Ellie: Show her. It’s okay.

All eyes were now on Alex. Reluctantly, he lifted his shirt. A collective gasp followed. The size of the wounds—and the visible progress of healing—left everyone speechless. Jenny knelt closer, gently touching the edges of the newly healed skin.

Jenny: How…?

Alex: You know how we all have magic now? Well, Ellie can use hers to heal.

Jenny: What?
Antonio: Are you serious?
Jenny: You have to teach us!

Alex: I think it has to do with her stats. Most people only have 1 point in magic-related attributes, but she has 3.

Charles: Yeah, we’ve all got 1 across the board.
Antonio: Same here.
Jenny: Me too.

Jenny straightened, eyes wide as she turned to Ellie.

Jenny: Could you… show us? Please?

Ellie hesitated, glancing nervously at Alex. He nodded subtly, and she exhaled, steadying herself.

Ellie: Okay. I’ll try.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and placed her hands over Alex’s wound. The familiar green light began to glow from her palms, and glowing motes drifted down, settling into his skin. The neighbors stared in awe, mouths slightly agape.

When Ellie stopped, the silence became a little awkward.

Antonio: That’s… incredible.

Later, when it was time for the market runs, the neighbors decided it would be safer to go in groups moving forward. Antonio and Charles offered to help coordinate the turns.

Alex (relieved): That will give me some peace of mind

After what he’d seen the night before, he knew moving alone was too dangerous.

Morgan was barking non-stop in the back. It wasn’t unusual for him to bark while playing, but when Alex turned to check, Morgan was at the perimeter wall—ears back, teeth bared—barking furiously at something beyond it.

Alex: What is it, buddy?

Antonio (suddenly): What the fuuuuck? Did you see that?!
Alex: What?
Antonio: There was someone there! Someone just looked over the wall—right there.

Everyone’s eyes snapped to the wall, but there was nothing. Just empty bricks and silence.

Jorge: Maybe it was the neighbor. What did he look like?
Antonio (uneasy): He was wearing a… a green mask.

A chill crept through the group. Silence settled over them as they exchanged uneasy glances.

Green mask? Alex thought. It could actually be…

Alex: Did you see how big it was?
Antonio: Like a person… maybe a bit smaller. It leaned on the wall, so I couldn’t see all of it, but it looked human.

Tina: It was probably one of the grandsons of the old lady next door.

Jorge: If they jump over, they could get inside the building through the garage. The door’s still blocked, but someone could unlock it from inside. We need to barricade it.

They all stared at the wall, waiting, but nothing appeared again.

Tina: Should we go ask her?
Jenny: Does anyone know her?
Tina: Not really. She’s this sweet old lady who loves petting Max. Her grandsons usually visit on weekends—they’re pretty noisy, though.

Ellie: Should we warn her? If the kids are playing in the garden… There could be dangerous creatures out there. Maybe she has a radio and heard it on the news, but what if she hasn’t?
Antonio: Those still work?
Alex: Nikola said they do. We haven’t tried one ourselves.
Antonio: I’ve got an old CB radio. I’ll see if I can get it working later.
Monica: We could check from our balcony. It’s safer than going over there. I think it’s getting too dangerous.
Antonio: Good idea. You do that—I’ll go see about the radio.