The car ride back was quiet. None of them felt like talking as Margie‘s truck bounced along the icy road.

Steven sat in the back, staring out the window as the snow rushed by.

Exhaustion hung over him like a cloak, and he had gotten off easy.

His eyes flicked to Micheal. His arms had been wrapped in gauze. Margie, bless her, kept a first aid kit in her car.

But he’d seen the damage, the red skin, the blisters standing out in sharp contrast.

The anger, which hadn’t truly subsided, began to boil.

His friends had almost died.

If he’d been a little quicker, a little stronger, he wouldn’t have gotten caught in that portal.

He would’ve been able to help Lilly take out Miguel, or any of them for that matter.

And once he was in the portal room, if it weren’t for Corrie‘s desire to treat this like a game, he would’ve been all but useless.

He tried to let the anger flow out of him.

It was better than apathy, but falling back on anger seemed like a slippery slope.

He didn’t want to trade problems.

They had made it out okay. It was okay.

I need to be stronger for next time.

He let the thought flow out of him. There wasn’t anything he could do this second.

The gentle roar of the heater and the rumble of the vehicle's engine thumped against him, lulling him into closing his eyes. He rested his forehead against the window, the glass cool against his skin.

The sight of the white trees vanished as he let his lids drop.

Torn skin, staring eyes.

Steven opened his eyes and leaned away from the window.

Dammit.

His chest tightened, and he turned his focus toward the System.

Turning away from hard thoughts, like always. A vicious part of him whispered. He turned away from that too.

The System. The fight. Focus.

None of them gained levels, not even Micheal.

Steven didn’t know if that was because most of them hadn’t won their fights or because leveling past 10 was just that tough.

One fight was too small of a sample size to tell.

His mind started to slip back to that hallway, to the stench of blood and burned flesh.

The feeling of helplessness welling up.

Steven pulled up the prompt the System gave them.

For repelling The Corners, you have gained control of the Dimond Mall.

Territory: Dimond Mall.

Laws: none

Residents: none

Nodes: 2

Steven frowned. “What are nodes?”

“I’m glad you asked, my dear.”

Steven cringed. “Don’t call me that!“

The System ignored him.“Nodes represent a resource territories can use to gain a bit more control. If a Scenario would spawn over a node, it instead gets absorbed by the node and can be activated at will. You will also have some knowledge about the Scenario before you go in. Only once, mind you. You can’t endlessly farm the same Scenario, though that wouldn’t be effective in the first place.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Steven’s eyes widened. That was big. Being able to enter a Scenario only when you were ready and with a bit of a heads up about the inside?

Steven hadn’t seen anyone mention the nodes online, which was odd. Were people just keeping it secret, or…

“Only larger territories have nodes. It would have to be a big neighborhood to qualify or several neighborhoods close together.”

So another way people snatching up territory could get ahead. And he was certain the bigger groups had silently agreed not to talk about the nodes.

It was becoming increasingly obvious that the gap between Thresholds was growing, not shrinking.

He was significantly stronger than he’d been at level 5. He’d whip his own ass if he fought that version of himself now. He had a new Skill and Trait, sure, but it was more than that.

His body was stronger, his mind got sharper, and his existing Skills were better in every way.

And with every Threshold, that gap was going to grow.

He paused. He was working on some assumptions, but he didn’t have to.

He was confident that he was right, but he could always double-check.

“System, is the gap going to keep going?“

“You know, I almost said something witty and devilishly clever on reflex, but I can answer that. You’ve got some more access now that you’re level 10.”

“In short, yes, the gaps going to grow.”

It chuckled. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

That bounced around in Steven’s head as they pulled to a stop, Margie’s house looming above them.

Del spoke up, snapping Steven from his revelry. “I think we should have a talk. Call it a group meeting.”

They all nodded. Part of Steven wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed and sleep for a day, but he pushed that feeling down.

“Let’s meet in the living room in an hour,” Margie said. “I need a shower and a cup of cocoa.”

~<>~<>~

An hour later, they were clean and sitting in the living room, overlooking the glittering city below.

The dome shown bright over the cloudless night, purples, greens, and blues shifting and intermixing to create a living tapestry.

Del sat on a chair, dressed in black sweats and a red T-shirt two sizes too big for her.

Noodle lay by her feet, his wrinkly face mushed up against the chair leg.

“Well?“ Markus asked. “What did you want to talk about.“

The old man looked tired, his usual bright smile a shadow of its former self, and his bright blue eyes were worn and slightly distant.

He wore pajama bottoms and a thick fleece sweater as he nursed a mug of hot chocolate between his hands.

Del shifted in her seat. She looked nervous. Steven didn’t know her as well as the others. They’d had an extra two weeks to get acquainted with the woman. But he hadn’t seen her nervous very often.

She ran her hands through her hair before speaking, her dark eyes studying each of them in turn.

“What are we going to do?”

Micheal shifted, his fresh bandages rustling against the couch. “What do you mean?”

“What are we going to do?“ Del repeated. “We can’t-” She paused, gathering her breath.

“Groups like The Corners are getting stronger. More numerous. And more aggressive. And as the System relaxes its restrictions on territory claims, it’s only going to get worse. I… I want to do something. I want to help.”

“It’s the smartest move we can make,” she added quickly. “If we just wait around while they fight and carve out parts of the city for themselves, they’re going to out-level us.”

Steven felt a burst of warmth in his chest as he stared at the woman, his emotions crystallizing. “I want to as well. It is the smart play.“ Steven decided not to add that he’d do it even if it weren’t the smart play.

He wanted to help people. That thought had always been bubbling in the back of his mind. He wanted to keep his friends safe first and foremost, but beyond that, he just wanted to help.

Eyes staring up sightlessly. A half dozen dead. Because someone had decided that their lives didn’t matter. And because Steven was too slow.

He shook his head, focusing back in on the conversation.

Markus smiled at Del like a proud grandfather, while Margie looked ambivalent.

Micheal looked…troubled. But he still nodded. “I agree, both from practical and moral grounds. But…”

“But?“ Del asked.“

“But I need to see how we’re planning to go about this.“ Micheal finished. “How will we find a territory that a hostile group is claiming? Is that our best option? Or is there a better way to go about this? “

Del nodded. “Those are all good questions, and we should figure them out before rushing into anything. I’m just trying to figure out the direction we should move in.”

Micheal nodded. “If that’s what this is, I’m on board.“

Margie stared out the window as she nursed her mug. “I’ve got a grudge to settle with The Corners. And something tells me they’re not going to leave things alone. I don’t see how they can track us down here. But if they see us again, they’re going to attack us. Raph, at least, is going to hold a grudge. The guy was… Unstable. And past that one group.”

Her frown deepened. “Well, I don’t like the idea of sitting around while others take control of the city. Seems like a good way to end up under someone else’s boot.”

“Okay.“ Markus rubbed his hands together. “We all agree on what our goal should be.“ He grinned, and the expression burned away the weariness in his gaze, fire pooling in his eyes. “We’ve got a goal. Stop unsavory factions from taking over the city.”

His smile widened, and the fire seemed to spread to the rest of them. “There’s the goal, now we plan our way to it.