Silent. Unmoving.

The smallest twitch would ruin his aim, but he was in control of his body. He exhaled seamlessly—and let go of the bowstring.

The arrow took off with a small whizz, arcing through the air as gravity pulled it downwards. With an audible thunk, the tip plunged into its target—a large, fat duck. It quacked in surprise, flailing its wings for liftoff, but fell hopelessly sideways as lines of blood began to seep from the wound.

“Yes!” Elias cheered, hastily getting up. He wouldn’t take any chances and let his dinner escape; eating rodents for two months straight had been enough. It had been the longest time since he’d had anything else, besides the berries and plants Crystal had picked out for him to consume. Edible, but not always tasty. It still made him cringe thinking about the clump of grass-ball he’d had to swallow because he’d run out of food.

“Great shot,” Crystal congratulated, floating beside him while he hurried to his catch—leaping over a gap between the buildings in the process. “Your muscle control has improved a lot.”

“Only because of you,” Elias said, unknotting his bow. He handed the string over to the drone for maintenance. The fiber was too valuable to lose and he couldn’t afford to let it deteriorate from stretching.

He meant what he said. When he aimed, Crystal guided him with signs in his vision—much like a reticle in shooting games. His muscles were his to control, but the rate at which he was becoming comfortable with any activity was too fast, too immediate. She was tuning his physique, stimulating his nerves. She was making him a genius.

“You can’t be satisfied,” she warned, crossing her arms with a pout. “You wouldn’t survive a fight against a bear yet.”

“I won’t need to fight a bear,” Elias said, finally reaching the duck. It quacked weakly, staring at him with its beady eyes. “Argh, now I feel bad. Just look at this guy.”

“You need the protein for your muscles.”

“I know. But…”

The duck’s head fell to the side, and it lay on the floor, twitching its legs in a futile effort. The streams of blood trickled into its plumage, dying its body crimson.

“This is cruel.”

“You’ve killed rats before.”

“Rats are different,” he said while pulling the arrow out from the bird. It came out with a squelch, red with blood. The wooden shaft had splintered from the impact.

“Sucks. That was the last arrow,” he sighed, tucking it away. Even with Crystal’s guidance, crafting an arrow was a long and arduous process, starting from finding the right branch and scavenging for feathers. Feathers wouldn’t be a problem now, but wood would be. The commonly available ones were either too soft or too brittle. Without a proper arrowhead, they’d be a little more than flying sticks. Great for practice, but terrible for hunting.

“I remember you feeling sorry for rats last month,” Crystal commented.

“Well…”

He frowned, wiping the blood off from his fingers. “I guess time really does change the way you think,” he said, picking up the duck by the neck. “Is there a word for this?”

“Desensitization,” she answered.

“Yeah. Sounds like it.”

With prey in hand, he cautiously climbed down the building, using the cracks for support. Crystal made sure he wouldn’t stand on a crumbling foothold. Parkour had never been his strength (Jewel had been much better), but he was glad he had had the prior experience of hurting himself. Caution was something he couldn’t afford to lose, and Crystal’s calculations helped him push the limits of his body in a safer manner.

That didn’t mean he could do flips and make crazy jumps, but still. It was handy, especially when getting to places.

Around two weeks into his expedition, they’d discovered a river—one without much fish, but clean, nonetheless, according to the drone’s safety meters. He couldn’t leave it anymore after experiencing the joy of bathing. His body was still icky with oils and the like, but the majority of the grime could be washed off with water.

No more were the days of evaporating plants or urine for water. He hated those days, when every drop of liquid had been precious. His body had always been reeking of unwashed clothes and sweat. The first day he had found the river, he had spent nearly two hours just scrubbing everything he had carried around with him.

Even now, the faint odor from his body he could sniff irritated him. If only he could find a large pot, he could try his hand in creating soap with Crystal’s help. But no; the city was as dead as it always had been. Whatever utensils he found were too rusty to use.

