They had moved to a different location after being spotted at the end of the whole incident. Livya was lying on the back seat, her fever lower, but in compensation for her improvement, she had a terrible headache. The result of using the drug was affecting her in waves.
They chose a place similar to the first one, with the difference that it was closer to the remnants of the subway. They parked the car behind tall rubble that was enough to hide it. Except for the young woman lying down, the rest of the group was scattered outside.
Sitting on the hood, Gabriel was getting stitches from Naomi, above his eyebrow. The Corva took the small kit of thread and needles from the glove compartment and carried out the procedure skillfully.
Gabriel felt the needle enter his flesh. It wasn't a terrible pain, but the unpleasant sensation lingered. Aside from him, none of his companions were injured in the collapse.
"Here," Michel said, offering a small jar he pulled from his belt. "Aloe ointment. It should help a bit."
"Thank you," Naomi said, gratefully accepting the bottle. "Just one more stitch and... done."
Cutting the thread with a knife, Naomi inspected her work a few more times, taking Gabriel's chin and turning his head from side to side. Satisfied, she pulled the jar from the bottle and stuck a finger inside.
"I'll do it myself," Gabriel protested.
"Quiet," Naomi ordered, rubbing the ointment on the stitches.
Bia sat against the remains of a wall, feeling her whole body ache and extremely tired. She saw the deep dark circles under the eyes of Samuel and the rest of the group.
Naomi returned the ointment to Michel, thanking him once more. She opened the driver's side door and sat heavily in the seat. She could hear Livya's peaceful breathing, who had finally managed to sleep. Naomi pulled her weapon from its sheath and examined the damage. The blade was a little compromised in some parts, but nothing that would hinder her if she had to fight again. The bodies of the arachnids harmed the blade less than a human's.
The ointment eased the pain considerably, giving Gabriel the energy to grab his weapon and reload it calmly. He turned to Michel.
"Why didn't you use that ointment on Livya?"
"She used her own," the other replied, keeping his gaze lost in the horizon. "Used it all up."
"I see," Gabriel said, picking up the sharpening stone and tossing it to his partner. "You can use it."
"We've wiped out their supply of raw material," Naomi observed while running the stone along the blade. "This should slow them down a bit."
"For a while," Samuel muttered. "But let's not forget they probably have a stockpile of the drug, and we have another question as well."
"Where do they make the S.L.," Michel added. "I wouldn't doubt it's in this area. They wouldn't travel miles risking losing the poison."
"That makes sense," Bia agreed, still sitting. "Should we go after them?"
They fell into silence. They had no doubt they had slowed things down, but they didn't know for how long. After all, they hadn't killed all the spiders, and to make matters worse, they had been seen. They would soon be hunted, but the group wasn't the prey; they were the hunters.
"We need to rest before that," Michel stated.
"And then?" Gabriel asked, his eyes tired.
"Samuel," Michel continued. "Is it alright if Gabriel and Bia sleep first? They've done the most work." He saw the other nod and went on, "Naomi, you stay on guard, and I'll go with Samuel to find something to eat and try to track the vehicles."
"It won't be hard," Samuel said. "The wind barely blew, so the tire marks will be easy to spot."
"I'll keep watch," Naomi said indifferently. "But when will it be our turn to rest?"
Michel looked at the sky, the sun was already starting to set. They didn't have the luxury of time, and the fatigue only got in the way, plus there were two wounded.
"It's a little after three in the afternoon," he answered. "In four or five hours, we'll return, that should be enough time for the three to rest, and then we'll have our hours."
"If we end up finding something," Samuel added, "we can make our move today."
Gabriel walked to a spot where sparse grass was growing. Lying down, he felt the weight of exhaustion, propping his head with his hands and saying almost to himself, as he put a leaf in his mouth:
"A good four hours of sleep will help."
"Since I'll be staying awake," Naomi said. "Does anyone have a weapon to sharpen?"
