****

Air rushed through Ace’s ears as he fell through the air. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness when his instincts kicked in. A part of a giant bone went past his face, missing by a millimetre.

Other projectiles were flashing past and Ace zeroed on his targets. First came Aurora with Hawk. It was unknown whether he could carry two in such winds but he could always try.

[Void Step] and he was near his old team mates. They didn’t notice him, holding onto each other for dear life. He grabbed onto Hawk’s quiver and tried to reach a familiar current.

Each step was a fight, taking minutes so he abandoned the idea. He would have to find other currents to bring him near the edge.

Wind carried him around for a moment as he looked for something useful. Jackal came barrelling towards them, his armour packing a formidable hit. Ace used [Void Step] to evade it.

Hawk and Aurora fell into a wind stream going upwards.

There hadn’t been any such before. Previously the wind had only circled around, not raising. But there was no time to ponder the mystery. He had promised Par to save them and that’s what he was going to do.

He reached the two again, this time grabbing onto Aurora’s shoulder. She squeaked in surprise but didn’t struggle. There was no point in this storm.

Ace pushed himself off the fields, trying to break through the wind wall. His body was squeezed from all directions, the shoulder pulled from his hand. He managed to get out, leaving the raging currents.

Yet his targets were back inside, tossed round and round.

“This won’t do,” Ace muttered, jumping back in. The wind tore at his clothes, blinding him but [Instincts of a Predator] told him everything he needed to know. In a moment he reached Aurora and ramming his legs into Hawk pulled them apart.

The girl screamed into his ear, reaching for her friend. He did his best to ignore that and moved towards the edge. Wind hadn’t let down but it was much easier when he had only one person with him.

Field behind, push. Fields left and right, steady, and one behind the female to keep her in place. Some more pushing, jump to the left and he dashed through the wall, his target in his hand.

From there, only carrying her by the hand up to the cliff left. It had been quite far away but now the wind was blasting around there too, carrying snow mixed with rain.

The storm was growing.

Ace dropped the female next to Par and dived back in. Hawk wasn’t hard to find and then Jackal. After releasing him, he was about to leave the place but a human shout brought his attention to the storm.

At first he only saw rain and rubble flying in all directions, smashing against the walls and breaking. Snow was raised from the mountain sides.

Nothing out of order.

But then his eyes saw a moving object in the storm. It was flinging its limbs in fruitless attempt to find balance, or something. Ace wasn’t sure what one could gain besides making a bigger target of himself.

As he watched a piece of bone hit one of limbs, striking right through. He could almost hear the person’s scream. But it was his imagination, the wind was roaring by now, deafening all other sounds.

“Damn,” he cursed but had a hard time hearing his own voice. Should he go and save that person too? It would be the noble thing to do.

That thought decided for him. He wasn’t going anywhere. Wing wasn’t one of the good guys. His promise went so far.

A commotion behind him caught his attention. He turned to see Par hanging off Aurora’s neck, he held so tight it looked like he was choking her. Hawk sat next to them, massaging the kid’s back. He was saying something but it was too far away to hear and Ace didn’t feel like activating [All Ears].

“Why did you agree to save everyone?” Dark asked. He had sneaked up from the side, taking Ace unaware had he not had his instincts.

“Everyone...” Ace whispered. He had said that. Not any name or group but everyone. Like an idiot he had said that himself, not been taunted into it. Though, it was a lie. He was taunted into it, just not by the kid but himself. “Because Ace is dead,” he said to the rogue, dashing off the cliff.

Wind met him and he went to save the rest of the company. The storm had kept intensifying and reached the place they had been attacked. From there it grabbed people and yetis alike, flinging them into walls, each other or flying rubble.

No one was spared.

Or shouldn’t have. Ace interfered with the nature’s will, grabbing people one by one and carrying them into the cave like fissure. It was quickly filling up but that wasn’t part of Ace’s problems. He had promised to get them out of the storm, that’s all.

Saving them didn’t go further than that. He wasn’t a fairy godmother.

Wind was still growing. It was getting harder and harder to get out of the storm. Each time was a struggle, him winning so far. But not for long. He could feel his strength waning, stamina running out, while the winds raged on.

He threw the person down and dived back in. Hair got in his eyes, icy shards joining. There was no way he could see anything through that. Instincts told him about a being to the left and he used [Void Step] to get next to him.

