With all the preparation taken care of, the group said their goodbyes to Carla who promised to check back at the beach daily incase Castella needed to talk, and set out on the journey that they hoped would lead them to civilization. Sure enough, as Isaac had said, the scrub of the badlands quickly began to die off as they traveled, until the badlands were replaced by rolling dunes of golden sand. As the temperatures rose, the group soon fell into a pattern of traveling for the first three hours after sunup, and the last three hours before sundown. The rest of the time was spent either resting during the sweltering heat of midday, or huddling together after dark to stave off the biting cold of the dessert night.
A few days into their travels through the sands, Elliana began to notice movement among the dunes out of the corner of her eye. The first couple of times it happened, she had written it off as the dessert playing tricks on her, but after a while it became more noticeable. It was obvious they were being followed.