Rachel shut the door to her tiny apartment and let out a sigh of relief, the day was finally over. She dropped her brown denim bag on a table by the front door. She wasn’t even sure why she carried her work bag anymore. Lately, her duties didn’t require a screwdriver, blank USB drives, or different cable adapters. No, lately she was taking on more and more crucial duties that she wasn’t accustomed to but had been too busy to really realize. That is, until now, she finally had a chance to sit and think. She sat down at the foot of her bed and struggled to get her boots off. The damn things were two sizes too small, but it was the best ones she’d been able to scrounge up so far. She needed a shower but didn’t have the strength or really the desire to crawl over to the bathroom where she kept a bucket of disinfectant liquid that she would use to sponge herself off. Having running water was unheard of in this new world and in reality, her conditions were quite comfortable compared to most denizens trying to carve out a niche in the world.

She resigned herself to blissful sleep, still in her uniform, and only halfway under the covers. The desire to just close her eyes and drift away was too great for her to fight back against. As she was lying there, feeling safe and secure in her own bed though, she couldn’t help but think about Rook. She wondered what his face looked like under his helmet and if he really was being flirtatious or if she was reading too much into it. He had saved her from York and Anderson making an ass out of themselves but that didn’t necessarily mean he ‘liked’ her. So much about the Venators was a mystery, she couldn’t believe half the stories she’d been told but also had no way of finding out the truth. Maybe she’d strike up a conversation with Rook later. After all, there was no assurance they’d live through the coming weeks. Might as well push the boundaries on how much the Venators would tolerate and she wanted to trust them. They seemed like honest men who just been lied to for all there lives. Maybe they’d make good allies now that they knew the truth and could think for themselves without the Bastion.

The Venators would need someone to look out for them as they learned to live in a new society. While formidable in battle she had seen how socially stunted they were. If someone didn’t watch there back, they’d end up creating more enemies. That would only hurt her people’s chances of survival if they pushed against the Venators help. The Venators were risking their lives for The Peak who was a mixed bag of emotions when it came to accepting that help. Rachel would return the favor if they made it out of this alive. They didn’t deserve to be alone any more than she did.

“Grinch!?” Mouse yelled down the hallway of the HQ right outside the barracks they were using.

“He’s not out here either.” Mouse yelled through the plastic dividers that acted as the disinfectant chambers for the Venators barracks.

“Take Rose and Rook and check the mountain slopes. I doubt he’ll be anywhere close though. If he doesn’t want to be found, we won’t find him.” Baron ordered Mouse who nodded in understanding from the other side of the plastic divider before heading off. It was highly unusual for Grinch to leave during the night without saying anything. No doubt he didn’t intend to be found or come back until he wanted to. Baron already knew where he was anyway, he went for the beacon.

“I never should have told everyone about the message. He’s going to get himself killed.” Baron whispered just loud enough for Moses to hear who was getting his gear situated on his belt and didn’t have his helmet on yet.

“Hey.” Moses sat his rifle down on his cot and knelt down beside Baron who was leaning forward in a chair, toying with his gauntlet.

“Listen here.” Moses looked around to make sure the other Venators were still outside the barracks.

“These boys, they need you at your best right now. This isn’t a great time for us, but we’ve been through worse. I mean probably a lot worse, but we just don’t remember.” Moses chuckled at his own joke before continuing.

“We start hiding shit and it’ll only get worse. You did the right thing, telling everyone. Don’t doubt yourself for a fucking minute because we both know how that’ll end for all of us.”

Moses stood up and grabbed his helmet, wiping down the inside with a piece of cloth before continuing with his lecture.

“Remember what happened in Vegas? When you let the BDF commander talk you into following his plan which involved us going into that skyscraper that was a Gray nest?”

Baron shuddered at the memory, faded as it was.

“Yeah, you knew it was a bad call, but you doubted yourself. Got me and Rose ripped apart from what I was told, being I don’t remember anything since that body is probably Gray shit.” Moses put his helmet on and used his fist to tap the top of the helmet which sealed it with a hiss, an unnecessary dramatization.

“So, you start doubting yourself again and we get killed, we’ll end up back at the Bastion in a new body with no memory of any of this. Hell, maybe we just won’t wake up if we die this time. I kinda wanna know what keeps happening when I die.” Moses adjusted the speaker on his helmet as his voice was slightly off from misaligned tunings.

“I guess we’ll get to find out soon enough, I doubt they’d re-use any of our DNA after this.” Baron said as he finished clasping the lock on his gauntlets and went to go inform McBride of the ill news. He had been contemplating telling him at all, but the General had trusted Baron and his men enough to let them into the city. It would be in his best interest to return the gesture since he’d undoubtedly find out eventually.

McBride didn’t take it well when Baron told him about Grinch’s departure in the night. Most likely heading for the Bastion trap at the abandoned Harvard Alley outpost. Not that McBride could do much about it. Baron figured he’d assign more guards to watch his team, but they were terrible at their jobs. How McBride’s spies managed to lose Grinch, one of the oversized armored trolls was beyond Baron. Of course, Grinch was the sniper in his squad and was accustomed to being alone and using stealth over brute force. If anyone was going to sneak away successfully, it would be Grinch. Baron hoped he made it out of his foolish endeavor alive. As much as Grinch was a pain in his ass, he loved him the same as everyone else in his dysfunctional family. Baron had work to do though and no time could be wasted in the limited daylight they had to prepare the defenses.

Baron left the HQ’s planning room where McBride was busy trying to get ahold of his scouts on the radio. It was an awkward silence after he broke the news, but nothing could be done now. Baron stopped when he neared the hallway intersection that he was walking towards. He heard Rachel laughing around the corner of the intersection and the unmistakable sound of Boots voice through his helmet’s speaker. Baron didn’t bother to look around the corner and instead stood in the hallway, silently listening to the pair.

