They spent the rest of the day in the relative safety of the house they had cleared. Talking, eating, playing cards. Not training too much, always making sure they had enough Stamina in case of a fight.

When the night came, Max and Daniel had first watch. After they woke up everyone else with a series of lightning bolts, they reported a shadow that had been lurking around, getting too close for comfort.

Considering the time and situation, Alice and Harry took over the second watch. One capable of detecting enemies even in the dark and through walls, the other capable of dealing with them. However, after the initial attack via heavenly punishment, the creature stayed away. And finally, it was Ava's and Carl's turn.

As she fell into a fitful sleep, Alice realized for the first time how much she was reliant on the smaller girl's presence. Without her, Alice's subconscious seemed insistent to torture her with every single memory of pain, blood, gore, and death, a collection of memories that had grown exponentially in the past few days. Only when she could feel her head being lifted up before being put to rest on a pair of bony thighs did her mind calm enough to find rest.

Still, when Alice woke up again, she was far too tired for her taste. Spending three hours awake in the middle of the night wasn't exactly the ideal way to wake up fully rested.

After a quick breakfast, reestablishing the telepathic network, and calling in with Michael, they finally set off once again.

Just as Alice had hoped, the Street Sharks had disappeared over the night, allowing them relatively safe passage towards the city with only a few incidents.

First, they had to hide away as a herd of Raptors passed through, followed by the second about two minutes later, where they had to hide from a group of Flashers, presumably hunting the Raptors from earlier. It was the first time Alice had seen them in a group. Apparently, however, Daniel had seen such a herd before, and the ones Alice had seen were actually just the Scouts.

Most interesting, however, was what happened when they gathered in such a group. While their ability to make your eyes slip off was highly annoying and dangerous when they were alone, when they were in a group, the effects accumulated and amplified each other, creating an effect similar to the stripes of a zebra that made it almost impossible to focus on a single individual, just with an added serving of nausea.

It was like trying to stand on a sphere of very slippery ice but with stilts. Just with your sight instead of your body. Whatever predator hunted those creatures would have to be fast about it, or they would become sick with nausea, at which point the situation would turn around quickly. After all, contrary to zebras, these creatures weren't herbivores.

The last incident, however, was the one that worried Alice the most. Albeit all on its own, a single invisible spider had made its way all the way there. Defeating it wasn't the problem, but if it meant that those creatures were expanding their territory, or if there was a second hive around, that could mean a big problem should they reach Golden Glades.

Even if there were a few with Skills that got them around the invisibility, it would be still hugely limiting.

In the end, even the creature's soul turned out to be a disappointment. Sure, she would be able to turn invisible, but just like with the Street Sharks Skill, a single level in the Skill was not enough, only causing a slight distortion. It made her hard to look at, but she was far from invisible. And not just that, but the effect was layered directly onto her skin, so to use it, she would have to run around fully naked. Only if she was truly desperate would she attempt anything like that.

However, it finally made Alice realize something. All of the Skills she got via Soul-binding were not in the least adjusted for human use. Thinking about it, Alice would not be surprised if she could get the stone pillar ability of the Goliath, just to find out that the power of the Skill actually depended on how hard she punched the ground. Considering that that was exactly what the creature had done every time the effect activated, that might actually be a pattern as well. Either a monster's Skill was passive and always active, or it required some kind of activation action.

As soon as she had the thought, she had Debby once again notify Michael to have him check their records, or at least the little pieces of information they called that.

When Debby did that, she also finally got the result to the question regarding sleep. Apparently, no one had noticed because everyone just attributed it to stress, but upon inquiry, Michael found out that people overall needed less sleep, especially so those with high Stamina.

Not much later, the group of seven made their way into the cities outskirts, which revealed a view that none of them had ever seen before.

It didn't look like some kind of war zone like some movies liked to portray it, and neither did it look like magical bramble bushes were taking over the city. There weren't even any more corpses around, all of them having been scavenged by one monster or another.

And yet, it was clear that the city of Trenton had gone through more than just tough times. Post-apocalyptic was still the best word Alice could find to describe the scenery, despite it contradicting most things one might imagine when hearing the word.

Sure, there were some immediate, large tells. Most of all, the large number of crashed cars along the streets, the eery silence, the smashed windows, and the total absence of people.

However, the true devil lay in the detail. What truly brought out the atmosphere that seemed to freeze one's spine, that ambiance that made you feel like every moment might be your last, what caused the all-enveloping pressure burdening one's mind, were the small things.

