THE ASCENDANCY - The Keep - Day 4

  The next morning, after everyone had gotten some much-needed rest, we sat around the fire discussing the previous day's events.

  "They're doing it again," I told Tim and Kyle, nodding toward the girls' table.

  Kyle tried to hide his laugh. "Gav thinks all the girls are over at the table talking about him."

  "Geez, Gav," Tim said. "Vain much? I'm sure they have plenty of things to talk about that are not you."

  Kyle went to say something but stopped when he saw me giving him the death glare. Tim noticed, though. "Why would they be talking about you, Gav?" he said, slowly creeping a smile.

  "Yeah, Gav," Kyle said. "What did you do?"

  I buried my face in my hands. I'm sure Kyle's not going to be able to keep his mouth shut anyway. But before I could tell Tim, I heard gasps of excitement from the table across the den, followed by giggles, and Yumi standing up and jumping over the table to ARi's side and hugging her.

  I glanced through my fingers at ARi, who was looking over at me, blushing. Tim followed my gaze to ARi and back to me. "Well, it's about time," Tim said, surprising me and Kyle.

  "What?" I asked.

  His eyebrows shot up. "The tension between you two is thick enough to push through every time we walk in the room."

  "I don't know. I thought maybe people would be a little bit more weirded out, I guess."

  Tim leaned forward. "You mean because she wasn't born like we were? Gav, does that bother you?"

  "No, not at all."

  "Gavin, this place has had me rethink my entire philosophy about life, about everything." Red had been sitting on the bench next to me and patted my leg in encouragement. "Gavin, think about it. All of these kobolds, as far as we know, are literally powered by souls from Earth, or life force, or spirits. The whole thing is blowing my mind, and I can't get my head around it at all. I've actually been doing some pretty hard soul-searching myself."

  Kyle grinned. "In today's most cringeworthy pun."

  "God, Kyle, that one was awful," Tim groaned.

  "I know. I'm getting pretty good at it, though," Kyle said with a smirk. "But seriously, I have been giving this a lot of thought. We were touching the edge of our understanding when it came to things like quantum physics, hell, even physics in general. Did you know the closest thing we have to tying it all together is something called string theory? And to even make that work, we had to propose there are something like eleven dimensions."

  "Okay, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

  "Well, think about it. Here all of us are, sitting around a fire on an alien world, who knows how far from home, and each of us is literally carrying around an inventory space that shouldn't be possible. It's some kind of miniaturized pocket dimension that can hold way more than should physically fit. Hell, you're still carrying around a corpse in there."

  "Yeah, well, speaking of that, I want to get that thing out of there. It's eating up all my slots."

  "The point is," Kyle went on, "if these kinds of dimensions can exist for storing physical stuff, why couldn't there be other kinds of dimensions? Spiritual ones, maybe. What if we do have souls, and when we die, they go to some other plane of existence? Some other dimension we can't see or measure."

  "Kyle, I don't think I've ever heard a physicist dive into the depths of heaven and hell," I said.

  "I'm not talking about religion specifically," Kyle said. "I'm talking about the possibility that these things actually exist as real places, real dimensions. Think about it, Gav. The core faiths on Earth, some of them are thousands of years old. How would somebody from that long ago be able to describe something like another dimension or plane of existence? They didn't have the language for it. They didn't have the concepts. So they described it the only way they could: as heaven, as hell, as the underworld, whatever."

  "So you're saying these other planes could have been bleeding through into our world all along," I said. "And ancient people were trying to explain what they were experiencing?"

  "There's something else I've been thinking about, too. Ever since Kyle chose his class, something ARi said has been bothering me. Remember the rule? About how no worlds could be culled while we're competing in the Ascendancy?"

  "Yeah, what about it?" Kyle asked.

  "They didn't say 'attacked' or 'invaded.' They said culled. You cull a herd. You harvest. What if whoever attacked our system wasn't after physical resources at all? What if their intention was never to mine out our solar system for metals and stuff? What if they were trying to cull everything? Including whatever exists on these other planes, these spiritual dimensions?"

  "Gav, I had not thought about that at all, and I'm pretty sure now I'm going to have nightmares," Kyle said. "You think it's possible that whoever's attacking us is literally trying to harvest every plane of existence? Every dimension connected to our system?"