He arrived at the riverside and prepared to process the duck. Before starting, he washed his hands and began to disassemble his bow—originally the utility weapon. He liked calling it the ‘MUP,’ short for multipurpose utility pole. A bow took around fifteen minutes now, while a knife took five. The unused parts, he put aside.

After removing the feathers and washing the tufts in the water, he cut into the duck’s stomach and removed its innards. The sky was already bleeding streaks of golden ichor by the time the skewers were ready—but while processing the bird was a taxing, lengthy process, food—especially good food—was important to him. What else did he have to enjoy besides that?

Elias added some branches to the fire as well as the broken arrow from the hunt. While wood wasn’t rare, dry wood was. It was a chore to scavenge around for fuel, and even a single stick would add a few precious minutes to the countdown.

“I can’t believe that people managed to survive back in the day,” he remarked, chewing on a slightly burnt breast. “So many things to do, and not even the right tools for anything. I wish I had some soap, or some sugar, or some salt, or…”

He rambled on about his cravings. Crystal listened while nodding, agreeing with every statement he made. Over the time he’d been alone with Crystal, he’d learned to talk more, and she’d teach him about new words to add to his lexicon. Something to pass the time with, something to keep him sane. He knew something was slipping—but desensitization was preventing him from pinpointing the source.

Maybe he was merely unshackling the misery that had slowly wrapped around his heart. He knew he felt freer, lighter, but at the same time—

Emptier.

“Rara once told me to enjoy the little things,” Elias recalled. “Remember that old bear? So content with anything, even bugs for dinner. He was so laid back, so kind to the smallest animals. And here I am, hunting them for dinner so I can be a little happier at the cost of their death. This duck is good.”

“That’s just how the world works,” Crystal said. “At least, a world without Workman.”

“Yeah. You never know how much you have until you lose it.”

Remembering it scratched old scars. Another reminder of the things he could have kept.

He didn’t bother putting out the fire. He had to get to his tent now, before the Shadows made their appearance. They were nothing more than mindless predators hunting for food, following sounds and movement from what he had observed. But after coming across a bloody carcass of a deer torn into shreds, he didn’t pursue the matter further.

There was a reason why animals were so rare in the city.

It took him five minutes to reconstruct his MUP into a staff—the form he was most comfortable with. It had the longest reach aside from the spear, which was a little too pointy for comfort. Long reach meant poking unknowns from a distance.

He could easily swing it around with one hand now. If there was one thing he was genuinely happy with, it was how his body had grown. Strips of dense muscle were evident everywhere; numerous veins bulged out from his skin. He could hang off a building with one hand and pull himself back up, and without the long process of training he would have needed to develop, he felt like a superhuman.

Still, not enough to fight a bear and win.

“It’s nowhere near enough,” Crystal said, reading his mind. “But any more, and you’ll be too bulky. Your muscles are good as they are. You need skill.”

“Which you give me,” he replied. “No harm there, right?”

Crystal crossed her arms worryingly, furrowing her eyebrows in a cute manner. “I’m afraid of what might happen when I’m gone.”

“You speak like you’ll leave me.”

“Not leave. I’ll never leave. What if I’m destroyed?”

“You’re too smart for that.”

“But...you can’t deny the possibility. Not with the Shadows around.”

“They don’t know we exist.”

“Elias…”

He didn’t want to say it aloud. Crystal just looked at him with sympathy, then wrapped her arms around his neck. Her virtual warmth brushed against his skin.

“Be strong, Elias,” she said.

“I will,” he replied softly.

When he reached his tent at the top of an abandoned building, the sun was no more than a faint afterglow on the horizon. After taking off his bag and shoes, he waited for the darkness to come.

When he had reviewed his MUP at least twice through all ten forms, Crystal waved her hand. The first Shadow had come.

It was a bulky one, slower than the rest. Not that it was slow, but it moved at the speed of a walking person. How it had arrived here first, Elias didn’t know. The Shadow walked through the streets, its pitch-black darkness floating around it like waving seaweed in the depths of the ocean.

“I can’t comprehend how they function,” Crystal had said before. “There must be thousands of Shadows—there can’t be enough food for them all.”

