Rowan descended the dining room steps and leaned on the wooden bannister. The world's light was fainter now. But there was no setting sun to gently end the day.

"Now, what do I do?"

Carefully, Rowan made his way down the stairs. He'd quenched the hunger from his stomach. He'd only wished they'd told him what he'd eaten before the musky taste had stuck in his mouth.

Rowan wrinkled his brow. At some point, Alicia must have returned to the forest and retrieved that Devoured's body. Rowan put a cautious hand over his mouth, but fortunately, his stomach didn't wish to part with what he'd eaten.

"Evening, Rowan." Leaning against the foot of the stairs, a familiar face nodded at him.

"Nero." Rowan sighed. Smiling away, the hazel-haired youth waited below.

"You've worked your way up quite nicely, haven't you, Rowan? You've been in there with them for hours now."

Rowan raised an eyebrow and walked past him. Nero followed alongside with a smirk.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Nero. You know I'm not like that."

"I suppose. But that makes you an idiot. You've gotten yourself in quite the pickle, after all."

Rowan scoffed. "You were eavesdropping on us. Weren't you?

Nero grinned as he strode alongside. "Aha, you got that quick. My hearing just happens to be very good. Forgive me."

"Forget forgiveness. Tell me what you're up to, Nero."

"Me?" Nero pointed to himself. "I just wanna walk with you, that's all."

Trespassing through the clustered camp, Nero shook his head. He was unconcerned with the peering Defected eyes as he strode ahead of Rowan.

"I get it now. You just came here to see me suffer, didn't you?" Rowan said.

"Bingo." He grinned. "I want to know how you plan to get out of this one, Rowan. I mean, the Boss probably heard that whole conversation. From what I can theorise, she can hear things about herself. But won't hear the things that she has personally altered."

Rowan squinted.

"Talk about awkward, right?" Nero slapped a hard hand on Rowan's back, sending shivers through him.

"I didn't, tch, dammit. You're going to help me convince her then. Right, Nero?"

"You make it sound easy, Rowan. Only one person has less sway at camp than the newbie himself, and you're looking at him."

Nero swung his arms behind his head, but Rowan was not amused.

"Aren't you at least going to try? Are we friends or not? Make up your mind, asshole."

"We're friends, Rowan. But when was the last time you helped me? It's not that we don't want to help each other out. It's just that we happen to be very useless, don't you think?"

Rowan smiled. "Very sneaky, Nero. Whatever, I'll just manage on my own. Somehow. Go slink off to wherever it is you spend all day."

"Oh, fine."

Rowan finally spotted the crumbled stone wall. But there was no one there. As he approached Nero remained fixed to his side.

"I thought you were leaving? Or are you going to help me now?" Rowan said.

"I'm leaving."

After reaching the wall, Rowan heaved himself up to take a seat. It could be a long conversation, so he needed to be as early as possible. The Boss would come here again. He was sure.

In thought, Rowan's eyes flicked to the side. Nero vaulted over the wall in one strong, seamless movement. He landed. Then he walked.

"Hey, what are you doing?

Nero turned back. "Isn't it obvious? I'm slinking off. I'll catch you later, Rowan."

Nero turned back to the forest, raising a hand in farewell as he left. Rowan remained on the wall as the gears turned in his head. The day's light was growing fainter, and the forest's shadows heavier. It was minutes before Nero's figure vanished between the trees.

Rowan heard a soft rustle behind him.

"I sometimes wonder what he spends all his time doing in there. The sounds are unsettling, to say the least."

Her eyes were pools of blue darkness that caught him whenever he saw them.

"All his time?" Rowan said.

She spent a moment staring at the beckoning forest before raising a hand. She reached for the wall with a short limb and climbed up.

'... so, that's how she does it?' Rowan watched her struggle blankly before she was beside him. With a wry smile, she watched the looming forest.

"It feels like I'm the only one who notices. But he slips out in broad daylight like that every day. Not that I'm ever up early enough to see it."

She smiled and turned to Rowan. It lasted long enough for him to realise.

