Two more days were needed to get Ace out of the ward and back to home to the city. He]went back together with Harry, his leg dislocated in several places and casted from being fell upon by the platform. Apparently the storm passed them by, and the whole community was pleased to have the least damage and casualties ever since The Settlement was established. Losing only five people this time, which meant the structures are holding much better and their new innovative reinforcements against the storms are improving. But for Ace it wasn't enough, lives are still being lost, young ones too. Ace couldn't bear it, it cost too much for the community.

Ace walked Harry home like always, his oldest friend in the guild. "You'll be alright now?" He asks, fake kicking Harry's crutches jokingly. "You're an asshole. I'll be back with you in a month. It's nothing. I'll walk it off." He jokes, "I'll see you tomorrow then. For-" He hesitated before finishing. "For the funeral?" He offers his hand for a shake, Ace taking it with a tight grip. "I'll see you. For Hopper." Harry gave a faint smile as his wife opened the door. "For Hopper." He repeated. Ace sent his best to the couple and walked away from their house made of a train mixed with connected ship containers to hike the remainder of the stacked up village until the top where he lived.

He lived in a patched up airbus. Unlike the other homes they made, he didn't shape it into a cube or anything with corners, it remained a hollow cylindrical body that's been converted with a two storey interior, the other half divided for his mother who remains his only neighbor. It took the longest time to get their home made, and the right materials were hardest to come by, taking Ace two and a half years to complete it with the help of a lot from the people of The Settlement. He kept the plane as it is because his father was fond of airplanes, and it was one of his best memories with him before The Weeping. When he'd always take him to airshows in military air bases every year and meet his pilot friends and co-workers from the aviation industry.

He was grateful for the people who helped, but he did not share the same sentiments they had about himself. He was looked upon as some kind of a leader and was the only non-council member allowed into council meetings. The council says it was because they had to let the collectors know which materials are in demand most as well as the improvement of long range communications during collecting and the mapping of the sea since they still have no idea what part of the world they ended up in. But he knew he was being groomed into getting a seat within the council, especially since a member who was from the hunters' guild died recently.

Personally, he never liked being looked up to. He didn't think of himself as a leader, just someone who had an idea. Although he stuck to it because he loved doing his job, and somehow got used to being one. He wouldn't admit that to anyone, that he'd rather be out there with the thrill of the sea than withering inside the walls of The Settlement. In short, he just thought he's lucky a dumb idea by him and his friends a few years ago turned out beneficial for the whole community.

Finally reaching the door to his home, he looked down at the view of the stacked houses, connected by metal roads fused together winding up and down with no certain pattern, roughly shaped and weathered from being used everyday.

Steam coming out of his breath, he remembers how it's always cold after a storm passes. He pulls the door open and crept inside, finally home. He goes up to his perch on the second floor which is where his room and workshop was. His mother wasn't home yet so he decides to go upstairs and just settle back in, remembering unfinished projects he left off in his table where he tries to innovate new things for collecting. His latest: weaved steel cables for replacing the classic rappelling rope they use, but given their latest experience he realized it was now useless because cutting the cable actually saved their lives. He'd just come up with another use for the cable, it was a shame he thought since he's already weaved at least five meters of the cable.

He sat down on the mess he called a bed. Setting the stuff he came home with aside when it all started coming back to him. He saw Hopper getting washed away as he put his face on his hands, feeling his cold palms which only reminded him of the sea some more. It was nothing new, losing someone on the job like that, but it wasn't something you get used to. Although it was the first time it happened in front of him and now he couldn't get the image out of his head, and he had to speak in front of everyone for the funeral tomorrow. He had no idea how to do that, but he didn't bother thinking what to do about it either.

The radio squawked with a static then turning into his mother's voice after a few seconds. "Ace, are you back home? Can you lend me a hand in the greenhouse?" Without responding, he makes his way towards the greenhouse behind the side of his mother's plane. The first thing his mother did was hug him. "I'm glad you're back home." She smiles and he returns one of his own. "Need help?" He picks up the hoe, his mother regarding him with every move.

Iris never thought her boy would grow up to be this man whose childhood dream was to be a race car driver, taking new heights with his own thrills like his father. She couldn't bear the weight of worry and fear she goes through everyday. Ace walks out that door, reminding her of her husband's every flight. Knowing she could lose him anytime, this time nearly so. Of course it was not the first time it's happened, she just clings on to that comforting thought that the community needs and values what her son came up with. As far as they know, this is all that's left of the population and the work they have is doing what's left of humanity a huge favor for redevelopment. He was necessary, and that's what mattered. He's been there from the start, and she as a mother was already lucky enough to still have him around, and he still hasn't changed a bit. Her sweet little boy, helping her out without even asking despite having to deal with his recent injuries and his friend's death. She knew how it weighed up on him every time he lost somebody on the job.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Ace was now at the end of the patch when his mother called out. "I think that's enough for today, let's go to town tonight for dinner." He looks up, hair getting on his face which he casually brushes away and nods.

