Matthew watched as people left the White Temple.

  He waved at Parker and Asha, who looked strangely optimistic, then turned to see Jesse leaving with Colin and the rest of the Fifth Legion.

  She stopped beside him, bag slung over her shoulder, and fixed him with a stern look. "Do not walk on that. Stay here, get some sleep, and drink your—"

  "You have to be taking the piss. How am I—"

  "I don't want to hear any of that. Don't. Go. Anywhere," she asserted. "I'll be right back. If we manage to get any honey, aloe vera, or pine resin, I'll be back even earlier. Eat your fruits and drink—"

  "Okay, okay, you've said this a million times," he retorted, shooing her away.

  As the groups left, the temple grew eerily empty.

  Some others had already departed earlier, and now the massive temple stretched on forever, its white stone walls reflecting the red light of the high torches.

  Matthew yawned, his eyes glazed over. He tried looking ahead trying to predict what was next.

  At a certain point, he had become disillusioned by the tediousness of it all.

  He missed his room, where he could be alone.

  The comic book posters on the wall, his dark brown desk with his laptop casually open, books neatly packed around it, the bookshelf beside it filled with his novels and textbooks.

  He missed its sweet citrus scent and the organization. His bed up against the wall.

  The window that overlooked the dorm gardens, where people played about.

  He missed the Saturdays when he could sit at his desk analyzing a book before taking a break, watching couples and friend groups lounge on the grass, laughing as the sun grazed their skin.

  Matthew opened his eyes, pulling himself from the memory. He studied the temple—the soft, sparsely decorated arches, the wide, flat roof and the four great pillar with strange symbols.

  He examined the symbols for a while but eventually gave up, receiving no translation assistance from the Status screen.

  The whole situation made him roll his eyes. It wasn't possible that they had all been moved underground without knowing.

  And this temple—it felt like it didn't belong here.

  His gaze shifted to the people left behind.

  The First and Second Legions were the only ones still here. They had given out some of their food to other groups since most of their fighters were out, no point in testing their restraints.

  The only one armed person here was Matthew, and he was crippled.

  Jamie had given away the Steady Spear to aid the exploration teams, leaving them vulnerable if anyone chose to attack.

  He glanced at the girls reading novels, books that some had managed to bring along.

  His attention settled on the black-haired girl he had spoken to when he first returned.

  Jane. He had heard a little of whàt had happened while he was away.

  She was rather attractive but very quiet.

  She swept her smooth, shiny hair back and flipped the page of her book, her faint, clear blue eyes carefully absorbing each word.

  Her skin was pale and soft—it reminded Matthew of paper. He had the strange thought that if he touched her, his fingers might tear through her skin.

  Her lips were a faint red against the white, her nose sharp and straight.

  He looked away just before she turned to glance at him.

  Years of being a weirdo had given him a sense for when someone was about to look back. But even so, he had a feeling she knew he had been watching.

  Matthew didn't mind playing it off like he was attracted to her, but a strange look passed over her face that he didn't expect.

  Jane stood, then glided over to him.

  His heart rate spiked for a second before he forced it down, cycling through conversation tricks in his head.

  She sat against the white temple wall, near where he was lying.

  He often chose to sleep against walls subconsciously.

  Smiling a little forcefully, she said, "You seem bored. And we haven't talked much, so I thought we could chat."

  Was she watching me too? Or am I just being egotistical? She was reading, so why would she be watching me? I shouldn't delude myself into thinking she was thinking about me. What could her goal be? She shouldn't have the idea that I'm close to Parker or Jamie. The way I interact with Parker, I make myself seem distant and uncomfortable. And Jamie talks to me like I'm a bum.

  He couldn't stay in his head for too long. He nervously answered, "Just a little uncomfortable… You looked pretty taken by that book a second ago."

  "Did i? I was a little bored." She glanced at the book in her hand. "Brave New World. Have you ever heard of it?"

  Matthew shook his head, pretending to know nothing about it.

  She sighed, disappointed. "You must read it. The author has such a masterful imagination. What kind of books do you usually read?"

  "Uh… epic fantasy, I guess. Or science fiction. I'm not really a voracious reader."

  Jane's smile widened. "Really? With such a diverse word palette? …Anyway, I think you'd like this. It really borders on fantasy. I mean, the people in this world are controlled just by drugging them up and letting them feed on their base desires. Is that even possible?"

  Matthew signed internally, but she had nonverbally passed the baton to him. Not responding would be an underhanded move.

  "I don't think so. People are different. Not all of them enjoy that kind of stuff."

  "Are you sure?"

  What?

  Matthew's face twitched slightly at the way she questioned his basic response, but he chose to nod.

  "Of course," she said. "I just wasn't sure. It's hard, you know, being in a group like this. Sometimes we just have to follow. People like Parker and Asha make us feel kind of small."

  She paused, then quickly raised her hands, as if anxious she had offended him. "I don't mean you, though! I mean—you're kind of a hero!"

  Matthew struggled to not roll his eyes. "Don't worry about it. And you don't have to feel small, you know. Asha's short too, anyway."

  She let out a girlish laugh. It was strangely cute, considering their situation.

  She whipped her head back, still laughing. "But she's done so many amazing things, right? She fought against the monsters out there."

  "out there we all are really small. Being brave isn't enough to survive," Matthew agreed.

  He decided to steer the conversation in that direction, wanting to learn how she felt about the other member.

  She seemed nice—at least, nice enough to hold back her laughter when he joked about Asha, she had a sort of respect for the people out there.

  The way she rubbed her hands and sat at the edge of his sight made him think she wasn't used to leading conversations.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  She reminded him of a more awkward but more attractive version of Adelina.