"You heard everything I said earlier. Didn't you?" The girl pulled a hand to her mouth and chuckled. His face seemed to have amused her.

"Look, I was just trying to mediate. Ok, I'm sorry for getting involved in this."

As her smile faded, Rowan shuffled, bothered by the quiet.

"I understand everyone is concerned." She said.

"Do you?" Rowan gripped the stony wall beneath with his fist. "Because you don't seem very keen to compromise. You must have heard what Alicia said at the end. Do you really think she won't ignore you and Hecter's orders and go out alone? Are you familiar with her at all?"

The Boss's bottom lip twitched. "I do know Alicia. But shouldn't you be trying to persuade me?"

Rowan choked on his words. 'This is going nowhere.' With his mouth clenched shut, Rowan turned to examine her. She avoided his gaze, but his eyes remained fixed on her. He had information from the night before. And with no way to back out, he was in his element.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"You never told me your real name."

She turned to him with a frown. "I never tell anyone my real name."

"Why?"

The dark orbs of her eyes closed. Rowan fidgeted, afraid he'd come on too strong. But then she smiled faintly.

"Because it's embarrassing." She said.

Rowan almost smiled back. "How come?"

"My family have always had a weird naming sense. To say the least."

Rowan paused. "Your family... it must have been a while since you've seen them?"

The Boss paused and puckered her lips. Ahead of them, the forest and its shadows danced. The rare time of day when the trees weren't so eerie and beckoning.

"Gautama."

Rowan blinked. "Gautama, huh, what? You mean like?"

She smiled. "Our surname. That's what it is."

'That's my school's name?' Rowan's lips curled up. "Then what? That makes you something Gautama?"

She paused. "It makes me Garuda Gautama."

Rowan snorted. Surprised by the sound, she turned to him, horrified. "I thought you wouldn't laugh. You're supposed to be convincing me, aren't you?"

But then he did laugh. "Garuda Gautama, really?"

It was Rowan's turn to look away from her, hiding his smile. To the side, he could see a cluster of Defected forming around the buildings behind them. A few pointed towards Garuda. Rowan wrinkled his brow, confused.

"Don't forget I'm in charge, Rowan. So don't you go telling anyone my name. I've kept it a secret so far. The last thing I need right now is everyone calling me that."

Rowan felt like taking a page from Nero's book. "Ok, Garuda."

She scowled. "I. If you're just going to make fun of me. I'll leave right now."

Rowan raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't move. The crowd behind them had grown larger. The added pressure of an audience would make things difficult for him.

"Sure, fine. I get it, alright? Do you know why they're all looking at us? I really hate crowds."

Garuda turned and bit her lip. "I guess they're just surprised. I speak with Hector and the Noct sometimes. But it's been a while since I've been awake during the day."

"Ah, that's what it is."

Rowan had been here for three days now and seen Garuda three times. So he had been slow to realise it. Many were seeing their leader for the first time in a while.

Rowan asked. "Garuda, that can't be good, can it?"

Both turned away from the crowd and caught each other in a stalemate. Garuda's deep black eyes reflected his tiny figure in their depths. He felt trapped. Her dual Defects kept him stranded in his seat, not blinking, as the corners of his vision darkened.

"Every time I interact with them, I put them at risk. Rowan, I'm doing my job. What you and Alicia want is putting everyone in danger."

He squinted back at her. But his hazel eyes were outmatched. He could feel the goosebumps emerge on his skin.

Rowan winced. "I, I think I get it. You want to keep the future as similar to your visions as possible. To prevent any accidental or unfortunate event. You lock yourself away for everyone's sake, I know."

Rowan paused. "You're nothing like me."

Rowan felt the painful tingle on his skin weaken as her deep stare faltered. He sat straight again and swept the sweat from his forehead.

"But you're missing the point."

This time, she listened quietly while watching the forest. Sparing Rowan from her eyes.

"You're the leader. Your Defect isn't your only power. And I'm not saying it to be nice or considerate. I won't lie to you. However, the dangerous futures you always see would be less common if you stepped up as a leader and shared your visions. Can't you see?"

