Yves puts one foot in front of his other. Again. And again. What is the point? He thinks to himself. Where am I going. What am I going to do there. What will be waiting for me.

It has been seven days since the van had been attacked by the Aubrough. Seven days since Mase...

...well best not to think about that.

Seven days of walking trough the hot rocky red desert that is the Koschei Valley. Yves thought he would have been out days ago. But there still seems to be no end to endless sand and Mesas.

Should he climb another one? The last one had taken half a day and a lot of effort, and he hadn't really seen anything. But this time surely there had to be a sign of the dessert ending. And if not he might as well give up there. Jump of the cliff or just lay on the plateau until he passes out.

He decides to walk up to one. It looks fairly climbable from this and at least he will be in the shade. Yves decides to go for it.

He takes of his backpack and leaves at the bottom. And starts walking up the steep incline, having to some times use his hands to climb up. It is a tiring tracks but after half an hour or so he reaches the top of the mesa.

The plateau is probably about half a kilometer in diameter and 300 meters high. From here he has a better few of the valley that he tracked trough.

He makes is way to the far edge of the mesa, in ghetto direction he has been tracking for the past weeks, even before he had encountered the Aubrough.

His heart starts racing as he sees it in the distance. Not the end of the desert, but something else. Kilometers away on the edge of the horizon, probably a days walk he sees a couple of buildings. It is hard to make out any details without any binoculars, but he sure he can see at least three distinct structures.

With renewed hope he climbs down. Having to pace him self, as to not to trip in his enthusiasm. High noon, hottest part of the day, is about to start so once he gets to his bag he decides to pace him self and nap in the shade until it gets cooler.

Around dusk he starts his journey. Full of hope of finding other people, after a week of isolation, a proper bed, water and food. It takes almost all night to reach the settlement.

Along the way his hopes start to dwindle as there are no signs of lights in the town. And when he reaches the destination it becomes clear to him the place had been abandoned for years.

A dozen or so buildings, made from rusted metal plates and wood, sit along a central road. A layer of sand on the boardwalks, and piles of it in front of doors, tells him he is most likely the first person to set foot in the little hallow in decades.

Hungry and thirsty, the first building Yves explores is the general store. Luckily the dry desert air has preserved most of the dry foods such as pasta's and beans. He also finds cans of tomatoes and other fruits. No bottles with water, only sodas, and while tasty and clenching his thirst for now, not the best to bring in to the desert.

He makes his way to the inn, hoping to find a place to cook a meal and stay the night. The stove in the inn is wood burning, a rush of relief goes trough him when he finds piles of logs in the back. He cooks his first real meal in over a week, even when he was still on the road with Mase, they didn't bother cooking every day.

Upstairs he finds a bed, more tomorrow he will have more time, and light to explore the abandoned town. Hopefully he can find some water, a good way to bring it with him, and an indication of how far he still has to go trough the desert.