When the triumphant party returned, it was to a big bag of mixed emotions. Everyone with Joe was happy to be back, and everyone who stayed behind was thrilled that five people had returned. The people at the house were significantly less enthused about the state of the combatants. After everyone was inside, Travis took Deena upstairs so he could help with her arm, and the kids could see their mom was ok. Nik and Joe were each given a downstairs mattress with Diana watching over both men. Mike and Carl stayed on watch, and while they were vigilant, their postures were loose. The world was still scary and filled with monsters, but one less roamed nearby.

Each patient ate a berry roughly every half hour and tried to concentrate the energy on their worst wounds. Joe focused on his chest during these healing sessions. His often injured shoulder still hurt, but the bleeding had stopped, and breathing took precedence. He sensed the mana working with his regeneration skill to patch his bones back together. Three ribs had been broken, and Joe was grateful that he hadn't punctured a lung. Even with his skill and the berries, Joe wasn't sure that would be something he could magic away. It was probably best not to test the limits of regeneration just yet.

Nik was having trouble with his healing. For starters, he had far less practice with the magic fruit than the rest of them. Secondly, he was older and had lower Vigor than Joe. Most importantly, Nik was suffering from a concussion, and it made focusing his will on moving mana around tricky. The effects were getting diffused. Diana watched over the man with her sight activated as long as possible. They kept giving him berries, and she said they were helping, but much of the mana was wasted on shoring up minor injuries and making up for his lack of nutrition.

Everyone would live, and even though it sucked, Joe decided they needed to save a small stockpile until they could get back inside the rift. It only amounted to two berries per person, but that could be the difference between life and death in the right situation. Joe had been about to reduce his intake to help the other two when Diana had cut him off.

"Don't even think about it. I can see you spacing out your healing as much as possible. No one cares that you have a regeneration skill. Do everything you can to heal."

Joe could feel Diana's glare even in the dark and decided not to press the issue. In truth, he was relieved that no one wanted him to rely solely on his regeneration. It was better than nothing, but at its current level, the effectiveness was low. Still, Joe noticed it working in synergy with the berries. The healing mana was good for putting things roughly back together, but Joe felt his skill fixing his broken body on a deeper level. The best comparison would be instead of a wound being healed, it was more like that wound never happened in the first place.

After a few hours, they had run through the allotment of healing, and Joe settled down to rest. His belly felt overly full due to all the water he'd drank, but he knew that his body would need it to replace the blood he'd lost today. Thoughts of the fight wandered through Joe's head as he dissected what had happened. Honestly, the planning hadn't been awful for the fight itself, but they had been severely outclassed. Joe knew he needed to practically live in that rift until he could stand up to the other hound. Despite the heat, a shiver rolled through him at the thought of the great black monster. Joe didn't know where it was, but he was sure they wouldn't be safe until it was dead.

Eventually, sleep claimed everyone but the two guards. Neither Mike nor Carl woke anyone else up for a shift and stood watch the whole night. When dawn's light peaked above the horizon, Travis came down to relieve the two men. Joe heard the noise and started to shift as he prepared to give the men his bed. Once he levered himself onto an elbow and sat up, pain coursed through his body in a wave.

Holy hell, his shoulder and chest hurt. The previous night's adrenaline had kept the worst of the pain contained in a small corner of Joe's mind. Once the adrenaline had worn off, the exertion of the day had almost immediately put Joe to sleep. This morning there were no such luxuries, and he regretted his decision. Joe was stubborn, though, and made it to his feet after a minute of internal swearing and external sweating. He looked over and saw Diana sleeping, sitting up with her back against the wall between the two beds.

"Diana, get up and go to bed. We'll be ok." Joe nudged her gently with his foot while he spoke. A pat on the shoulder might have been nicer, but there was no way he was kneeling or bending over if it could be helped. Diana looked up at Joe with the startled confusion common when someone was awakened from a sound sleep. She mumbled and nodded before shuffling upstairs. Joe checked on Nik, who was sleeping deeply, and then went into the kitchen with the other men.

"Mike. Carl. Thanks for keeping watch. Go get some rest."

Both men nodded tiredly before shuffling to the living room. Joe heard them lie down and turned to look out the window. Travis joined him, and they looked around in companionable silence. There hadn't been an immediate attack. Joe had hoped that would be the case. Besides leaving Frank a message, going to the rift should have mixed their scents with many others. At least, that was what Joe hoped. Drawing the other hound to the rift could be a problem, but given the group's state, he hadn't seen any other options. It wasn't like showers and soap were everywhere anymore.