"You're an outsider, Rowan. You don't get it. Locking myself away, I've managed to stop anyone dying for weeks. We've never had that before."

Rowan sighed. She spared him a glance as her mouth drooped.

"I don't want to lose anyone else, Rowan. I don't want the guilt."

The noise around them made it hard to continue talking. The chatter was stirring and whirring and not letting up. Both of them faced away from the noise.

"Garuda."

She'd grabbed her legs with her hand, ruffling the blue fabric. But a hand quickly stopped and held hers.

"It won't last. Alicia's a lot of things. But she's a fighter and honest above all else. If she says someone is as good as dead already, then I trust her. I'm sorry."

She clenched her teeth. "You don't know that! You don't. You're an outsider here! You don't care about them like I do!"

Rowan shrank back. "What would you have me do? I stopped everyone from dying. I, I can't, can't do anything else for them."

She turned further from him. But Rowan's hand remained on hers. Then, he pulled it from her leg.

"I don't know what else you can do for them. But I'm sure you can do something."

She turned to face him with a scowl. But it didn't last. A faint smirk escaped her.

"That doesn't make any sense."

He thought she would let go of his hand. He waited for her to. But she didn't. She looked lost in thought as she turned to face the noisy, Defected audience behind her. They noticed her stare and grew quieter. Soon, no sound escaped them.

"Do you have a sibling, Rowan?"

Rowan forgot to breathe. He was so close to getting it right. He almost had it. But those words drove a sharp, cold knife into him as he scrambled to answer.

"I do. Why, why do you ask?"

"Do you trust them? Do you think they'll come save you? Even here?"

Rowan froze. "I. Don't."

Despite how pale Rowan was, she smiled, let go of his hand, and slipped from the wall. Stumbling a little as she landed. He watched her go, feeling his chest throb and beat as his mind was cast back to another time.

She turned to him anyway. "I need to stop relying on him. Come and help me do this, Rowan. This is your fault, after all."

With a faint smile, she waited. Without a word, Rowan dropped from the wall and walked stiffly to her side.

####################

The dining hall was cramped.

Rowan shared a fleeting glance with the windows and night sky. They were open, yet the heat and noise remained overwhelming. The smell, too, was absent of meat and alcohol and brimmed with rustic metal and sweat.

It was late enough for the Noct and Defected to mingle together inside. But there were bound to be more outside listening in.

The central table was the least clustered in the dining hall. But it was beholden to the most eyes. Gripping the table, Rowan glanced at Garuda from her left and bit his lip. 'Do her visions always last this long?'

Her eyes were glossy and dark as she stared aimlessly at the roof. Hector was to her right, leaving the three of them alone on their side of the table.

"It's getting late. Let's begin already." Hector rose to a stand, and his voice boomed.

On the other side, Alicia sat with her legs kicked up, Kane to her right, and a row of thirteen elite Defected looked up at Hector.

"Firstly, you should know things are changing at camp. Starting with the visions. We intend to begin sharing tomorrow's vision with everyone."

Already, a burst of murmurs escaped the crowd. But Hector's voice cut through them before they could get riled up.

"This will alter the end result. It means we can't guarantee everyone's survival like in the past few weeks. Sharing this information will make the visions differ too much. Our changes could cause death. It's happened before. But by sharing all this information and these warnings, we can start doing everything with better foresight."

Rowan watched the Defected standing quietly and still as his eyes darted around. They all stared at Garuda, who looked back without even a twitch. With all those eyes, Rowan wanted to move from beside her, but he didn't.

"Until the Boss wakes. I intend to share some new information with all of you. First of all, our location remains ambiguous, as you know. But we have speculated since then. And our speculations suggest that the nearest zone may already be familiar to us."

Murmurs escaped the crowd, but another pause from Hector shunned them into silence.

"Our home country, Montarc has a well-developed settlement in this world. At least it did. Two years ago. It also had a healthy quantity of Defected compared to other nations... two years ago."

Hector coughed. "Those with acute memories will remember. One such hazardous zone was often discussed back home."

Hector glanced at Rowan. "We found one that fits the description."

Mumbles erupted again, but Hector cut through them before they could get louder.

