Alex was glad this place still had plumbing, much more familiar toilets. It added questions as well. One of the dozens swimming in his head. Zanthras was awake now at least. It was a good time to get some answers he was looking for.

“Hey, Zanthras. You got a second to talk? I think we need to have an important discussion.”

Zanthras paused for a moment. She was currently tallying the remaining resources they had. Food and water, tools, and useful materials. The latter of which was entirely gone at this point since most were spent keeping Alex alive.

“We have the time. You won’t be going anywhere for the moment.”

With the constant glances, she gave the heavily barricaded door, it was safe to say there was another reason for the wait. Two traumatic experiences back-to-back weren’t morale-boosting events. Not that her reasoning was incorrect either.

“You got any idea why I’m such a mess? I feel more human than mechanical half the time. Seems a bit counterintuitive to give an android so many flaws.”

Alex winced, as the gestures he made during the talk made the pain flare. Zanthras only shrugged in response, setting up what looked like a pot over a square device.

“You’re more human than machine, unfortunately. I can’t tell you who made you or why, but I can tell you what the result was. Your as close to an organic as possible without actually having any organic parts. That’s probably what your class for nanomachines is for since you wouldn’t be able to heal otherwise. Sure, there probably some spare parts lying around, but there wasn’t any around when I found you.”

Her next words were spoken softly but not quite enough for Alex to miss out on them.

“I would have gotten a months’ worth of food if I had managed to trade you out.”

Alex raised an eyebrow.

“If I worth such a pretty penny, why hadn’t anyone else found me.”

Zanthras gave a small smile. Whatever she was cooking began to boil in the pot. The assorted foods she’d thrown in looked alien or processed. Smelled good though.

“If you didn’t notice, the territory we went through wasn’t the safest place. You weren’t worth that much when I found you either. Not at first glance anyway. Anything universally useful like your built-in nanomachines had already been scavenged. Everything else was either too damaged or too complicated to be worth the risk. Every second count in these halls. You’d have just been unnecessary weight.”

Ouch. Insult an android’s self-worth more why don’t you.

“So why did you pick me up then? If you fixed me up, I’m sure you could have spent more time on other projects.”

Zanthras took the burning liquid off the electric fire. A small ladle was used to fill up a bowl. She continued to serve herself in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time.

“Zanthras?”

She jumped, almost spilling her meal. Startled. Almost like she had forgotten Alex had been there at all for a moment.

“Yes?”

Alex stared at the lizardman.

“Why were you down here?”

Her eyes refused to make eye contact with Alex. She fidgeted in place. Her grip on the bowl tightening. Still refusing to speak.

Alex just sighed.

“I guess you’ll tell me when you’re ready then.”

Zanthras coughed.

“Besides that, where exactly are we anyway? I’ve seen lots of hallways and rooms, but no real purposes. This feels like an underground bunker at times, others a dilapidated office building.

Zanthras perked up, relieved to have something else to talk about apparently.

“The Tower, or well, it used to be a tower. One of the only safe places on Egis-7. Doesn’t look like it but trust me. It could have been far worse. I’ve heard stories about what goes on outside this place. None of them pretty.”

Having mentally recovered enough, Alex rises from his prone position. It hurts but it's not debilitating. Zanthras hands him a bowl. Alex is about to refuse but remembers what she said earlier. Mostly human. So, he probably has to eat.

“So, where are we headed then? I’m sure there’s some safe space you’d been living at this whole time. A place that’s keeping the pluming running and the lights on.”

Alex takes a spoonful from the bowl. The soup is dry. It was better than Alex thought it be.

“Heaven. Serves as a fort and mechanical engine for the Tower. It's also one of the few places that still has advanced tech. Enough to repair and maintain but not enough to produce much. It should have some nanomachines to fix you up. Won’t be cheap but I think we’ll have that covered.”

Taking a moment away from filling her own bowl, Zanthras reaches into her bag. She pulled out a horn. A rather familiar and unforgettable sharp object. It was one of the monster’s horns.

“Not every day someone takes down a Silent One. Their such a menace theirs a standing bounty out on their heads. It would cover your repairs and then some. We just have to make sure we make it back in one piece.”

Zanthras stares at the trophy, lost in thought. Alex got the feeling there was history there. Memories from a life of constant struggle and terror. Whether it was from what the defeated Silent One represented or just a general experience, Alex couldn’t tell. He tried to uplift the mood, seeing as low morale could get them killed.

“Well, at least we’ll have a safer trip heading back. No evil goat to stop our trip.”

Zanthras freezes. Her breathing speeds up before she regains control of herself. Her hands are shaking. Her words tremble as they leave her. She doesn’t look up at Alex as she speaks.

“It’s not dead.”

Alex doesn’t respond. His mind takes a moment to process very unpleasant news. Soon enough he finds a shard of courage to actually speak up.

“But... but you killed it. I saw you smash that things head into a paste. Sure, it looked pretty injured already and was still walking after that but-“

“It, they, the Silence Ones... They don’t die. You can kill them sure. Break their bodies, burn their blood, and trap them. But they don’t stay dead. They come back. Maybe a day, a month, or a year.”

Zanthras sounded on the edge of sobbing.

“They always come back.”