Kyle walked down the stairs with the silver pistol resting against his shoulder and a grin so wide it barely fit through the doorway. The fog light hung from his belt, the stone detector sat in his back pocket, and every step he took carried a bounce that had not been there twenty four hours ago.The four women were gathered in the main room. Riley sat cross legged on the floor cleaning her rifle. Bianca leaned against the wall sharpening her blade. Vivian stood near the window with her arms crossed. Hailey was at the portable stove, stirring something that smelled like ginger and broth."Good morning, ladies." Kyle stopped in the center of the room and spread his arms wide. "I have an announcement.""If it's about the cloud bed, we heard everything," Riley muttered without looking up from her rifle. "The walls in this building are not thick."Kyle's face went red for exactly one second before he pushed through it. "Not about that. About this." He tapped the side of his head with one

"The mighty gunslinger." Vivian's voice drifted from behind him, smooth and venomous. "Kills his first corpse with a blast that splits trees, then vomits on his own shoes like a child who ate too much candy. Truly inspiring. I feel safer already knowing you are our protector.""Shut up, Vivian." Kyle spat on the ground and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, his face pale and his eyes watering."A real warrior does not empty his stomach at the sight of what his weapon creates." Vivian walked closer, her amber eyes gleaming with cold amusement. "But you are not a real warrior, are you? You are a boy playing with a toy he found in a box. The gun does not make you dangerous, Kyle. It makes you a loud coward instead of a quiet one."Kyle straightened up. His face was still green, his hands still trembling, and his shirt had a splash of something on the collar that he did not want to think about. But his brain was working, and his brain was the only weapon that had never let him down.He pick

The rest of the morning was spent packing. Two full days of hunting in the western fog had burned through their bracelet durability at a rate that left no room for another night on this side of the barrier. Kyle checked the numbers on the terminal while Hailey loaded the last of their supplies into the SUV."Durability across all six bracelets sitting at just under two thousand," Kyle reported. "We started with sixty thousand. That's over ninety six percent burned through.""We also gathered over seven hundred star stones," Scarlett noted from beside the vehicle, her golden eyes flat. "More than any first expedition household in Fairview's recorded history.""Seven hundred stones, a twelve star personal space, a ten star pistol, a fog light, a stone detector, and a three star Mental Power upgrade." Kyle ticked each item off on his fingers. "Not bad for a man who couldn't do a single pull up four days ago."Riley loaded the last crate of saplings and leaves they had collected at the ed

Three knocks hit the front gate. Sharp, polite, spaced exactly two seconds apart, the knock of a man who practiced how he entered a room.Bianca opened the gate six inches and looked through the gap. Blake Sterling stood on the path in a pressed white shirt, his dark hair combed clean, his jaw set in that perfect warm smile he wore like a second skin. A woven basket of wrapped packages sat in the crook of his arm."Bianca." Blake dipped his head in a small, respectful bow. "I heard there was an incident on the road today. I wanted to stop by and make sure everyone got home safely.""We got home fine." Bianca's voice was flat, her dark eyes scanning him the way she scanned fog zones. "What do you want?""Just to check in." Blake held up the basket with both hands. "Local goods from Millhaven City. Dried meats, herbal teas, a few healing salves. Consider it a neighborly gesture.""And the car that rammed us off the road?" Bianca tilted her head. "Was that a neighborly gesture too?""Tha

Footsteps pounded up the path behind Blake. Derek Kane appeared at a full sprint, still wearing mud stained pants from the ditch, his sharp face tight with panic. He skidded to a stop beside Blake and threw one arm out in front of him like a human shield."That's enough!" Derek's voice was loud and commanding, his dark eyes locked on Kyle. "Blake came here with nothing but good intentions, and you're standing here insulting him to his face? The man brought you a gift! A peace offering! And this is how you treat someone who shows you kindness?""Kindness." Kyle looked at Derek's mud stained boots and smiled. "Is that what we're calling it? Because three hours ago, your kindness tried to ram my car off a road at sixty miles an hour. Your brakes seem to have a real attitude problem, Derek.""That was an accident and you know it." Derek's jaw locked tight."Sure it was." Kyle shrugged. "And this basket is just a basket. And Blake is just a neighbor. And you're just a friend who happened t