We made our way up the stairs quietly, lost in our own thoughts. When we exited the tent covering the dungeon entrance, Brad briefly stopped to confirm with the two officers keeping watch on the forest that there had been no further sightings or issues. Relieved to hear that everything was quiet, we made our way into the command tent.

The screens were being watched over by some of Anita’s younger staff members. I recognized Rick, and nervously gave him a small smile and half wave when he turned around to see who had entered. I was relieved when he returned the smile before turning back to the screen in front of him. With everything he’d seen me do and all the scary, gross stuff that seemed to happen around me, it would be understandable if he wanted nothing to do with me. But his smile hadn’t seemed forced, and that made me feel a lot better. I was more than a little worried that as my magic progressed and I continued getting stronger by leveling up, I would become isolated from everyone.

Anita came over as soon as she spotted us, and wrinkling her nose, gestured us to go back outside. “Let’s talk while we walk. The decontamination team have some showers rigged up, and you two definitely need to make use of them.”

“We’re not that bad, are we?” Brad protested, letting himself get ushered out. He dropped the riot shield that had been hit by Tim’s Void attack near the entrance. “Nobody touch the shield!” he called out sternly over his shoulder. I followed behind him, and as Anita brought up the rear, she said, “You, I’m not sure. But Dean definitely smells like roadkill.”

“Hey!” I exclaimed, turning my head to give her a wounded look while continuing to walk. She stared back, raising an eyebrow as though challenging me to disagree. “Yeah, alright,” I admitted, conceding the point. “I did have to wade through a pile of dead animals, so I guess I probably do stink.” I glared at Brad. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He shrugged without looking over. “I’ve smelt worse.”

We were rounding the tents now and heading up towards the carpark where the decontamination team had set up. “Why were you in a pile of bodies?” Anita asked me, sounding disgusted as she walked beside me. I noticed she was maintaining a fair amount of distance. I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could say anything, she cut me off. “Hang on. I want to record all this so I can have a proper report typed up later.”

She pulled out a small, rectangular stick and pushed a button. “Ok, go ahead.”

Instead of explaining, I looked at the unfamiliar device. “What’s that?”

She seemed surprised. “This? It’s a voice recorder.”

“Why not just use your phone?” I asked her, genuinely curious. “They have a special application for it. I can show you,” I offered helpfully.

“I prefer this. Now, stop making me feel old and tell me everything that happened,” she snapped.

Dropping the apparently touchy subject, I explained how I’d had my defender gather all the bodies together. But then I’d wanted to gain the patterns for the animals so I could create them someday, leaving me no choice but to dive in. I also mentioned that I’d disposed of the remaining bodies to remove the threat of them reanimating.

Brad then took over, filling her in on the details of everything that had happened in the dungeon, her recorder catching every word for later analysis. By this stage, we had reached the two portable showers. They had been set up against the privacy screens blocking off the park, with the carpark just on the other side. Now, we were just standing around in the well-lit area. The additional lights they’d set up made it almost as bright as day. The barrier that had been erected to keep out prying eyes gave us some privacy to talk in peace, but since we couldn’t see if anyone was on the other side, we made sure to keep our voices down. I suddenly had a good idea to confirm if anyone was nearby.

While Brad was speaking, I cast my Domain spell for the first time. I felt my mana flow out of my body but remain close as it began to work on augmenting my aura. When it was done, my aura seemed to pulse, pushing out a field of energy around me in every direction for 10 meters. I swayed and stumbled back a step as my senses were overwhelmed. I could now not only see everything around me, but I could feel it all.

Brad and Anita, the showers, the main decontamination tent and the chairs, tables and two people inside, the stones on and under the ground, even ants and worms crawling through the soil. Each thing registered in my senses, a presence to it that stood out in my mind and let me know exactly what and where everything within the 10 meter bubble of influence was.

I closed my eyes to try and alleviate the dizziness I was feeling, and it helped a little. I could still see… no, not see. Sense. I could sense Brad moving before his hand landed on my upper arm. “Are you ok?” he asked, concern evident in his voice. I sensed Anita step in closer, overcoming her aversion to our odor.

