Sarah couldn't get up.
Cage didn't know how long it had been that she hadn't been able to. She was still alive, but he didn't want to lie her down in the sand. Cage and Aurora were giving her more sips of their own water in every effort to save her. They weren't strong enough to carry her, but he imagined that he would be if it became necessary.
Sarah and Aurora faced the direction they were heading, and Cage faced them, into the sun. Someone had to keep watch behind them. He felt his face starting to burn.
In the distance something shimmered. Something cast a shadow against the light, and it moved toward them. Probably a big cat looking for an easy dinner. He pulled the gun from his pocket, then tapped Aurora’s arm trying to tell her Look, someone is coming.
Friend or foe, he couldn't tell. He wasn’t even sure if it was human or some bug that had caught the sun, making him think it was much further away than it was.
He tried to grip the gun tightly, but even lifting it was too much effort. He'd already put fingerprints all over it. So hopefully they could find Connor’s from under the mess. Hell, even Dodger and Sarah had touched it.
He had only the one bullet, but he was ready.
Keeping his eyes trained on the moving blob he only heard Aurora saying, “Sarah, we have to go.”
He glanced over, concerned that she wasn’t even responding. She just stared into the distance. He could see now that it was people approaching at her back.
A faint sound carried to him on the wind, and he had no idea if it was a yell of irritation, or call of friendship.
Aurora kept the bottled waters, letting him focus on what was coming. He didn't like not having it on him, but he had to keep holding the gun.
He wanted to run, but they simply couldn’t. They wouldn’t leave Sarah, and they couldn’t carry her fast enough to make the effort useful.
He watched as the blobs moved and shimmered with the sun behind them. He thought he saw four people. There could be more if some were walking behind others, but he counted at least four . . . or maybe it was two and he had double vision. He blinked to clear his eyes, and then he heard it.
“Cage! CAGE!”
Another voice called out “Aurora!” and then “Sarah!”
He dropped the gun into the sand, scrambling to his feet and running.