The tie choked him, stiff and unnatural. He endured as the makeup brush swept across his face, each stroke increasing his headache. The sounds of a crowd cheering on the stage only served strengthen the knots in his stomach. The things I do for my job…

“Remember, try not to scare the civvies.” The PR guy dabbed at his forehead, failing to keep his hands steady. His collar damp, eyes darting like a rookie in a firefight.

“Not my first op, sir.” One final adjustment to the full army uniform, his lieutenant pin shining under the light.

Cue given. He shed the cold exterior, flashing a grin like a well-rehearsed maneuver. Remember, do as Matt would. Coming in under a roar of applauses, he shook the hand of the presenter, spoke a few empty words and sat down for the interview. Recruitment propaganda, they called it.

More like damage control.

Orders were orders. He’d carried out worse missions. Smile, shake hands, sell the dream. Just another day’s battlefield.

-----

“It’s done!” Caelan lifted the crossbow from the table, testing its weight. “Only took six weeks, but who’s counting?”

“What a beauty!” Thumb raised from the couch, Nashoba grinned despite the bags under his eyes. “Self-loading, dimensional pocket storage, increased draw weight. That thing’s a beast!”

With a chuckle, Caelan put down the weapon. “Now that’s music to my ears.”

“Very true.” Nashoba took a deep breath, body relaxed. “So, who you gonna kill with it?”

The displaced froze for a second, then turned to the zoakri with a smile.” “No one, I told you I want to protect myself, that’s all.”

From the couch, a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. “Protection, huh? Yeah, and I hunt rabbits with a cannon. Caelan, I’m not smart like Doc, but I ain’t dumb. So quit bullshiting and give it to me straight.”

One look into his eyes told Caelan he wouldn’t let it go. With a sigh, he sat down on the table, words scrambling in his mind. “I’m going to ambush the man who threw me out of that plane.”

“With that thing over there?” He signaled their shared project with a nod. “Anyone gets shot by that, they dead. Awakened might need two hits, but they also dead.”

“The crossbow is… plan B.” Throat cleared, Caelan took a pause before continuing. “I had Doc teach me a few non-lethal ways to contain the target, rather than ending them.”

“Figured Doc knew. Old Goat always does.” With one swift move he got up from the couch, arms stretched above the head. “So, what’s the plan?”

It didn’t take even a second for Caelan to understand. “You are not helping me with this one.”

“Right, you plan to capture the guy who almost killed you once. By yourself, without help.” Eyes narrowed, Nashoba balanced imaginary weights in his hands. “Now, that makes sense.”

A heat spread across Caelan’s body. “He got me off-guard last time. Won’t happen, ever, again. But this time, I’ll be the one laying the trap. That changes everything.”

After a few moments debating with himself, Caelan relented. He explained how he chose the junkyard as the site, mapping it for chokepoints and dead ends.

“Right, it’s locked for the night. Now I get it why you asked for alternative entrances.” Hand on chin, Nashoba thought on it for a moment. “How do you plan to lure this guy out again?”

He’ll start small—whispers of a plane survivor lurking around the junkyard. Just enough to spread. Then, I’ll make myself seen. No disguise. No mask. If he’s searching, he won’t be able to resist.

All to make sure it spreads as wide as possible.

“Folk down here love to gossip.” With a nod, the zoakri kept thinking. “But how do ya know your mysterious guy will show up?”

“Twice now, he’s hunted me. Ignored my squadmate like they weren’t even there. No, this bastard wants me. He’s obsessed. Fine. Let’s see if I can turn that obsession against him.”

“Makes sense.” He yawned, eyes about do shut down. “Look, I can’t put two and two together. We’ll talk more on how we can polish that plan of yours tomorrow.”

“I told you, you… and he’s gone.”

Teeth clenched, Caelan admired his creation one last time. His and Nashoba’s. With a growl, he covered it up before going to bed. A long day awaited him, he needed the sleep.

-----

The door barely opened before Rosa launched herself at Nashoba. His scowl melted the second he caught her. “Hey little pea, how’s Grumpy and auntie treating ya?” She showed him a drawing in response. An illustration of five figures of different heights holding hands, a house at the back. “That’s great! Is that all of us?”

She nodded so hard she almost fell over.

“Looks like we have an artist in the family now! One who actually paints.”

Doc grabbed Caelan’s arm as he passed by. “Clinic. Now.”

Caelan’s body tensed up. The old goat only dragged him along like this when it was life or death. He followed followed without question.. “Who we saving this time?”

“We ain’t going to patch idiots up this time.” A lab coat got thrown in his direction. “Don’t wear it till we get there. Emergency visit this time.”

Caelan grabbed his tools, shoved his coat under his arm, and sprinted after Doc. “If we aren’t healing anyone, what’s the objective?”

Doc didn’t look back, just bulldozed his way through the crowd. “We going to take out a parasite from a woman.”

Once more, Caelan felt a conflicting gratitude to the Rot altering his body. “Doesn’t that fall under healing, sir?”

“Not when we’re doing it to a baby.”

“Wait, what?”