There wasn’t any time to waste, so they would have to work fast. The next crisis could arrive at any moment, and he needed to figure out how to save as many people as possible before it did.

Nick knew that he might have to take Jim and Ken out of the picture, at least long enough to reorganize the teams and get them into the tower. But before he made his move, he needed to gather more allies and have his friends at his side.

If he wasn’t careful, Nick would make things worse than they already were. He needed team Earth at their best if they were going to survive climbing the tower and face the guardian waiting on the roof.

As he turned to leave, Nick disturbed a piece of firewood, making it clack against its neighbor.

Before he could move, Ken’s voice rang out, who had arrived sometime over the last few minutes. “Did you hear that? I think someone is sneaking around outside.”

By this point, Nick had begun moving away from the tent as quietly as he could, grateful for his charm of muffling.

As he crept, his heart began to race, and adrenaline coursed within his veins. If Ken and Jim caught him now, they wouldn’t let him leave without a fight. He summoned his arctic clarity long enough to analyze his surroundings, diving beneath a pile of blankets just as Ken rounded the side of the tent.

Nick held his breath and went perfectly still, praying that his charm would mute the wild racing of his pulse. That the muscular warrior didn’t have a skill that would give his position away.

Ken came to a stop beside the racks of leather, examining the tracks running along the dirt before growling in frustration. “There’s too many footprints,” he muttered. “I can’t tell which belong to whom.” A nervous minute later, the sword-wielding warrior headed off in the opposite direction. Nick waited until the coast was clear, slipped out from under the pile, and got the hell out of there as fast as he could.

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Looking over his shoulder the entire way, he rounded the tower and made it back to their campsite.

To his relief, no one seemed to be following or looking for him. Nick had been hoping that everyone would be there, so he could share his concerns. But Sophia was the only one around, who was tending the fire at the moment.

He told her what he’d overheard and asked her to think about what they should do. Nick let her know that he wanted to take a lap around the campgrounds, getting a better feel for the terrain and the layout of the doors while pondering how to deal with the situation. When the others got back, they could decide how to proceed as a team.

“Sounds good,” Sophia said. “I think Devin is out looking for the others. Veronica is taking one of the classes in weapon proficiency being offered, while they’re still going on. I’m going to stay here and finish maintaining my gear, then maybe take a dip in one of those pools they cleared while I still can. Don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere else without letting you know where to find me, and I won’t be gone long regardless.”

Glad that they already had enough food for now, he began following the base of the tower, heading through the campgrounds and toward the unoccupied part of the region. As he walked, Nick kept an eye out for Kenji as well as any natural resources he could collect along the way.

He was primarily looking for some better kindling, since everything near the main grounds had already been picked clean. Although wood was heavy, gathering enough for at least one fire would be a welcome addition to their stockpile, since he had a hunch that team Earth would be entering the tower sooner rather than later.

By the time that he made it back to camp, the others were waiting for him, expressions of concern writ clear upon their faces. Nick relayed everything that he had discovered about Jim’s plans so far, along with his suspicions regarding the availability of entrances into the tower. When he was done, everyone else shared what they had learned over the last few hours.