"It's almost nothing to go off! It's a cold area. But how many similar cold zones are there? How big is this world? Nobody knows. But tomorrow, we intend to find out how close rescue really is. To find out if we're near our country's settlement."

Rowan heard mumbles and noticed nods of heads. 'Seems only I'm surprised. No one was in a rush to clue me in.'

"We're launching an expedition to investigate. With the elites gone, we'll have to raise security at camp for twenty-four hours. So, no hunting." Hector said."

Conversations escaped as the room lost most of its quiet. Hector waited with a patient still face and found Rowan's gaze. Rowan nodded at him.

"Quiet!" Hector's shout wasn't too loud, but it startled everyone as they tilted their heads towards him.

"Next is the Vile. We expect it to ambush you when we're gone. Or to ambush us on our way. If it's the former, then you will flee. Until you have at least a group of fifty. Preferably a hundred. Then, you can engage."

Rowan had been watching her carefully. He was surprised to see Alicia only kick a leg on the table now.

Smack.

"You're skimping on some of those promised details, Hector," Alicia said. "If the cold zone is all that stands between us and Montarc's settlement. Then why haven't we been rescued after two whole years?"

Kane said. "She's right. Withholding the visions is one thing. But information like that is inexcusable." Kane shared a smug smile with Alicia, but she ignored him.

Hector glanced at Garuda's still figure before he coughed. Rowan noticed the swirls on Hector's face twist and turn till he faced the crowd again.

"The Boss and I have discussed it in depth. To be honest. We wanted to hold off on that detail. To discuss it more until we were certain. But we're changing our ways. No more secrets."

Apprehensive, Rowan's eyes flickered between the different Defected. Notc or otherwise, their heads were tilted up in what seemed like veneration. They trusted Hector. He was the obvious choice to give the speech. Awkward or not.

Hector continued. "We believe." Then he stopped and took a breath. "There's a Monolith there. A Vile one, perhaps."

Alicia jumped to her feet. A burst of yells and shouts shook the room.

Hector and the other elites, too. Stood yelled, wrestled, and put themselves between the crowd and the table. While they attempted to control the Defected. Only Rowan, Garuda and Kane remained seated. Rowan turned to Garuda only to find her staring at him.

'She's awake. I, what does she want me to..?' Rowan cursed. But it was pointless amidst the screams and crashes. Rowan saw Alicia's head slam into a nearby Defected as he stumbled back, clutching his nose.

Rowan's eyes scoured the room and found the wide-eyed Kane. Then, they were drawn to his Defect. An arm riddled and contorted with muscle, bicep, and tricep. It was hard to tell.

Rowan bent down, picked up his spear from the floor, and pushed it over to Kane. He'd retrieved it from Hector's home to fit in better before the meeting commenced.

Kane looked down at it, then back at Rowan, blinking. Rowan mimed hitting them together, but his green pupils stared blankly. Then, a pair of slender arms reached over Kane's shoulder and took the spear.

SHINK! SHINK! A blaring scrape of metal ripped into the crowd. Alicia had dragged the two spears across each other like an awful metal violin. Hector, almost red-faced and sweating, yelled to grab the silence quickly.

"STOP! Settled down already."

The chaos died with a chorus of curses as Defected returned to their seats or even left to escape the hall's heat.

"Do as he says." Garuda's soft voice quelled the last outrage as silence returned to the dining hall. She remained still and seated at the table.

"The Vile isn't coming here. It will attack the advance party tomorrow. If you're not on the team, you may all leave."

Defected rose from their seats obediently as they shuffled out of the room. But Rowan noticed a couple lingering Defected.

One shouted, "What about the Monolith. Is that why the Deserted isn't here?"

Her lips puckered. "Speculation... We don't know for certain."

Kane rose and helped usher the last Defected from their seats. Until the room was quiet again. Rowan sighed in relief as he stretched and turned to Garuda beside him.

"Let me guess? Is it bad?" Garuda nodded at him but kept staring. Rowan squirmed under her gaze. "...what happened? Does someone die?"

Rowan blinked. "Did I die?"