"Hey Travis, I never asked, but what's your class?"

"Oh, it's Organizer."

Travis seemed surprised at the question, and Joe didn't blame him. They hadn't sat down together since the group was always doing different things. Jake had assumed that Travis had a non-combat class simply because he'd always stayed with the kids while they went to fight. Joe suspected he was level one based solely on his stats or lack thereof. Travis still got tired after regular labor, just like everyone had before the System boosted their attributes. Jake wasn't double his original strength and endurance in a practical sense, but he was getting there.

"That's a new one. Tell me about it."

The other man looked at Joe for a moment and seemed to be waiting for some sort of disparagement. Joe might have been reading too much into the silence, but he didn't think so. It would take time for people's attitudes to shift regarding genders and physical prowess. The System and its attributes made it possible for women to outmuscle pre-System men if they had a physical combat class. Hell, with bonus attributes, any class could do it if you focused on Strength and Alacrity. Travis had probably caught some shit in town for his wife being the fighter. Joe didn't care about what people did as long as they were helping, and any new information was useful.

"None of us knew what the calibration would be like, so I brought a backpack of survival gear. I like to keep track of things, so there was a handwritten spreadsheet of contents and uses in the front pocket. I didn't have anything else in the crafting trial, so I submitted that. The grade was still poor, but I'm sure it unlocked this class."

Joe nodded along, and his mind churned at the thought. It hadn't even occurred to him that someone could use something other than a physically crafted item. Then he remembered there was still a combat portion of the crafting trial.

"Did it still spawn a goblin? I was graded on how well my spear did in combat."

"Yeah, but they are easy once you know the trick. It didn't mention combat in my grade at all."

Travis looked thoughtful at Joe's comments. Joe thought for the hundredth time that they needed to find a way to write all of this down. There was no doubt paper somewhere in town, and it was jumping up his priorities list. Knowledge was power no matter what reality you found yourself in. Someday the kids would be calibrated, and the more information they had going in, the better it would be for them. Joe kept the frown off his face at the thought. He didn't want Travis to think it was directed at him.

"So what are the stats and skill?"

"It's just a common class. I get +1 Reflex and Connection per level with one free attribute. I put mine in Strength. The skill sounded great but in reality it's not much help. Memory Boost is a passive that gives me 1% bonus to memory capacity per skill level."

Joe didn't miss Travis's choice of words or his tone. Yeah, his class and skill were both useless now, but in a functioning society, people like him would help glue things back together. He shuffled leveling Travis up higher on the priority ladder. Joe had plenty of time to think over the last night, and one thing was clear. Joe wasn't cut out to lead. He could fight and protect, but long-term planning was not his strong suit. It would be great if some other people could take over so he could focus on getting stronger.

"Man, don't sell youself short. Almost all the skills start out like that. Even if you don't max it out I'm pretty sure presystem academics would sell their organs for a passive memory boost."

Neither of them talked for the next hour, just sitting in companionable silence. Eventually, the children and Jennifer woke up, and it was Travis's time to shine. He organized a small breakfast and handed out chores. Joe liked kids. They were great and very necessary for humanity in general, but he always felt awkward around them. He was the youngest in his family, so he hadn't had much experience with younger children outside of school. The kitchen was chaotic for another twenty minutes, but then Travis led everyone outside and wrangled the lot of them with Jennifer's help.

Deena came down shortly afterward, and Joe winced when he looked at her arm. Three ragged cuts ran from her shoulder to her elbow. They were red and raised despite the healing of the previous night. Joe knew that his skills and attributes resisted damage and healed, but he'd felt that the berries did most of the work. Looking over at Deena's arm, he thought that maybe he hadn't given regeneration and his high Vitality all the credit they were due. Deena noticed his look and shook her head.

"We can't all heal from stab wounds overnight. I feel lucky that I can use it at all. Without those berries, I would be laid up for a month if I was lucky."

"Trust me. I don't heal overnight. My chest still feels like it's made out of broken glass if I move too fast. I haven't had a broken bone since I was twelve, and I don't like it anymore now."

"Joe, you should be dead." Deena grimaced at her own statement. "That hit should have caved in your chest, and that would have been it. Instead, you walked home. Healing or not, that's crazy."