  "It would explain a lot," I said. "Think about it. If these spirits, these souls, whatever they are, exist on other planes connected to our solar system, and someone's trying to cull all of it, harvest all of it, These spirits would be fighting for their own existence as much as we are. They'd be fighting for their right to exist at all."

  "The one thing I know for sure," Kyle said quietly, "is that all of this has a hell of a lot more to it than we're able to see right now."

  Tim interrupted. "Okay, but what does any of this have to do with ARi and Gavin?"

  "The bottom line is," Tim said, "that girl is human. She's got more spirit than any human I think I've ever met in my life. I am both happy for you, my friend, and worried, because she is going to eat you up."

  Tim looked back at the girls as they were fawning over ARi. "Gavin, did Tanya take out all of those Reapers?"

  "Yeah, man," Kyle cut in. "ARi threw the projection of something called a combat report right on the wall. We all saw it."

  "Yumi told me that necrotic bolt she shot at one of the Reapers damn near disintegrated the top of one." I added. "I know we haven't talked to her about it yet, but I'm pretty sure she probably has at least another skill shard in her loot."

  "Do you know that's something we haven't talked about, you guys?" I said. "Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, if anybody here loots something that they think they can use for themselves, you should keep it. I don't think we need to be weird about loot. I've played games with people that get crazy about sharing loot. If it's something that could benefit the party and you want to share, share. If not, you know."

  "I agree, Gav," Tim said. "I'll tell you this though: if those things did set up an ambush, we're not going to be able to continue to go out in separate runs anymore. We're going to have to stay grouped together and move as a team."

  "I shouldn't have let them go alone," I said in a guilty tone.

  "That's fine, Gav," Kyle said, "but I want you to think about this for a second as you continue to beat yourself up for something that had nothing to do with you."

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "You don't have any control over us, and you sure as hell don't have any direct control over those girls. If Yumi and Tanya wanted to go out, they were gonna go out. You keep beating yourself up like you let them, and that's not the case at all."

  "Well, I didn't mean it like that."

  "Yeah, but that's how you keep sounding when you say it, and if the girls catch wind of that shit, they are going to kick your ass. And we've all been following your direction because you got the chops as far as the leadership thing goes, and that's cool. On top of that, ARi also told us that if we continue, it will help with your leadership standings with the cohorts as well. So it makes sense. But this is a volunteer army, Gav."

  "Seriously, guys, I didn't ever mean it like that at all," I said, putting my hands up in surrender.

  "It's fine," Tim said. "We get it. But I have found, typically, at least in my experience, that guys can be a little more forgiving when it comes to stuff like that. Kyle's right. The girls will tear you apart."

  "Gav, you can't beat yourself up over the decisions that we make. They're not your decisions, and if we make bad ones, it's on us. Ultimately, you have to trust that all of us are trying to do things that are going to move toward achieving our goals. And we will make mistakes."

  "There's something else that's been bothering me," I added. "Yumi said I would have been equally useless if I'd been there.

  "Gav, don't you dare tell her I said this, but I'm pretty sure she was projecting how she was feeling about herself," Kyle said.

  "No, Kyle, I don't think so. Everybody here has got powers and skills and abilities that they've been able to put into play, and I know the cohorts are a part of mine, and so is Bishop. And so my contributions are there. But me, personally, directly, all I've done is point pointy sticks at stuff, and I'm not going to sit and whine about it. I'm going to make some changes to that. I'm going to start practicing. I want to learn some of the skills that my cohorts were able to inherit through the cross-training. Will you guys help me?"

  "I don't think I'm going to be able to make you a competent swordsman overnight, but I can help you," Tim said.

  "And I'm no athlete anymore, Gav, but I can give you some pointers, help you with javelin and spear throwing," Kyle added.

  Red pulled on my shirt, and I looked down at him. He tapped his chest twice. "Gavin, I'm pretty sure your kobolds are willing to help you learn, too. And I gotta tell you, fighting with them out there yesterday, when we took out those raptors, their shield-wall formations were brilliant. I want to teach them how to do a testudo."

  "What the hell is that?" Kyle asked.

  "That's where they use the shields to form a shell like a turtle. I got a chance to do some of the reenactment stuff when I was younger. It was for Roman, like legion-type fighting, but I think it still applies. The shields are similar. I think if we can teach them to cover, we might be able to give them a few more options. For example, the smaller raptors I don't think would be able to break through, maybe some of the bigger ones. But I think that's less to do with the kobolds themselves than the shields. As we progress, we can work on getting them stronger shields, too. But so far, the ones that we've come up with have been pretty damn tough. I know I was jealous. In the time it took me to take down one of the raptors, they were working on their third."

