Midnight was on the verge of arrival. Arcturus had closed his journal after documenting all that had transpired in his outing. He turned off the hologram clock and then turned to Constance who was watching Sophia and Murphy sleep.

“Should I wake them up?” Constance asked.

“Please.”

Arcturus had slowly turned around. Nova had been sleeping behind him using his bag as a pillow and his coat as a blanket. Souhait had returned back to Nova’s consciousness, so the person in control of Nova’s body was the owner of the vessel himself in his currently exhausted state. He had planned to carry Nova to Hilbert’s house.

Sophia and Murphy had slept because they wanted to get some extra rest before they moved. The blanket they had came from Souhait’s hair before he changed back Nova. They would have to carry it with him now that Nova was in control of his body. When they woke up, they were a bit groggy, but still did their best to get up and prepare for the move. Sophia started folding the blanket.

“Did you get any sleep, Arcturus?” Murphy asked.

“He did not sleep at all,” Constance remarked.

“Why not?” Sophia asked as she held the folded blanket in her arms.

“It’s hard for me to sleep. I was able to sleep due to getting a fever before, but it’s not a permanent thing in my body system. I haven’t been sleeping properly for months, so it’s kind of hard to break out of that habit.”

“Youngsters need proper sleep or they won’t grow!”

“I’m already done growing, though…”

He knelt down and gently held Nova’s head to take his satchel back. He then slid his foot to where his hand was in order for Nova’s head to rest on it and not on the floor. Once he adjusted his bag properly, he then scooped up Nova into his arms and stood up. Sophia looked down at her arms and then unraveled the blanket.

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“If you don’t mind, I’d like to put his on him so that his face won’t be exposed on the streets, just in case someone passes by.”

“Thank you.”

Sophia adjusted the blanket so that Nova was under it completely. The group checked one last time to see if they had anything that wasn’t stored. Murphy told them that every nook and cranny of the apartment was spotless. They stepped out and locked the door.

Once they headed downstairs, Murphy stopped them. “Before we go out to the streets, let me hand this over to the landlady.” He dangled the keys and had an envelope.

“Isn’t she asleep around this time?” Constance remarked.

“She is. I’ll just put it next to her door so that it’ll grab her attention in the morning.”

Now, they were walking in the streets. Arcturus had noticed the elderly couple did not turn around to look back at their apartment. He understood them. Turning back would only mean they regretted their choices. He had kept moving forward when he was destroying Shifties and hurting other humans. He could tell how strong their resolve was and how much they steeled themselves for this.

He scanned the vicinity. He first looked up. His gaze traced the clear dome and noticed the tracks and holes he and Nova had made; he felt an odd sense of proudness when seeing it. When he lowered his head, he noticed the streets were empty save for Cobots cleaning the streets. It reminded him of when he first met Constance and how she guided him to the apartment. He had been carrying Nova in his arms at that time too. He was unable to hear the noises of the streets at the time, but now, he was able to hear the footsteps and breaths of the people around him.

He heard the soft vibrations the Cobots made, the footsteps people made and the breathing of those around him, including his own. Night time in the streets was unexpectedly silent; it wasn’t the peaceful kind, but the ominous type. It was the type that made people on their guard when walking about. Perhaps, those were just assumptions from his experiences back home.

The sky above him was black and cloudless. The moon wasn’t out tonight. If it was, he wondered if it would ruin the pristine black sky. The color reminded him of the black void that had greeted him when he fell asleep in his Realm of Desires. He wasn’t dreaming. He wondered why it took until now for him to fully grasp he was in foreign land and in a city that doesn’t exist in any maps.

Yet, he found himself letting out a small smile. His grip on Nova tightened.

It’s a rather peaceful night.