Armis stared off at the horizon as the sun winked over the mountains, making its descent while staining the sky in an endless ómbre of pink-orange hues. On evenings like this, it was hard to tell where the sky began or where the earth ended. The people around him were huddled by a fire while stirring cans of beans and soup over the flames. However, the peace of the sunset was subdued by the buzzing of conversations filling the air like Cicadas as Coyote and Gunner mapped out a plan of attack with Pippa wagging her tail by their feet.

It had only been two days since Everleigh and the other women were taken, but the hours felt precious, knowing their fate. Sitting around waiting for a plan made Armis anxious, especially knowing the man responsible was across from him and eating from a can of beans. It frothed his blood just staring at Domino, and it wouldn't go away until he was dealt with properly.

To ease his anger, he got up to walk and find a tree to throw a few knives. As he walked through the weeds searching for a good target, he sensed he was being followed. It would make his day if it were Domino, and he salivated at the thought of leaving his carcass in the field for the insects to feast on. He continued walking, his ears twitching with the sound of twigs snapping behind him, which made him smirk. Whoever followed wasn't very stealthy, so Armis stopped and looked over his shoulder. A dark silhouette dodged behind a wooden shed, but there was no mistaking the wisps of long hair waving in the evening breeze.

"Come out," Armis called. "I can see you."

Grunting, Brodie stepped out, his large build in full view. "Where are you sneaking off to?"

"Nowhere. Just need a walk."

"Right." He approached with a calm stride, a beer can in hand, and when he reached behind his back, Armis pulled out a gun. "Woah, woah!" Brodie held up his hands, surrendering. "Easy... easy... there's another beer in my back pocket. I was going to offer it to you."

"A beer?"

"Yeah. It's a little old and tastes like shit, but the convenience store has a decent stash. Figured you might want to wet your beak."

Armis paced around Brodie and saw that he indeed had a beer in his back pocket. So, he plucked it out and examined it. "Prohibition Ale..."

"Yeah. They make that in San Francisco. Good stuff. Go ahead, try it."

"I thought you said it tasted like shit?"

"It's a little skunky, but it does the trick, and you look like you need to relax."

Armis placed his fingers on the tab but stopped to scrutinize anything suspicious on Brodie's behalf. However, the man was much calmer than earlier and seemed a bit loose. Perhaps the beer relaxed him some? So, Armis cracked the tab, the familiar sound flashing him to the last time he had a beer. It was with Everleigh. They were passing through New Mexico in a jalopy they found in Texas and hotwired. As they rolled into a rest stop, they stumbled upon an abandoned commercial truck. When they unlocked the storage compartment, their jaws dropped as if they came across liquid gold. Sure, the beer would dehydrate them even more, but they were too thirsty, hot, and tired to care. After gulping down a can, they packed the car with a few crates to get them to Oregon. At night they would finish the day with some beer, but their new routine only lasted until the car broke down outside of Nevada.

They sat by the road with steam hissing from the engine and had to map a route through the desert since it was the fastest way to get to Oregon. At the time, it seemed so simple, life a little more normal, like two siblings on a road trip just drinking a beer together.

But the desert had been a horrible idea.

If Armis had stuck with Everleigh's plan to find a town and steal a car, then none of the following events would have happened, and his sister would still be by his side.

Sighing, he took another sip of the lukewarm suds. He thought of Everleigh in Alcatraz, of all places. Was she scared? Was Corbin with her, taking care of her? Was she already dead? For the first time in his life, he had no way of knowing if she was ok, and Armis was incomplete without his best friend, sidekick, and confidant.

The rumble of Brodie's deep voice broke the silence, pulling Armis back to the present as he said, "Are you really going to look for your sister and save her from the prison?"

"Of course. She's my sister. The only family I have left."

"What about the people you came here with?"

"Not my family. I met Gunner and Coyote a few days ago and Domino for two weeks, give or take. But his nephew and my sister are..." Armis grimaced over what to label them, but Brodie beat him.

"In a relationship? And you don't like it?"

"Don't get me wrong, I want my sister to be happy, but Corbin is too old for her, and he's not like us."

Releasing a belch, Brodie pounded his chest with his fist and cleared his throat, "What do you mean?"

"She needs someone who can protect her, but she's probably better at defending herself than he is." Armis shook his head and peered up at the sky, quickly absorbing any signs of daylight and converting it to navy blue. Gazing at the stars, he said, "My father trained us to be his soldiers, so unless she finds someone like her, someone who is twice as skilled, I will always worry that she'll be the one having to look out for herself. Instead of him protecting her."