I opened my eyes and fought through the dizziness. “Yep,” I forced myself to say. “I’m fine. Just tried out a new spell, and it’s a bit of a shock to the system.” I explained what it could do and what it felt like as I worked on trying to get used to the sensations I was experiencing. “I thought it might be useful to check if anyone is on the other side of the barrier and can overhear us.” Plus, I do need to work on ranking up my powers. Not looking forward to keeping this up for the full 15-minute duration, though. The aura spells couldn’t be ended early. They needed to run their course in order for me to passively gain insights into how they worked and then be able to evolve them.

“And?” Anita asked curiously.

I blinked at her, feeling dazed as my eyes and my new sense basically created two versions of Anita overlapping each other. “Sorry, what?”

“Is anyone outside the barrier?”

“Oh. Hang on.” I closed my eyes again to help with the dizziness from the double-vision I was experiencing, and focused on the barrier at the edge of my senses. So much for that bright idea, I thought embarrassedly. “Umm, the range actually isn’t that large. I can only feel what’s right up against the screens in that small area there.” I gestured behind the two portable showers that were backed up against the barrier. “But I can tell you that, 100%, nobody is there.” I tried to finish strong to salvage some pride.

Brad chuckled and let go of me, seeing I wasn’t in danger of falling over anymore. “That’s some…ah…impressive magic you’ve got there,” Anita said doubtfully.

“It’s a work in progress,” I replied a little defensively. “But I do know that there are two people in the tent just there, so we should keep our voices down anyway.” I gestured at the decontamination tent. Anita had us move several steps away from the occupied tent.

Brad resumed his report while I worked on getting a handle on the Domain spell. Cax told me it was just a matter of getting used to what was basically a new sense. If I kept it active all the time, he assured me my mind would adapt and I wouldn’t feel any discomfort when I used it. Just like looking at someone while listening to them. Guess I’ll just have to tough it out for now.

Brad finished speaking, keeping his voice low the whole time, and then I told Anita all the magical things that had happened. That included the Void puppets’ ability to level up and become stronger, as well as gaining new powers like Tim’s projectile attack. I made sure to mention the improvements in my spells and abilities, and explained about my defenders being able to grow stronger along with me. I ended by telling her I could now make armor as well as weapons, so I’d be able to equip everyone in more appropriate gear for the threats we were facing. I specifically didn’t say anything about the Awakening discs. I didn’t want that to be included in any official report, and was going to tell her once she stopped recording. I felt Brad’s eyes on me as I wrapped up without mentioning them, but he didn’t say anything.

Anita turned the recorder off and sighed, looking at the device in her hand as she said, “I’m not sure I understood everything you just told me, but smarter people than me will go over it all later. I’ll leave it to them to clarify any points they want to.” She then looked at me and added, “But I do want to say thank you. With the number of attackers you said were down there…” She shook her head. “If they hadn’t been drawn into your room and instead struck up here, we might have been overrun. We could have lost someone.”

I gave her a grateful smile, but then felt a little guilty and clarified, “To be fair, they likely wouldn’t have even been in this area without the dungeon attracting them. We just handled the problem we created.”

Brad shook his head emphatically. “Don’t think of it like that. If the room hadn’t been set up to bring them in, who knows where they might have gone and what they might have done. It definitely saved someone’s life.”

I didn’t miss the grimace that passed across Anita’s face at his words. “What is it?” I asked her, worried.

She waved my question away. “It can wait. You two get cleaned up and I’ll arrange some food, then we can talk.”

“No,” I told her firmly. “I’ve had enough waiting. Tell us now.”

She turned to look at Brad for assistance, but he just shook his head. “I’m with Dean. You mentioned the military coming out when I came up earlier. What’s going on?”

“The military?!” I blurted out, before looking around quickly. That sudden movement made my dizziness flare up again as the signal my eyes were sending to my brain got out of sync with the one Domain was providing. Pressing a hand to my head, I lowered my voice and asked, “Why are they getting involved? I thought the plan was to keep all this secret?” A bunch of police officers was one thing, but the presence of soldiers would definitely tip the public off to the seriousness of what was going on.

She sighed. “That was the plan, but unfortunately, word is already out. Look, I promise I’m not trying to keep anything from you, but are you sure you don’t want to shower first? You really do stink.” We both just stood there, looking at her.

“Fine,” she said, giving up. She looked around as though worried someone would overhear, even though we were now surrounded by open space. She motioned us to move even further away from the showers and back deeper into the open park. It was clear that whatever she had to tell us must be really serious.

