Rod was standing in the open area between buildings. He had a knife twice as long as Nate's in his hand and it was dripping with blood. The largest Purpleheart tribesman was down on his knees panting in the grass. Blood was coating most of his clothes and his bone mask was gone. The man's scarred face had turned a darker purple and even his blood was a shade darker than most people. Doesn't look like he needs my help.

Nate looked around and found the body of the other Purpleheart tribesman stuck to the wall of one of the two buildings. An arrow was sticking out one of his eyes pinning his head to the side of a building. His feet weren't even touching the ground and the whole wall seemed to be indented from the impact of the arrow.

Several of the other buildings appeared to have more damage and one had even collapsed. What the hell happened here?

Rod's yelling voice brought Nate away from his observations, "Hey kid, glad you got up. Look, I got a big one."

The lunatic was actually waving at Nate in greeting. And the big guy seemed to think that was his last chance and jumped at Rod.

Rod's knife moved in a blur and severed the man's head. It tumbled onto the ground a few feet away with his body slumping down just after.]

"Hey kid, come over and check this big guy out," Rod yelled at Nate while waving his knife in the air, "He kinda ruined it though."

Nate was still standing where he entered the clearing. Rod seemed to be having the best time. Despite the destruction at the scene, the old man looked the same as usual. Blood flew everywhere while Rod waved his knife around. The bloody scene and Ron's complete lack of worry were a sight to behold.

"Hey kid, you coming over, or is your head still hurting? I got some more berries if you need one," Rod yelled at the dumbfounded Nate.

Nate broke from his thoughts and made his way over to Rod. When he neared, the smell of blood overwhelmed him.

"Isn't all the blood going to attract beasts?" Nate asked with concern as he walked up next to Rod.

"Na. Those beasts haven't figured out the defenses here don't work yet. Not unless it's one that don't worry about the weapons anyway," Rod said as he moved forward and picked up the man's head off the ground, "That would be awesome."

Rod held the detached head so it was face to face with him. Then, he poked the dead man's cheek and laughed.

"What you got the head for? Taking his core?" Nate asked trying to hold back some vomit. He just wanted to make some sense out of this crazy old man.

Rod burst out laughing, "Good joke, kid. They monsters but they ain't the same as beasts."

"I think this is the one that killed my buddy, Nak," Rod said poking the man's face again, "Been looking for this one for a while. His wife will be happy when I bring her this head." He paused poking the face for a third time, "Unless, this ain't the guy. But she did say it was a big one."

Nate felt like he was getting a headache. An old man poking at a large human head dripping blood all over the place was one thing contributing to the throbbing in his head. The other was the man's response to Nate's question. He couldn't let that go.

"What you mean, Rod? Don't people have cores too? Why can't you use them?" Nate asked.

It was Rod’s turn to be dumbfounded.

"Kid, you sure your head ain't still hurting? People ain't got cores. Only beasts got cores, “Rod said causing Nate's brain to almost break.

"What you mean? Where do people put their energy then?" Nate asked. He was starting to freak out.

"Kid, you don’t seem to know a lot. If people had cores, they would be bashing each other's heads in all the time. Singularity ain't stupid. Beasts eat people to get energy from their meat and bones. People kill beasts and absorb the energy from the cores into their meat and bones. It's how the system works," Rod said in a lecturing tone while still holding the bloody head at his side. The blood was dripping all over his shoe.

Nate was left stuttering for a moment. He had a core. But he was certain he wasn't a beast. His mind was spinning trying to make sense of it all.

"Hey kid," Rod yelled at Nate, " You must still be hurtin. Take a few more of these." Ron reached his unbloodied hand into a pocket on his shirt and pulled out two more blueberries.

Nate accepted the berries but didn't pop them in his mouth system alerts brought him out of his thoughts.

[‘Duality’ has increased to Level 12]

[‘Calm Survivor’ has increased to Level 21]

He felt slightly calmer after the familiar rings of the system. Seeing Rod just staring at him, Nate popped the berries in his mouth to get the old man to back off.

"Better now?" Rod asked patting Nate on the back, "We better go pick up that one girl over in that building. I didn't see another one though. Maybe she got eaten for her core." Rod bounced off in the direction of one of the least damaged buildings giggling at his own joke.

Nate was so out of sorts that the visual of an old man skipping through the grass with a human head in hand didn't even affect him at all. He just didn't understand why he would be different. Why?

Although he didn't have any idea what was going on, Nate understood that Rod was right about one thing. If all people had cores, they would be killing each other constantly. The Grey Sector would have been picked clean of people to fuel the growth of those with more power. I can't tell anyone I have a core. The image of someone bashing in his head to get his core caused his blood to run cold. Despite the crash of information, Nate knew that he needed to go on as normal.

"Hey kid, you coming?" Rod yelled from the doorway catching Nate's attention, "This girl is really freaking out in here."

Nate could hear screams echoing out of the building now.

"Yes," Nate yelled back as he moved toward Rod. He would just have to think it over later. Maybe I can work some more mean

Nate entered the building to see Rod trying to calm Janie down. She was in complete hysterics in the corner of a room. Rod was standing there with a man's head still in his hand telling her everything is going to be okay.

