Oystercatcher Tide Pools Midwest indigo.

The sea lion towed Towhee around Wheeling Gull’s curving eastern shore, as if it was heading for the open ocean. In truth, it intended to hang a left and slingshot around to its other side, then swim south for the shores where its brethren—including a hungry pup—numbered in the hundreds.

Long before any of that could happen—perhaps forty seconds after the sea lion and Towhee disappeared into the deeps—an orca came careening upward from the blue shadows below. Its nose slammed into the sea lion’s underbelly as it continued swimming upward. The impact knocked Towhee loose as the enormous killer whale and its prey broke the surface.

Already desperate for breath, Towhee instinctively kicked toward the surface herself. She was facing the wrong direction and missed the sight of the orca tossing the sea lion into the air, then grabbing it again and shaking it a bit like a dog might. Besides, she was too busy gasping for air and trying to stay afloat.

By the time she collected herself to assess her surroundings, a powerful riptide had swept her far away from both the island and the bloodied water where predator had become prey. Towhee could see the coastline in the distance and what she thought might be the island way off to her left.

She made a bid for shore, though she was quite weary from the ordeal and the current remained strong. It swept Towhee further and further down the seaboard until it finally relented. She washed up just past a forking delta, too exhausted to do much more than drag herself into the safety of the shallows before collapsing.

So this is where "west" ended, wasn't it? An endless sea of blue, like a vast lake. A lake that stretched on for miles, and miles, as far as the eye could see. Calahan refused to believe it. He had come from a region where the solution to dire problems was "head west, start anew". This couldn't be the extent of it.

He saw the woman drag herself from the waves. Had she come from the other side? The outlaw approached with a cautious trot. He had questions, a lot of questions. Maybe she had answers.

Her eyes stayed open, though they burned. Towhee knew how vulnerable she was right now. She raised her head to comb her surroundings but saw no one. She let her chin sink to the wet sand, giving herself a moment to rest and recover from her ordeal.

Her grandsons were safe, that was what mattered most. Towhee groaned, though. They probably thought she was dead. And there was no rectifying the situation anytime soon. She barely had the strength to lift her head again, though she needed to do another sweep.

Her orange eyes fixed on a stranger in the middle distance right as her stomach suddenly decided to expel the gallon or so of seawater she’d swallowed during her little misadventure. Towhee gagged quite violently as it came gushing out of her mouth, her eyes streaming so badly now she couldn’t even see him anymore.

So she'd almost drowned in this giant lake. At least that was clear, unlike everything else about this place. This water. Calahan watched as the tri-toned wolf hacked up the brine. This lake scented...sharp. Unlike any other freshwater he'd known before. It didn't occur to him that this wasn't freshwater. How could it?

"Hey, moron! Over 'ere!" There was no malice in his greeting, just apparent bad manners. To the tawny rustler, it was simply a sure way of getting someone's attention. Not that the half drowned unfortunate likely had much to spare at the moment. Any better man would feel sympathy or concern, where Calahan felt none.

Her eyes and nose burned even after the saltwater finished its evacuation. She gagged and spat, trying not to retch all over again at the horrible cocktail of salt and stomach acid currently coating her mouth. Towhee tried to blink her vision clear so she could locate some freshwater, stat.

She glanced at the lurking stranger again, though she didn’t catch whatever he yelled. Towhee wiped at her face—eyes, nose and mouth—and instantly regretted it when she managed to smear gritty sand in all her orifices.

Shitting fuck, she muttered, shaking her head and taking a half-blind step forward.