  "Yeah, I think it's safe to say the cohorts are going to be a pretty big deal, and we need to set ourselves up to be able to bring in more of them, especially those rogues," Kyle said. "What are you going to do with the two that we have?"

  "Well, I'm pretty sure that both of them have leveled up, and I'm going to let them make their own decisions as far as where they put their attribute points. And I'm not sure if our cohorts are able to gain abilities or skills, but if they get those, they should be able to choose them on their own too. Old spirits are not, their lives are their own, and they should get to choose their own path, I think."

  Red tugged on my shirt again. He picked up his little helm that had been sitting on the bench and tapped it. I didn't understand what he meant at first, but he was persistent and tapped the helm again. When I looked up, I saw ARi and the others had moved over to the fire, and ARi sat next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder.

  "Gav, he's trying to tell you that Sawyer and Jack should be given their own squads. He thinks they should be leaders, like he is."

  "Red, that's actually a good idea, but I don't think we should give them shiny helmets. At least, not ones they should wear all the time. I don't think it's going to help them stay stealthy. ARi, maybe you can help me come up with something. Help them stand apart a little bit from the other rogues when I create them."

  "I think I can do that, Gav," she said as she reached down and grabbed my hand.

  I looked up to see everybody's reaction, and Tanya and Yumi were both smiling right at me. Kyle and Tim didn't seem to care one way or the other.

  Yumi leaned forward. "Gavin, we talked with ARi, and we want you to know that we're okay with whatever you guys decide. We have your backs, one way or the other."

  "Thanks, guys," I said, not sure what to say.

  Tanya leaned over and mock whispered to Yumi. "I'm a little jealous. He is a little cute when he's all flustered, isn't he?"

  "All right, can we talk about, like, literally anything else, please?" The girls seemed to almost squirm in delight at my torture.

  ARi sat up, smiled, and looked down to help me up. "Gav, it's time. Bishop's ready, and I have something I want to show you."

  ARi waved her hand and a projection of my familiar slowly phased into existence in the middle of the den, translucent and flickering. Immediately I noticed something different about his shape. On his shoulder, an extra plate that looked familiar in an eerie way seemed to cover his shoulder like an oversized piece of armor compared to the other side.

  "He's reached Level 2," ARi said. "But before you bring him back fully, I need to show you something. I hope you're not mad, but I've been working on an upgrade. I talked to Tanya, and she was able to recover two more of those stealth orbs. I took the first one you found and created a new module for Bishop. I think he's earned it."

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  I focused on the projection and noticed a new option available that wasn't there before. I threw my hand up and formed a window for everybody to read.

  [SYSTEM WINDOW] FAMILIAR LEVEL-UP

  Congratulations! Your familiar has reached Level 2.

  To apply level-based modifications, the familiar’s chassis must be upgraded.

  This upgrade will unlock all 3 of 3 available module slots.

  Do you accept the upgrade?

  [YES]?[NO]

  I looked at ARi, and at the projection of Bishop with his new armor plating. "You made this for him?"

  She nodded. "He saved Yumi and Tanya. I thought he deserved it."

  I mentally selected Yes, and the projection dissolved as my familiar's actual form phased into existence and finished materializing. This time his shape had noticeable differences, the main one being a stubby tail about three feet long, resembling that of Yumi's water drake.

  ARi smiled and walked over to Bishop, waving her hand about an inch from the back of his head down to the edge of the tail. As she did, the armor-plated extrusions solidified into rigid plates that mirrored the black color of the carapace on the Reaper's armor. On Bishop's rightmost forward arm, a large pauldron of the same material formed that covered the shoulder and half of the upper joint.

  Bishop twitched and shook lightly, The little water drake jumped off Yumi's shoulder down to the floor and started circling Bishop, examining his new form. The little drake sat in front of my familiar, raised herself up onto her hind legs, and did something none of us had seen before. She curled her little tail around to his side, and the end of her tail flailed out in bony, hardened fins that had been hidden tightly against the side. When Bishop sat, his tail did the same, and Bishop raised the end, flaring out similar fins off the end of his tail. They were made out of a dark, bronze-colored material, and they looked absolutely deadly.