"I will never regret putting points into Fortitude. If nothing else, it sucks to earn it as a bonus."

"I can only imagine, and I hope it stays that way."

With that, Deena got a drink of water and joined the group hauling water and gathering sticks for a fire. Joe was relieved she took on a supervisory role and left the lifting to everyone else. Looking at her arm again, Joe knew they needed more berries as soon as possible. He could feel regeneration working in the background, slowly piecing him back together. Joe hoped he would have enough range of motion to hit the rift with Diana tomorrow. She had taken the least damage, so she should be able to help if he couldn't handle it. They needed those berries.

Another hour passed, and Joe forced himself to sit and recover. He'd made half-hearted attempts to direct his regeneration, but the mana didn't so much fight back as ignore him entirely. Trying to move the mana under the skills control felt like attempting to bend a crowbar with his bare hands. He would keep trying, though. It had to be possible. He'd finally gotten to the point he could activate Bite without saying anything, so clearly, the skills weren't entirely set in stone. There had to be a way, and he would find it, but today he was worn out.

Sounds from upstairs drew his attention, and a few minutes later, Diana came down and joined him at the table. She looked tired. None of them looked like models after a week of stream bathing and critical soap shortages, but large circles lay under her eyes as she looked Joe up and down. Joe was glad he hadn't checked out a mirror recently because he was sure he looked like death warmed over.

"How are you feeling?" Her voice was soft and unsure. Joe appreciated the concern and even felt a slight warmth in his chest. At least if nothing else went right, she wasn't afraid of him anymore. Her interactions with the group's male members were far more natural than even two days ago. It gave him hope for all of them that maybe together, the ghosts of their past could be put to rest. Now they had to face off against the demons in their immediate future.

"I've been worse. My chest is still sore."

Diana rolled her eyes at the first statement. Since he'd almost died in front of her twice, the bar for injuries was about as low as it could go. Joe really wanted to stop doing that as soon as possible. It was above a working bathroom with a shower, but the longer that survival mode went on, the closer that margin became.

"You're on bed rest today. Whatever needs done, we can handle it. After Carl and I work in the garden, I'm taking him and Mike to the rift." Her tone brooked no backtalk, and her raised eyebrows dared Joe to say anything to the contrary. He was about to voice his concerns anyway when she continued. "We'll only run the rooms before the first boss. There will be the extra monsters, and we need all the berries we can get right now."

"That's probably a good idea," Joe grumbled. He didn't like being benched, but it was the smart call. "Just be careful. All of you."

Joe added the last part hurriedly, and for once, Diana didn't say anything about the blatant hypocrisy in his statement. There was nothing else to say, so Diana got up and took a drink before walking to the door. She paused for a moment before she left but didn't say anything before joining the others outside. Joe's ass was going numb sitting still this long, and he slowly got up to join them outside. He received pointed looks from all the women, even Jennifer getting in on the action. Joe waved them off and promised to stay sitting on the small back deck. He couldn't stay cooped up in the house all day and wanted some fresh air before he went back to sleep.

The summer sun was nice, and the breeze kept the air from hanging stagnant and overbearing. People native to Ohio would have called it humid, and anyone who lived south of Virginia would have laughed in their faces. The frogs were silent in the day, with only stray birdcalls disrupting the sound of wind blowing through the willow tree down by the pond. The world smelled green and alive, with subtle scents of pollen that tickled his nose but were too faint to identify. It was a good day, Joe thought.

Carl's garden was coming along nicely. Hand-tilled dirt with irregularly spaced mounds had plant shoots sticking out of them. Someone had ripped up grass and dried it to form a rough mulch over the area. Currently, the oldest child was carefully pouring small streams of water from his bucket to water the plants. The garden wasn't helping them yet, but with Carl's ability shaving almost two weeks off of the plant's life cycle, there was the very real prospect of vegetables in their future.

Once Nik was up for some travel, they needed to get him back to his town. Not only had Joe promised, but he would trade so many berries for a decent supply of meat. They were currently surviving, but Joe wanted to transition to actively living as soon as possible. It was probably too much to hope that there were pigs in the rift, but for now, Joe was content to dream about it. He could rain on that parade tomorrow. Today was about recovery and remembering why he fought. Joe saw the couple hold hands while watching their kids and knew that everything had been worth it.