Trails of blood leading into buildings, almost completely washed away by the rain. Scratches and claw marks, so small and easy to overlook, yet one could always find more if one just wanted. Bullet holes in the walls and casings on the ground. Shadows lurking behind corners, only visible as movement on the edge of your vision, the creatures running as soon as one looked at them.

"This is worse than a war zone... At least there you can tell what's going on," the old soldier mumbled under his breath.

"Be careful. They are hiding, but there are monsters around. I think they are watching us and trying to figure out how dangerous we are. Let's get moving before they get any ideas.

Max and Daniel, you watch the windows on the left. Daniel, keep your Mana for the big ones. Harry, Deb, you keep our right side safe. Ava, keep the rear safe, stay hidden when possible. I will take point. Carl, stay in the middle, try to keep everyone in range of your movement Skill. Don't hesitate to tell us if anyone gets too far away.

Has everyone the path to the first target location remembered?"

"Yes!" a number of confirmations entered Alice's mind.

"Then let's go fast! This place feels a lot more dangerous than last time."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Their teamwork and organization were far from perfect. Alice didn't even need Pack mentality to be able to tell that. However, everyone tried their best to get into their position quickly. It made Alice feel a bit more competent than she actually was, considering all she was doing was reiterating the plans and tactics they had all come up with together.

The group of seven jogged through the empty streets at a fast clip in complete silence, every kind of communication having been relegated to their telepathic network and restricted to important information and their once-a-minute call-ins, just in case they were confronted with some kind of illusory body snatcher or doppelgänger.

Every now and then, shots fell, driving off a creature that had become too curious for comfort.

"I can hear something on our way. A fight," Ava's voice entered their minds.

"Stop! Roundup! Max, Debby, in the middle. Ava, can you check it out?"

"Sure, give me a minute."

If she hadn't been paying attention, Alice wouldn't have noticed the girl's soul slipping out of her perception range. Seeing her girlfriend with her eyes had already become almost impossible in terrain with as many obstacles as here.

"You left my range. Call in every twenty seconds," Alice reminded her girlfriend one last time.

"Sure, Boss."

Soon, Ava left the range of the network too, from then on only capable of communicating with their telepath.

Two tense minutes of nervously watching the surrounding buildings passed before Debby passed on Ava's information.

"Apparently, a group of Monkeys is having a big fight with a Raptor herd, but according to Ava, they are right in our path."

"Okay, we will go around. Tell Ava to come back quickly. I don't think those guys are going to tolerate us much longer," Alice referred to the Monkeys gathering in the surrounding windows and on the roofs. The numbers gathering were concerning, but at least for now, the group was out of range of the creatures Taunt. But if the creatures came down or started to throw stuff at them, things would get chaotic. Luckily, the Monkeys weren't known to do the latter, and even if they did that, Alice was confident that they could drive them off. But right now was not the time for fighting, not if they had a clear and important objective.

In about half the time and with even less stealth than it took to get there, Ava returned to the group.

As soon as the girl was reintegrated into the network, Alice sent her message to the entire team, "Same formation as before. But Carl takes point. I will stay in the back to make sure that none of these pests follow us. Ava, take the middle, support whoever needs it, and give Carl directions. Try to lead us around them, maybe two or three streets over. No need to take the risk and get too close."

Just a few moments faster than the first time around, they fell into formation once again, Carl immediately falling into a fast-paced jog. Alice noticed him looking back at his wife a few times, who had a hard time keeping up, but he didn't slow down. It was good to see that the man could tell when things got so dangerous that there was no time for him to show off to Debby.

As soon as they ran, the Monkeys on the roofs followed them. However, as soon as they turned right at the next crossroad, the group on their left stopped. Not much later, when they crossed over another crossroad, the group on their right was left behind too. Neither of them was daring enough to cross the streets, possibly to prevent a confrontation with their neighbors in that place.

Only a street later did Carl finally slow down to an easier-to-handle speed.

A few minutes later, Alice called out, "Stop! We take the next right, and we are in the street with our first target, right?" she asked just to make sure she hadn't mistaken the location once the group came to a stop.

The others confirmed it.

"Okay, the target should be building number nineteen, or in this case, the third entrance on the left side, and from there on the second floor, left side of the entrance. Debby, there is currently no one in the building?"

"Not in the entire street. No."

"Okay, I take point, Ava and Harry are with me. Daniel, Carl, protect Debs and Max, only enter a room when we confirmed it to be safe.

Let's go fast and silent. There is no reason to give the Monkeys time to react."

More or less in formation, the seven ran around the corner as Harry showed off the full power of his Class for the first time.

