For each of the three days before they left, Vas had the squad sleep in their pairs.

Vas and Fem had originally planned on becoming a pair.

This changed upon the revelation about their position as decoys.

Vas’s first idea had been to make a name for his squad among the Scouts by using his and Fem’s fighting prowess for a larger impact in the bigger battles.

However, if they were going to have to focus on survival and tactics, Vas wanted to take a more balanced approach.

Fem and Joust had both agreed to the new pairs Vas proposed, and no one else argued.

Finally, it was time to leave.

Vas was ready to get away from the card games and gossip.

Almost all of the Scouts who were in the barracks would be leaving on the trip, but Vas assumed people would be less playful and talkative in the frozen wastes.

Not that he disliked good times and people.

He disliked games he lost at. And large amounts of people.

Maybe he did dislike good times and people.

Vas shrugged to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jade packing a deck of cards into her pack.

“We won’t have time for those, you know.”

He tried to sound logical, but the truth of the matter was that he dreaded the possibility that he would have to keep play cards again in the near future.

“There’s always time for a game!” Jade grinned wickedly, “We’ll be out there for more than a year. I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for me to beat you.”

Vas sighed and walked to the doorway. They were the last people still in the building. Everyone was waiting outside.

“Let’s go.”

“. . . Vas?”

“What?”

“We’ll be back, right?”

Vas turned and looked Jade in the eye, making sure he didn’t show any of his doubt.

“Yes.” He sounded so sure that he surprised himself.

Jade nodded and put her deck of cards back on the table next to her.

“Bring the cards.”

Jade beamed a smile. “Really?”

Vas walked out of the room.

He still hated cards.

An hour later, the barracks were out of sight. The 38 Scouts marched two-by-two.

All of them had snowshoes, so they didn’t sink very far into the snow.

The other reason for marching the way they did was to leave as few tracks as possible. They could go single-file, but then it would be more difficult to collectively respond to threats.

There was no real proof that the Risen could track people using traditional methods, since they no longer had eyes. However, there were stories of scouting parties encountering groups of Risen that looked like they were following tacks.

If nothing else, marching two-by-two gave a sense of security to the Scouts.

The Decoys marched at the back of the procession. Tapo had explained that Vas’s squad would be called to the front in the case of finding a herd of monsters that were unaware of the Scouts.

Depending on the number of Risen, the Decoys would either draw attention away from the main group while it passed then try to escape, or they would function as bait and attack the Risen; drawing attention away from the main Scout group charging in.

The group of Scouts slowed to a halt as the sun neared the edge of the horizon.

They had made good progress and had come across no issues.

There were no large rocks or hills in sight, so they were forced to make camp in the open.

Vas helped set up a tent, pinning it down and piling snow along the sides of the tent. The snow would help insulate and disguise the tent.

Finished with the tent, he filled an insulated cup with snow, shook the thing a few times, and put it in his pack.

Jade pulled a wool blanket out of her pack and laid it in their squad tent.

Normally, six people would be an uncomfortable number of people to fit in such a tent. However, the warmth that extra people brought was worth the tight quarters.

Vas stared at the setting sun and noticed a dark speck that should not have been there.

He jumped to his feet and found Ishone two tents away. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“There’s a strange speck on the horizon. I didn’t notice it earlier.”

Ishone showed no sense of urgency. In fact, she looked more at ease.

“We think it’s a wanderer. Tapo has one of his little ninjas checking it out.”

A wanderer? Vas wanted to ask, but Ishone turned and walked away from him.

He assumed it was a Risen that wandered on its own.

When Vas returned to the tent, the others were in their bags. Jade was already sleeping.

Instead of stripping down and sleeping, Vas sat inside next to Jade’s snoozing figure.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep. He was exhausted, too.

It was just. . . What had Tare told him? Duty was heavier than a mountain?

Vas felt that if something were to happen now, it would be something he could have prevented.

“Something wrong?” Tare’s voice broke into his thoughts. Fem, Joust, and Tare were watching him.

Vas observed the three men. They were ready to fall asleep, but they were alert at the same time.