Yet they swept through the city every night, retreating in the same direction before the sun came up. He was fortunate that the creatures had no interest in buildings, since they always lingered on the streets where they found their meals.

The fat Shadow continued to approach, almost in a purposeful way.

“So...where are the others?” Elias asked, peering through the buildings. They’d always arrived as a group, like something was leading them around. So far, only the fat one was visible.

“Do you want me to scan the area?” Crystal asked. “That one might be a stray with a larger group nearby.”

His heart began pounding harder. This could be a chance.

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea,” Crystal said before he spoke. “We don’t know how dangerous they are.”

“That’s why we take this chance to see,” he said, already changing his staff into a shield. “This is an opportunity for change. So far, this is the only time we’ve seen a Shadow alone. Who knows when we’ll get another chance? All of the drone’s tools, and we still haven’t tested out the weapons.”

“......fine,” Crystal said. “But stay put while I survey the area. If it looks safe, which it likely won’t be, we can try capturing it. However—do not approach it until I return. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be watching your thoughts, so don’t try anything funny.”

“Okay, gosh. I won’t try and kill myself.”

The drone lifted off and flew silently out of the building, leaving Elias behind with his shield. He quickly donned his hooded jacket. It would protect him from being pierced, though, against blunt damage, it wouldn’t do much. It could technically stop a bullet, but without solid panels, he’d die, according to Crystal.

That’s why he had chosen his shield, just in case. While he distracted the Shadow, Crystal could zap it with a taser.

Whatever that thing was—not the human, but the shadow—he’d find out tonight. Someone had sent him here. He couldn’t sit back and do nothing. A small part of him wanted to test out his upgraded body against a real situation.

He waited for the drone to return. If there was a horde nearby, well, all his hopes would be dashed. Another long, boring day of finding food would begin.

With a sigh, he studied the Shadow. It had come closer, nearing the base of the building he was in.

His jaw dropped when the fat Shadow snapped its head towards him, stared, and waltzed into his building, hiding itself.

“Oh, shit!” he said, despite himself. He hadn’t meant to cuss. “Crystal. Crystal?”

She appeared next to him, floating in the air. “That was unexpected. As of now, there aren’t any Shadows nearby. The drone will be returning soon.”

Already, he could hear the footsteps pattering up the stairs. It was a strange sound—a dull, eerie tremor in the air. If the Shadow hadn’t been so fat, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to detect its movement.

“What do I do!?” he whispered frantically, poising with his MUP shield. “Am I going to die today? Tell me I’m dreaming.”

“Relax,” Crystal said. “There must be a reason why only one was sent.”

He wanted to scream his fears out, but he swallowed his urges. Besides, his body was too developed for him to tremble. It was strangely comforting, being able to have full control of his muscles while his mind shook with consternation.

He breathed in deeply. “Okay. One thing is sure then: someone or something is controlling the Shadows. They probably noticed our presence but decided to ignore us—until now.”

“Keep thinking.”

“If they wanted to kill us, they would have sent the horde as usual, storming the building and surrounding us so we couldn’t escape. But they only sent one. A large, but slow one. Whoever sent it wants me to survive—or wants me alive. Or...they’re bored and want to have a one on one with me.”

“...sure!”

“You know I’m joking. I’m shaking here, and jokes really help, you know?” Elias groaned softly. “We know that Shadows can’t do anything special except look creepy and move creepily. We’ve never seen them do any superhuman feats, besides being fast and running a lot—which I can do too. They’re all pretty fit by human standards, but the one today...doesn’t seem all that fast.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Which means it can hit harder,” Crystal reasoned. “If you’re caught, it’ll be that much harder to shake off. Don’t underestimate their reflexes either—you’ve seen how they catch mice.”

“Precise and quick,” he agreed. “Maybe I should’ve made the spear. Are you here yet?”

“Three more minutes.”

The footsteps were close now. He guessed it would take a minute or two before the fat Shadow reached the top floor.

“I don’t think I have three minutes.”

“Try to hang in there. Start a conversation with it.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“You did say you needed jokes.”