"Rod, you have to get out of here. She's freaking out because of the head and the blood," Nate fussed at the old man.

"Oh. Damn. I'm getting meat juice on my shoe," Rod exclaimed after he glanced at the head, "My bad."

Rod bounced out of the room leaving Janie and Nate alone. Meat juice.

Looking at the panicking Janie curled up in a corner of the room, Nate didn't really know what to say. He delved into his memory of when people had died in the city. With a serious look on his face, he approached the girl.

"I am sorry for the loss of your father. He was a good man, " Nate said in a comforting tone in his best impression of someone he had seen at the scene of an accident in one of the factories.

It didn't calm the woman down at all. Janie seemed completely out of her mind. Nate tried a few more attempts but nothing seemed to settle the woman down.

After a few minutes, Nate walked back outside to see Rod standing there with a look of concern on his face.

"We need to get Claire out from below. Maybe she can help Janie," Nate said as he walked past Rod toward the mess hall.

****************

Ten minutes later, Nate was still trying to convince Claire to come up in the elevator.

"I'm not sending up the elevator. I don't trust you," Claire's voice echoed out of the ventilation shaft.

"Damn it, Claire. Janie needs some help. She is a mess up here, " Nate said for the twentieth time as he looked up to see Rod messing around with some debris with a head still in his hand. Inspiration hit Nate as he looked at the crazy old man.

"Rod, can you give me a couple more of those berries?" Nate asked. He remembered that the whole purpose of this outpost was to find helpful flora.

"Sure kid, I got a pocket full of them," Rod responded while plucking two berries out of his shirt pocket.

"Hey Claire, you were researching plants that could help people right? Here are some berries to look at," Nate yelled into the ventilation hole after dropping the berries down.

"I don't...what are these things? " Claire yelled back up.

**********

In another twenty minutes, Claire was helping Janie into the elevator.

"Can you tell me where you got those berries from Rod?" Claire asked as she held the still crying Janie. She seemed more concerned about the berries than Janie.

"Ya, they over near the mountains by the Roughneck Tribe. About 10 days that way," he said while pointing off into some random direction.

"Really, thanks Rod, " Claire said as she leaned forward to push the button for the elevator. Her finger lingered above the button. Janie was quietly held in a half hug with her other arm.

"You two sure that you don't want to stay around, " Claire asked almost pleadingly.

"Na, I gots to bring this over to Nak's wife, " Rod said holding up the head to show it off for the hundredth time.

Claire paled and seemed to second guess her offer. She glanced back to Nate as if wanting his response.

"I'm going to leave too. I want to go back to my home, " Nate responded to her look.

He had considered staying for a moment, but he really didn't like the confines of the metal and concrete basement. It felt too much like his home in Newcomb City. He liked his cave much better.

Nate looked at the two women and shook his head. Claire has said that a signal for help had been triggered at the base and a rescue crew should arrive in another week or so. According to Claire, the rescue crew could have brought Nate with them back to their city. But Nate didn't want that. He had made the decision not to live in a city and he was going to stick to it.

Claire pushed the button and said a quick goodbye. In a matter of seconds, Nate and Rod were standing alone in the beaten up building.

"You think they are going to be okay?" Nate asked Rod as he started walking out of the building.

"Probably. As long as someone shows up. This kinda stuff is business as usual around these parts," Rod said walking with Nate away from the building.

Nate had to gather his pack and other stuff he had sat down just inside the wood line.

Rod walked right next to him with a sucking sound coming from his right foot every time he took a step.

"Damn, meat juice, " Rod cursed as his foot slushed inside the bloody shoe.

Seeing the man’s struggle, Nate had an idea.

"Hey Rod, I got something for you. Wait right here, “ Nate said before running into one of the buildings. He came back out with an empty backpack in his hand a minute later.

"You can put the head in here. I even put some plastic inside to keep it from getting bloody. You won't have to hold the head anymore," Nate said. Despite the man's attempt at getting him killed, he genuinely liked the old man.

"This is so great, kid," Rod said while taking the bag and stuffing the head inside, "So great."

Rod has a smile on his face so big it looked like his head was going to split in half.

"You got a new shoe in there?" Rod asked shaking his bloody shoe.

Nate shook his head and pulled his map out of his backpack. If he was leaving, he needed to get moving now. The day was already half over.

"Oh, what ya got there kid?" Rod asked peaking over Nate's shoulder at the map.

"My map," Nate responded, "Got to figure out how to get home."

"Oh, where's your home at?" Rod asked.

"Right here," Nate said pointing to a mark near the center of the map. He wasn't concerned at all with showing Rod the location. The old man was crazy, but Nate could tell he didn't really mean any harm.

"Oh, Nak's tribe is right over here," Rod said pointing to a spot that seemed to make a triangle with the outpost and Nate's home. It actually wasn't that far from Nate's cave. Maybe two or three days' travel.

"Nak's tribe is pretty nice. You'd like it. Lots of girls your age," Rod said as he put a hand to his chin in thought.

"It ain't that much out the way. Why don't you come with me?"