[WP] It’s been 10 years since the Drought. Now you walk along the Atlantic Desert, searching for others who might be in hiding.

Very few people ever swam across the Atlantic. Benoît Lecomte was, allegedly, the first-known solo swimmer, going from Massachusetts to France. Jennifer Figge swam from the Cape Verde Islands to Trinidad about a decade after. Ben Hooper attempted to do it from Senegal to Brazil and had to stop due to a severe storm, among other complications.

Now, I was walking across it.

You learn a lot about an ocean once it’s gone.

I trudged over sand dunes, one after another, cresting hills and staring into the distance, with only more desert on the horizon. Winds blew so hard and fast sometimes that I had to hold my hat for dear life. I breathed into my buff, and it fogged up my goggles, not to mention that my cheeks and chin were perpetually sweating. All of my clothes were drenched. Even though they weren’t cotton, I’d have to make a stop soon and dry them out. Let’s just say that hydrocortisone cream was a rare find.

I kept hiking with 30 pounds of water on my back. I made sure only to take sips, wet my lips, and swish the water around in my mouth before actually drinking it. That all helped a lot with the constant thirst while preserving my most precious resource. Food wasn’t nearly as vital, but regardless, I rationed small portions to have every day. It meant I could stay out in the Atlantic longer and go more often.

I mapped out the miles I had traveled from the East Coast and underwent as many expeditions into the Atlantic as my supplies would allow. I collected any debris I could find along the way to build shelters when I needed to hang clothes out, eat food, or get some sleep. Obviously, sunscreen was in short supply, too, so I needed to protect myself in a lot of different ways. Wide-brimmed hat, long-sleeved safari shirt, gloves, and other things: I was covered head to toe. And shelter here and there was nice to have, too.

I paused for a moment, panting. I glanced up at the sun, which was directly over my head at that point. I stuck a hand in my pocket and rummaged around for my compass. I brought it out and looked at the needle. I was still heading northeast.

Everyone thought that the seas would keep rising and flood the mainland. I don’t think anyone expected the seas to dry up instead. But that’s what The Drought did to our planet. Global warming happened in a totally different way than people foresaw.

I heard rumors that some had fled into the desert, and even 10 years later, I had no idea why they would do that. Yet no matter how long it had been, I wanted to find them. I wanted to bring them back.

I sighed. I had no clue if I would ever find people out here. My explorations had turned up nothing so far.

Until I felt something around my ankle.

And I was dragged down into the desert beneath me.

And I didn’t have time to yell before sand engulfed every inch of me, and I was surrounded by black.