Bia moved sluggishly, unsheathing her short sword, walking over to her friend, and handing it to her.
"There was an incident earlier in the subway," Bia said, giving Gabriel a mischievous smile, who frowned. "It would be good to sharpen it a bit."
Naomi decided not to ask what happened earlier, as the marks on the metal were the same as on her weapon, and she didn't want to think about spiders for a while.
Then, Michel approached with the knife he had used to open part of the barrel. The damage to it was much greater than just a loss of sharpness. The entire edge, which was meant to cut, had tiny broken pieces, and the tip had become rounded from being forced to the extreme against a hard surface.
"I don't know if I'll be able to do much with a sharpening stone," the young woman said as she examined the weapon more closely.
"Anything you can do will make it better than it is," Michel commented, a bit embarrassed.
While Naomi continued to care for her katana and Gabriel and Bia snuggled into the odd spots they had chosen to sleep, the duo of Michel and Samuel set out, leaving the camp behind.
Returning to the guard post was an easy task. They crossed some desolate streets and their ruins. Upon arrival, the sight of black bodies full of legs was extremely unpleasant.
"Those two really did some damage," Samuel commented.
They walked until the marks on the ground became clear. The soil was covered with tire tracks and footprints heading in the same direction: the main road cutting through the center of the ruins.
They ducked into the rubble, in case they needed to hide, and followed the trail. The city had fewer ruins and more buildings in better condition as they got closer to the center. It was as if only the outskirts had been a war zone, and the center was a refuge for those who didn't want to participate in it.
Animal life spread abundantly in every corner, with birds using the old buildings to make their nests, rabbits with their burrows, and a large number of insects.
Climbing plants crawled through almost half the streets and up the houses, completely overtaking the buildings. From a distance, they looked like small hills covered in grass.
Samuel smelled plants and flowers, saw bees flying back and forth collecting nectar; the place smelled of life. They continued a bit off the main street for safety, passing by a house. For a moment, the Corvo was startled when a head appeared in the window, but then he exhaled through his nose, amused. From the window, a fox's head peeked out, watching the duo curiously. It seemed to be the owner of the place, and like a curious person, it kept its gaze on them as they left the door, continuing to keep an eye on them.
Small trees ventured to grow in the area, not caring about the place. From the middle of the alleys or even in the ruins of a collapsed house. But the one that stood out was a blackberry bush growing in the middle of the street.
The purple berries seemed to shine in the sunlight, some round from being so plump. Michel approached and popped several into his mouth.
"Should we take some for them?"
"If we can figure out a way for the blackberries not to get smashed or fall on the way, I don't mind," Samuel answered, his mouth full.
They left the tree behind, their fingertips stained purple, and turned their attention back to the tracks on the ground, which had finally changed direction. Leaving the main path, the tracks turned toward the right street, at an intersection where the carcasses of trucks seemed to block the way like a wall.
"Something must have happened in this place," Michel whispered as he took the new direction. "Isn't it strange that they left the trucks in this position?"
"Must have been one of the battles from the Third War of the Ancients in this area," Samuel grumbled in return. "Maybe it was some important commercial center."
Michel agreed with his colleague's assumption, but his attention was stolen by a hummingbird that was flying frantically between the bees, sipping nectar from flowers growing on the end of a vine-covered pole.
The roar of engines startled all the animals, immediately putting the duo on high alert. They quickly hid behind a bush full of white flowers.
They heard the vehicle approaching. Samuel lay flat on the ground, crawling a little deeper into the shrubbery to find a spot where he could see something from the other side. A block away, a truck turned, kicking up a cloud of sand. The young man squeezed further into the branches and paid close attention as the vehicle passed in front of him.
They stayed completely still for a while, waiting for the sound of the engine to fade. Samuel turned his body and crawled out of the tangle of branches. Turning to his colleague, his hair tangled with leaves, he said seriously:
"I caught a glimpse of one of the men, and he was clearly pissed off about something. You probably know why, right?" – It wasn't really a question.