But the wind was too strong. It pushed him off course. Ace tried activating the ability again but to no avail. He no longer held the power to travel around. No matter how many times he tried jumping around he was pushed by the currents.

Right to the middle. Air circled in great streams, bringing everything in and within itself, throwing few things out. Ace wasn’t among the lucky ones. All he could do was try and evade objects moving his way at close to light speed.

And then it was gone. He was spit face first into the ground. On shaky hands he rose up to see a wall of wind surrounding him in all directions. Up above he could see a glimpse of purple sky, not hidden by rain and ice.

Eye of a storm. It was obvious yet hard to believe. Where winds had raged in his ears, now there was nothing. It was quiet, eerily so. No wind was present either. Everything was still, as if waiting for something. Not daring to take a breath.

Ace lied on his back, watching the violet sky. He had never seen it like that before. Was this a game feature or could the world have this colour too?

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered into the quietness as a wall of wind and rain crashed into him.

“We will be taken off one by one!” someone screamed in the crowd. Aurora tried to see who but there were too many people. They had squeezed into the small cave so that no one could move but many still stood outside.

“We need more space,” Jackal said next to her but it was obvious and without saying. Wind was deafening outside the cave. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see what was happening there.

Hawk tightened his grip on her hand. “It’ll be fine,” he murmured. She nodded at it but kept her doubts.

There were nowhere to go and the storm was closing on them. The memory of being tossed left and right made her wince but she did her best not to think about it. She had to be strong for the little kid.

Par had his hands around her waist, crying in her skirt without a sound. She had tried to calm him but nothing worked. He didn’t say a word just bawled his eyes out for no apparent reason.

And like always in such occasions, Monthu wasn’t around. She knew it wasn’t his fault that he died but his brother needed him. Now. It was hard not to be angry at him after seeing the little kid so distraught.

The boy needed his big brother.

“Did you hear that?” Hawk asked, taking a look around with narrowed eyes. They were pushed against the wall and could use it to raise a bit higher than the rest stood.

“Hm?”

“I think I heard something groaning.” He looked at the walls surrounding them but seeing nothing scowled. “I don’t like this.”

Aurora gave him a look. “Throw a stone at the one who does.”

They stayed silent for a moment and then Aurora heard it too. It sounded like an old doors being forced to work after years of not being used. They creaked and croaked, resisting to move from their place.

From the sudden silence that descended on the cave Aurora knew they hadn’t been the only ones who’d heard it. Wherever she looked, she could see the same expression on people’s faces. It was in their frozen statures, whitened faces and eyes staring into one spot, not seeing.

Her lip trembled as she whispered. “We’re going to fall, aren’t we?” It echoed through the silent cave as if she’d shouted. All faces but one turned towards her. Par was still snivelling in her skirt.

She hugged him closer to herself, turning away from the crowd. Hawk squeezed her hand but before either could say a word a loud crack sounded through the cave.

It made statues of those who hadn’t been such and all eyes went downwards.

Right below them a line appeared on the ground. People tried to step off it but they were like fish in a barrel. There was no place to raise a hand, less so to change your position.

That didn’t stop some from trying. They pulled and pushed, going as far as stepping on others’ shoulders, literary. In moments they were thrown down but it started a chaos.

Voices rose in the air, shouts of outrage and screams of pain. Metal pushing against metal, cloth tearing. It was so loud no one noticed when the crack below them opened.

One moment they were standing on solid ground and the other falling through the dark. Unable to see or hear anything more than their own choked screams.

Aurora tightened her grip onto Par, holding him as close to herself as possible. “Everything is going to be all right,” she whispered to him. “We are going to survive this. Don’t worry.”

“He is gone,” the kid answered her in a dead voice. He sniffled then and burst into tears again. “He’s gone!”

“Shh, it’s going to be okay. You hear me?” she told him, having no idea what he was talking about. The boy didn’t believe her, shaking his head and starting to cry even louder.

Hawk grabbed onto Par’s shoulder. “Why don’t you log out and go talk with your brother? He is sure to solve everything.”

“But he’s gone! Brother won’t bring him back!”

Aurora forced out a smile even if there was no way for Par to see it. “How do you know that? Isn’t your brother a miracle maker?”

The kid sniffed at that, raising his head a bit. “You really think he will?”

