The next two patrols followed roughly the same pattern. A howling mass of Grue would charge them, and Costello would either smash an opening for them, or stand aside in order to serve as a distraction for the Grue they needed to kill.
As little as Alex trusted him, it seemed like the C rank was used to playing the role of a dutiful supervisor. The very next patrol, he charged alongside her—though he seemed to move significantly slower—and cut a massive hole through the Knights in front of them so that she could run through to fight the Killers and Mages. The Grue were so busy trying to smash him she crashed directly into their midst without any obstacles. Half a dozen Killers went down in a handful of heartbeats, and the Mages weren’t able to redirect their magic quickly enough to keep her from carving through them. By the time she finished, she’d completed the Hidden Quest for the backline Grue, and looked over to find the last of the Knights and Brutes going down to her teammates.
Sam had suggested an ambush for the next fight, and Abbott had readily agreed. He’d volunteered to be the bait, waiting in the open as the Grue charged. Clara had shot down a pair of the Brutes, while Joanna and Alex had sprung forward to keep Abbott from being overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Sam had snuck around to the rear and caught the Mages and Killers by surprise. They went down so quickly that most of them didn’t even realize what was happening.
Abbott had seemed impressed with their progress, even as he led them to the first location they’d been assigned.
The Greenhouse appeared to be a half-ruined building made from steel and glass. A part of Alex had expected some small, fragile thing sheltering some overactive grandma’s garden. Instead, it was a warehouse-sized structure that stretched along the rear of a farmhouse. Its formerly translucent glass had been smudged by neglect or defaced by Grue writing; some portions of it had been cracked as well, with a very small number of panels being completely broken.
Inside, there was a massive number of Grue. Alex felt herself go still as she looked among them, trying to figure out exactly how many Knights and others she was seeing. Even as she tried to count, however, orange text sprung to life.
[Main Quest Completed!]
Abbott glanced at her and smiled. “That’s the Greenhouse alright. The Grue are using it as an Outpost. When we practice Salvage missions later, we might be back here. Plenty of interesting materials tucked away inside there.”
She nodded and looked back at the place. There weren’t just Brutes and Knights there either. The subtle shadows of Killers were stalking among the rows of plants, and she thought she could see a couple of the hunchbacked Mages too.
Yet that wasn’t all. Other hulking shapes were moving inside, but they stayed in the sections of glass that had been too ruined to provide a clear view. She peered closer, but Costello caught her with a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head. “Not today, Valkyrie. We need to get moving. The last thing I want is to get caught between them and a Shifter.”
Reluctantly, she nodded and stepped back. They made their way around the Greenhouse and continued further to the south. Behind them, howls rose, making the hair on the back of her neck rise. How many of those things were chasing them?
“I’m just saying, it’s nice to do a mission without having some kind of desperate struggle to survive. That’s all.”
Sam’s defensive tone nearly made Alex sigh in exasperation, but Clara spoke up first. “I don’t blame you. It’s been… nice not to have to worry about what we were doing here.”
Joanna gave them a quick glance. “I thought you were worried about the Shifters chasing us?”
Clara shrugged. “I think he’s probably good enough to fight them off. He’s a C rank after all, right? He should be able to match them.”
Alex grunted sourly. Abbott had kept them heading south, and they’d only run into one more patrol. It had been Joanna’s turn to hit the back line, while the others had chopped, shot, and stabbed their way through the front ranks. She’d finished the second Hidden Quest, but she was still worried about what Costello had said about maybe skipping her second Main Quest. It seemed logical on the face of it, but she’d never actually failed a Main Quest before. She didn’t think any of the others had either, though she hadn’t asked.
Was it shallow of her to want to push a little harder just to get her full clear? It was risky, sure, but all of them had pulled through worse situations before. Why not keep moving forward in spite of whatever was chasing them?
Abbott himself was striding along ahead of them. He’d seemed to tune out their quiet conversations, though his eyes were alert as he looked around the lonely road they were following. According to him, the General Store was just a handful of minutes away. With that, everyone would have their Main Quests done but her, and then—
The C rank came to an abrupt stop. He turned and gave Clara a look. “Hey, Artemis, have you been keeping your eye on the area?”
Clara blinked. “Artemis?”