Elias rolled his eyes but couldn’t resist snorting. “Maybe I will. Who knows.”

By then, the darkness-infused humanoid had stuck its head out through the floor, slowly becoming larger as its body emerged. He thanked technology for giving him night vision since, without it, all he’d be seeing right now would be a mass of black before a black background.

Strangely confident, Elias saluted the Shadow. “Hey, uh, shadow person. State your reason for trespassing into my abode, and I will spare you.”

It stopped, simply staring without eyes. Its arms hung loosely like sacks by his sides.

Creepy. So, assingly, terrifying.

“If you don’t mind, could you speak?” Elias suggested. “I’m freaked out right now.”

The Shadow didn’t move. Instead, it made a low, gurgling noise. Elias nearly flinched from the sound, shivering as the ends of his hairs stood up. The sound wasn’t of this world.

“That’s exaggerating,” Crystal said. “I’m almost there. Being scared will only dull you. Keep speaking.”

“O-okay.” He bit the inside of his cheek. “Erm, where was I? So, shadow guy. You seem to understand me. I would be grateful if you didn’t move and talked some more.”

Another gurgling noise. But the Shadow didn’t attack. It was blocking his only path downstairs, but it wasn’t attacking. So far, so good.

“I don’t quite understand you,” Elias said.

Suddenly, the Shadow raised an arm, and tendrils of darkness shot out from its fingers. Screaming, Elias jumped to the side, reflexively raising his shield. Judging by the sound of the sharp clunks that hit his MUP, he was in danger.

“Crystal!” he yelled, running from the Shadow towards the edge of the floor, not daring to take his eyes away. Thankfully, the tendrils had a limit. Not so thankfully, they were more than six meters in length.

“I’m here. Cover your ears.”

Silently, the drone hovered up from behind him, aiming its weapon. Elias plugged his ears just in time to hear a deafening boom. The Shadow staggered frontwards, then fell on the floor, unmoving.

“You killed it?” he said, his eyes wide with horror.

“It attempted to hurt you,” Crystal answered. “That isn’t allowed.”

“You couldn’t have...tasered it?”

“Too risky. If you didn’t notice, the Shadow was running towards you. A few more seconds and things would have been different.”

He gawked at the Shadow. Its tendrils had vanished, and the shadowy substance was becoming noticeably thinner.

“That looks like a body underneath,” he said, regaining his senses. He shook his head for the sake of it. This wasn’t a game. This was a place where he could die.

Suddenly, everything felt significantly realer.

“It is.”

Holding his shield firmly before him, Elias closed in on the body and nudged it with his foot. The remnant darkness floated away like smoke, revealing the identity of the creature.

He was a fat man with thick fingers, wearing a complete set of gray clothes. Elias didn’t recognize the design. Flipping the body over, he found a small, round hole on the man’s forehead where the bullet had pierced his skull. His eyes were rolled up—two white spheres that peered into the abyss.

A wave of nausea swept over him, and he resisted the urge to heave.

“He’s dead,” he said, staring at the corpse. “He’s really dead.”

“No.”

The drone hovered over to the body while Crystal spoke. “I had a hunch. You don’t need to feel guilty, Elias. I knew there was a reason why these Shadows seemed so abnormal.”

A set of lasers beamed out from the drone, scanning the body. “He was already dead before the bullet went through.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Look at the wound. There’s no blood, not even a single drop.”

Blinking, Elias inspected the wound again while trying to avoid eye contact with the corpse. Crystal was right; there was no blood at all. Instead, something like murky dust floated out from the exposed flesh, fading into nothingness right after.

Cautiously, he touched the man’s skin. It was cold. The flesh was stiff and had a grayish hue to it. He retracted his hand abruptly, feeling a chill run down his spine.

A dead person. It was a first for him.

“Elias—”

“I know, I know,” he breathed, clenching his jaw tightly. “I’m not losing my cool.”

“We need to move—now. Whoever was controlling him, they know our location.”

“Even if they didn’t, the gunshot would have alerted them. Gosh, I need to pack now.”