Both Hawk and Aurora fell silent. Monthu was the best to deal with this kind of problems but he wasn’t omnipotent. He couldn’t make everything right and putting him on the spot wasn’t going to help anyone.

“You should ask him, okay?” Hawk said finally. Par didn’t answer but in a moment his body disappeared and the two were left alone.

Aurora sighed. “Should we log off too?”

“No,” Hawk said in an instant. “We have to see what happens now.”

“What for? Monthu is dead, Par gone. We have no reason to stay.”

“Monthu had promised to lead this mission to victory and we agreed to aid him. We should see it to the end,” Hawk answered, remembering Dark’s fevered gaze. The guy was a bit mad and stuck up on succeeding but he had been right.

Hawk was now the leader, once Monthu was gone, and people needed him. If he left, the remaining players would split into groups and die on their own. Jackal would try to prevent that but he was but one man. And not everyone would follow someone who’d been hired by Silver Wing.

Apparently, it was one thing to be friends with a killer and another to have your order be created by him. The latter received a lot more distrust even though the first was more hated.

Hawk had no idea how that worked but he knew that people listened to Monthu. There was a certain apprehension in their dealings but one born of fear rather than disgust.

Well, Monthu and the rest of them had lived around half a year with the Wing and he hadn’t killed them. It was an achievement none other could boast.

“Who cares about the mission? We’re here to take care of the kid. That’s all there’s to it,” Aurora said with, he was sure, a glare his way. “We aren’t here to play games.”

Hawk released her hand, putting his arms next to himself so he was diving downwards. He knew he wasn’t here to play but this world was more than that. When he was hired, he had never before entered a game like this.

It wasn’t a mistake but he had never believed he’d fall this much for a different reality. He didn’t want to let it all fall apart, have L lose and them becoming refugees. Par won’t like that kind of life for sure and they will have to leave.

He didn’t want that. If there was a way he could stop it, he had to try even if that annoyed Aurora. She was going to forgive him, anyway. There had yet to be a time she didn’t.

When he thought he had distanced himself from her, he spread his hands to slow down. It wasn’t much but that was the best there was. He could only hope he wouldn’t die on impact when they reached the ground.

Something hairy touched his hand right as his body crashed. To his surprise it wasn’t solid ground. His body bounced up before falling back again, this time without much force.

The surface below him, after blind investigation, showed up to be fur. It was rough and uneven but not covered in snow. He raised his head to look upwards but there was nothing there. Everything was as black as around him.

“You alive?” came a voice. After a moment Hawk recognised it as Dark.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“The priestess?”

“She logged off with the boy,” Hawk said, sitting up. “How many survived the fall you think?” He waited for an answer but there was none. When he extended his hands to get an idea of what was around, there wasn’t anything alive there.

Light appeared above. It was so bright Hawk had to close his eyes. When he opened them, a strange sight met him.

The place was made up of fur roofed huts. They stood next to each other, making a sort of safety net. Players were lying or sitting on them, looking around in wonder. Few had stood up and tried finding an end to this sea of fur.

“Around fifty,” said a voice from behind, making Hawk jump in his place. He turned around to meet Dark’s blank face. “Two clerics, five mages, one more archer and the rest are warrior type.”

“Stop doing that!” Hawk hissed at him, putting a hand on his heart. The guy should learn some manners.

Dark tilted his head as if not understanding. “Doing what?”

“Sneaking up like that! You’re going to give me a heart attack!”

“But it’s a gam-”

“I don’t care! It’s still annoying!” He huffed. “Just don’t do it, okay?”

Dark nodded, moving a bit farther away. He was squatting, somehow managing not to fall. The roof was stretched out as much as possible but it was animal skin, not solid ground. It was a wonder how the roofs didn’t fall in on impact.

A brown robed mage stood up some ten metres away. He had a scowl on his face and was murmuring something to himself. His first step made him kneel down, the surface too unstable.

This didn’t discourage him, though. The man extended his hands to keep balance and with knitted eyebrows took another step. It went better, without him being reduced to his knees.

Seeing his progress, other players tried walking. It made the whole place shake, waves reaching even Hawk. He glanced to see Dark standing as if there was nothing out of place.

“How you do that?”

Small smile graced the rogue’s lips at the question. He moved to the side, walking as if on the ground. There was no hesitation or wavering. “Professional secret.”