Abbott grinned. “We tend to have mission handles for everyone on the ground. That way we have less of a risk of sharing a name with one of the Surveyors we’re there to help. Less confusion.” His smile faded a bit. “Also, apparently better for marketing, but I wouldn’t know anything about that.”
Sam snorted. “Sure. So why don’t I get one?”
“Oh you do, Sneak.” Costello laughed as the other Surveyor seemed both flattered and offended at the same time. “Joanna, I was thinking Professor for you. If that would be all right.”
The Adept frowned for a moment. She nodded slowly. “I…suppose that would work.”
Clara laughed. “Better than Jo, at least.” Joanna nodded, and the Acolyte looked back at Abbott. “Still, Artemis?”
“I was thinking cause of the Nature magic, the bow, and the eyes.” Costello shrugged. “We could go with Dryad or Druid if you want.”
She seemed to turn it over in her head for a moment. “Let me think about it. I think I like Dryad better, though.”
“All right then.” He looked at Alex and grinned even wider. “Sorry, Alex. I think the Valkyrie moniker is a bit too good to leave.”
Alex shrugged. It reminded her occasionally of Bob, who she’d effectively killed back at Red Blade, but maybe that would just help her keep her guard up. “That’s fine.”
“Still, back to the question. Have you been keeping an eye on the area?”
Abbott‘s question had grown a little sharper this time, and Clara frowned. She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been tracking the closest Grue to us. There’s a patrol in that direction, and something else a bit further that way.”
She pointed to the northwest, which was close to where the last howl had echoed from. Costello glanced in the same direction and nodded. “Nothing from the second one, though? The one to the north?”
Clara shook her head. “It must have lost interest, I guess.”
The C rank sighed. “All right, quick lesson. Shifters don’t lose interest, ever.” He walked past them, headed to the back of the group. “If they disappear from where you are expecting them to be, it’s because they are up to something sneaky. For example…”
His words trailed off, and his head tilted back. Alex frowned and then followed the direction of his gaze.
Her stomach dropped as she saw a smokey shape flitting through the sky, perfectly blending into the grey ceiling formed by the continual clouds. It was moving fast, gliding on wings that seemed to stretch from its sides. As she watched, it gave a single, lazy flap that drove it a bit higher into the air.
Then it began to fall.
Abbott’s voice had grown lethally serious this time. “You may want to stand back. It should be aiming for me, but you never know.”
The others backed up, but Alex kept her ground. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the incoming monster. It was bigger than any Brute, and even though it still had the canine head, those wings reminded her of a giant bat of some kind. They had to be fragile compared to the rest of it. Maybe a good lightning bolt would send it crashing down before it even got close.
She reached inside herself and gathered the energy that drove her Holy—Storm Skill. She’d been holding it back so far; between the help from Abbott and the solid assistance from the others, she hadn’t needed to use it yet. A part of her wanted to keep it concealed a little longer, just in case Abbott turned out to be hostile after all, but she wasn’t going to just let him get picked off by a flying Grue for no reason.
Abbott glanced back at her. His expression was neutral now, but he inclined his head just slightly. She couldn’t tell whether it was a sign of approval or merely an acknowledgement of her presence. Either way, he didn’t say anything.
Instead, he just seemed to crouch down a little more. Then he launched himself straight into the sky.
The jump actually shook the ground slightly. Alex had to shift her feet as he shot right towards the incoming Shifter. It seemed to recoil slightly, as if it was shocked to find its prey coming towards it instead of continuing to run.
Then it opened its mouth, and a stream of grey poison hurled out of its maw.
Alex reacted before she realized it. She reached out with the Storm and shoved the stream of fluid aside, using a sudden burst of wind to divert it. The stream of fluid struck the nearby field, and the plants there immediately wilted, their plain brown stalks turning purple and black before they crumbled.
Abbott didn’t seem to notice the help she’d given him, though. He crashed into the descending Shifter, his heavy axe smashing into the creature’s shoulder. It bit deep, and a wash of purple flame spurted from the wound.
Still, the momentum of the diving Shifter was undeniable. It carried Abbott back towards the ground, and Alex felt her eyes grow wide as she realized she was right in its path. She took two running steps and lunged, hoping to clear the area.