Quickly, he folded his tent together and crammed his backpack with all of his belongings. Just when he was done zipping up the bag, he heard a strange noise in the distance—something like a howl and a scream merged together in an eldritch voicebox. If it hadn’t been for its unusual pitch, he would have mistaken it for the wind.

But there was no wind. All was deathly silent when the noise waned, except for the busy rustle of his hands. The MUP spear was ready in an instant, and he gripped it tightly until his knuckles turned white.

“I’m not going to die tonight, am I?” he asked, taking in a deep breath.

“No. Trust me,” Crystal affirmed. “For now, we’ll head over to another building. That one.”

She pointed towards a black silhouette in the distance. It was too far away for his enhanced vision to make out, but the drone’s cameras were stronger.

“We’re heading up the river? That’s where they come from.”

“We’ll be right under their noses,” she said, “and if they do find us, we can go into the water.”

Elias nodded. The Shadows seemed to avoid the river for some reason. Was it because wetting the corpses would damage them?

The drone scanned the area from above while Elias scampered between the buildings. The moon was especially bright, and he feared that the excess light might expose him to the Shadows. But he knew it was just a superstition; they hadn’t shown any problems dashing through complete darkness.

Crystal ran with him, mainly for his comfort. He felt safer that way, stronger even. He came to a halt when she struck out a hand, motioning him to stop.

“There’s a Shadow to the northwest around a hundred meters away,” she reported. “You’ll be in its range of sight if you pass this corner. On my cue, sprint across.”

He gulped.

“Now.”

Taking her cue, he ran as fast as he could to the other side.

“It saw you,” Crystal complained. “It won’t even glance at the drone!”

“Ah, sucks,” he panted, not daring to slow down. “Crystal. Fastest way to the river.”

“On it.”

In his illuminated night vision, thin arrows appeared on the walls, pointing him to his destination. Sweat was forming beneath his jacket, something he really didn’t like. He’d have to dry his clothes now or wash them if they smelled.

“I don’t even have soap!” he growled, jumping over a fallen streetlight. Now that the Shadow was on him, there was little point in keeping his voice low.

“It’s safer to be quiet,” Crystal advised, flying ahead of him, “but we’re almost there. Two more turns, and we’ll find out whether or not the Shadows are afraid of water.”

“So I am dunking myself,” he sighed. “It’s going to be a cold night.”

“I’ll keep you warm.”

Like you always have. Crystal smiled, getting his message. But her expression quickly worsened, and she looked around as if imitating the drone above.

“There are twenty-seven now,” she said. “The closest one is three buildings behind you. The others are crowding in your direction. More are joining—I’m seeing forty-two.”

He didn’t reply. Elias picked up his pace, following the arrows single-mindedly. He’d seen how fast those things could move; a moment of hesitation would kill him. His lungs burned from the labor they were undergoing, tempting him to stop for just another breath.

The river was just ahead.

Something landed behind him—and he took a peek, immediately regretting it.

Long, ghostly arms reached out for him with fingers of darkness. The Shadow itself was slender like a disproportionate doll, and it silently pursued him, its footsteps unnaturally soft. Its head limply dangled around its neck, lifeless.

“AHHH!” Elias screamed, putting all of his strength into the jump. He went into freefall with his hands gripping his MUP spear, the backpack momentarily floating off his back. With a great splash, he was inside of the water, swimming frantically to get as far away from the bank as possible. The spear didn’t help with his movement.

“Elias, calm down. You’re safe now,” Crystal said, touching his cheek.

“Huh?” he said dumbly. It took him a second to understand.

The Shadows were crowding to the river, each shaped abnormally with thick darkness shrouding their bodies. Despite their numbers, there was far less sound than there should have been, and it unnerved him. They shifted around like a swarm of flies, noiselessly buzzing with black smoke and unearthly gesticulation.

They were beckoning him to come. Their palms repeatedly swung around their wrists, a hundred hands demanding his existence.

“Urgh, nightmare fuel,” he squeaked, hugging his backpack. The waterproof bag made for a great floater, which he was eternally grateful for. Who knew how long he’d have to stay in the river? He positioned the MUP spear so it wouldn’t slip out.