It was pleasantly quiet that night, everything was serene. It's like their little city was just thankful for another month it survived, and is now taking the well deserved rest it needs. It was serene, the streets filled with lights made out of things collected and crafted by the children in the Crafters' Guild. The town was lively but most people were inside their own homes or just doing repairs. "Let's have vegetables, meat is hard to come by after the storm. I'm sure the hunters would appreciate that." Iris suggested.

"Sure, I'm not really in the mood for anything heavy anyways." He agrees.

"Macie's?"

"Macie's."

They walked along the avenue which led to the middle of their twisted metal city. The electricity poles had speakers set up for every intersection for council announcements. They passed bizarre forms and collaborations of materials, which ranged from simple sheets of metal up to even huge ship parts, that made different homes for different people going to the big intersection, the heart of the city. From there, the woods beyond the walls were in view where the Hunters go to work. The forest was thick and old that nobody had ever been on the other side before, although they were making progress and covering the woods wider and wider the past months, making connectors up in the trees such as the platforms the Collectors have out in the sea.

They got to Macie's being greeted by people that saw them. Macie was out front making barbecues and greeted them with a smile. "Hey there, Ace! Glad to see you recover in such a short notice." Her eyes had wrinkles on their sides from smiling too much, she was known for being the most cheerful in The Settlement, and of course her food. She was ten years older than Ace, her husband was the city butcher, while their two daughters were in the Hunter's Guild. "It's on the house, okay? We all deserve a bit of kindness following the past few days." She takes Iris's hand. "Sit anywhere you want. Just tell me what you'll be having." She ushers them inside their home and restaurant as they call it, which was made up of connected buses with the two upper floors made out of parts from a cruise ship. "Thanks, Macie." Ace returned the smile and sat down with his mother. "I'll have the vegetable soup, please." He calls out as Iris decides what she was having. "I'll get the spring rolls, Macie." In which Macie responded by going to her kitchen, "Be back in a while." Still smiling and humming as she made food for them.

The restaurant was not that full tonight, there were five tables occupied including Ace and his mother's. "Hey, I'm proud of you." Iris started off. Which Ace thought came out of the blue. "Thanks. But what's this about?" Ace gestured around him. "All these?" His mother tilted her head, her eyes full of worry. "I'm worried about you. I heard about what happened." She admitted. "It was your first time experiencing that..." She trailed off.

"I've had my men dying for years now, mother." It tasted bitter getting that out of him.

"Yes, but not in front of you."

"It's what we do." He was thinking that she just needed reassurance because she was actually worried about losing him, not how he's feeling.

"I'm worried about you." There it is. Ace thought as the words left his mother's mouth.

"You don't have to be, mom. I'm fine. It's part of the job. I know you're worried that it could be me, but my luck hasn't run out. How long have I been doing this? It's been more than ten years, ma."

Iris was tearing up and Ace knew he had to make her stop because he felt bad enough and knew he had to be strong for her. "Mom. I know, I'm just a guy. But look at where my idea has got me, my idea for a better community and a bigger leap in development these past years. You got to look at the bigger picture, alright?" He sighs before continuing, feeling heavier. "Everybody's making their sacrifice. Even you, you shouldn't even be working but why do you still farm crops?" He saw his mother's expression easing up. "We have a motto in the guild. 'Simple men, extraordinary measures.' It reminds us of why we even started this. We do what no one else can, we do it because we have to, want to. This community needs us, and this is our sacrifice, this is the risk we're willing to take. Whatever happens, I want you to stand by what you said. That you're proud of me, even when I'm gone." He held her hand raising his eyebrows for her, confirming if she understood.

She grips back and nods, putting him at a less uncomfortable position even though flashes of Hopper being swept away by the surge kept playing in his mind as he looked his mother in the eye. "Like you said, tonight we celebrate. Love you, ma. Let's have some good food." He does his best to smile as he sees Macie coming towards their table with the food they ordered. They thanked her and complimented how good it was as they ate and caught up with the restaurant owner over dinner.

When they finished, Ace leaves the payment on the table despite being declined by Macie as they got up. "Ace, really. I told you not to." She held his hand in place on the table trying to push it back towards him. "We all need a type of kindness, Macie, mine's being fair. Take it." He turns their hands and puts the currency on her palm. "God bless you, Mr. Price." She hugs him in which he smiled in return. "Just doing what's right, Mrs. Watkins." He offered an arm to his mother and together walked back to finally get some rest through the clear and cold night.