Henry was making strides. He had familiarised himself with the paths and tunnels. Without stopping to ponder much, he could keep on walking without losing much time. However, his partner was faring as well as he was.

  “I need another break…” Jane said as she stumbled on her steps. She would have tripped if she hadn’t kept herself upright using the wall. The pce was dark. She only had a small fshlight on her shoulder. It was barely enough, but with Henry taking point, she didn’t need to worry that much about her vision.

  “This is the fourth time we’re taking a break. We are losing a lot of time.”

  “What time are we losing? It’s not like there’s anything chasing after us, or there’s a bomb that’s about to go off… There is not, right?”

  Henry rolled his eyes. She had been hesitant and reserved at first, but only after a sembnce of familiarity was bred did she become very forthcoming and vocal.

  “If anything, shouldn’t we be taking it slow? If we make a lot of noise, we will only attract the monsters.”

  “Don’t you wish to leave this pce as soon as possible?”

  “I do, but I can’t outrun the monsters.”

  Henry sighed. “Well then, just let me carry you.”

  “No,” Jane responded sharply. “It’s uncomfortable and very demeaning.”

  “Demeaning?” Henry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you being serious right now?”

  “Very serious. I can walk by myself. I’m not that hurt. If I can’t do that much, I don’t deserve to be in the PIC.”

  “You’re already part of the PIC, are you not? Are you worried that they would fire you over this?”

  “I am not part of the PIC.”

  “Oh?”

  “Well… not yet, at least. This… This whole expedition was supposed to be easy. This was my evaluation. Fuck… How did things turn out so badly?”

  Henry crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Does the PIC not assess the terrain first before deploying personnel into it?”

  “We do and we did. The scans showed only three yers deep to this cave, and the energy reading was moderate.”

  Henry raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he heard about “energy reading”. Given what he knew, he could infer that it had something to do with threat assessment by reading the energy emitted by the affected pce. It was a staple trope in the novels he had read. “Let me guess, the readings were wrong?”

  “Not exactly. The readings were correct… at that time. Things changed in just a couple of days. The strong monsters resided in the deepest yer. For some reason, they came to the first yer.”

  “Huh… that’s not good.” Henry stood up straight.

  Jane sighed. “Tell me about it. The entire squad was decimated.”

  “That’s not what I mean. Animals and creatures don’t just migrate suddenly because they feel like it. If they moved their homes so suddenly, it only means that their old homes are no longer habitable. Either it’s because it was destroyed, or… something else had taken their homes. I’m willing to bet that it is most definitely the tter case. If it is the tter case, then we are racing against time. You have seen those faceless monsters. Imagine the thing that chased them out of their homes.”

  “Ah… damn it. We really gotta hurry.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Fuck,” Jane groaned. “Ah, fuck it. Just carry me. I don’t want to be here when it rears its ugly head.”

  Henry chuckled inwardly. “Wonderful,” he said and tossed Jane onto his back before she could compin. After making sure she had firmly grabbed onto him, Henry took off in a sprint.

  “Say, I have been meaning to ask, just what the hell are you?”

  Henry knew this question would return. He prepared for it. “What do you mean?” he feigned ignorance.

  “You are strong, very strong. You are fast and agile. You can breathe fire. You can grow wings. Honestly speaking, I have not met a superhuman who has such a vast array of abilities. At most, it’s just multiple abilities that all derived from one, unlike yours, which seemed to have no corretion with one another.”

  Henry smirked. “You are asking a lot of questions. Is this an interrogation?”

  “I’m just curious, it’s all. It’s half the reason that I joined the PIC. I’m fascinated by this kind of stuff. I’m fascinated with superhumans. I have been a fan of these kinds of things ever since I was a kid. A few months ago, one can only imagine and see this kind of stuff through a screen. Now, those fantasies have become reality. It’s a wet dream for people like me.”

  “You called this a wet dream? You almost die, you know?”

  “I’m alive, aren’t I?”

  “For now. You were so close to death just minutes ago. Anyone seeing you right now will not believe how close you came to dying just moments ago.”

  “I say it’s because of you. For some reason, I feel so… safe with you.” Jane chuckled. “Fuck… I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I do. Hey, is this another one of your superpowers?”

  “...I don’t think so.” Or at least Henry hoped it wasn’t what he was thinking. Unlike Yu, Ani, and the others, he didn’t feel any kind of connection with Jane. Though he felt accomplished over such a trivial thing, he didn’t want this to blossom into something more.

  Silence loomed between the two, but only for a few minutes.

  “Huh… This is weird, really weird.”

  “What is?”

  “No monsters have come out and attacked us. The paths were never this safe and… empty. We had to watch out for every turn and shadow. Those lizard wolves really love their ambushes. Did you kill them all?”

  “I wish I did, but no, I did not kill them all.”

  “Then, how do you expin the absence of those lizard wolves? We aren’t exactly being stealthy here. We are literally announcing our presence. Yet, nothing has come for us.”

  “Luck’s on our side.”

  “Hmm… perhaps luck is on our side,” Jane mused. Her wandering gaze fell on Henry.

  All of a sudden, Henry stopped.