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He took his sword off. The red sheath looked dull in the dark tent. It was almost completely dark now.

“Sleep with your clothes on tonight.” It came out sharper than Vas had intended.

The men nodded and started slipping clothes on.

It was warm in their makeshift igloo, especially compared to the cold building they’d been staying in.

Vas sat in silence for another thirty minutes, listening. He didn’t hear any signs of trouble.

Jade suddenly twitched next to him. She had never told him what had happened, but she constantly had nightmares like he did. Maybe worse than he did.

Vas laid a hand on her arm and she grabbed him. Her eyes opened wide and she stared at him in terror.

Actually, she probably couldn’t actually see his eyes. It was too dark for that now. Why could he see hers? He put his thoughts aside. He was getting tired.

“A nightmare, Jade,” he cooed.

The terror disappeared as Jade oriented herself, but she didn’t stop looking at him.

“Why aren’t you sleeping,” Jade scolded him, “Worrying yourself over silly things again?”

Outside the tent, there was a crunching sound.

Footsteps.

Vas put a finger over Jade’s lips.

They were chapped.

They waited a few moments in silence as the crunching continued.

It seemed like it was getting closer. Or was it walking past them?

Jade sat up, and Vas cursed himself for not waking her up and telling her to put clothes on. She was completely naked, and wouldn’t be very helpful for a fight in the snow.

Vas wanted her to unzip the entrance and wake the others, but he didn’t want to say anything. She also couldn’t see in the dark as well as he could.

Vas grabbed Jade’s hand and pulled softly. She let him pull her across him and to the entrance.

He put her hand on the tent zipper.

After that, Vas got into position. He pulled his sword close to his chest and touched Jade’s leg with three fingers. Then two. Then one.

Jade pulled the entrance open and Vas dove out almost immediately.

Everything was dark.

The small sliver of moon and starlight was only enough to illuminate very basic details.

Vas caught movement in the corner of his eye and jumped away from the blur.

He heard a swish in the air.

“You. . . See?” A grinding voice inquired of him.

Vas could barely make out the dark form now.

He didn’t shout out in case there were more of them.

This was a Risen.

It was the second time a Risen had spoken to him.

“I’m nocturnal,” Vas spat sarcastically as he clicked his sheath open and swung his sword.

He felt his sword get knocked aside and stepped forward.

There was a blur. Vas felt like he could predict the next attack.

He brought his sword back around and felt his opponent’s sword slide across his own.

Barely fast enough.

Vas couldn’t win like this.

“I am—” The rasping voice began.

“Silence!” Vas roared out the command, not caring if other Risen heard.

“I don’t need your name, monster.”

This was only memory Risen had. Not loved ones, not where their home was, not what foods they liked. They remembered their human birth name.

Vas attacked the creature again and was deflected again.

This Risen had learned how to use its weapon, unlike the fresh ones from the week before.

It was switching stances and using the advantage of its perfect vision.

Vas made a feint, trying to use the Risen’s vision against it. He swung back around and allowed his sword to be redirected, and used a kick to send the monster flying multiple paces.

Suddenly, Vas saw his companions coming out from the tent. Cries of alarm were beginning to sound throughout the camp.

The monster laughed. “I will remember your name, Nocturnal. We will meet again.”

Vas swung his blade, fully expecting it to be deflected.

To his surprise, he felt it rip through flesh.

The monster was beheaded.

Vas snarled at the decapitated shape.

He could barely make it out in the darkness.

He still hated it.

Vas shook his sword and wiped the blade. He walked back to the tent, where Jade was slipping on her shoes.

“Thank you,” he said frankly.

Jade finished putting her shoes on and Vas helped her stand.

“Go lay down. I don’t think there are more.”

Was she trying to make sure he didn’t get tired?

“They’ll be wanting to know what happened,” Vas stated. He was exhausted.

“Fem will explain it to them. Right Fem?”

“Right’o,” came Fem’s voice.

“Trust us.” Jade winked at him and walked away.

Vas laid down and listened to Joust and Fem explaining the situation to newcomers. ‘A lone Risen’ and ‘We dealt with it’ and . . . Vas closed his eyes and fell asleep.