Chapter 86 - 85:
The tension had finally begun to loosen.
Some of them had settled beneath the shade of the nearby trees, resting their backs against the trunks while they ate whatever food they had managed to carry with them.
Others sat along the edge of the road, talking quietly.
A few had wandered closer to the buildings, staring at them with the same curiosity they had shown when they first entered.
Nobody seemed to know exactly what they were supposed to do.
And strangely, that was fine.
For once, there was no immediate danger demanding their attention.
Nina sat with Veronica a short distance from the others.
Veronica had been asking questions ever since they finished their reunion.
Not all of them had answers.
Sometimes Nina only shook her head.
Sometimes she laughed.
Sometimes she went quiet.
But she no longer felt the desperate need to keep moving.
She could sit.
She could breathe.
She could listen to someone talk without wondering whether they would have to run halfway through the conversation.
Veronica handed her a small piece of food.
Nina accepted it.
"You’re still eating like you’re afraid someone will take it from you."
Nina paused.
Then looked down at the food in her hand.
"I guess I am."
Veronica smiled.
"You can slow down."
Nina gave her a skeptical look.
"You’ve seen what I’ve been through."
"I know."
"Then you know I’m not slowing down."
Veronica laughed.
Nina couldn’t help smiling.
Nearby, several survivors were talking about the village.
One of them was still trying to figure out how the walls had been built.
Another had become fascinated by the road.
Someone else was asking whether the buildings were all part of the village.
Their questions overlapped until nobody could tell who was answering whom.
For once, it didn’t matter.
There was no urgency behind the conversation.
No fear.
Just curiosity.
Nina looked around.
Snow was lying nearby, its head resting on its front paws.
Dog was beside Caleb.
Or rather, Caleb was beside Dog.
The distinction had become difficult to make.
Caleb was sitting on the ground, scratching the dog’s ears while loudly explaining something that the creature clearly did not understand.
"You have to understand," Caleb said seriously, "that chasing me around the village was completely unnecessary."
Dog’s tail thumped against the ground.
Caleb nodded.
"Exactly. I’m glad we agree."
Benjamin, sitting nearby, snorted.
Caleb looked at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You laughed."
"I didn’t."
"You definitely did."
Benjamin shook his head.
Caleb returned his attention to Dog.
"Don’t listen to him."
Dog licked his hand.
Caleb stared at it.
"See? He understands me."
Nina laughed quietly.
Veronica glanced toward her.
"You like him."
"Who?"
"Caleb."
Nina looked toward the boy arguing with a dog.
She smiled.
"He’s ridiculous."
"That’s not what I asked."
Nina laughed again.
"Maybe."
The sound felt strange coming from her.
Not because she didn’t remember how to laugh.
Because she hadn’t realized how long it had been since she’d wanted to.
For a few minutes, there was nothing else.
No Beast Tide.
No broken walls.
No screaming.
No blood.
Just people sitting around a road in a strange village, sharing food and laughing at Caleb.
It was almost normal.
Almost.
And perhaps that was why none of them wanted to question it.
They simply let themselves enjoy it.
The warmth of the afternoon settled over the village.
For Nina, even that felt unfamiliar.
She had forgotten what it was like to sit outside without constantly searching the horizon.
Back in King’s Territory, meals had rarely been peaceful. Someone was always watching the entrance. Someone was always listening for an alarm. Even when there was nothing happening, everyone behaved as though something could happen at any moment.
Here, the residents continued moving around them as though the world outside the walls had ceased to exist.
A woman walked past carrying a basket.
Two men spoke quietly near one of the buildings.
Someone farther down the road laughed at something Nina couldn’t hear.
Nobody seemed worried.
Nina found herself watching them longer than she intended.
Maybe they really had grown accustomed to this.
Maybe safety was something people could eventually learn to believe in.
She looked at Veronica.
Veronica was eating slowly now, no longer glancing around between every bite.
Nina smiled.
It was a small change.
But she noticed it.
Everyone seemed to be changing in small ways.
Shoulders were relaxing.
Hands were leaving weapons alone.
People were sitting instead of standing.
Nobody was talking about where they would run if something attacked.
For the first time in days, they were allowing themselves to stay in one place.
Caleb eventually stood.
Dog immediately stood with him.
Caleb looked down.
"Where are you going?"
Dog wagged its tail.
"No."