Half talking to herself, she said, “Where to begin?” She took a moment to gather her thoughts. “First, yes, the army has been authorized to take over security of this area. Over two hundred troops should be arriving sometime in the night and will be fully in position come morning. They are going to completely surround the forest in order to cover all inhabited areas. The military will officially be in charge of this operation, although I will remain with my team in a supporting role. Researching the Void is vital, so we will be allowed to continue.”

“Things have gotten bad enough that we need the army?” Brad asked incredulously.

“Unfortunately, yes. We’re still working out how bad, though,” she told us. “It started when someone filmed what happened with Ryan and the ambulance on their phone and put it online. We could have probably spun that incident as a regrettable use of lethal force against a violent person on drugs. Because of where it happened, there was nothing linking the incident to the forest or the phenomenon in the sky. But there’s another video out there.”

She seemed like she had eaten something sour as she continued. “This one was taken by the camera crew during the fight involving Tim, the koala, and the other Void animals. They were ordered to hand over all copies and told not to report on any of it, but they apparently held onto one. They’re claiming it was their duty to release it after seeing the footage of Ryan online and realizing there was a connection. Our lawyers are coming down hard on the network, but it’s too late now.”

Oh, shit! Seeing the panicked look on my face, Anita hurriedly reassured me. “You’re safe. Between the distance and the poor lighting, you can’t make out your features clearly. But people are curious and questioning why someone who appears to be a regular civilian would be fighting next to police officers. We need to keep you out of sight so people don’t find out who you are. We did catch a small break, thankfully. The magic you used isn’t being talked about. Yet. We’re hoping people think it was just a flashlight or something.”

She’s talking about the light dart I shot at Tim, I realized. It looked like my public use of magic might come back to bite me after all.

“How did the reporters work out the two incidents were connected?” Brad asked.

Anita waved her hand dismissively. “It wasn’t difficult. Ryan may not have had the same dark aura as Tim, but they both clearly had the same black markings all over them, along with the Void animals. Everyone who’s seen both clips made the same connections the news crew did.” She sighed heavily. “The prevailing theory making the rounds online and on TV is that whatever the black spot in the sky is, it’s somehow affecting people and animals and making them go crazy.”

“That’s…pretty accurate, isn’t it?” Brad asked, startled.

I nodded as Anita said, “Close enough. The people in the government who know about all of this are discussing how to respond, and how much they should reveal about the actual truth. The popular opinion at the moment is that it might be better to confirm what people already believe and leave it there. No mention of magic or invading dark forces. Just explain it as the phenomenon causing behavioral and physical changes, and that it is being looked into.”

I was surprised. “I have to admit, I’m shocked they’re willing to confirm that much instead of trying to cover it up somehow.”

“The situation has gotten out of hand, so they don’t really have a choice,” she admitted tiredly. “We should probably be thanking the people who put the videos out there, to be honest. Without them, we wouldn’t have realized how big the problem has already become. Now that we know, we can hopefully get a handle on containing it.”

A quick glance at Brad confirmed he was just as confused as I was. Anita quickly began to explain what she meant. “Once the footage of the crazed animals got out, people came forward with stories of how they were attacked by wild animals near the edges of the forest. They’re worried they may have caught something, and so are we.” She looked at me. “We’re trying to gather anyone we can who may have been infected. The scientists are confident now they can identify who has been infected by looking at their blood. But we’ll need you to cure them. And I’d also feel a lot better if you could look at some of the others as well just to make sure the tests are accurate and no mistakes are made.”

“Of course!” I readily agreed, worried about how many infected people might be walking around out there right now. “Anything you need.”

“Thank you. We need to be careful about how we do it, though, so your identity doesn’t get exposed. There’s going to be a lot more scrutiny on everything that happens around here. And no offense, but there is no way to explain why someone with your lack of skills would be around all this. People would quickly work out that you were the person in the video and begin asking a lot of questions.”

I waved away her comment, not worried by the simple truth, and she carried on. “Even worse than the potentially infected people are the missing-persons’ reports that have come in. Four so far. They all have one thing in common. Their last known locations were either in the forest despite the warnings to stay clear, hiking or trying to uncover a government conspiracy,” she shook her head at the stupidity of that, “or somewhere close to the forest.” I looked at her, horrified. There was no doubt in my mind what had happened to them. She nodded as she saw my reaction. “We looked into the name Officer Young gave me, and nobody had noticed the poor lady was missing.” I realized she was talking about Margaret, the old lady that had been taken over by the Void and who attacked the dungeon. “She lived alone.” Anita spread her arms helplessly. “Who knows how many more people have gone missing in the forest without anyone realizing?”