  She likely had a reclusive personality but was attractive enough to have plenty of friends. As for why she was so introverted, he could only guess. The best way to understand was through her actions.

  His gaze drifted down to a shiny bracelet on her arm. He reached for it, feigning interest.

  She withdrew sharply, her eyes flashing with irritation.

  Matthew quickly apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry, I just… I just—"

  "Don't worry," she insisted. "I'm just a bit, umm, jumpy."

  "It's scary here," she continued. "You never know what could happen. Like with that Vasilis boy. He snapped out of nowhere. He seemed like a decent—"

  "He's not," Matthew corrected, his eyes darkening. "He was a broken piece of trash who liked hurting others."

  A shadow passed over his face as he remembered something. "He couldn't deal with his trauma the right way."

  Jane was quiet for a moment. Then she nodded. "You're right, I guess. I've always been horrible at picking out good people. His plan was pretty smart, though."

  Matthew was about to correct her again when he felt a knot form in his stomach. He paused and simply nodded, pretending to agree.

  Thankfully, a group of people began approaching them.

  The remaining members of the group stood up to meet them, rousing Brian, Joey, and the others who had been left behind.

  They rubbed the sleep from their eyes before standing and watching the approaching group warily.

  The newcomers were a mixed bag of boys and girls, most of them looking tired and hungry, but their eyes held a determined glint.

  A handsome boy with mousy brown hair and tanned skin stepped forward to meet Jamie, who was yawning as he walked toward them.

  The brown-haired boy held out a hand, flashing a stunning smile with perfect teeth.

  Once Jamie reluctantly took it, he said, "Hey, I'm Gordon. These are my friends. We want to head out for some food too, but we were wondering if you had any pointers?"

  Jamie frowned, glancing back at his group before returning his gaze to Gordon. "Depends. A lot of what I could tell you is trade secrets."

  "Nothing much, just the best route to take for food," Gordon said sheepishly.

  "Give me a sec." Jamie turned and walked back to the group.

  Joey shook his head. "Don't tell those guys anything about the safe point. Send 'em in Thomas' direction."

  "The place no one has returned from?" Matthew asked innocently.

  Brian looked troubled. "That's too horrible. If we send them out there with nothing, we'll be partially responsible for their deaths."

  Jamie scoffed, throwing a glance at Gordon. "Oh, come on, it's not that serious. No one helped us, and we were… mostly fine, I guess. Besides, we can't tell them about the safe point, and sending them in that direction is already going to overload the place."

  Joey nodded solemnly. "We don't want to fight more people."

  Matthew considered his words carefully. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jane watching the conversation with keen interest.

  Casually, almost as if talking to himself, Matthew said, "We'd lose out on the resources they bring back from the caves too."

  Petyr, standing nearby, seemed to realize something. He kept quiet, but Joey noticed the look on his face and asked, "What?"

  "Uh… nothing," Petyr mumbled.

  Jamie narrowed his eyes at him. "Just come out and say it"

  Petyr glared back at him before sighing. He spoke quietly. "We could just have them pay us for the info. Hey, don't look at me like that—you're the one who asked."

  Joey snickered. "Calm down, bro. We aren't thinking about your previous extortion attempts."

  Petyr rolled his eyes but said nothing.

  Brian's face twisted in outrage. "That's a horrible idea. We don't have to make them pay just to survive."

  Jamie looked at the ground pulling at his fingers. "I mean… at least we'd gain something if they're taking up our hunting space."

  Brian gritted his teeth. "And how exactly would we make them pay after they get back?"

  The group fell silent, unsure of how to proceed. Matthew chose not to guide the discussion too directly—he didn't want to be too heavy-handed.

  Thankfully, Kirk finally spoke up. "I know we want to keep the hidden route to the safe point a secret, but from what Casey told me, Thomas already knows about it. It's only a matter of time before more people notice us passing through."

  Jamie gave him a steady look. "I get what you mean, but what's your point?"

  "We could… you know… use it as a kind of toll gate. It's the safest route, and we're probably the biggest group right now."

  Jamie and the others considered this, it felt a little callus to throw around their weight as a group.

  Brian seemed outraged, his jaws rippled with tension as he held himself from shouting.

  Matthew signed, "we need to make a decision or someone else will."

  They all nodded before informing Gordon of their terms, they sent Joey to inform Colin about the situation.

  After getting confirmation from Colin—and a reluctant agreement from Gordon—they led the group to the hidden route.

  This was a reasonable development, one that Matthew had envisioned happening.

  They couldn't keep the hidden route a secret forever. If people demanded access, they'd feel entitled to it.

  However if Jamie's group invited them on their own terms—positioning themselves as the owners of the path and asserting authority over its use—then people would grudgingly accept it, so long as it was reasonable.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Jane. Since the others had left, he was stuck with her.

  He took advantage of the moment when she wasn't watching him to slip a pre-written note into Petyr's hand ignoring his questioning look.

  The note instructed Petyr to ensure that one of their demands was information about Thomas' actions before his disappearance.

  Jane giggled. "That was so fun! In like… a tense way. I wish I had said something like you did. It would've been cool to contribute to the decision."

  Matthew shrugged. "I'm just hoping I can get some essence and hit level three with all this competition. What would you have said?"

  Jane frowned, looking helpless. "I have no idea. I'm not good at these kinds of situations like you or Kirk."

  "Hmmm, even with all that reading?" he teased.

  Jane giggled playfully, hitting him on the shoulder. "You don't need to call me out like that! So… what about Thomas?"

  Matthew successfully stopped himself from blurting out What the hell?