The tail wagged harder.
"I said no."
Dog followed him anyway.
Caleb took a few steps toward one of the nearby buildings.
Dog followed.
He stopped.
Dog stopped.
Caleb took another step.
Dog took another step.
Caleb turned around.
"Are you following me?"
Dog stared at him.
Caleb folded his arms.
"That’s creepy."
Benjamin called from behind him.
"You’re the one who adopted it five minutes ago."
"I did not adopt it."
"You called it cute."
"That doesn’t mean I adopted it."
"You scratched its ears for ten minutes."
"That was different."
"How?"
Caleb opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
He pointed at Benjamin.
"I don’t have to explain myself to you."
Benjamin laughed.
Caleb turned away with exaggerated dignity.
"Come on."
Dog followed.
Caleb stopped again.
"Actually, stay."
Dog sat.
Caleb stared.
He looked genuinely surprised.
"Oh."
He glanced back at Benjamin.
"Did you see that?"
Benjamin nodded.
"It listens to you."
Caleb’s expression brightened.
"See?"
He crouched in front of Dog.
"I knew you were smart."
Dog tilted its head.
Caleb looked around before lowering his voice.
"Between you and me, everyone here thinks I’m the problem."
Benjamin burst out laughing.
Caleb pointed at him.
"Don’t ruin this."
"You are the problem."
"I am not."
"You ran away from a dog."
"It chased me!"
"Because you were screaming."
"Because it was chasing me!"
Several people nearby started laughing.
Caleb looked offended.
"You people are supposed to support me."
Nina laughed.
"You ran away from a dog that was wagging its tail."
Caleb pointed at her.
"You weren’t there."
"I was."
"Then you should understand."
"I don’t."
Veronica covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Caleb looked around at all of them.
"Unbelievable."
He turned toward Dog.
"At least you understand me."
Dog wagged its tail.
Caleb nodded solemnly.
"Exactly."
Henry had been watching the scene from a short distance away.
For once, there was no tension in his face.
No worry.
No exhaustion.
Just a faint smile as he watched Caleb argue with everyone and then immediately turn around to confide in a dog.
It was such a familiar sight.
Caleb being ridiculous.
Benjamin teasing him.
Everyone laughing.
Henry smiled.
Then, almost without thinking, he said,
"Alexander would definitely not approve of this."
The laughter stopped.
Not all at once.
A few smiles lingered for half a second longer.
Then they faded.
Caleb’s expression changed.
Benjamin went quiet.
Veronica lowered her gaze.
Nina’s smile disappeared.
Even Dog seemed to sense the sudden stillness, turning its head toward the group.
Henry’s own smile slowly faded.
He hadn’t meant to say it.
It had simply slipped out.
A familiar thought attached to a familiar moment.
And now the silence that followed felt much heavier than the laughter had.
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
Caleb slowly straightened.
His hand remained resting on Dog’s head.
The dog looked from him to Henry, seemingly confused by the sudden change.
Nina looked down at the food in her hand.
The moment had been so simple only seconds ago.
She had been laughing.
Actually laughing.
Now the familiar weight had returned.
Not the terror of the wilderness.
Not the fear of another attack.
Something quieter.
The painful awareness of someone who should have been there.
Veronica shifted slightly closer to Nina.
Benjamin lowered his gaze.
Henry exhaled slowly.
He stared toward the road, but he wasn’t really looking at it anymore.
He was somewhere else.
Remembering.
Caleb broke the silence first.
"He would complain."
His voice was quiet.
Benjamin glanced at him.
Caleb looked at Dog.
"He’d probably say I’m making a fool of myself."
A faint smile touched Henry’s face again, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
"He would."
Caleb nodded.
"Definitely."
For a moment, nobody laughed.
But the memory didn’t feel as sharp as the silence that had followed Henry’s first words.
It was still painful.
Alexander was still missing.
But he was also still Alexander.
The man they knew.
The man who would have complained about Caleb running around with a mutated dog.
And somehow, remembering that made his absence feel both heavier and easier to bear.
Nina swallowed.
"Do you think there’s still no word?"
Henry’s expression became serious again.
"No."
The single word settled over them.
Nobody asked what he meant.
They already knew.
There had been no message.
No sign.
Nothing that could tell them where Alexander was.
But there was also nothing that told them he was dead.
And for now, that distinction mattered.