  Bishop looked over at me and the others, and raised up onto his hind legs. He extended his upper arms, flexing his grippers from their extended mode back into spear points, while the second set of arms, or appendages, flared out additional fins from the elbow to the wrist.

  "Well, shit. I guess the debate on whether or not Bishop was designed based on a drake can be put to rest," Yumi said, slowly shaking her head.

  The little water drake jumped up and down, excitedly chirping, running around Bishop as he sat back down on all six legs and looked up at me, waiting for instructions.

  "Buddy, you did good yesterday. You saved Yumi and Tanya. You deserve a rest, my friend. Why don't you go find your place by the fire?"

  Without missing a beat, Bishop went and found his favorite spot and curled up, followed closely by the little water drake near the hearth. Once we were all seated again on the benches around the fire, ARi waved her hand and projected a new window up over the flames, letting us see what the new upgrade did for Bishop.

  [SYSTEM WINDOW] CHARACTER SHEET

  Familiar Chassis Upgrade Complete..

  Bishop, Familiar Adaptive Combat Construct, Level 2.

  Experience: 528 out of 1,000, for Level 3.

  Health: 110 out of 110.?Energy Reserves: 50 out of 50.

  Base Attributes:

  Strength: 20.

  Constitution: 18.

  Agility: 15.

  Willpower: 4.

  Intelligence: 6.

  Perception: 10.

  Charisma: 1.

  Available Hard Points: 2 out of 3.

  Installed Upgrades:

  Cloaking-Module 1.

  Retrofit from recovered Cloaking-Orb technology. When activated, the construct’s visual and basic emission signatures are suppressed, rendering it effectively invisible while stationary. The construct must remain completely still while cloaked.

  Level 2 Enhancements:

  Fin-Blade-Array 1.

  Hardened beryllium-copper fins form along the tail and outer forearms of the front, middle, and fore limbs. These fin blades function as close-quarters weapons and aid with balance and aquatic maneuvering. Front limbs have been upgraded from claw-type grippers to full manipulator hands with retractable spear tips, matching the middle limbs’ configuration. Rear legs remain unchanged.

  "Wow, Gavin," Kyle said, "ever since you described how that water drake grabbed that predator and dragged it underwater, I've wondered how they would swim and maneuver in deeper water. But after seeing Bishop's new fin-blade array, I think that answers that question too."

  "He earned it," I said. "What makes this special is that it's not only an upgrade for Bishop, it's an upgrade for ARi too."

  I felt her squeeze my hand a little harder.

  "I am a little disappointed it didn't give me a chance to allocate his attribute points, though. I thought I would get to have some say in that," I said.

  "Me too, honestly," ARi said.

  Yumi looked down at the little baby drake curled up next to Bishop. She seemed to be focusing on it a little harder, squinting her eyes as if she was in deep thought. "Lilly." The little water drake's eyes snapped open; it started to jump up and down, and ran up and jumped onto Yumi's shoulder, nuzzling her. Once again, the whole room looked shocked, this time at Yumi as she threw a window up for us to see.

  [SYSTEM WINDOW] SKILL DETAILS:

  Bonded-Familiar 1.

  A bonded link has formed with Lilly, Water Drake Hatchling. This ability grants one dedicated control point for managing and supporting the familiar. The bond allows the familiar to share in experience earned by the bonded partner and gain levels, attributes, and skills through the Ascendancy system.

  When a progression node comes under the bonded partner’s control, the familiar becomes eligible for restoration alongside fallen allies, under the same respawn options and limits that apply to the bonded partner’s companions.

  "Yes!" Yumi said, jumping up and nearly knocking Lilly off her shoulder. She caught the little drake with both hands and lifted her, spinning once before holding her close. "That’s my girl," she said.

  Startled by the commotion, Bishop jumped up and pranced around Yumi while she spun Lilly.

  A wave of dizziness hit Yumi and slowed as she sensed Lilly pushing that feeling toward her, the little drake letting her know the spinning made her sick. Yumi smiled and pulled Lilly into a gentle hug. "I hear you, baby girl."

  When Yumi sat down, Lilly scampered to Bishop, nuzzled his side, turned in a tight circle, and curled against him near the hearth. The two settled in their favorite spot.