Until now, the old man had been getting by with a pretty standard AK-47, a shotgun, or his suppressed Glock, giving his own weapon and those of the others a variety of different Magical effects when necessary.

Now, however, a number of different metal parts flew out of a specially made metal case he had been carrying, floating into position as several larger parts seemed to form from thin air before everything got put together, finally forming a giant of a sniper-rifle almost two and a half meters in length.

The whole process happened in less than two seconds. Another second passed as the weapon split in two, then three, then four, floating over the soldier's shoulders like a set of railguns might be on a mecha.

Then, all four of them shot. And again. And again.

There were none of the ear-deafening sounds of explosions Alice had expected. However, that was in no way necessary to convey the destructions these monstrosities could bring upon a person. The shockwaves they produced when shot were more than enough.

In absolute silence, twelve holes appeared in the Monkeys that had made the mistake of making their presence known. Then again, Alice had no doubt that the eight shots that had gone straight into walls had reached the Monkeys that were behind them either way.

Just as quickly as the weapons of destruction had appeared, the three copies dissolved into nothing but thin air, followed by some of the biggest pieces of the original. The remaining smaller parts sorted themselves back into the soldier's weapon compartments, making it look like the weapon didn't even exist.

"What the fucking hell?"

Alice could fully understand the surprise and astonishment in Debby's voice. Sure, they had seen a lot of stuff, and if anything, monsters and magic were astonishing and awe-inspiring.

However, there was simply something terrifying about watching such a human-engineered tool of pure destruction at work. It was a show of force, proving that humanity wasn't helpless in the face of magic and monsters in the most barbaric of ways.

Of course, Harry's magic had amplified that effect by pretty precisely four times over.

"Anzio 20mm. Biggest motherfucker of a gun that's commercially available. Got really lucky when we found it. Sadly, I haven't yet bound all of its parts, so I really hope none of them get damaged." Harry quickly explained.

Before the man could go on any further, they already stood in front of the door to the building, Alice putting her arm through the broken glass to open it up from the inside. There was no reason to risk injuries from the glass shard still sticking out of the frame like a set of terrifying teeth.

Alice stepped through the door first, shield over her head and eyes going through the room to check for threats that could circumvent her soul sense. Soon, Ava and Harry followed, the latter having taken out his Glock once again.

"Should be safe enough, everyone, follow. Ava, there is one..." Alice adjusted her position a little and continued, "right above me."

The other girl stepped right next to Alice, using the shadow she was throwing and melding into it. A moment later, her girlfriend's soul stretched and reformed on the floor above, cleanly taking out the owner of the other soul she had felt there with minimal sound.

"Done."

"The doors?"

Behind the entrance, there was a small area from where a short staircase led roughly half a floor up where the actually first floor of apartments was located.

"Left and right doors are closed. The middle one is broken open."

"Okay, the middle one doesn't have any monsters in it, and the others don't seem to have noticed us. Let's ignore them for now."

Quickly, all six of them followed to join Ava.

"Our target is on the left, it's empty. There are two monkeys, one in the right and one in the middle apartment. Ava, take the middle, Harry on the right. Debby, soul comparison."

A few moments passed as Harry and Ava adjusted to the new information they had received, and then they were off. Of the two, Ava was quicker, checking her assigned door and opening it silently. Then she walked straight through the room before flashing from one position to another, taking out her opponent in the process.

Harry, on the other hand, took his time. Carefully checking through each room and door, he too returned just a minute later.

Alice ended the sharing of her soul sense and followed the two others up.

"Ava," she called the redhead over, "there is another one right above me."

As soon as she found her, Ava teleported away, dealing with the remaining enemy.

"Harry, Carl, Daniel, keep watch on the first floor. Deb, Ava, Max, we check out the apartment."

Quickly, everyone went into position.

On the first floor, Daniel and Carl were watching the doors behind which there were still monsters to be found, ready to deal with them the moment Alice gave the warning. At the same time, Harry was watching the entrance, securing their path out.

On the second floor, Alice tried to open the apartment door, trying the key they had been given when she found it locked.

Alice and Ava moved in first, making sure it was safe before they called in the other two to help. The place was pure chaos, albeit not the type resulting from a fight. No, it was simply the chaos caused by a person with messy habits.

Quickly, all four began to search, quickly confirming that the person living here had at least survived for a while. Or at least they came to the judgment based on a large number of survival supplies that had been gathered in one of the rooms. However, judging from the moldy food remains, they almost assumed the worst to have happened.

It was pure luck that Max found a clue when they were just about to give up on this family member.

"Read this," the healer said, pushing a piece of paper into Alice's hands.