“You’ve really never tried venison?” Rachel stopped walking and turned to face Boot who had been traveling alongside her down the HQ’s main corridor. Venison was rare given the Grays insatiable appetite. Before the Gray arrived, however, the wildlife was flourishing. To a degree at least, the radiation had initially killed off most of any animal food sources, but they too evolved over time. The once lithe and agile creatures known as deer were now considerably shorter and covered in thick mangy fur to survive the brutal cold. The only thing that was reminiscent of there ancestors was the name.

“I, don’t think so?” Boot replied, trying to think back on it.

“What do Venators eat when not in the Bastion? Surely you don’t just go hungry for days?”

“No, no of course not. They give us these.” Boot reached into a pocket on his belt and pulled out a tiny red cube, that looked closer to a Lego piece than edible food. The cube was a nutrient block that once inserted into a slot in his helmet would dissolve in the internal water system. Which could then provide him with much-needed nutrients and calories.

Rachel curiously picked up the cube and examined it suspiciously.

“It smells like plastic.” She gave the cube back and raised an eyebrow in a doubtful expression.

“Tastes like plastic too.” Boot replied through a smile, not that anything, in particular, had made him happy. He was just enjoying the attention and company of Rachel.

“Listen, the Militia is having a sort of ‘party’ tomorrow night where everyone is probably going to get drunk. I guess the idea that we all might die next week has them on edge and Freeman thought it would calm the nerves. That and the idea of free food is keeping a lot of people from running away, for now at least. You and the others should come.”

“I, I don’t know if we can do that?” Boot staggered in reply.

“They’re not going to poison you.” Rachel shook her head while laughing at his skepticism.

“Tomorrow night, I’ll come by the barracks and bring you all to the mess hall. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Someone tries to kill us?”

“I guess...that’s a possibility but at some point, if you guys are going to stay with us you’ll have to trust us.”

Boot couldn’t argue with that. They weren’t in the Bastion anymore. All the Militia may not have liked the Venators but most were actually friendly or at least pretended.

“I’ll talk to the Captain, but I can’t make any promises.” Boot replied in a skeptical fashion.

“Did you forget that I’m a Captain too? You and the Venators are part of the Militia now, so it’s an order.” She winked at him with a smile before turning around and continuing on her way. Leaving a very shaken up Boot standing in the hallway alone.

Baron was gone before Rachel reached the intersection in the hallway where he had been eavesdropping. He exited the HQ through a side door and started on his way to the armory to check in on his team, minus two. With Boots head in the clouds and Grinch’s unfortunate departure, Moses was right. They were in poor shape for the usually stoic and focused soldiers. Then again, perhaps this was good for them. The mental health of Venators was never a concern to the Bastion and Baron had noticed his team seemed more relaxed here than they did at the Bastion. No matter though, mental health would mean nothing if they were all blown to pieces by BDF drones. In the back of his mind though he was happy for Boot. Maybe he’d get to experience love like Baron had wanted too before it was taken.

The city had calmed somewhat from yesterday after the initial information was revealed about the impending attack. Several people who had initially packed up their belongings and looked like they were leaving had actually returned. Baron noticed at least four entire families that were back after they had fled with caravans leaving the previous day. Few vehicles were available so making any trip on foot was dangerous, they must have finally calmed down and decided staying was preferable to fighting the Gray outside the city with a sparse caravan.

“Sir!” Someone ran up behind Baron which made him spin around and involuntary reach for his rifle still on his back. He stopped before his hands reached the rifle as it was obvious this man in front of him wasn’t being hostile.

“Some of us wanted to thank you for helping us. We were leaving the city when my brother reminded us that if Venators were going to stay and fight for The Peak, we’d be cowards to not stay too.” The man was dressed in rags and Baron wondered why he was thinking about cowardice and honor instead of food.

“Anyway, we haven’t got much but we all got together and wanted to give you this.” The man handed Baron a black satchel with burn marks on it. The satchel had BDF etched into the side of its leather, likely looted from a BDF outpost. When Baron opened it up and looked inside, he saw iridium charges, the ammunition used in BDF rifles. This bag had to be worth more than anything else the man owned, hell probably his whole family.

“Keep it.” Baron handed the man his bag back before turning around and continuing on his way. The charges could be used on his sidearm but were in truth mostly useless for Venator weapons anyway. The gesture wasn’t lost on Baron however and only reinforced his belief that the Bastion wasn’t the future of humanity, it was these people.

He knew they would never agree with his reasoning, he knew they were so blinded by misguided morality that they’d sacrifice themselves for a goal that was beyond reach. Grinch wouldn’t let that happen though. Maybe if he could reach the Bastion outpost where the beacon was, he could reason with them. If he could convince Baron to surrender, they could all go home with just a memory wipe.

Grinch was determined to keep his family with him, no matter the cost. He looked towards the horizon as the cloud cover was starting to glow from the sun behind it, they’d be waking up soon and would find him missing. He needed to get more distance between him and The Peak. He had a long journey ahead of him and needed to reach it before the attack on The Peak started, before his family would be killed.

The snow underneath Grinch hid a maze of jagged rocks that slowed his pace but not his drive. He turned the internal temperature gauge off inside his suit to conserve power and reduced everything to minimal consumption. With no batteries to recharge his equipment from, he’d need to make everything last. He immediately felt the cold seeping through his bones and shuddered.

igne natura renovatur integra. Grinch kept repeating in his mind as he navigated the treacherous terrain, rifle cradled in his arms.