  “Whoa!” Jane gasped. She dug her nails into Henry’s shoulders to prevent herself from being thrown off by the sudden stop. “What the hell? Why did you stop so suddenly?”

  “Does your radio still work?”

  “On and off. Getting through to Chloe was the st time I got it to work. I think the battery’s close to dying. Why? Do you want to use it?”

  Henry sighed. “Just want to tell Chloe that we will be te.”

  “What’s wrong? Are we lost?”

  “Look in front of you.”

  Jane adjusted the light on her shoulder to shine ahead. “It’s a dead end. Are we lost?”

  “No, we’re not lost.”

  “Are you sure? It’s a dead end.”

  “It wasn’t a dead end before.”

  “Maybe you took a wrong turn somewhere?”

  “Look at the ground in front.”

  Jane peered ahead. “I see footprints.” She compared it with the footprints that Henry left behind. “They’re the same as yours. They are yours.”

  “Yes, those are mine. See how some of those prints were cut off at the presumed dead end?”

  “Oh.. yeah. I see them.” Jane stared for a while before realisation struck. When it did, she felt a chill crawling all over her. “...Fuck, man. What does this mean?”

  “It means shit is more complicated than it seems.”

  “Well, what now?”

  “Let me try something first,” Henry said and id Jane down gently. He then approached the wall. He gave a few light taps. It didn’t sound hollow. He gave it a light jab and nothing happened. “This isn’t just some rock door that simply slid into pce. It’s like the whole damn terrain has shifted, and I didn’t feel a thing. The changes must have happened while I was far away.”

  “Don’t tell me we’re lost.”

  “We’re not. I can still smell the faint hint of fresh air.”

  Jane took a sniff. She scrunched her face up. “Yuck. Smells awful. I don’t smell any fresh air.”

  “I did, and that’s all that matters. Come on, let us keep moving.” Henry didn’t wait for Jane to consent. He grabbed her and threw her onto his back.

  Jane uttered a yelp of surprise, but she did not compin. It was no time to be petty and fussy.

  Henry retraced his steps for a mile or two until he came back to the st split road. He had taken the right tunnel. Now, he took the left. A few feet into the tunnel, he was already grimacing. “We might have some company ahead. Stay sharp.”

  “Put me down, then. It’ll be easier to retaliate without me weighing down on your back.”

  “Fine.” Henry relented quickly. He knelt and let her off. “Just stay close.”

  Jane nodded. She drew her handgun and took her shoulder fshlight into her hands. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  “Just say the word if you can’t keep up.”

  “I’ll let you know when I feel like I’m dying.”

  Henry chuckled wryly and proceeded to lead the way. Though he knew the way, he did not simply march on without any hesitation or caution. This was uncharted territory. He knew nothing about the terrain here and the terrains here could be treacherous. And he wasn’t alone. He had an injured person with him. He couldn’t just plunge himself into danger like always and expect things to work out in the end.

  “What’s that awful smell?” Jane muttered.

  “Half-eaten flesh.”

  “Of what?”

  “What do you think?”

  Jane fell silent when the answer came to her almost immediately. Her hands shook but she kept them steady by holding them close to her chest.

  “Just be ready for anything, and I mean anything. What you’re about to see is very likely going to give you nightmares for the rest of your life.”

  Jane nodded. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She regretted it immediately. She wanted to retch, but she held it in, in fear of alerting whatever was lurking in the darkness. She had no doubt Henry would be able to fend them off, but she doubted that he could also protect her while doing so at the same time.

  The stench of blood was getting strong as they trod deeper. Henry had doubts, but he trusted his senses. Despite the increasing intensity of the smell, this was where the fresh air was leading him. Then, he stumbled upon an inquiry in the midst of his contemption. “Is there only one entrance to this cave?”

  “There are three in total. Only one was accessible.”

  “What about the other two?”

  Jane pondered the question for a while before answering. “The other two are more like vents, rather than entrances. One’s barely wide enough to fit a single person and the other is located fifty above ground. We’re not getting out through those two ways.”

  “Ah… I see.”

  “...Are we lost?”

  “Well, define lost.”

  “Are we heading towards one of those two exits?”

  “...Maybe,” Henry answered after a brief silence.

  “We really are lost.”

  “As far as I know, we are still heading in the same direction. Just through different paths. We’ll be fine.”

  “Not like I have any other options here, but to trust you,” Jane grumbled.

  EnroItzal

  Henry smiled wryly— but his lips curled upwards in the next instance. He stopped in his tracks. “Company ahead.”

  Jane tensed up. She gripped her gun tighter and trained it at the darkness in front of her. “How many?”

  “A lot. Dozens. Lizard wolves.”

  “How long before contact?”

  “They are still a few miles away. They still do not know we are here, but it will eventually if we keep moving forward.”

  “Do we turn back?”

  “Do you want to? Do remember, the split road before this one is tens of miles away.”

  Jane pondered for a while. “We keep moving forward.”

  “Good. Just stay close and don’t panic. You’ll be fine.”

  Jane’s expression darkened. “Funny. That was what Chloe said when those lizard wolves first ambushed us.”