“So they do dislike water,” Crystal commented. “You were right.”

“If they didn’t…” It made him shudder to think of what might have happened. Would he have been torn apart? Or worse, made into one of them?

The Shadows continued to linger, more joining the horde—all of them doing the same beckoning motion in unison. When his body was dragged downstream by the current, they followed, their heads never turning away from him.

“Crystal.”

“I’m on it.”

Elias waited a second before the drone dropped a rope on him, which he tied around his wrist. Crystal had spent the past month mapping out the river, and all that awaited them downstream was nothing but a wasteland. Good for hunting, but that wasn’t his goal. Now, it was time to go back up.

Someone had sent him here. He’d get to the bottom of it and uncover the mystery. Of why people had been turned into Shadows, why the city was in ruins. Scared, definitely, but his body didn’t let him waver. His mind was as clear as ice, his muscles bubbling for action.

He watched the Shadows as they stalked him up the river, groaning and whispering things he didn’t understand—all the while doing the hand-motion. Despite them crawling, jumping, and sliding all over each other’s bodies, none of them fell into the water, as if an invisible wall prevented them from moving further.

“It’s going to be a long night,” he sighed, making himself more comfortable. “What do you think will be waiting for us?”

“Scarier monsters?” Crystal said.

“Okay, how about you don’t repeat what I’m thinking.”

She grinned, tossing her hair. “Well...there are taller buildings. Most likely, we’ll be at the heart of the city before the sun comes up. I wouldn’t be surprised if we managed to find a secret lab where human experimentation is taking place.”

“Is that even legal?”

“Do you think those Shadows are legal?” she said, crossing her arms.

“Maybe they’re using corpses, not real people,” Elias replied, looking at the Shadows again. None of them had left. “You were saying that they were dead.”

“I did. But I don’t understand. How are dead things supposed to move?”

“I thought you knew everything.”

“When I was connected to the system,” she argued, pouting. “You weren’t this fit before I helped. Same reason.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Besides,”

The drone made a whirring noise as its optics dilated back and forth. “They don’t emit any electrical signals. Not mechanically controlled. They don’t emit any radio waves either. They’re as detectable as walking boulders. It’s not something I’m familiar with.”

“Alien technology?”

“Could be.”

Their short talk reminded Elias of how little information they had on the Shadows, making his stomach lurch deeper—or was it because of the cold? No amount of scanning brought up results, and he knew he was going into the heart of it with his eyes blinded. He’d read in a book to always go into a fight prepared—something he wasn’t at the moment.

“We learned today that they can die,” Crystal encouraged. “A pity that we couldn’t prod the body a bit further. There might have been more clues.”

The body. Suddenly, he felt contaminated.

“If they carry any diseases—”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve already run a few checks on the sample.”

His eyes widened. “The what?”

“Would you like to see?”

“Er—no thanks,” he declined, burying his face into his bag. The things the drone would do without him noticing. It was a lifesaver, but...he preferred not to know. Once, he’d seen the drone suck up his fluids for a ‘checkup,’ and…

Yup. He preferred not knowing.

Crystal was smiling, lying in the air with her hands positioned below her chin. “Should I tell you about all the tests I’ve run while we were here? We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”

“Yeah, no,” he declined. But the night was far from ending. “Tell me a story,” he asked, relaxing, letting the drone drag him on. “A fantasy story. One where the main character succeeds in everything and all his friends love him.”

“Okay.” She cleared her throat. “Long ago, in the land of Alsin, there was a boy named...”

She began to create a story, a generic one complete with all the usual stereotypes. He enjoyed the familiarity—it lasted him a good two hours. But his eyes eventually sagged, and he dozed off, the Shadows dancing in the corner of his eye.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

A scream. It pierced through the air. Another shriek—louder this time.

Whatever drowsy sentiments he had been doused with, Elias woke from his sleep, jerking and yelling briefly like a crazed madman.

“Who—what—”

He blinked. His eyes were blurry from waking up. With his free hand, he quickly washed his eyes with water.