Just then, we heard a car honking its horn repeatedly beyond the white screens blocking off the park, then another joined in. Brad and I both looked in the direction, as though we could somehow see through the barrier to find out what was going on. Anita didn’t react at all. “What’s up with that?” Brad asked her, tilting his head in the direction the noise was coming from.

“People are scared,” she replied, not seeming concerned by the commotion. “They’re stopping on the main road outside the park entrance, demanding answers. There’s a heavy police presence out there now to keep them moving and from getting in. That’s part of the reason the army has been ordered in. The police force’s resources are too heavily tied up in this area. Having the army take over security will free them up, and also hopefully reassure people that the problem is being taken seriously.”

Yeah, or reinforce their theories that there is a big cover-up going on, I thought, keeping it to myself. “You said part of the reason. What’s the rest of it?” I asked instead.

“Because it’s clear that containment is beyond our small team’s capabilities. The army is better trained and equipped for this kind of thing.” She paused and took a deep breath. “And because it’s expected to get a lot worse. This hasn’t been released to the public yet, but it’s only a matter of time before they find out. That’s also why the army is moving in so fast. It’s best they be in position before the news breaks.”

I almost didn’t want her to continue. I’d had my fill of bad news. Unfortunately, wanting to ignore a problem wouldn’t make it go away. “The rift is getting bigger,” she said quietly, and if her voice trembled a little, who could blame her. My head was spinning, and this time, it wasn’t a result of the Spatial spell I had going on.

“Multiple experts have confirmed it after analyzing different satellite images. I’m told it’s a very, very minor increase in size, almost unnoticeable, but it’s undeniable that it has gotten larger.”

I looked towards the infected forest, wanting to see if I could spot any difference. In the dark of night, though, it was impossible to tell if anything had changed. Anita saw where I was looking, and said, “We’ll be trying to work out where the edge of the Void infection is in the morning. Hopefully, that will help the scientists create a model to quickly work out where the Void energy can reach if there are any more changes to the rift in the future. All we know for now is that it doesn’t seem to have reached the tree line on any of the three sides we are watching. All the cameras and other technology are still working, at least.”

“Is the World losing the fight?” Brad asked, more worried than I’d ever seen him before. When I realized the question was directed at me, I startled.

“I don’t know,” I said quickly. “It’s not like it can just pick up a phone and call me. But I think it safe to say it probably is.”

We fell into silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. How can this be happening?! If something as powerful as the World Spirit is unable to hold the Void back, what hope do I have of stopping it? What hope do any of us have?

“Alone, you probably stand no chance of victory,” Cax told me, as blunt as ever. “But by supporting each other, I truly believe there is a way through this. Stick with the original plan. Aid the Spirit by setting up dungeons to draw in the Void’s minions so they can’t spread the infection. Make more blockers to help channel the World’s energy more efficiently. The Spirit is powerful, but we’ve already seen that it has its own rules to abide by. A combination of the World’s power and human ingenuity might be enough to defeat the Void.”

I took heart from Cax’s words, even though I could sense that while he definitely believed what he said, there was also a fair amount of doubt there. Because what else could we do? We either kept at it or gave up right now. And there was no way I was just going to roll over!

“Alright. So, the rift getting bigger is definitely terrifying, but Cax believes that it’s not the end of the world. We’ll just stick with the original plan and do what we can to assist the Spirit.”

“About that,” Anita said, and just by her tone I knew I wasn’t going to like what was coming next. “We’ve been told to wait until the commander in charge of the operation gets here before doing anything else. He’s been briefed on your…circumstances, and I was told to make sure you’re here for a meeting when he arrives.”

“Well, that sounds great,” I said sarcastically, trying to hide how nervous I was. It’ll be fine. I’ve still got my Teleport spell to get me out of trouble. Having a quick escape if things went badly made me a little more confident. Not that I expected to have to use it. I’d more than proved my worth, and everyone I’d dealt with so far had been above board. Still, paranoia was hard to shake. “Any more bad news for us?”

