Jess was the first to meet us at the truck, and she looked exhausted. Her hair was a mess, and she had stowed her jacket in her inventory. She was down to a tank top and jeans, her tattoos fully exposed for everyone to see. At this point, she clearly did not have the time or energy to care how the magical ink looked on her.

  We found Shawn at the healing tents, speaking with Frank, Prema, and Shaheerah. Farah was still with Farisyah. Mr. Chen had not made it. He had died in the attack.

  We had lost one hundred and fifty-seven people. Some were killed outright by the Temple, others died later from their injuries or from the fires. I knew from my old life that most people in fires died from smoke inhalation before the flames ever touched them. That little fact did nothing to make this easier.

  Hundreds more were wounded and lying in the tents, being treated by the other healers and the nurses.

  I told them we had to leave. Not permanently, but for now. We would be back, but in the meantime they needed to grieve, rebuild, and send out more people to get their systems activated. If nothing else, this latest attack had taught them they could not stay passive anymore.

  Farah joined us halfway through and immediately started protesting that we were needed here. She was not wrong, but I stood my ground. If we wanted any chance of stopping this from happening again, we needed help. More than this settlement could give.

  I did not tell them where we were going, but Prema seemed to understand anyway. She watched me for a long moment, then gave a small, knowing nod. She only asked for one thing, that we add Farah and Shaheerah to our party chat so they had a direct line to us.

  I hesitated. Adding more people into the chat was the last thing I wanted, but in this case I knew she was right.

  I eventually nodded and sent the party invites.

  “You know we can open different chat groups, right?” Shawn said as we walked back to the truck.

  I turned to him and raised an eyebrow as we neared the vehicle.

  “Right click,” Shawn said as he took the driver’s seat.

  I still had no idea how to “right-click” in my own head, so I told Shawn to set up the new chat. I groaned when my HUD updated. Our four-member party chat had been renamed “Four Horsemen,” and he’d opened another chat that included Shah and Farah, which he’d simply named “Party Chat.”

  “You know where we’re going?” Shawn asked as Jess and Siva settled in the back. Jess still looked drained, and Siva was staring out the window at the ruins.

  “I have an idea. We heard the Rebels took over the Tuas area of the West, where most of the industrial factories and buildings are. We’ll head there. But first, we need to top up our potions. I’m out of Mana and Health potions. Let’s hit the 7-Eleven,” I said.

  “Actually, I have a better idea,” Shawn replied as he drove out through the broken gates. The broken sword on the ground was still there, a quiet reminder of everyone we had lost.

  On the way out, Shawn filled us in. Back when he was with Andy’s party, they had discovered that the lower-end supermarkets, like Giant and Sheng Siong, still carried regular things like food and other items we could just loot. The higher-end supermarkets, like NTUC and Cold Storage, also stocked potions we could buy. He knew the area well enough to find one easily. He just never bothered telling us before because we had always had a convenient 7-Eleven up north.

  We drove in silence as Shawn took us deeper into the industrial area. The weight of the deaths was still heavy on our minds, and the level of devastation was hard to just… shake off.

  He eventually pulled into an area called Joo Koon, the start of the western industrial sector. He drove up to an NTUC supermarket and parked outside. We took turns making quick runs in and out to restock our potions. It was exactly as Shawn described. We could loot the frozen and microwaveable food and other household supplies, but there were also shelves full of potions that deducted gold directly from our HUD the moment we stored them in our inventories.

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  I stepped out and found Shawn smoking outside the truck. Jess and Siva were still inside the supermarket.

  “We’re being followed,” Shawn said quietly between puffs of smoke.

  I lit my own cigarette and kept my eyes on Jess through the glass. “Yeah? Where are they?” I asked, keeping my tone casual, like we were just two guys killing time while our friends shopped.

  “They’re behind the walls of that building across the road.” He gave the slightest nod of his chin to show me where.

