Richard scrubbed the parts of his body that burned more than others. It surprised him just how many injuries he had left. His entire stomach was one massive discolored bruise, and there was still a deep gash on his back. It was wild how simply he accepted this reality now. Parasites on the skin were of more danger to him than bleeding out from a gash on his back he barely felt. His healing ability ended its cooldown, so he mentally pressed it again, feeling two more large wounds stitch themselves closed.

  When Richard’s skin no longer burned, Lucy nodded and reported she couldn’t hear any more screaming. A towel was tossed to him as he dried off before getting back into bed. Lucy was doing the manual checkup, closing the rest of the wounds on his body.

  “The lungs are still badly damaged.” Lucy frowned. It wasn’t sad, more curious. “How intriguing.”

  Lucy approached this like a puzzle to solve. Richard found it was best to stay out of her way. She tapped the side of her glasses a few times, nodding before returning to her workbench. She never excused him, so he assumed that meant she still needed him to stay.

  The next hour consisted of the away party trickling in and Lucy ordering them to shower. Marcus, Shrub, and Savannah had absolutely no reservations about stripping down and showering when they came in. Amber and Fang were far more hesitant, and Lucy grumbled a bit before asking Shrub to set up the curtain. Richard didn’t know that was an option, but figured he now didn’t care. The room had been private enough when he showered.

  What surprised Richard was how beaten up Savannah, Marcus, and Shrub looked. He knew Shrub had a lot of dried amber blood on his body, but Marcus had an enormous gash on his forehead that almost clogged the drains with how much blood he cleaned off. No doubt that gash remained after he used his healing ability. Savannah’s arm was hanging on by a few suggestions only, and Lucy was quick to heal it while she showered.

  Leylah remained on the bed, the heavy breathing led Richard to believe she was sleeping. Except she was under Lucy’s care, and the bitter, cynical woman checked on her way more often than Richard.

  Lucy finally walked over to Richard, holding a glass that held black liquid. He tried not to react, but couldn’t help it when he saw the sludge.

  “Do I have to…”

  “Yes, drink this.” She handed it to him. “Within the next five minutes for maximum efficiency.”

  “Really?” Richard asked.

  “No. I just said that so you would drink it faster. You called my bluff.” Her face remained completely straight.

  Richard was on his way to bringing it to his lips. He paused long enough to stare at Lucy, and he had a sudden realization.

  “You’re amazing at lying,” Richard said.

  “It’s called dry humor,” Lucy said.

  Richard raised an eyebrow. “I’d say it’s dark humor.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “Drink.”

  Richard sighed before the liquid disappeared down his throat. It had the consistency of sludge, but tasted surprisingly sweet.

  “Not bad.”

  “Black, like my soul, sweet like what everyone wishes my soul is like.” Lucy took the glass back. “And then…” she lifted a finger as though waiting for something.

  Richard’s lungs burst into flames. It couldn’t be literal flames, but it certainly felt like it. He coughed, but that only made it worse.

  “Burns like hell for believing my soul is ‘not bad’,” Lucy finished before walking away to wash the glass.

  Richard touched his chest, wondering if he could feel the burn, but his chest felt normal. Inside his lungs, he still imagined a flame raging. No doubt all the parasites were dying in a version of hell. He kept trying to cough, but it somehow ignited the flames.

  When Richard finally stopped coughing and the flames in his lungs died down to dangerous embers, Lucy again examined his chest, shaking her head.

  “Stubborn bitches,” she said before going back to her workbench.

  “Do I have to drink it again?” Richard said it quietly, because he was afraid that if he used his normal voice, his lungs would catch fire again.

  “No. It means you’ll have to stay the night here. Dammit, I hate having to wake up every three hours to check on you.” Lucy wrote something down. “Dammit all, you stubborn bitches, but I respect the dedication.”

  Richard swallowed, and due to his precarious lungs, he didn’t dare talk again. Lucy finished writing something, then walked over to a cupboard and pulled out fresh clothes. “Go get something to eat, then come back here. I’ll have to check you over again to make sure the strenuous walk to the mess hall doesn’t trip something up.”

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  Richard did nothing but nod as he quickly dressed in the clothes Lucy handed him. He wasn’t starving, but since Lucy suggested he eat, he wouldn’t mind getting something.

  He walked out into the sunlight, staring ahead as his mind whirled. It was truly an insane day. They all almost died multiple times, but no doubt the loot from two bosses had to help. He should really talk to Marcus about it, simply to verify that his almost dying did in fact help the base camp. Also that Leylah almost dying resulted in so many things on their list being checked off. That Amber and Richard actually dying in a different time made it worth it.

  His mind eased off the time anomalies. He didn’t understand them at all. Just that they were random, yet also seemed to come right when he needed them to survive.

  Richard walked into the mess hall and got his collection of food. There weren’t nearly as many people in the mess hall, not just because their numbers had been cut in half. Most of base two must have already eaten and had returned to the farmlands. Richard was glad to see Marcus was still there, visiting with Savannah and Amber. He moved toward them when Elias appeared in front of him, blocking him.