She smiled wanly. “Depends on how you look at it. Remember how I told you the government would want to meet you to see for themselves what you can do?” I nodded, vaguely remembering the conversation we’d had what seemed like so long ago. “Well, since it’s obviously not a good idea to send you all the way to Canberra with everything that’s going on now, a few representatives from the Rift Committee as they’re calling it, will be coming here. They’ll be arriving in Brisbane tomorrow.”

I relaxed. That’s it? I’d already been expecting to meet with people from the government. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

She shook her head. “We’ll see. What happened between you and Dr. Sudditch?” she asked unexpectedly.

“Who?” I asked, confused.

“Dr. David Sudditch. Apparently, he has been complaining about you to his connections in the government, and I’ve been receiving some inquiries regarding your behavior and temperament.”

David!? “That prick!” I exclaimed. I explained to Anita how I’d refused to answer his question after the first meeting we’d had together, and how I’d called him out for being a rude bastard.

She winced at hearing the story. “Off the record, I don’t disagree with what you did, but it certainly doesn’t help matters. He has many contacts and is quite capable of making things difficult for you.”

“And petty enough to do it!” I added angrily.

“Just stay away from him as much as possible,” she advised me, not disputing what I said. “And be on your best behavior with the government representatives. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but just don’t do anything to give them reason to think they’d be better off without you. You’re still not on the payroll, and if they see something they don’t like, I’m afraid they may try and distance themselves from you to avoid any potential fallout.” Her face twisted in distaste. “I’ve already received one question asking if I’m sure you, and more specifically, Cax, are not behind all of this.”

While I didn’t really care about money that much with everything going on now, it still pissed me off that they might hold it back after everything I’d done. And to try and say that I’d caused the rift?! Before I could blow up, Brad beat me to it. “What the hell do they think they’re playing at?!” he demanded. “This would already be out of control if not for Dean. If they try and push him out just to cover their own asses, we won’t stand a chance.” I was a little taken aback by seeing him so upset, but it was also strangely reassuring.

“I know, I know,” Anita told him quickly, gesturing for him to calm down. “And I’m sure it won’t come to that. I’m just saying it’s best to be careful. When politics are involved, you can’t always rely on the best decisions to be made.” She looked at me again. “It will be fine,” she reassured me. “Just stay clear of Dr. Sudditch, and show the committee members how much we all need you.”

I nodded curtly. “Gladly! What the hell is a volcano guy still doing around here anyway?! We know what caused the earthquakes now, and it wasn’t any damn volcanoes.”

“With everything that’s going on, it’s best if we have a wide range of experts on hand,” she told me almost apologetically. “Who knows what might happen next with these forces at play? And as annoying as he may be, he does know his stuff.”

“Whatever!” I knew one asshole shouldn’t bother me so much considering the magnitude of our problems, but I couldn’t help being pissed off.

“Let’s leave it there for now,” Anita said, seeing I was clearly worked up. “Clean up, then come and get some food. We can go over some more things while you’re eating.” She turned to Brad. “Should I have some food sent down to Officer Young?”

That successfully diverted our attention as we realized we’d forgotten about Steve. I could almost see the tension disappear from Brad as his eyes widened. “Damn it! He’s probably bouncing off the walls down there. Can you have someone go and relieve him as soon as possible? We can’t monitor the dungeon remotely because of the tech issues, so someone needs to stay down there to warn us if anything happens.”

“I’ll take care of it,” she assured him.

“Great. Have whoever you send down stay near the camp entrance so they can make a quick getaway if the Void creatures show up.”

“Not too close!” I quickly added. “Other animals will begin investigating the dungeon again soon, and I want my defenders to kill them.”

She grimaced. “A bit bloodthirsty, no?”

“Completely, but I need to get stronger,” I told her honestly. “Tim and the others won’t be slowing down, and now the rift is getting bigger. I have to be able to deal with whatever comes next.”

“Alright. I’ll pass on your instructions.” She still seemed reluctant, but I was glad she didn’t argue with me. “Now, would you two please get cleaned up! I’m assuming Officer Young is in the same sorry state, so I’ll have him come straight up here.” With that, she turned and left.