  The rest of us all turned and looked to ARi, waiting for an explanation. She threw her hands up. "At this point, guys, I give up. Seriously, with everything that's happened since we've been here, I don't understand half of it. Yumi, look at Lilly and focus on what she’s feeling. Think about what she might be seeing around her for a moment. I have a hunch. Without saying it out loud, I want you to try to get her attention."

  Yumi shrugged her shoulders, "OK," as she turned and looked at Lilly and focused. A moment later, ARi smiled and threw her hand up, projecting a new system window for us to read.

  [SYSTEM WINDOW] FAMILIAR BOND STRENGTHENED

  The bond between user and bonded familiar has increased. A unique skill has been unlocked.

  Shared-Senses 1.

  Grants limited sensory input from the familiar, including the direction and distance of detected movement, approximate creature size categorized as small, medium, or large, a basic threat assessment identifying entities as hostile, neutral, or friendly, and awareness of environmental hazards within the familiar’s sensory range. These shared senses are filtered and presented as impressions layered over the user’s normal perception rather than replacing it, and the user may open a simple UI to request specific information. Clarity and effective range improve as bond strength and the familiar’s Intelligence increase.

  "I had a feeling that would happen," ARi said. "Lilly leveled up from the experience too."

  ARi waved her hand, and Lilly’s character sheet appeared.

  [SYSTEM WINDOW] CHARACTER SHEET

  Initial Scan Complete:

  Lilly, Water Drake Hatchling, Level 2.

  Experience: 0 out of 1000, for Level 3.

  Health: 45 out of 45. Energy: 60 out of 60.

  Base Attributes:

  Strength: 8.

  Constitution: 9.

  Agility: 12.

  Willpower: 7.

  Intelligence: 5.

  Perception: 11.

  Charisma: 6.

  Skills:

  Phase-Growth 1:

  The familiar’s natural size increases at each level, following draconic growth patterns. Lilly may freely shift her size to match any previous growth stage she has reached, allowing her to move between hatchling form and her current maximum size at will.

  Water-Shift 1:

  Allows brief transitions of her body into a semi-fluid state aligned with water. Lilly may pass through narrow gaps, diffuse glancing physical force, or flow around small obstacles for a short duration. Effect requires adequate moisture in the environment.

  Shared Senses 1:

  Familiar and bonded partner may exchange fragments of sight, sound, and emotion while within moderate range, granting each partial awareness of the other’s surroundings.

  Skills advance as the familiar levels, unlocking new refinements at key progression milestones.

  Lilly sat upright and stared at Yumi as a soft glow spread across her scales. Right in front of us, she expanded and grew until she matched Bishop’s size. The two drakes jumped and chased each other around the hearth, Bishop clattering and slipping on the stone floor in a chaotic racket.

  Lilly stopped first. She looked up at Yumi, moved over, and settled on her hind legs. Meeting Yumi’s eyes, she leaned in and pressed her forehead against hers.

  Still buzzing with excitement, Bishop padded to Lilly’s side, nudged her with his head, and returned to his place near the hearth.

  Tanya got up, walked over, and sat next to Yumi, reaching out to scratch Lilly under her chin. "Hi, Lilly, it's nice to meet you."

  Tanya held out her hand and a skill shard phased into existence. "Yumi, I'm giving this to you. But before you take it, you need to understand that you are not useless… I'm hoping that with your chosen skills so far you might get those darts they were shooting at us."

  Yumi smiled ear-to-ear and reached for the shard, but Tanya pulled it back at the last second. "Not useless, Yumi."

  "Fine, fine, yes, yes, I'm sorry, I'm not useless. "Besides, I don’t know if you noticed, but I do happen to have my very own familiar now," Yumi said, a predatory grin on her face."

  Tanya smiled and slowly shook her head, letting Yumi grab the shard, and it seemed to melt away right into her hands as it phased out.

  "HELL YES!" Yumi screamed.

  The sudden excitement caught the attention of the kobolds sitting on the table across the room and even brought Bishop to his feet. Yumi threw her hand above the fire, and a new projection snapped into view.

  [SYSTEM WINDOW] NEW SKILL ACQUIRED

  Congratulations! A new skill has been acquired.

  Skill: Reaper-Soul-Dart 1.

  Materializes a single phased dart over a five-minute formation period. Once complete, the dart hovers near the caster until launched. Each dart is single-use, purely kinetic, and autonomously tracks its designated target after launch. Up to three darts may be maintained simultaneously.