  Richard stared at the man, frowning. His lungs were still aching, so he didn’t dare waste his energy saying hello.

  “I can’t help but notice you’ve taken an interest in the scavenger class,” Elias said. Richard narrowed his eyes, but still refused to speak. He didn’t want to put any more strain on his already sore lungs. Richard kept telling himself that this was the first time he and Elias had had a conversation, and Richard still wasn’t sure if he wanted to converse with the jackass. “If you’re smart, you wouldn’t be a scavenger. Scavengers are best when they’re loners, and I get sick of this idea we have to work as a group. I’m not interested in my class gaining any extra, unneeded weight.”

  Richard kept staring at him and chanced flaring up his lungs to ask a question. “You want to be the only scavenger in base two?”

  Elias folded his arms. “I want people to understand the merits of going alone. And I can’t when losers like Marcus are in charge, despite my having way more skill and a higher level.”

  Richard was tempted to poke the bear, to ask Elias what might happen if he faced an enemy with no lower-level people to shove in front of the creature while he made a hasty getaway.

  “Nothing good comes from going alone,” Richard said. “Not in an apocalypse.”

  Elias gave a small quirk of his lips that should have been a smile, but looked more like a muscle spasm. “Oh, sure, we can pretend we’re unified. Have all the happy ideals that working together is what stops the apocalypse. But when the demons break through the gate, it’s every man for himself.”

  Richard’s brows furrowed in confusion. Elias must have been mentioning the attack on base two, but it had never been every man for himself. In fact, Richard saw the exact opposite. People stronger than him made sure he and the other newbies got placed in the center of the silos. Dmitri could have left them for bait, but he didn’t. All those farmers who surrounded him to keep him alive—it brought a deep pain to Richard’s heart far more than the burning in his lungs. Elias was walking away like he had won the argument, but Richard was left with another question.

  “Then why did you save me that night?” Richard asked.

  Elias slowed, then turned his head, frowning. “What?”

  “You said every man for himself, but you saved me that night. You killed three splicers that would have destroyed me and Leylah. So why did you?” Richard asked, his lungs flaring up with the strain.

  Elias was about to say something, possibly a question, when he paused. The memory must have come to him, too. He then shrugged. “Because I was really close to leveling up.” Elias turned around and walked away.

  Richard let out a breath and immediately regretted it. He touched his chest, shifting around his clothes like that would help at all. He fully believed Elias thought it was better to be alone, but that was not the same for everyone else. Elias was so far into his own delusion that he believed his way was the best way. It made him a scary guy to be around in the middle of an apocalypse. Besides, Richard still didn’t buy it. If Elias saved Richard and Leylah because he was close to leveling up, why did Elias bother using a healing potion to help Richard’s arms?

  “Hey,” Marcus said when Richard sat down across from him. “Good to see you up and about. I saw you talking with Elias and about went to stop it, but it seems like you managed alright. Is everything okay?”

  Richard took a long drink of his apple juice, hoping it would calm the embers in his lungs. “He told me not to become a scavenger.”

  Marcus pursed his lips, then relaxed them enough to smile. “Did he convince you?”

  “Convinced me he’s a jerk,” Richard mumbled.

  Savannah chuckled. Amber had gone by the time Richard came over, no doubt to help with farming. Richard sat with the two of them, clearing his throat and instantly regretting it. He touched his chest, fighting the impulse to drain every drop of juice in his cup.

  “You all right?” Marcus asked.

  “Apparently, parasites got into my lungs.” Richard picked up his juice and took a huge gulp. “Lucy gave me something that burned them, but I still feel it.”

  Marcus gave a click of his tongue. “Well, Lucy may be brutal, but surprisingly effective.”

  Richard made a grumbling noise as he dug into his dinner. “So… was it a success? Our scavenging outings?”

  “It’s always a success when we come back with loot,” Marcus said.

  “And all alive,” Savannah added.

  Marcus nodded at that. “Despite fighting two bosses and getting some great loot, though, it was still the insect bodies that were the most valuable. From what I heard, they’re getting the strong fertilizer down far faster than they expected. That means everything with a late planting.”

  Elias walked past their table, and Richard only noticed because of how Savannah stiffened. Next to him, Marcus shot Elias a look of pure hatred that Richard never wanted to be on the receiving end of. Elias returned the glare with an equal measure of hatred, and Richard had to glance away.

  Elias left the mess hall, and Marcus focused on his food.

  “Are… you okay?” Richard asked.

  “Fine.” Marcus finished the last of his protein slurry. “I simply hate that son of a bitch. And I sense the feeling is mutual.”

  Richard didn’t know what to say, so he glanced at Savannah. She stared at the door Elias had left through, tapping her spoon against the table. “Do you ever get the feeling you’re staring at your future murderer when you look at him?”

  Richard winced, then glanced down. Technically, Elias had already murdered him before. Marcus said nothing. He simply wiped his mouth and stood up, gathering his dishes. Richard started eating, not sure what else to do.

  “I swear to Order if I see him harm one of you, I will break his neck before he succeeds,” Marcus muttered as he passed the table.