Michel nodded, though it wasn't necessary. He noticed something. The noise had started suddenly, without gradually increasing; it had just started. They were close.
"We'd better double our attention," Michel said to his colleague.
Samuel agreed, pulling out one of his throwing knives. They continued on the usual Raven formation, walking in a line with each person keeping watch over one side of the street, doing their best to avoid open ground.
Over time, the native wildlife returned to their activities, allowing the duo to relax a bit. They reached the end of the block, where a large house was in decent condition, and began rounding the next corner.
"What do you think he's going to do?" a voice asked from just a few meters ahead of them.
Michel's heart skipped a beat. Someone was coming from the direction they were headed. Managing to keep his breathing controlled, he quickly moved into the opening of the house, positioning himself against the left wall near the door. Samuel did the same on the opposite wall.
"He'll figure something out, like always," a second voice replied, this time female. "Crows are always a nuisance."
"Don't even get me started, and it's not the first time."
"Yeah, but this time, they've crossed every line. The Big Brother is going to kill them personally."
From his hiding spot, Michel heard everything, his neck tingling. He glanced at his companion, sharing the same thoughts. Even though they had the advantage of surprise, taking out an enemy patrol would only complicate things. They stayed silent, but their knives were ready.
"Maybe he'll bring Little Sister!" the female voice exclaimed, full of excitement.
"If she comes, there's no way they'll escape, not even being Crows."
The patrol switched topics to some trivial internal gossip, but the two overheard something that left a bitter taste in their stomachs. This "Little Sister" seemed dangerous—or at least, she should be, judging by what the others had said.
They didn't risk leaving the house. They passed through it and used a window on the other side to sneak out, crawling to the next position using the plants. A warehouse grew larger with each house they passed. At least, it looked like a warehouse to them, as only the roof was visible, with a wall surrounding the entire structure.
A yellowish sliding gate served as the entrance, but there was a smaller side gate. Several guards walked around the walls, and the sounds of voices and machinery made it clear that something was happening behind those walls. This was where the S.L. was being made.
Suppressing their excitement, the duo kept watch, waiting for any developments, but aside from the usual guards, nothing changed. Michel then remembered the four hours he had promised Naomi, and there wasn't much more they could do there, at least not from the outside.
Signaling to Samuel, they both turned back and had no issues, not even encountering another patrol. When they reached the mulberry tree again, they stopped, excited.
"We found it!" Michel exclaimed.
"Yeah! I can't believe it!" Samuel continued, a smile spreading across his face. "It looked like some sort of warehouse."
"Exactly, and the watch is pretty weak. We can infiltrate with our current numbers."
"Who do you think that Little Sister is?" Samuel suddenly asked, changing the subject.
"It doesn't matter right now. If she's part of this group, we'll end up meeting her sooner or later."
"You're right," Samuel whispered. "Tonight's going to be busy."
Michel agreed. They began the return journey, enjoying the end of the day.
The other Raven suddenly stopped.
"We forgot to get them something to eat."
"Can it be mulberries?" Michel asked, only to receive a grimace from Samuel.
Samuel was about to give one of his usual grumpy responses when something caught his attention near the corner of an old building's wall. He dug with his knife and raised his find, satisfied, showing it to his companion.
"Good eye," Michel acknowledged.
They followed the rest of the path in silence, as fatigue finally settled in. Their excitement gave way to exhaustion, but soon they saw the group's hideout and entered triumphantly.
Naomi looked up at them as soon as they arrived but relaxed when she saw the duo. Both Gabriel and Bia were still asleep in the same spot, while Livya was chatting excitedly with her companion.
"Please, tell me you brought something to eat?" Livya asked.
"Yeah," Samuel replied, lifting several potatoes still attached to their plants. "And some other interesting things too."