She almost made it. The Shifter hit the ground with all the force of a descending meteor. It tumbled across the ruined pavement, sending even more cracks spreading along the asphalt with each impact. Abbott was still alive, hacking and punching at the Grue while it scrabbled and snapped at him.
Neither of them noticed Alex as one flailing limb caught her a glancing blow. She grunted as the impact drove the air from her lungs, and she was sent tumbling into the fields on the side of the road. Grain of some kind whispered and broke as she barreled through it.
Then she hit with a jarring impact that drove the air from her a second time. Her vision grew dim for a moment as she rolled through the broken grain, coming to a stop in a daze.
She heard the Shifter roar again in rage and heard Abbott’s laugh almost buried in the sound. Alex blinked for a moment, staring straight up into the glowering, cloud-choked sky, and had to remind herself to breathe. Her first attempt resulted in a painful, shocked gasp that seemed to tear its way through her lungs. The pain nearly paralyzed her again, but she fought past the agony to force herself to take the next breath, and the next after that one.
Something was crashing through the field towards her, and Alex forced herself to roll onto her side. Her axe and shield had somehow survived the collision, and she pulled herself to an unsteady crouch. Blood dripped from a cut she hadn’t realized she had on her forehead, and she shook her head to clear it.
The move was a mistake. Her head rang like a bell, and she felt the world shift beneath her. She put her right fist down on the ground to anchor herself again, still holding the axe. A part of her wondered if she’d even be able to fight whatever was coming through the grain towards her.
She felt a burst of relief as she recognized Clara. The Acolyte’s expression was drawn with worry as she reached Alex’s side. Her hands were already glowing with power. “Hold on, Alex. I’ve got you.”
The pain abruptly increased for a moment, but the blurriness in her head and the tightness in her chest faded. Alex shook her head, trying to clear it a little further, and found that she could finish standing up at least. Clara lent her a shoulder, even though she abruptly looked a lot less stable herself.
Alex tried to give her a quiet grin. “Thanks.”
“No problem. We need to get back to the others, though. I think Abbott—”
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She cut off as another roar rose over the surrounding grain. There was a second roaring, sizzling sound, followed by Sam shouting something. Another howl rose.
This time it suddenly cut off with a wet, gurgling sound that made Alex feel a little queasy. There was the sound of a large body crumpling onto the asphalt, and then things went silent.
Abbott was standing with the others when Clara and Alex emerged from the stalks. Behind him, the Shifter’s body had formed a kind of towering bonfire from its remains; its head was disintegrating a short distance away from the rest of it. He nodded seriously to Joanna and clapped Sam on the shoulder. Then he turned to them. “Valkyrie! Are you all right?”
“Thanks to Clara, yeah.” Alex gave him an uncertain grin. “I guess I should have listened to you.”
The C rank shrugged. “Not a bad lesson to learn.” He looked at Clara and grinned. “I’m assuming you have some kind of healing Skill? That’s going to be very useful, I’m sure.”
“Especially with Alex here.” Sam had muttered it just loud enough to be heard anyway, and he just raised his eyebrows when Alex glared at him. She made a mental note of the need to talk with him later about it.
Abbott just laughed a little. “Well, that might be true, but for now I think you did very well. That trick with the Storm magic was really well done, Valkyrie. I’d have been able to resist it, but the mixture is a kind of acid and venom that would have made things inconvenient for me. Thanks for the assist.”
Alex studied him for a moment before deciding that he was being sincere. “Glad I could help.”
He nodded and then turned south along the road. “All right, I think we need to get to the General Store now, and then we’ll head home.” Abbott glanced back at her, as if already anticipating her protests. “We could stick around a bit longer, but with that tumble, I think we should err on the side of caution. The portal will still be here the rest of the week, and I don’t want you getting badly injured on your first day.”
She grimaced and nodded. Then they all started down the road, even as another howl rose behind them.
By the time they made it to the General Store, Alex had been forced to admit that she probably needed to head home before much longer. Clara hadn’t been able to heal her any further—at least, not without exhausting herself in exchange—and her limp was growing more and more painful as they moved south. Even Motion Trance didn’t seem to lessen the pain, which only underlined how hard she’d been hit.