Brad and I walked to the showers. Moving with Domain active was a dizzying experience, so I tested walking with my eyes closed. It was actually surprisingly easy, if a bit slow, while I got used to the sensation. My mind was able to interpret the signals the spell was providing, so I knew exactly where the ground lay in order to put my feet down confidently without jarring my knees. And the loose rocks stood out clearly in my mind’s eye, allowing me to step over them so I didn’t twist my ankle. I made the short walk without a single stumble. Still, I was glad to see there were less than two minutes left on the duration, and I decided to wait until I was seated somewhere to cast it again. As we stood in front of the two showers, Brad whispered, “Why didn’t you tell Ms. Anders about the Awakening discs?”

“I was going to,” I told him just as quietly, “but then she told us all the stuff that’s happened, and now the army and politicians are coming. I want to wait until we meet them and see what’s what.” He let the matter go without further comment, and we both looked at the see-through plastic siding on the basic shower units. There were some towels and robes in a basket between the two showers.

“We’ve got to get naked out here?!” I asked incredulously. There was no one nearby, apart from the two people I could once again sense in the decontamination tent, but that was no guarantee it would stay that way. Brad simply shrugged and began stripping, leaving his damaged protective gear lying on the grass and putting his underclothes in a pile next to them.

I looked away quickly, bringing on another headache. “Woah! You could at least leave the boxers on!” I complained. He chuckled.

“You don’t play sport, do you?” he surmised. “Spend some time in a locker room. You’ll get used to it.” With that, he pushed his way into the small shower unit, turned the water on, and began cleaning himself. By now, Domain had ended, and my senses had returned to normal. That meant the woman who exited the tent next to the showers took me by surprise. She must have heard the running water and come to investigate.

“You’re supposed to come and see us first,” she complained, seeing Brad already soaping up.

“Sorry,” I said, shrugging. “First time. Didn’t know.”

“Ok. Give us your clothes and we’ll take care of them for you. You can wear the robes there until we’re done.”

I looked at Brad’s clothing, a smile appearing on my face. “Actually, that’s ok. We’ll take care of the dirty clothes ourselves. We’re not leaving, just getting cleaned up.”

I spent the next couple of minutes arguing with her, but eventually she gave up and stormed back into the tent. As soon as she was gone, I looked around to make sure nobody was watching. Then I absorbed Brad’s protective gear as a set and his clothing as a set, saving the two different patterns under his name. I then created brand-new quality copies and left them in front of his shower.

I then got into the second shower fully clothed and absorbed my filthy garments directly off my body, leaving me standing there naked. Turning the water on, I washed my hair and body vigorously until I finally felt clean. Then, reaching out and grabbing two towels from the basket, I absorbed one and dried myself with the other. I figured it would be a good idea to gather as many patterns for everyday items as possible. Never know when they might come in handy.

Then, without leaving the dubious privacy of the small booth, I created a brand-new set of my clothing. I was starting to get sick of jeans and my white shirt, but I didn’t have patterns for any other items of my clothing. After putting on my boxers, I stepped out to finish dressing.

Brad was already dressed and waiting in the new clothes I’d made for him. He gave me a thumbs up. “Thanks, mate. Wasn’t looking forward to walking around in that flimsy robe.” He gestured at the basket.

I grinned at him. “Really, Mr. Locker Room? I thought you’d love the chance to flash everyone.”

He smiled. “There’s a time and a place for everything. The shower is one thing. Meetings with colleagues is another. I’d bloody well arrest myself.”

“Who’s arresting who?” Steve asked, coming up to us.

“Nobody,” Brad told him, smile widening as he turned to his partner. “What took you so long?”

Steve stopped, stunned. “You bloody bastard! You know damn well you left me down there!” He turned to me. “He forgot about me, didn’t he?” he demanded to know.

“Umm…”

“I knew it!” he declared, pointing a finger at Brad. “Anything you want to say to me?”

“Yes.” Brad looked him right in the eye. “Hurry up and shower, you baby. Food’s waiting.”

Once Steve finished cursing, Brad said, “Strip. Dean here will make you new clothes.”

“Alright, alright.” He started to take off his clothes, still grumbling the whole time. When he got to his boxers, he glared at us. “Turn around you perverts!” Chuckling, we looked the other way until we heard the water running. Then I did the same thing with Steve’s clothes, saving the patterns with his name attached.

Once he was clean and dressed, we headed back down to the waiting tents together. With so many things stacked against us, I was still full of worries. But being clean and in fresh clothes, in the company of two guys I’d come to trust and rely on, some optimism set in. I began to feel like maybe Cax was right. Together, we still might actually have a chance at stopping the Void.