  Range: 60 meters.?Speed: 30 meters per second.

  Scaling: Damage and tracking accuracy scale with Agility and Perception.

  "Well, do me a favor, Yumi, I know you're excited, but if you're gonna play with those, do it outside," Tanya said, chuckling as she sat back down on the bench.

  I watched Yumi practically vibrate with excitement over her new skills, and I couldn't help but smile. She deserved it. An active combat skill that didn't require her to burn through resources first. She could actually fight now.

  And honestly? Seeing her light up like that made me realize I'd been looking at this whole thing wrong. Yeah, I didn't have some flashy skill I could throw around. But I had Bishop. I had Red and his squad. I had Sawyer and Jack. Hell, somewhere out there, there was an entire army of spirits who'd already chosen to follow me. My architect abilities didn't seem to have any limits I could see, which meant all those spirits were waiting. Waiting for me to be ready. Waiting for me to call on them. That wasn't nothing. That was everything.

  The kobolds weren't tools or summoned creatures. They were people. And if I could help them become stronger, help them grow and choose their own paths, Maybe that was the whole damn point.

  "You guys," Tim said, looking around at everyone, "even though it seems like bad things keep happening, we keep finding a way through it. And although we're getting stronger every day, I'll feel a lot better once we get the construction finished on those walls."

  "Me too," ARi said, "knowing that there's more of those Reaper things out there is giving me the creeps."

  After the excitement died down, we spent the rest of the day doing what we'd agreed on that morning: staying together and making real progress on the walls. No more splitting up, not until we understood what we were dealing with out there.

  The work was exhausting but satisfying in a way I hadn't felt since we'd arrived. ARi's constructs moved with mechanical precision, Rufus and the other two hauling the massive cinder blocks she created while she filled the gaps with solid stone. Tim and I worked with ARi on planning the interior layout, using projections to visualize where the barracks would go, how we could convert the rock formation into a proper bunker. She even phased in some framework that we could walk through and adjust.

  Between the construction and planning, Kyle and Tim made good on their promise to help me train. Kyle worked with me on javelin throws, correcting my form over and over until my shoulder burned and my throws actually started going where I aimed them. Tim took over with sword work, running me through basic guards and strikes that left my arms feeling like jelly.

  "You're not trying to win duels, Gav," Tim said after I fumbled another parry. "The goal is staying alive if something gets past your cohorts, not being a hero."

  "Well, when you put it that way, I feel so much better," I said, catching my breath.

  The kobolds joined in too. Red drilled his squad through formation exercises while I watched, they insisted on showing me their shield-wall up close, demonstrating footwork and positioning with surprising patience. Watching them move as a unit, every step calculated and every shield overlapping perfectly, I started to understand the real discipline behind it. It was more than standing in a line with shields up.

  Tanya and ARi spent most of the afternoon on something nobody else wanted any part of: the Reaper corpse. I'd finally gotten that thing out of my inventory, and they'd set up a work area well away from the rest of us. ARi projected scans in the air while Tanya examined the strange carapace that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.

  "It's not natural," Tanya called over at one point, her voice carrying a mix of fascination and disgust. "This plating, it's some kind of artificial grafting. Like they grew it onto themselves, or had it grown onto them. I can't tell which is worse."

  They were also analyzing the vials we'd recovered, the toxin the Reapers had used. Between Tanya's biochemistry background and ARi's ability to break down the components, they were making progress none of us could have managed alone. The rest of us gave them space. None of us wanted to look at those things, even dead.

  Yumi practiced with Lilly at a target area Tim had set up, and I could see the bond between them getting stronger with every passing hour. She was already getting the hang of materializing those soul darts, the phased projectiles hovering near her like patient guardians.

  By the time the Sun started dipping lower, we were all exhausted. But for the first time since the Reaper attack, I felt like we'd taken back some control.

  As we gathered back inside the Keep for the evening, settling in around the fire one last time before bed, that sense of accomplishment hung in the air. It felt like something we'd desperately needed.

  "Guys, I think I'm going to call it for the night."

  Bishop got up to follow me and started toward my cot. But as we approached, I stopped him and pointed him to the front of ARi's bed instead, and I looked up and caught ARi smiling at me. After climbing into my own cot, I closed my eyes. I could hear the others settling in around me as I drifted off to sleep.

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