‘Rogues,’ Hawk thought, remembering Ace. That boy also had an uncanny ability to walk everywhere. No place was unreachable to him. “So what’s your plan?”

The smile on Dark’s face faded. “I don’t plan. It’s your job. I just make it happen.”

“Weren’t you the one so eager to ensure the mission’s success? Have you changed your mind?”

“No,” Dark said, shaking his head. “I had promised to make it happen.”

“Then help me,” Hawk said. “I’m no Monthu and you’re no Silver Wing. Yet we both were entrusted with protecting these people until our masters return. So don’t you dare say you’re not gonna do something, got it?”

Dark took a few steps back at the outburst. He hadn’t expected to be confronted like that, pushed into doing something in the name of Wing. “Is Monthu your master? Not friend?”

The archer looked upwards, shifting in his position. “He is a friend, but he’s also my employer. Not everything is as simple as it looks at first glance. It-” He shook his head. “Whatever. So do you agree to make this work? Do this for them?”

There was no question in Dark’s head. He had promised to Wing and there was no going back. “I do.”

“Great! Have you seen Jackal? Or someone else high ranking from Draugar?”

Dark pointed behind the archer. Five huts away a heavy plated man was lying on his back. He was moving his hands and feet from time to time, grunting. “Should I help him?”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll try to get down in the meantime,” Hawk said, trying to stand up. The stretched roof shifted under him and he squatted down. This was harder than he had thought.

From somewhere he heard feet falling onto solid ground. It reminded him of the mage and he followed his lead, standing up with hands keeping his balance. It was a bit embarrassing but he pretended not to know.

He wavered on the next step but didn’t fall. Another one and he was moving. Each was slow and took forever by normal standards but the ground was getting closer. Fifteen huts away. Ten. Three more.

And he jumped.

Concrete ground met his feet. “Aah, finally,” he murmured. It’s been ages since he had something solid underneath, wasn’t freezing to death or being squashed into a cheese.

“Also appreciating Mother Earth?” asked a familiar voice, Nein.

Hawk turned to see him sitting by a wall, one knee bent, hands fallen at the sides. “Yeah,” he said. “Did you have some flying lessons too?”

The brown robed mage nodded. “Apparently, there are still things I can’t control.”

“Not a favourite lesson of yours, is it?”

Snort was his answer. Hawk didn’t say anything more and took a better look at the place.

It seemed to be a normal cave. Greyish walls, dusty ground. Well, open ceiling wasn’t a normal thing. There was a hole where the ground had cracked and rocks still came from there time to time. If he listened, Hawk thought he could here wind outside.

There was also something ahead to the left. He walked there, taking out a dagger from his backpack. Light from some wizard’s ball didn’t reach there, leaving the corner in darkness.

Right before entering the shadowed pace he stopped. Why was he doing this? He was no rogue but a sharpshooter. It wasn’t his place to scout new areas, risking his own life.

He turned around and returned to the huts. Nein was still sitting in his place but there were ten more people on the ground. Two of them he recognised. “Dark, go and scout the corners. I think I heard something from there.”

The rogue nodded, moved forward and in a moment was part of the darkness. Black clothes only enhancing his disappearing speed.

“That guy’s pretty good. You think he has a guild?” an unfamiliar man said.

Jackal noticing the confusion on Hawk’s face, introduced them. “This is Michael, he’s our guild’s trainer. Michael, this is Hawk. He i-”

“I know who he is. So what about the rogue? We have so few of them.”

Hawk was about to say that he was a student of Wing’s but decided against. Truth would gain him nothing. Keeping it quiet, however, could make people more agreeable. “Don’t know. He’s been given to us from L’s personal guard.”

“L’s? We’re allies so we might be able to win him over! Jackal, that’s your job! Get us that rogue!”

The plated man took off his helmet, scratching at his temple. “You know, we should consider if he wants to join us first.”

“Who cares! We have almost zero rogues! And we had had the best of them, Silver Wing before! It’s such a decline!” Michael shouted out, his voice echoing around the cave.

“Uhm... We have bigger problems than your lack of rogues,” Hawk said, turning to face the rest of the players. Jackal followed him and together they stood facing the crowd.

“Listen, everyone! I am sure you are confused as to what is happening here.”

“Sure am!” someone replied from the crowd, earning a few smiles.