They ran into two more patrols on the way, but Abbott had officially stopped holding back. Alex and the others picked up a few kills, mostly enough to get the others to finish their Hidden Quests, but the C rank blasted his way through the Grue without seeming to be troubled by them at all. Each swing of his axe swept the creatures out of the way, and their frantic attempts to either bury him under their numbers or back away to gain distance so they could pelt him with attacks failed spectacularly. None of them survived for long.
By the time they reached the location, however, Abbott was starting to seem a little tired. Whether it had been the combat against the Shifter or his need to cover for the rest of them, he was obviously reaching the end of his endurance.
Luckily, it seemed like he didn’t need to do much more. They had reached the small town in the middle of the surrounding fields, and with it, they had finally found the General Store.
It wasn’t a large town, by any means. There was only a single stoplight and a small cluster of roads around the place. Alex had never seen a smaller gathering of buildings; it seemed like they had built the place more out of obligation than any intent to create a larger place to live.
The General Store was located at the northern edge of town, probably where it would have been easier for the farmers to visit it and buy whatever they needed. It had a broad parking lot, compared to the rest of the buildings on the street, and the spaces were mostly filled by a particular kind of truck. Each of them was old, worn, and nearly identical; apparently, the locals had a favorite model. Tractors took up a handful of the spaces as well, their broad wheels and narrow cabs oddly different compared to the vehicles that Alex was used to.
They moved into the parking lot carefully, with Abbott gesturing for the others to stay low and keep quiet. The reason for his caution was quickly obvious. Alex could hear the soft barks and yips of Grue nearby, and when she peeked around the corner of a truck close to the entrance of the General Store, she could see the telltale glow of a Camp’s central crystal hovering inside the entrance.
Joanna crept forward until she blinked. She signaled to Costello, who nodded in return. He gestured for them to fall back towards the road. When they had gained some distance, he whispered to Joanna, still keeping his voice quiet. Then he crept over to Alex. “Hey, she’s got her last location, so we’re heading back to the portal. I’m sorry about your Main Quest, but we’ll have to get a full clear for you next time, okay?”
Alex grimaced and nodded, and Abbott moved among the rest of them, whispering to them as well. When he was done, they all turned northwest and began their return to the real world, leaving the enemy behind them.
Fortunately, they somehow failed to run into a second Shifter on their way back. Costello seemed relieved about it, but it was hard to be entirely sure what he was feeling beneath his visor and the air of continual cheer he kept up.
Still, he was grinning as he led them back to the portal. He stopped in front of it and turned back, studying them for a moment. “All right! It was a good first day. Now, you know your own development plans, but I will give you a little advice.”
He raised one finger, his expression growing a little serious. “We’re going to have a good two days or so to train before we go back in—which means you should take this chance to reset whatever Skills or grab whatever Titles you can in the meantime. The more you do that, the better off you’ll be when we hit a portal for real, so keep that in mind.”
Alex stared at him, her suspicions immediately flaring as she considered the possibilities. Before, at Golden Swallow and Red Blade, she had taken every chance she could to reset her Skills and gain Titles, just like Abbott was encouraging her to do now. The problem was that she wasn’t at either of those companies. She was at Royal Purple Contracting, which was effectively under the Greylight Industries’ control. If she reset her Skills, she’d be vulnerable to whatever was waiting for her on the other side of the portal. On the other hand, if she didn’t reset anything, she might start to fall behind, and her enemies might kill her anyway.
Abbott turned his attention to her for a moment. They studied each other, and then he shrugged. “In any case, well done. Go on back home, and we’ll get you fixed up and ready for the rest of the week.”
He turned and vanished through the portal a moment later. They all looked at each other. Then a howl rose over the fields behind them, and they all scrambled for the portal. Alex grimaced as the light washed over her…
[Mission Report]
[Successful Return! +20 Experience]
[Main Quest Incomplete]
[Secondary Culling Quest Completed! +80 Experience]
[Secondary Culling Quest Completed! +80 Experience]
Her grimace did not improve as she looked at the Screen’s report. Failing one Main Quest apparently meant she didn’t get any Experience for the one she did complete. At the very least, she still got the credit for the Hidden Quests, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow.
She didn’t feel any better as the next announcements flashed in front of her eyes.
[Battle Maneuvers has reached level 30! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Battle Maneuvers to gain a Title?]
