Legend has it Sinners’ Desert has a plateau that drops straight off and plummets so deep the ground is barely visible. It goes that if you ask a question down the ledge, an answer will echo back up in a voice from something powerful, wise, and mysterious with no name. This place is called Forever’s Edge, and many have tried to find it, but no one knows who succeeded. Once you speak with the abyss, you can never reveal the place of the ledge or a curse falls on you and you’re a dead man.

Roger needed to find that plateau. He wasn’t an outdoorsman, and he hadn’t planned the trip in advance. But he was determined. Against the wishes of his wife and son, he had grabbed all the supplies he could think of-- water canteen, climbing rope, a hook, protein bars-- and had set out for Forever’s Edge. He drove to the desert border, then he began his journey. He didn’t know where he was going, as there was no map for his destination. Still, he was more desperate than he was underprepared. The hot wind blew, and he imagined he could hear people muttering in it, though about what he wasn’t sure.

Roger trudged along in the desert, then sat down on a rock and got out his canteen of water. His hands shook as he opened it,...