Hawk ignored him and continued. “We have lost many of our comrades and been put through hell but that is not the end. In the bright hall of Lasran’s city we all had vowed to find out what is happening in these mountains.”

He stepped forward, coming closer to the crowd. Some were sitting on the roof edges, others were still moving over to hear him better. “I know it might seem like a task out of our reach but we have come so far! It would be a shame to turn back now! Return to the city with our tails between the legs!” A moment’s wait. “Or do you prefer that?”

There was grumbling. People were tired and sick of this adventure. First there were yetis, coming out of nowhere, destroying things and taking a few lives each time. Then the ambush and a huge storm. Being flung all over the place.

Small cave, getting squeezed and knowing it won’t last. To top it off the ground cracked beneath their feet and they fell into black oblivion. It was no wonder there was a lack of motivation to move forward.

“We are better than this!” Jackal said in his strong and clear voice. Everyone quieted down. “Didn’t you join this knowing it might turn sour? We went into an unknown land, uncharted territory.” He smiled wide. “But isn’t that the fun? If we find something here, it is our names that are going to be written in the history books!

“Look around you! Those huts! Have you seen their like before? I haven’t! It means there’s something here, and we’re close! Are you going to turn now? Feel free! Draugar of Silver will gain more glory then.” He shrugged. “Your choice!”

“No chance!” a guy roared. He stood up on the wavering roof, showing his fist towards Jackal. “You guys are nothing. You don’t deserve fame!”

Hawk stepped between Jackal and the guy. He didn’t want a start a fight. “Then be here,” he said. “Make sure they aren’t the only ones to receive the rewards.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay!”

“Good!” Michael taunted, wide smile on his face.

“Very!”

“There are people there,” Dark said from behind.

Hawk turned to face him, a disbelieving expression on his face. “People?” The rogue nodded. “Are they npcs?”

“Most likely. They are cowering in a corner without any light. It is possible they are inhabitants of these huts, hiding from us.”

“Did you try going past them?” Jackal asked, turning to face him too.

Dark shook his head. “They block the whole path. There’s many of them.”

“Are they armed?”

The rogue hesitated for a moment before shaking his head again. “Don’t think so. Hard to say without light.”

Most of the players were on the ground by now so they formed into small groups with Hawk, Jackal. Michael and Deedara at the front. The priestess had approached them after the conversation. She seemed a bit haggard, cloth dirty and torn in a few places at the bottom. But her expression was the same as ever, clear and serious.

Nein was asked to join them too but he made his excuses and walked alone at the back.

And now it was time to start moving. Hawk signalled the mages and they killed the ball of light above. Instead they created a dozen floating flames that hovered over the surviving players, all forty three of them.

Once the light were established they took their first steps. Dark was ahead, having gone to watch from the side if there were some traps or tricks being played. Hawk had also added him as friend so they could converse at distance.

/Everything’s clear./

“Let’s go!” Hawk ordered himself as much as others. It wasn’t his favourite thing to go into dark caves at the head of a column.

His steps weren’t too fast so Jackal got a bit ahead. Michael at his side. The priestess was behind all three of them, her robe’s ends cut so they wouldn’t swish against the ground.

“Aghghg!” someone screamed. Hawk turned backwards, wondering what happened. Confused expressions, mirroring his own met him. ‘What? How co-? It’s the wrong side!’

The sound was coming from in front of, not behind him. As he turned, more voices piped in. They created a strange cacophony of screeches, shrieks and howls of pain. Whole cave sang with it.

Hawk held his wince back as he tried to understand what was happening. Up ahead human like creatures were rolling on the ground, lowering their heads between their legs. They had hands over their eyes, covering, scratching at them.

“What i-?” Michael started but Nein cut him off. “Dim the lights, you idiots!” he shouted out from the back.

The mages followed his command and the flames flickered, almost disappearing from existence. It was even worse than Ace’s [Flare] spell and Hawk thought that had been useless. This however, made that feel like a bright light.

He couldn’t see a hand he’d raised before himself. All there was were shadows shifting in the corners, playing with imagination. Hawk tried to ignore it, focusing on the shapes before him.

Screams calmed down once the light had gone out. Some sniffles persisted but they were no longer so hard on the ears. Hawk breathed a sigh of relief.