Alex stared at the offer, weighing her chances. If Greylight wanted to make a move on her, and Costello was part of it, she would need her combat abilities at the maximum she had possible. The question was, would they move on her now or later? Could she trust Costello not to stick a knife in her now?
She thought back over the mission, running her mind over the memories of the fights they had endured. Abbott had seemed genuine throughout the experience. He’d not just helped them in their fights; he’d voluntarily stood back and made sure that they could complete the missions they had available. When she’d been injured, he hadn’t pushed her to go for the next objective; instead, he’d tried to make sure that she stayed safe and avoided further injury.
He hadn’t abandoned her or manipulated her. Not yet, at least; maybe he was saving it for a future moment. At the moment, his actions suggested he was just as upfront and honest as he was pretending to be. If that was the case, then Greylight might not have realized exactly what kind of threat they had welcomed into their fold.
In that case, her choices were obvious. She accepted.
[Title Combat Prowess upgraded to Title Battle Prowess (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Rush Assault, and Heavy Assault by four.)]
[Combat Balance has reached level 25! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Combat Balance to gain a Title?]
She accepted again, feeling the power rush through and out of her.
[Title Combat Momentum upgraded to Title Battle Momentum (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Riposte, and Battle Dance by four.)]
[Motion Trance has reached level 25! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Motion Trance to gain a Title?]
She was going to be so tired the next few days, but at the same time, she knew it would be worth it. Eventually.
[Title Peaceful Flow upgraded to Tranquil Flow (Increases Skill grade of Meditation, Focus, Recovery, Arcane, Sense, and Motion Trance by four.)]
[Combined Arms—Axe/Shield has reached level 25! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Combined Arms—Axe/Shield to gain a Title?]
At this point, it almost hurt to agree, but she did so anyway.
[Title Offense Master upgraded to Title Blitz Master (Increases Skill grade of Combined Arms, Lunge, and Charge by five)]
Feeling somewhat drained already, she grunted as the next option appeared.
[Holy–Storm has reached level 25! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Holy–Storm has reached capacity for Titles. No more are available.]
[Reset Holy–Storm to add maximum levels?]
She did so, setting her very last Skill all the way to zero. At the moment, aside from her increased Attributes, she was almost as helpless as a simple little E rank.
Alex shivered, trying to repress a small bolt of panic that wormed through her. She shook her head and hoped she hadn’t managed to mess up.
Then she squared her shoulders and stepped forward to confront whatever the future held for her…
Alex stumbled out of the vortex. Pain and fatigue crashed down on her to a level that she hadn’t felt for a very long time. Her Skills were gone, and she felt almost naked without them strengthening her. She glanced around at the others as they came through and saw similar expressions of alarm and uncertainty on their faces.
Then she looked forward and found Abbott waiting for them. He had his hands on his axe, which was set head down against the floor in front of him.
He wasn’t alone. There was a small knot of Surveyors standing beside him, with Naylor at their front. She held a longbow that looked like it had been constructed from glass and was tapping her foot impatiently. Jester was there, too, still grinning at her unpleasantly and testing the edges of his knives. The rest were clearly all C ranks, judging by the thick armor and shimmering weapons they held.
Alex felt an immediate burst of fear. Was it the trap that she’d talked herself out of expecting? Her hands tightened on her weapons, and she risked another look at the others. Without her Skills, she’d be a sitting duck. Could they run back through the portal? Even then, they wouldn’t get far. Between the Grue and a team of C rankers chasing them, they’d be lucky to live for much longer than a few moments.
Abbott gestured to the others, his stance a little tense. “Team, these are the Surveyors you’ll be supporting on your missions outside the compound. They’ll be the ones taking the Salvage missions just after your Explore missions are done. When you come back, you’ll be responsible for reporting to them what the conditions are like inside.”
He grinned. “Now, they don’t exactly need a thorough report today, but it might be good practice. Introduce yourselves, say what you saw inside, and get to know one another.”
Alex turned her attention back to the C ranks and felt some of the tension drain out of her shoulders. It wasn’t some kind of trap. Just another team of Surveyors, ready to go on their own training mission. Naylor’s presence had to be some kind of coincidence.
The others walked over to talk with the other Surveyors. Sam picked a woman who was holding a staff that seemed like it was made of frozen lightning and had a thin sword at her side. Joanna was speaking quietly with a man that held a shield that looked heavier than Alex and a massive sword. Clara was looking back and forth between Naylor and Jester.
