it.

Although the various canyons seemed like the most straightforward way to get out of the valley, rocks slides and natural erosion had created opportunities to rise above the canyon floor by driving up on the narrow ledges perched above the canyons. For someone in pursuit, it was the perfect place to be and it was obvious that the two people he was looking for were not aware this was possible. Potter guided his truck slightly more to the right than the other three tracks, behind a rock outcropping and then up a natural ramp created by years of rock slides.

The truck shot skyward as the muddy canyon floor was left behind and a cloud of dust appeared behind him. With one eye on the narrow ledge ahead and one on the pursuit happening below him, Potter pushed the truck forward as quickly as he felt it was safe. The ledge followed the curvature of the rock face, weaving in and out of turns and narrow passages that forced Potter to slow down. As frustrating as the decrease in speed was, Potter knew that it was faster than slogging through the mud below.

Potter picked up speed again after rounded a large boulder stuck on the very edge of the ledge. Up ahead, a blind curve to his right took him immediately above his target, whose progress had predictably been slowed by the mud. The buggy, a vehicle that could go fast on flat and dry terrain, kept slipping and sliding in the mud, which allowed Potter to surge ahead. With a smirk on his face, he once again pressed the accelerator to the floor as the ledge began to descend towards the canyon floor.

Particles of mud once again began to spray the immediate surrounding of Potter's truck as he left the ledge behind. A glance into his rearview mirror made him grimace. He had hoped to put more distance between himself and his target so that he would have time to set up an ambush.

"Eagle's Nest, are you in position?" he shouted into his mic.

"Almost, boss, almost. Ten more minutes."

Ten minutes? Potter threw the mix against the dashboard and it bounced right back at him, hitting him on the nose. Instinctively he reached up to protect his face and took his foot off the gas pedal. The truck, without a firm grip on its steering wheel, began to drift away from the intended direction of travel while Potter howled, tears forming in his eyes. It came to a stop in the mud and with the loss of momentum, the mud sucked the tires firmly into its grasp.

Potter uttered a string of obscenities as he realized what had happened. He put the truck in reverse, engaged the differential lock again and tried to get his truck to move. After a bit of protesting and a rain of mud, he was able to back up onto the main trail just as his target flew by behind him. Potter could have sworn he saw a white grin through the driver's window.

He took off after the target truck and just as he gained speed, his wingmen approached behind him. Potter smiled as he saw the bouncing trucks behind him and his target less than fifty yards ahead of him. Ahead of them, the muddy canyon floor gave way to an expansive open space. It always reminded him of the bottom of a pot because it was surrounded on all sides by steep rock walls. Potter had been told by someone much more interested in the geography than he was that it was likely the result of an asteroid impact at some point in a distant past and a bunch of other mumbo jumbo he didn't really care to listen top. All that mattered was that there were only two ways out. One was behind them, the other straight across on the other side.

Potter smiled. It would be over soon. He floored the gas pedal and turned to the right to follow the rock wall around to the other side. It was longer but he also happened to know that the central part of the open field was full of bumps and holes in the ground, not to mention the wreckage of others that had attempted to traverse the area. It made for a dangerous place to drive and it would slow his target down. With his faster speed, even though he had to drive longer, he would still beat them to the other side, that much he was confident of.

"Follow them," he shouted into his mic. He wanted to keep the pressure on from behind so that they didn't try to turn around. As he continued in a half-circle around the field, he saw the cloud of dust at the center slow down to a crawl as it tried to make it through the obstacles. Satisfied that his projection was spot on, he focused on the trail ahead and within minutes, he saw the rock arch that rose above the exit in the rock wall. It had been carved by centuries of rains and floods that had poured through that opening, his geologist friend had once said. Potter didn't care. It was an opening and he had reached it first.

As he pulled up under the arch, he was joined almost immediately by the observers from Eagle's Nest. "Took you long enough," he said and grimaced. "I almost beat you here."

"Sorry, Potter, we drove as quickly as we could. We beat them here though, from the looks of it."

"Just barely," he said and nodded. "Alright, get into your positions. Any funny business, you take them out."

"Got it, boss."

The positioned their trucks in a loose half-circle formation, their guns pointed towards the approaching dust cloud. Potter waited in silence, a rifle in his hands, as the vehicle they had been chasing came to a stop about twenty yards from Potter. Without hesitation, he strode straight towards it while two of his men approached from the side. Another truck stopped behind it, guns trained on the vehicle.

Potter stopped yards from the hood and pointed the rifle straight towards the driver's set.

"You in there, it's all over. Come on out, hands over your heads. Do it now or prepare to die."

A few seconds later, the driver's door creaked as it slowly opened and a man stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Potter's eyes widened and his mouth fell open and he let out a gasp and lowered his rifle.

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Ok, so what do you think Potter sees here? Why does he lower his rifle?

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