Adam blinked awake. A thin blanket covered his chest as he lay on a narrow cot. Nearby, Natalie sat in a folding chair, a book balanced in her lap and her head tilted back. She snored softly beneath the pale glow of a lamp.

  He tried to sit up, thought better of it, and sank back into the cot with a sigh. Natalie stirred as he cleared his throat, letting her rouse slowly until her eyes finally fluttered open.

  "Hey," he croaked.

  Her eyes widened as she sat up. She opened her mouth several times and then closed it again, at a loss for words.

  "Hey," she said softly. "Thirsty?"

  He nodded, and she held out a small cup with a straw.

  The water was warm and tasted like iron, but he drank greedily. She didn't try to stop him, just held the cup steady until it was dry.

  When he was finished, she pulled the cup away and set it on a folding table next to the bed. "That's probably going to cramp your stomach."

  "Worth it," he rasped.

  She turned a dial and the lantern brightened, revealing the rest of the space.

  They sat in a small military style tent. The ceiling was only a few feet overhead, and shifted slightly from the breeze outside. An IV bag hung down from a hook with a line running beneath the blanket.

  His mouth felt like it was lined with gravel, but he cleared his throat again and spoke. "How... How long?"

  She looked down. "About a month."

  He sighed. "The others?"

  "Everyone made it, mostly," she said, pausing. "How do you feel?"

  Adam took stock. He wiggled his fingers and toes, rewarded with several dry pops as his joints remembered how to move.

  "Stiff, but everything still works, I think."

  Natalie slumped in her chair. "I'm glad."

  They sat in the stillness for a long moment before she spoke again. "You should be dead."

  Adam nodded. "Probably."

  "No, I'm serious." She reached out and put her hand on his arm through the blanket. "You... It was bad."

  "How bad?" he asked, staring up at the ceiling.

  "You fell off a building. A hundred stories, at least." Her voice broke and she wiped at her eyes with her other hand. "Jessica told me what you did, you crazy fuck. None of us know how you pulled it off. I can't remember anything after I grabbed Hector."

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  "Kinda ruins the sacrifice, doesn't it?" He pushed himself up, his spine popping in protest as he moved. She reached out to help but he shook his head and she let him be.

  "I had to put you back together," she said, voice thick. "One piece at a time. I don't think there was a bone left intact, not to mention the shrapnel. Before all of this? No one would've survived. No one could have. It was beyond a miracle. Your heart just wouldn't stop."

  She held out her hand, the black feather tattoo still sat in her palm. "My hand kept getting hot. But... you didn't die. It was slow going, but you didn't die. Assuming everything..." She gestured vaguely below his waist. "Still works, I think you're going to be fine."

  Adam gave her a sad smile. He reached out and closed her palm. "Thank you. But we both know that's not for me. It's for her."

  She nodded and took her hand back. "I really missed you. We all did.”

  "I missed you guys too,” he said. “I think.”

  "Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

  "So, where are we?"

  Natalie led him through a warren of tents as the sun rose. He leaned heavily on a crutch, his balance and flexibility still a far cry from what they had been.

  The camp stirred slowly to life. Smoke from dozens of cooking fires drifted into the brightening sky. A group of soldiers passed, rifles slung over their shoulders, and Adam ambled out of their way. They nodded at Natalie but barely glanced at him before continuing deeper into the maze of tents.

  "Friendly crowd," Adam said.

  "They've seen some shit," Natalie replied. "As it turns out, if you don't have a catalyzing event, you stay perfectly normal. Almost everyone here is, thus the guns."

  She led the way to a watchtower that looked hastily built from mismatched lumber and sheet metal. Adam took his time climbing the makeshift stairs, navigating his crutch up one step at a time.

  From the top, the camp stretched out below, rows of tents and shacks ringed by a double chain-link fence. Armed guards paced around the edge, weapons at the ready.

  "How are they keeping this place safe?" Adam asked. "Relatively. If safe even means anything anymore."

  "The short answer is most things don't like being shot, no matter of where they're from." Natalie exhaled, her gaze drifting toward the remains of the city. "But we still lose people. We lost two just yesterday. A guard and a little girl."

  Adam wasn't sure what to say, so he said nothing. They watched the sun rise over the city until Natalie pointed upward. "Look."

  The sun climbed until it backlit the space where the Eye had been. A crack split the sky, dark and jagged, swallowing the light. It still pulsed with flickers of green lightning.

  "We think it's a scar. I'm not sure if we took too long, or 'The Princess" did something to the tunnel. Either way, it didn't close properly." She looked away. "There are still small tunnels opening. Not as many, but... it's still something."

  "So, we're not out of the woods yet," Adam said.

  "Nope."

  He glanced sideways at her. "Feels like you're dancing around something. I'm sure the last month's been hell, but what aren't you telling me? And where are the others?"

  Natalie hesitated, then sighed. "We're not doing well. You know in movies, when people go through something traumatic and it bonds them for life? It turns out the opposite can happen too. Watch your partner do enough killing and... something changes. We're taking some space."

  Adam flinched. The words hit harder than he expected. "So, where are they?"

  "Out with some volunteers. It takes a lot to keep a camp this size fed. Who knew?" She nodded toward a line of trucks lined up by a nearby gate. "They should be back in a couple of hours. Are you up for a little more walking?"

  "I can manage," he said, grabbing his crutch.

  “Good, I have someone you need to meet.”