  “How’d you spot them?” I asked, still acting relaxed.

  “I was SPF, man. I learned this shit,” he said, dropping his cigarette and grinding it under his heel as he noticed Jess walking out.

  Shawn was with the Singapore Police Force? Really? I knew he used to be a sales manager, but I didn’t know he had police training on top of that.

  “Not that it matters now,” he muttered, clearly reading the look I was giving him.

  I crushed my cigarette under my boot so Jess would not yell at me for smoking near her, just as she and Siva arrived. I switched to party chat.

  Chris: Shawn says the rebels are following us. They’re across the road.

  Jess: Well, let’s go over and say hi.

  We traded silent looks, then got back into the truck. Shawn eased us onto the main road, pretending like we were heading off. Then he suddenly gunned the engine, shot across the lanes, jumped the curb, and brought the Digger to a stop right in front of two terrified-looking rebels who had been hiding behind the wall.

  They scrambled to raise their crossbows, but Siva was already moving. He jumped out, blades flashing, and sliced the middle of both weapons in a couple of quick strikes, rendering them useless. One of the rebels raised a hand, starting to cast something, then froze mid-motion. I saw Shawn’s arm extended inside the cab, his hand glowing faintly purple.

  “Don’t test me today,” Shawn growled from the driver’s seat, though the engine was probably too loud for them to hear him.

  “Okay, okay,” I said, stepping out of the vehicle. “Everybody chill. We just want to talk. Shawn…”

  Shawn dropped his spell. The rebel he was holding crashed to his knees, panting. Siva had the other one pinned against the wall at swordpoint. The man wasn’t moving, but his eyes were wide with fear.

  I sighed at the sight. We had seen enough death already. We were not ending the night with more if I could help it. I glanced back at Jess in the truck. She gave me a small, reassuring nod.

  I knelt so I was eye-level with the rebel on the ground.

  “Hey. What’s your name?” I asked, resting a hand lightly on his shoulder.

  “Chin… Chin Hua…” he stammered as I motioned for him to stand.

  “Okay, Chin Hua. I know you’ve already messaged Rajan, or whoever you report to. Tell him I want to talk. Just talk. We don’t want to fight our way to him. You understand?”

  He nodded, eyes going distant for a moment. I guessed he was in chat. I gestured at Siva to lower his swords. Siva hesitated, then stepped back. The rebel he had pinned immediately rushed to Chin Hua’s side. Now that they were next to each other, I noticed the resemblance.

  “Brothers?” I asked.

  The one who had not been casting just gave a short nod, still eyeing Siva’s blades like they might leap back up on their own.

  “Okay. You’re going to be fine. Just get me a meeting with Rajan,” I said.

  I did not have to wait long. Chin Hua blinked, focus returning.

  “He says he will meet you. At headquarters,” he said warily.

  “Okay. Where is that?” I asked.

  “Tuas Checkpoint,” he replied.

  Groans erupted from my team. Jess covered her eyes with one hand, Shawn just shook his head, and Siva stared up at the sky in resignation.

  Tuas Checkpoint. The second land crossing between Singapore and the Malaysian state of Johor.

  We had faced zombies and a fucking necromancer at the first one, the Woodlands Checkpoint in the north.

  I exhaled slowly. “Fine. We’ll make our own way there, but I want safe passage and for him to meet us outside.”

  Chin Hua went distant again for a moment, then nodded. “He said okay.”

  We left them there with their broken weapons and climbed back into the truck. Shawn reversed us out and pulled back onto the road, pausing for a moment.

  “Another fucking checkpoint…” he muttered, before revving the engine and driving off, deeper into Rebel territory, straight toward their headquarters.

  I did not trust Rajan. Neither did anyone else in the truck. Siva had not put his swords away, and Jess had her morningstar resting on her lap.

  Good.

  I did not know how this was going to go, but at least we were ready. And I hoped, just a little, that we could end the night without another fight.