Alex sighed and stepped forward, aiming for Jester. Clara probably didn’t want to talk to the kidney-stabber, and the more distance she could put between herself and the B rank griefer, the better.
Her intentions were ruined, however, as Naylor stepped forward to confront her. The woman looked her up and down for a moment. “You can give your report to me, Valkyrie.”
Alex picked up on the tone in the woman’s voice. Clearly, Naylor’s feelings hadn’t changed. She nodded. “Sure.”
The woman tilted her head to the side. “Well? Get on with it, gopher.”
Her casual insult grated all the worse with how hard the mission had been. “All right.”
Gritting her teeth, Alex gave her a careful description of the encounters they’d faced, and the Grue they’d seen. Naylor nodded impatiently, as if she wasn’t bothering to listen. The entire thing seemed to be an exercise in futility, and the others didn’t seem to be doing much better. Clara looked obviously uncomfortable, Joanna seemed a bit frustrated, and Sam was limiting himself to one-word answers to the C ranker’s questions.
When the entire ordeal had finally ground to a halt, Alex was left struggling to contain her seething rage. She stepped out of the way, joining the rest of her team as the C rankers marched up to the vortex. Abbott walked over to join her, his eyes on Rabbit and the others. “Any thoughts, Valkyrie?”
She glanced at him, surprised that he had even asked the question. The fact that he’d kept his voice low didn’t exactly give her a good feeling about the situation, either. “I feel like it will be a change to work with them. Compared to Red Blade Securities.”
Abbott grinned. “I suppose so. Still, we’ve started using monikers now, so you should probably call me by mine. Unless you prefer Costello.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “I guess that depends. Where did you get it from?”
“Oh, it’s an old joke. From the comedy routine.” He shrugged. “You ever heard of it, or is that before you youngun’s time?”
Sam snorted, and Joanna rolled her eyes. Abbott’s grin grew a little wider. “Apparently, my sense of humor leaves an impression. You’ll have to decide for yourself if that’s a good thing or not.”
Clara giggled a little. “I guess so!” Then she looked towards the portal. “What are their nicknames? They didn’t really say.”
Abbott paused, glancing at the vortex. His voice grew a little more neutral as he spoke. “The one with the staff is named Mushroom. Her real name’s Beatrix, but she tends to get left in the dark and not pay much attention to briefings. Owen, the guy with the knives, got the name Jester for playing a few too many pranks. Simon, the swordsman? They call him Snickers cause of his laugh. Also has a pretty bad sweet tooth.”
He paused again, and Joanna raised an eyebrow. “And the archer?”
“They call her Rabbit.” His voice was so bland and neutral that it almost shouted his own opinion of the B rank. “She’s extremely good at taking care of things quickly. An excellent shot.”
Sam snorted a second time. He gave Alex a slight grin; she’d already told them about her previous encounter. “And maybe runs away a—”
Abbott gave him a sharp look. “Mona Naylor is a respected Surveyor and a skilled, B rank warrior. You’d be wise to remember that when you talk about her.”
He looked around, his expression serious. Then the mask cracked a little, and he was fighting a grin. “Not that you were wrong, of course.”
Sam’s answering smirk made Alex sigh. She shook her head and looked back at Abbott. “Is there anything we need to do now, Abbott?”
There was a flash of triumph on the older Surveryor’s expression, something he quickly suppressed. “Nope! Just get patched up and rest so that you’re ready for tomorrow. You’re new blood here, and the rest of the facility is going to be excited to get to know you. Keep that in mind and get yourselves some sleep.”
She nodded, as did the others, and Abbott smiled one last time. “That said, good job out there today. You’ve had a good start. We’ll improve on that tomorrow.”
With a small wave of his hand, Abbott walked off through the training room. He seemed to be headed for one of the training cages. Alex watched him for a bit, seeing the way the Surveyors that were already there greeted him. They seemed sincerely happy to welcome him, and there were too many grins, jokes, and shouts of greeting for it to all be an act.
She watched for a few moments more until Sam stepped up beside her. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
She shrugged and sighed. “Jury is still out on him, but the others…”
He nodded. They all turned to head for the dorms. Like Abbott had said, it would be a busy day.