"Maybe." Brodie shrugged. "I've got a sister too, and try as I might, not even I could save her from being taken. I mean, look at me." He motioned over himself, beer can in hand. "I'm a big guy, but sometimes it's not physical strength that saves someone. Sometimes it's simply the will not to give up like my mom. She might be small, but she won't stop until Savi is safe and sound. Even though I'm begging her to stay behind."

"I suppose you're right. I mean, look at me..." Armis held his arms out. "I'm not bulky like I once was, the road does that to you, but I am determined. So maybe your mom and I have that in common?"

Silence passed between them as critters in the dry shrubs began chirping a lullaby, filling the night with a tranquil melody and easing Armis's tension. It was the type of evening he used to enjoy, laying out in the field with his girlfriend Nina or sitting on the roof with Everleigh. The first time he and Nina ever became intimate, it was under an ocean of stars. They both snuck out at night and met in the field, which joined their properties. The intention wasn't to lose their virginities, but they both knew that kissing wasn't enough anymore. They craved more and allowed themselves to explore further while the Cicadas chirped in approval.

That same night, he walked back to the house after, full of love and excitement, and decided that he would ask Nina to marry him once she turned twenty. She was seventeen at the time, and he was only two years older, so they didn't need to rush into marriage, but he did want her to know that she was it for him. Back then, life was so simple, and he had aspirations to build a tiny house on the property for them, where they could have children and work the farm just like his father did. He imagined himself crossing the field, opening the door to their home, and being greeted by Nina, the way he used to see his mother greet his father with a big hug and a kiss, followed by a hot plate of supper.

The future seemed perfect!

Until Nina's family moved to Oregon to chase the coastal life advertised on the radio. Water for everyone, it would say. Come one, come all. Nina was nineteen when they left.

Brodie released another belch and crushed the can in his hands, distracting Armis from reminiscing, as he said, "You know, I thought I would need to worry about you, but I'm thinking I should be looking into the others instead."

"And why do you say that?" Armis toyed with the beer can's tab.

"Because these days, there aren't that many people around here. At least not in the Cascade and McCall area, so I tend to cross paths with the same people. You know, to trade items or look for someone to share a warm bed with, but this is the first time I've seen any of you."

"Well, I'm not from around here."

"That's obvious," Brodie chuckled and glanced across the field where everyone was gathered. "But what about the others?"

"I really don't know much about them, but I do know that Gunner was once married to Coyote's sister. She used to witch water and was killed by the government—treason or something like that, but I have no idea how Coyote and Domino know one another. I just know that Domino sells him moonshine."

"Wait..." Brodie held up his hands. "I remember hearing about a woman witcher helping the Water Division with their irrigation plan. They sent us flyers about the new plan and how it would help farmers to continue working and exporting goods. However, something didn't feel right, and now it turns out she was killed. All this time, people around here thought the project was still going."

"What do you mean?"

"We get firetrucks bringing in water from Boise so we can irrigate our crops. I just assumed the witcher lady figured out how to gather more water. Then a few days ago, I heard that they were putting the delivery on hold due to complications."

"Wait, how did you hear about that? I thought telephone communications didn't work anymore?"

"They don't." Brodie nodded toward the shed he had hidden behind, attached to the convenience store. "Come on. I'll show you how."

Armis cocked him a sideways glance and kept his boots planted in the weeds.

"Oh, come on!" Brodie laughed. "I shared my beer with you. I won't hurt you. Besides, you're quick with your guns."

Armis grinned. "That I am."

When they walked over to the shed, Brodie opened the rusty door, and it squealed in protest before they stepped inside. The shed's interior was narrow and smelled of mildew, but it had two lawn chairs, and a table with a radio system sitting on top of it. However, the system wasn't like Chuck's. In fact, it was more like a police dispatch radio with a handheld speaking device. Brodie took a seat and turned the knob, followed by static puncturing the air as he adjusted the dial.

"When I was a teen, I used to ride my bike down here, and Mr. Mazzy, who owned the convenience store, used to let me play with this thing." He fussed with the knob while pressing his ear to the speakers. "They cut the phone lines but kept radio communications. Strange, huh? Sometimes I catch conversations that other people are having. That's how I heard about that witcher lady because."

Armis finally took a seat and leaned forward with elbows on his knees. "Hear anything useful?"

Brodie chewed on his nails, and his eyes focused on the ground. "Weeks ago. Maybe two, give or take, but I had no idea what it meant then. Now I'm starting to think that I do understand."

Armis scooted forward on the chair. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, something about an arrangement..." He rubbed his chin, trying to recall the message. "How the tally went up, and the subjects can be collected."