“They’re retreating,” Crystal said, appearing beside him. “You made it to the morning! Congratulations—you survived.”

“Urgh,” he groaned, his body cold and stiff as a corpse. He frowned, stretching his muscles. “My fingers are all wrinkly. What are they doing?”

The Shadows were screaming like lunatics, a choir of heart-chilling, deafening wails of anguish. Incredibly, many of them were still gesturing to him, and worst of all—they were all around him. To the left and right, the sides of the river were bustling with Shadows. But they were leaving, their numbers thinning out rapidly by the second. He was glad he hadn’t been awake for most of it.

Still, he hated the screams from the moment he awoke. It was the worst alarm he’d woken up to in his life.

“Can’t they shut up for one second?” Elias complained, plugging his ears.

“Just a little more—they’re almost gone,” Crystal cheered, doing a small dance of joy. It made him feel better.

The horde had abruptly thinned out to a few individuals who were too insistent on beckoning. The rest had vanished from the vicinity, crawling into deeper shadows. The sky was already bright, golden light bleeding into its canvas like spilled water.

The last of the Shadows jolted into a sprint, disappearing at inhuman speeds. Much faster than him, Elias noted. That was terrifying to know.

Then, as if a balloon had popped—everything went silent.

No screams, no cries. Not even the wind whistled in his ears. Even the river below him gently brushed against his body, afraid to break the silence with even the smallest plip or bubble. Only Crystal’s drone hovered calmly above him, scanning, analyzing.

“They’re gone,” she stated.

“Uh-huh,” he said as the drone pulled him to the river bank. “I feel so weak.”

“It won’t be as bad once you start moving.”

With a great huff, Elias crawled out of the river and jumped to shake the water off. Hours of submersion had numbed his skin, and he stroked his hand against his cheek to feel the difference.

“Gah,” he said. It was good that his clothes all dried quickly. He’d suffer when the weather dropped, but hopefully, he’d figure out something by then.

“I regulated your body so you wouldn’t get hypothermia,” Crystal informed. “You’ll need to eat to replenish the used-up fat and muscle.”

“Oh no. My muscles,” he said weakly.

“You’ll be fine,” she said. “Your body was too fit before. Now it’s very above-average.

“Nice.” Even replying was sapping the strength out of him.

“Let’s find a place to rest.”

“Yep.”

They began to make their way to a building that was three stories tall. It’d suffice for a few hours of sleep, but they’d have to change locations later. Not to mention the growling in his stomach, but the drone had always fetched him something whenever he was asleep. He knew there were many things to take care of, but his mind was slipping, his body debilitated.

Just—there was one thing he couldn’t put his mind off of.

Behind him, a high wall towered over the river, blocking entrance into the heart of the city. The water traversed the wall at a series of thick, steel bars—an arched prison window that gave small glimpses of what was beyond the barrier. It was too far away to make out from where he was, but he could guess what lurked inside.

The wall had been smashed through—a series of gaping holes where the metal skeleton and concrete had once been. Bent, torn bars of iron poked out from the edges of the holes, some even leveled as if they’d been sliced by a laser. Rubble littered the outside of the wall—a sign that someone had burst out from the inside.

The Shadows had retreated into those holes. All of them—without a single exception.

He knew that the Shadows couldn’t possibly have broken through something so thick. And judging by the destruction, nothing had been blasted. There wasn’t any shrapnel lying around.

Elias froze. Wait a minute.

He’d seen something similar, hadn’t he? During his first day after he woke up, he’d seen a crater.

A crater without a projectile.

“Elias?”

“Coming,” he replied, pushing the thoughts away. He could theorize when he’d gotten plenty of rest. The things his brain would conjure at the moment wouldn’t be as sound as they should be. No; he needed his sleep.

He wasn’t purposely stopping himself from imagining the monsters that prowled beyond the wall. Giant abominations, white-eyed corpses, rotting beasts of flesh after his skin. He wasn’t thinking of any of them—the things that could bring his life to an end.

Not at all.

Elias lowered his face when Crystal studied him with virtual pity.