Shadow Slave

Well, actually, it was black. Shrouded in the darkness of the long night, Sunny rode north through the wailing hurricane of snow. To his eyes, which could see through any shadows, the snow appeared as light-grey, bordering on white.

The way back was not long enough to deal with thoughts and emotions raging in his heart, but luckily, Sunny had too many worries about the future to drown in the regrets of the past.

'...Doesn't matter, anyway.'

Verne was dead, and everyone else was also dead. None of the people Sunny had come to know in the past weeks survived. Now, all he could do was make sure that his soldiers, Professor Obel, and Beth did not share their fate.

That was not going to be an easy task.

Soon, the wreckage of the old war machine appeared in view. Sunny dismissed Nightmare, walked into the rusted metal frame and lingered for a few moments in front of the Rhino.

Then, he opened the hatch and climbed inside.

Quentin, Samara, and Belle were keeping watch, each of them tense and ready for battle. Noticing him, the Irregulars sighed with relief.

"Captain. You're back."

Sunny nodded.

"Did anything happen in my absence?"

Quentin shook his head.

"There were no Nightmare Creatures yet. Professor Obel and Miss Beth were both exhausted, so they're sleeping. We settled the Professor in your quarters. I hope you do not mind."

He remained silent for a moment, then added with a hint of melancholy in his voice:

on them. In case one or both have become

care about the accommodations at that moment, so he

'No Nightmare Creatures, yet..."

could change at

the Rhino, even if one of his shadows had stayed back to observe the surroundings and be a potential exit

it was Nightmare Creature country now.

swarm could have stumbled on the cohort's camp at

thing of the past

were safe, and choices that were dangerous. But after leaving the protection of LO49 and its thick walls, he could only choose between different degrees of

Attribute, such calculations were more

then rubbed it. He was too tired and numb to care right now.

nap, then. Wake me up if

Sunny climbed into one of the free sleeping nooks and closed

to

he summoned Saint and

all Sunny could

***

and morning never came. When Sunny woke up, the world was exactly the same as it had been before. The raging blizzard enveloped the world, obscuring the cold dark

revealing a sleeping niche hidden behind it. Dorn's massive figure could be seen inside. The giant man had drawn a short straw when they were assigned the transport vehicle, since standard pods were a little bit too small

did not

Sure that his shadows and Saint did not perceive any threat, he left

Belle, Samara

overwhelming that they did not even linger to listen to the

than they had yesterday. Even though one night of rest was not enough to remove all the accumulated fatigue, Awakened

who had only slept a few hours, felt utterly broken instead of

"So?"