"What do you think it means?"

"I think it had to do with those government officials sweeping through here."

"Makes sense." Armis nodded, recalling the map he took from Chuck's wall and the scratched-out numbers next to the pink thumbtack—the number which indicated the number of women in the area. If Brodie had heard that on the radio two weeks prior, give or take, that would've been around when he and Everleigh arrived at Domino's home. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, exactly. Holy shit," Brodie replied and gazed across the field where the group sat. "There's something I heard you say to Domino, but I don't think anyone else did. You said that his daughters getting taken was his fault. What did you mean by that?"

Scooting back in the chair, Armis contemplated confiding in Brodie whether or not he could be trusted. He shifted his gaze over to the fire pit where Domino sat while feeding what was left of his canned food to Pippa. The dog wagged her tail at him in gratitude but was oblivious to the evils he possessed, and in that glimpse, Armis decided not to tell Brodie what he knew. The pleasure of killing Domino would be his and his alone.

Taking the final sip of beer, he crushed it in his palm, then finally replied, "It was nothing. His wife wanted to cross the border, so their daughters could be safe from the draft, but Domino refused to leave the farm. Stubborn asshole."

"What an idiot!" Brodie grunted. "Then again, I never thought my sister would be taken either, and I told her she needed to find someone to marry, but she's a free spirit. She said the government would have to drag her out of here kicking and screaming before she ever let them cut her up." Brodie sniffed and swiped his large hand under his nose. "And that's exactly what they did. I'd never seen her so scared, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it!"

Armis reached over and squeezed Brodie's shoulder. "I know what you mean. I saw my sister put up a fight, too, while government officials held me down at gunpoint. But we'll get them back, and I mean it."

Static still hummed through the shed as Brodie wiped the wetness away from his cheeks and began playing with the radio dials again. He sat upright in his seat and pressed his ear to the speaker, turning the knob ever so carefully.

"You hear that?"

"No." Armis leaned forward.

"On most days, around this time, messages come through." Brodie continued to turn the dial delicately with his large fingers. "Almost. I can hear voices, but it's still hard to--"

"There!" Armis leaned closer. "I hear it!"

Adjusting the dial a bit more, the voices began floating through the dusty air of the shed, and they stared at the radio with wide eyes.

"I can't send you my resident doctor. He's needed here," a husky voice said.

"We don't have enough surgeons. Not after that bus load was brought here," another voice replied.

"What bus load?"

"We got a tip from Chuck in McCall and sent some busses to round up the women. Have you not been paying attention to the recent messages?"

"LOOK," the husky voice growled. "I've got a lot on my plate right now with running this place, and I don't have time for trivial surgeries going on two states away!"

"I'm sorry. But you know our alliance means we work together no matter how trivial things may seem. You keep us stocked with water, and we export goods to you. Also, let's not forget that we're allowing your ex-wife to run the irrigation project. Even though she has failed numerous times."

"HEY. You watch your mouth!"

"It's true, Gavin. Everyone knows her plan is a failure. Everyone except you can see it. It's time to let go of this fantasy that some water witcher will save the project. It's just a fairy tale. No one has magical powers to sense water."

"Things will be different this time."

"Hah! Right. That's what your ex said last time."

"Don't you DARE mock me," the husky voice growled.

"I'm not, but I swear your ex still has you wrapped around her finger."

"This conversation has gone on too long. We need to cut it."

"Fine, but I need that doctor over here by tomorrow evening."

"I said, NO!"

Silence buzzed through the air, followed by static lingering on the echo of the conversation. Both of them sat frozen, digesting the information. Then, Brodie began fussing with the dial, shifting it back and forth, desperate for more.

But there was nothing.

"No..." Brodie shook his head.

"We need to get moving." Armis got to his feet. "Tomorrow evening will come faster than we think."

Rage rolled off Brodie's shoulders as he looked at Armis with red, tear-filled eyes. His fists sat in tight balls on his knees, the knuckles white from clenching, and with trembling lips, he said, "I'm going to kill whoever that Chuck person is that tipped them off, and then I'm going to kill every last person responsible for taking my sister."

"Good." Armis nodded. "Dig deep into that madness. We're going to need it, and I'm going to need you to have my back. Do you have it?"

Brodie got to his feet, his body towering over Armis by several inches, yet at that moment, they stood as equals, ready for war.

"I have it!" he said and held out his hand for Armis to shake.

Looking directly into Brodie's eyes, Armis accepted the gesture, cementing a verbal contract between them.

There was going to be blood, and it was going to drip from their enemy.