Tania dusted herself down. “The only way is forward.” She turned to Matt and Andy and smiled. “Just think of it as a very long walk on the beach.”

Matt scoffed and looked out over the arid, gritty land. “Yeah, and then normally the payoff is a cool dip in the surf.”

“Not this time, Point Break.” She held out her hand, and Matt grasped it and hauled himself to his feet. He felt a little woozy, and although his head cleared quickly, he was left with a splitting headache. He used one hand to press on his temples.

“How’s the head?” She stepped in closer to him, looking deep into his face. “No concussion I can see, but you look a little pale. You need to sit down again?”

“No.” Matt felt a dab of stickiness at one of his temples – blood. “Headache, but I’m okay.” He winced.

“Got just the thing.” She reached into her pack, jiggled something and then held up her open hand – there were two small white tablets on her dirty palm.

“Excedrin – that’s it?” Matt raised an eyebrow.

She grinned. “Kearns, out here, even if you lose a freakin leg, that’s it. Look around, Professor; we’re not in Kansas any more.”

Matt shook his head. “It’s okay, I’ll survive.”

“Tough guy, huh?” She closed her hand over the pills and smiled. “I like it.”

“My back is sore.” Andy got to his feet, knocking dust from his hair.

She snorted. “You’re a geologist, Bennet – an outdoor man who works with rock.” She jerked a thumb at Matt. “I’m sure the toughest thing the professor has had to put up with is a fight over the last bagel in the staff room.”

“Hey I…” Matt clamped his mouth shut, cutting off his protest. He’d battled krakens beneath the Antarctic ice sheets, been stalked by giant beasts up in the Black Mountains, and he’d travelled to the Amazon to trek through a hidden prehistoric jungle. He looked at Tania grinning at him, and he shrugged. At the moment he was getting special treatment because she thought him a bookworm – Why rock the boat? he thought, and grinned sheepishly. “You know me too well already, Captain.”

The SEALs talked quickly and softly, with Abrams pointing in a few different directions, and then to small devices – probably GPS and ground radar, Matt assumed.

After a moment, Abrams nodded and turned. “Okay, people, let’s move it out. I want to do twenty miles before we rack. Berry, take point, Hartogg, secure the rear – no stragglers, folks.” He waved them on. “Take us out, Lieutenant.” Berry jogged a few hundred feet out in front, and then continued at a fast walk. His neck was craned forward, and Matt imagined his eyes would be darting over everything that could possibly conceal a sniper, explosive, or attacker. Given the hostile territory, Matt didn’t envy these guys for a second.

In another few hours, the sun had started to dip, but the heat was no less intense. The only saving grace was that it was a dry heat, though even so, lips became chapped and skin chafed. Water was now at a premium, so rationing at short sips only was in force. Matt knew what could happen during dehydration – disorientation, hallucinations, headaches, and muscle fatigue, and then, in extreme cases, death.