“Can anyone see in the dark?” he asked, hoping for a positive answer. Silence lasted for a long minute. No sound from any of the players.

Then there was a grunt from the back. “Darkness that hides and protects its children, lower your vale and let the predators find their prey, Night vision!”

As Hawk watched, the surroundings lighted up. No, it was the wrong word. They didn’t light up but became more pronounced. Contours got outlined. It was all in different shades of black yet clear as day. There were no mistaking humans for stones on the ground or parts of a wall.

“Thanks,” he said to Nein and took a few steps forward. The mages had extinguished the flames whole now and the creatures before them raised their heads.

One of them stood up and made it clear that they were not human, at least not fully. There were four arms and fur that covered most of the body, not a coat as it looked at first glance. Face, though, was hairless, like of a traditional human being.

“Who’re ‘ou?” the female asked with a heavy accent. Her voice was very low and grave like.

Hawk opened his mouth to answer when a loud crack sounded through the cave. There was no sign of breaking in the cave so he ran outside. He had a very bad feeling about this.

Out in the cavern he raised his eyes but nothing stood out. All walls seemed as strong as ever.

Then the sound came again. He turned his head that way and saw a crack. It wasn’t large but listening, he could hear a soft groaning. It was coming from that spot.

And the winds. They were louder than before. Much louder.

Jackal came to stand next to him and together they watched the crack grow in frozen fascination. It was spreading like a tree growing, gaining more and more branches. Soon it was going to reach maturity and fall.

Horrible crack came and a part of the wall was torn off. Deafening howls rushed into the cavern, getting amplified by the large space. Wind caught the leather roofed huts and descended on them with a natural fury.

Wooden beams broke under the pressure and rose in the air. They were bashed against the walls, breaking. Pieces of leather got torn, a few thrown into Hawk. He pushed them aside, feeling the wind trying to carry him off too. It wasn’t strong enough. Yet.

What caught Hawk’s attention, though, was rain. Or lack of it. He returned his eyes to the hole and the sight made his jaw drop. Wind was tearing off more and more off the wall, revealing the view behind.

Tornado. There was a freaking tornado outside. It woke him up from his stupor and he turned to warn others. He shouldn’t have bothered. Most had their eyes turned, following the path of the spreading cracks.

They were still increasing.

He remembered the secluded valley they had been in. It had no way outside and walls close to a kilometre high. If a tornado came to be in such a place... He shuddered to think of it.

“We’re doomed!” “This is..” “Is that a-a-a... ?” “Ruuuuuuuuuun!”

That last one caught on and everyone started chanting it, changing their direction. “Run, run, run!” they screamed, pushing each other to get deeper into the cave. The natives scrambled to get out of the way as players rushed past, jumping, falling over one another.

“Run!” echoed through the cave as Hawk turned to follow them. “Run, run!” was the sound of his steps, mirroring his heartbeat. “Run, run, ruuun!”

A thought about to control the people passed him but it was soon pushed by a more prevalent one. Survival. He had never seen a tornado in his life, and had never wished to do so.

Sounds of rocks falling, crashing against the ground enticed his body to move even faster. One leg before the other. “Run, run, run,” the chant continued all around him.

Natives were moving past him too. Their steps were light and swift, faster than his. But he wasn’t running from them. No, there was something much worse behind.

*Boom*

The whole ground shook. Players and natives alike fell in heaps, unable to keep on their feet. In moments they shook it off and were back on the track. “Run, run, run!”

Wind intensified. It rushed through the cave, howling and tugging at players.

*Boom*

An earthquake. It was twice as bad as before. The ground disappeared from under him and Hawk kissed the ground. He tried standing up but fell again. His legs got tangled up in someone’s robe and they both screamed at each other.

Or he thought they did. Wind and rumbling of the stones was so loud he wasn’t sure. No sounds that made any sense reached his ears.

And then it was all quiet. It was so unexpected everyone just froze in their places. The sight would have been comical had they all not been so focused on the wind. Lack of it. Where had it gone? What did it mean?

“Entrance got blocked,” Dark said quietly but it was heard by everyone. A fly would have been loud in this silence. “It won’t hold long.”

Hawk took a breath, freed his legs and stood up. He didn’t trust the ground but it was still for the moment. “Everyone,” he started, noting all the eyes staring at him. But this was no time for speeches.

Instead he simply said, “Let’s get moving.”