"Paige’s still a kid, just fifteen. I want her close to ," Lana said firmly. She was talking about Paige Fisher, the girl they’d pulled out of the Anomaly Zone. Everyone treated Paige like their own child - kind, sweet, and naive. Lana worried she’d get taken advantage of elsewhere.
Hiding under the RV, Paige had been eavesdropping. The mont she heard Lana ntion her na, she banged the door hard. One of the won opened it, and Paige bounced up cheerfully. "Lana, were you calling ?"
She looked healthy - round cheeks flushed from good als. Her hair was in playful twin tails, and her big eyes darted playfully around the RV. It was her first ti seeing one, and she couldn’t stop marveling.
She was a lively, lovable girl. Charlotte’s eyes turned red at the sight of her, haunted by mories of her own daughter. "Is she... one of yours?"
Dakota caught her aning. "No, not really. We ran into her in the Anomaly Zone. The kid’s full of quirks - kind of funny, just has a thing for snacks..." She chuckled, shaking her head.
"Co on, Dakota! I’m growing, okay?" Paige puffed up her cheeks, then lifted a hand to cup her small chest. "See? I’m not even developed yet! You ladies look like dairy cows!" She made a squeezing motion with both hands as she talked.
After months stuck around inmates in Everrest, so bad habits had rubbed off. Usually, no one minded much - it was an all-won team. But this ti, there was a man in the room.
"Paige! Cut it out!" Dakota quickly stepped between her and Magnus, scolding in a soft but sharp tone. "Aren’t you a bit old to be doing stuff like this? Got no sha?"
Paige lowered her head, face red, and went quiet.
Magnus had no objections about Lana keeping Paige with her. Once the group finished reorganizing, Liana led Lana, Dakota, and Mia to check out their new RV.
Originally, there were only 39 RVs. They’d picked up six more over ti, mostly small ones. After the regrouping, Magnus, Emily, Sophia, Charlotte, Liana, and the new addition Lana each got one.
The eight deputy captains - Chloe, Isabel, gan, Amber, Alia, Nora, Mia, and Dakota - shared four RVs, two per vehicle.
Five RVs were rotated monthly among the senior squad leaders. The remaining thirty were distributed to lower-ranked officers or those who’d earned them - rewards lasting from a month to a year.
Lana’s newly ford Group Three hadn’t picked its deputy yet. Magnus shifted Luxe and Caroline over as strong candidates. Whether they’d get the role was up to Lana - he didn’t interfere.
*****
Late January. Deep winter. February 13 crept closer.
Magnus wasn’t fully sure if that exact date ant the second teor shower. He rembered it ca about nine months after the first, but whether it was to the day - he couldn’t say for certain. These past few days, Magnus had two squads watching the sky. Three days before the end, strange signs would show up - dark spots on the sun, growing bigger, then vanishing as the teor shower hit.
This second teor shower... Magnus didn’t plan on hiding it anymore. It was the last thing he could be sure of, the final vision left to him after two lifetis.
Once it passed, every day after would be new, even for him. He’d be as lost as everyone else.
On the night of January 28th, he called all squad leaders and above to the RV for a eting. This was the mont to bring up the second teor shower.
Everyone sat down. Magnus didn’t take the sofa. Instead, he had the mahjong table moved and stood where it had been, facing the group with a serious look.
"There’s sothing I need to tell you," he said, voice steady. "It might affect all our lives. I don’t want anyone questioning where this information cos from. Trust it or not, focus on the ssage. We’ll discuss the rest after."
Silence. The others looked at him. Seeing how serious Magnus was, they straightened up.
"Next month, mid-February, there’ll be another teor shower. This ti, not in the countryside - it’ll hit the city. There’ll be crystals in the teors, sa kind we saw before. I don’t know for sure if it’ll only fall in cities, but I know two things: one, a teor shower is definitely coming next month; and two, at least one city will be hit. That I’m sure of."
The room stayed quiet. Everyone was staring at Magnus, lost in thought. Emily and Sophia believed him without blinking, quietly reflecting.
So of the newer leaders, ones who hadn’t seen his power in action, looked more stunned than thoughtful - like they couldn’t believe what he was saying.
Lana frowned and broke the silence. "Commander, why can’t we question where your intel cos from?"
"Because he’s never been wrong before," Sophia said coldly, shooting a look at Lana. Her tone made it damn clear - she didn’t like the doubt.
Charlotte turned to Lana, voice calm but firm. "I’ll explain more after the eting. For now, let’s focus on the teor shower."
Do they trust him that much? Lana thought. Blind faith, maybe. She fell silent, tightening her jaw.
"Alright..." Magnus’s tone softened. "If anyone doubts what I said, pretend this is just a drill today. Let’s treat the ssage like a scenario: if a second teor shower hits the city, what’s our move? Fair enough?"
He locked eyes with Lana. She found it odd but still gave a small nod and started taking it seriously.
"I’ve got a question, Magnus," Charlotte spoke up, brow furrowed. "If another teor shower hits, does that an more Doomsday beasts? And if so, what kind? Still the spiders, centipedes, mosquitoes?"
Her question struck a nerve. That was the very thing keeping Magnus up at night. Two dreams now, sa pitch-black shadow. He couldn’t see what it was, but it sure as hell wasn’t sothing good. That’s why he was fixing up the vehicle in the first place.
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