Sweetie flew Paige Sumrs and Marcus Monroe back to the new camp.
The previous camp had been attacked by Mutant Beasts. Although The Power Corps and the rcenaries had joined forces to repel them, the camp was left in ruins and uninhabitable. For safety, the survivors had fallen back for miles and established a new base.
For days, The Power Corps and Bloodfall had been searching for the missing Sheldon Reid and Paige Sumrs. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, they had found no trace of them.
They were overjoyed at Sheldon Reid’s return!
Claire Chapman had assud Sheldon and Paige were together. When he realized that wasn’t the case, his expression turned grim. He was about to push through the crowd of Power Corps mbers surrounding Sheldon Reid to demand answers when Sweetie’s cry echoed from the sky.
Paige Sumrs and Marcus Monroe were back!
Sweetie landed on the outskirts of the camp. The two dismounted, and Marcus Monroe took Paige Sumrs’s hand as they went to greet the mbers of Bloodfall rushing toward them.
Amid his joyful surprise, Claire Chapman’s gaze flickered.
’They... They’re together now...’
A complex mix of emotions stirred within him.
’I guessed they’d get together eventually, but seeing it for real is still a bit of a shock.’
’Regret? Disappointnt?’
’Perhaps it’s a bit of both.’
’At the sa ti, there’s also a sense of finality, like the dust has settled.’
’I guess this is how it is...’
’The crush I had on Paige was just that—a crush. It’ll have to remain a mory. Besides, being friends isn’t so bad. We can be friends for life!’
Having reconciled himself to this, he pushed aside his complicated feelings and broke into a relieved smile.
"You’re finally back!" Claire Chapman shoved his other team mbers aside to get to Paige Sumrs. "Thank god you’re safe. We were worried sick!"
Paige Sumrs smiled. "I’m back. Thank you all for everything."
Claire Chapman nodded, about to say more, but he caught people from The Power Corps’s side of the camp watching them. He abruptly pinched his nose. "Quickly!" he called out to a squadmate. "Rain, get Paige to a tent! Find so water so she can clean up!"
Paige Sumrs shot him a glare but followed Rain anyway. As she left, she glanced at Marcus Monroe. "You’d better tell him what happened," she said. "Otherwise, he’ll probably die of curiosity."
Marcus Monroe smiled warmly. "Got it."
Once Paige was gone, he and Claire Chapman exchanged a look. One after the other, they entered a tent.
The other mbers of Bloodfall followed and took up guard positions around it.
Things had been tense in the camp lately.
Connor Grant’s indiscriminate attack on friend and foe alike had enraged the rcenaries who had previously supported him. Even though they had fought alongside The Power Corps to defeat the Mutant Beasts, morale had shattered and unity had dissolved.
The remaining rcenaries had grown suspicious of one another.
No matter how Sidney Warren tried to rally them or find ways to dispel the negative atmosphere, his efforts had little effect.
Once the seeds of suspicion are sown, they are nearly impossible to uproot.
The joint disappearance of Sheldon Reid and Paige Sumrs, on top of everything else, had made the relationship between the rcenaries and The Power Corps even more delicate.
The two groups were clearly divided, each keeping to themselves.
Claire Chapman knew Bloodfall’s numbers were too small and had hoped to rely on The Power Corps for help, but under the circumstances, any cooperation had proven difficult.
Even though he was willing to trust them, The Power Corps remained highly wary of him.
He didn’t know that this was largely due to Sheldon Reid’s adjutant, Milton Faraday.
"Paige Sumrs caught us off guard! She killed several soldiers from The Guardian Army, subdued the Commander, and is now forcing him toward Norgate. I barely managed to escape, but I couldn’t catch them. I had no choice but to return and report!"
Leon Vaughn, the acting commander of The Power Corps, wasn’t entirely convinced by this story.
He had seen Paige Sumrs fight Mutant Beasts and didn’t believe she was capable of overpowering Sheldon Reid. ’There has to be more to it!’ So, despite Milton Faraday’s insistence, he didn’t rashly publicize the news, choosing to keep it under wraps instead.
Of course, he was also worried about the rcenaries’ reaction.
Paige Sumrs was extrely popular among the rcenaries. If he were to declare her a traitor now... regardless of the truth, their reaction was predictable. They would refuse to believe it, and it might even lead to infighting.
After all, Bloodfall’s captain, Claire Chapman, was highly charismatic and had played a crucial role in repelling the Mutant Beasts. If he hadn’t led the rcenaries in an all-out counterattack, the whole situation would have been left to a few spineless cowards from The Governnt who were all talk and no action. The consequences of that would have been disastrous.
He had seen for himself how important Paige Sumrs was to Claire Chapman.
Therefore, after carefully assessing the situation, he decided not to publicize the report. The priority was to find the two of them and ascertain the facts before making any further moves.
Milton Faraday, having failed to achieve his goal, was naturally unwilling to let it go.
He began spreading rumors privately among The Power Corps, implying that Paige Sumrs had been bought by Norgate, that she was responsible for Sheldon Reid’s unknown fate, and that the mbers of Bloodfall were likely her accomplices. These rumors spread quickly through the ranks.
Though unconfird, a portion of the soldiers believed them.
They began treating Claire Chapman, Bloodfall, and even the rcenaries in general with suspicion.
Any joint search effort beca impossible.
When Marcus Monroe had arrived earlier, Claire Chapman had told him everything he knew.
On the way back, Paige had filled in the rest.
Connecting the two accounts, he imdiately realized where the problem lay.
The mont they were inside the tent, Marcus asked, "Is that Milton Faraday still around?"
Claire Chapman paused for a second, then it clicked. "So he *is* the problem!"
"Yes. He’s the one who injured Sheldon Reid and forced him and Paige into a chasm." Recalling what Paige had told him, Marcus’s face turned cold. "She barely made it out alive because of him. He can’t be allowed to get away with this."
Claire Chapman clenched his right fist and slamd it into his left palm. "Damn it! I knew sothing was off when I heard he’d snuck off. I just never imagined this was the reason!"
"Snuck off?!"
"Yeah. Just before you got back, there was a commotion over with The Power Corps. I sent soone to investigate, and word was he’d fled the camp. I didn’t know the details then, just thought it was strange... So he must have found out Sheldon and Paige were back alive, realized the jig was up, and made a run for it!" Pausing for a beat, he threw open the tent flap and yelled to one of his n outside, "Find out which direction Milton Faraday ran!"
The team mber took off. Claire Chapman ca back inside and began pacing restlessly. After a mont, he managed to rein in his anger. "Tell everything," he said.
Marcus Monroe briefly recounted the entire story.
After a mont of silence, Marcus snorted. "I searched the area where Paige said the chasm was, and I didn’t find anything. Soone must have concealed it. Milton Faraday doesn’t have that kind of power. Soone else was involved!"
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