The room was dark when Nexus awoke, a cold breeze blew through the shattered windows and she shivered wrapping her hooves tighter around herself. It hadn’t been her intention to fall asleep here, not with slavers cleared hunting the area but it seemed she had been lucky. 
She climbed carefully to her hooves and peered out the window listening for any indication that the slavers or anypony else might still be around. The street remained quiet however, save for the creaking of buildings as they were buffeted by the strong winds.

Nexus made her way down the stairs, her eyes strained in the darkness as she tried to avoid falling. It was a cloudy night and without the moon to light the way the darkness seemed suffocating. Outside was little better but as her eyes become by accustomed to the lack of light she was able to make out the silhouettes of objects around her. As quietly as she could, she crept across the remainder of the courtyard and slipped down into a side alley.

For what felt like hours, Nexus slipped from shadowed cover to shadowed cover using the darkness to cover her. Although she had seen no indication of any danger, her earlier encounters in this town had put her on edge. On one occasion she tripped over full trash can in an alley creating a deafening crash that sent her scurrying into the nearest cover. There she had waited until she was sure that no one had heard. 

Finally the streets opened onto a wide road littered with bones and carts. Ahead the road rose above the buildings to form a partially collapsed overpass. One side had given way so that the road now tilted at a bizarre angle. Having had no luck on finding the edge of this maze so far, Nexus decided that her best chance would be to climb somewhere high and hopefully spot a way out.

The road was lined with the bent and broken form of old lamp posts, some of which flickered or glowed dimly, giving the street some light for Nexus to see by. She watched carefully for any signs of life in the darkness but it seemed that once again her luck had held. She ducked out of her position in the doorway of a dilapidated building and into a partially collapsed bus stop. From there she slipped over to the mangled wreck of a sky chariot. Ahead of her, the road began to slope upwards. Cautious as ever, she crawled from her hiding spot and began to climb the cracked asphalt, wary of the increasingly sharp angle of the collapsed road.

Finally Nexus scrambled the last few meters of the overpass and pulled herself onto the much flatter surface at the top. Climbing back to her hooves, she was Immediately buffeted by the strong, freezing winds. It was much worse up here without the protection the buildings below had provided. Fighting against the bitter onslaught, her mane whipping round her face, she made it to the far edge and looked out across the town.

It was far larger than she had first imagined earlier that day when she had ventured in. The shadows of buildings stretched off in all directions around her and many of the taller structures obstructed her view. Logically, the taller buildings would be nearer the centre of the city where all the business had been. She internally high fived herself at that for remembering her Stable education. The far side of the overpass was much more promising though the lack of light still made it difficult to see a great distance. It may have been hopeful thinking, but it looked as though the building began to thin out in that direction.

With renewed hope and happy to escape the bitter cold, Nexus clambered back down the slope to ground level and set off in her new direction.