Chapter 110:Detroin.
Chapter 110: 110:Detroin.
The checkpoint bell rang just before sunrise. Its deep metallic tone rolled through Checkpoint Nine, echoing off the mountain walls before fading into the cold morning air.
Silver opened his eyes almost immediately. For several seconds he simply lay still, listening. The sounds of boots in the hallway, doors opening and closing, and vehicles starting outside.
The checkpoint was already awake. He glanced toward the opposite side of the room. Ravenna was already sitting on the edge of her bed, tying the straps around her boots.
She looked up.
"Morning."
"Morning."
Neither of them wasted time. The room quickly filled with quiet activity. Silver folded the blankets neatly before checking every piece of equipment one final time. Everything was exactly where it belonged.
Only after confirming everything, did he sling the backpack over his shoulder. Across the room, Ravenna performed almost the same routine.
She checked the edge of her sword with practiced fingers before sliding it into its sheath. Next came the handgun Silver had insisted she carry.
Although she still preferred fighting with her sword, she had become much more comfortable using firearms during emergencies.
She caught Silver watching.
"What?"
"You’ve gotten faster."
She smiled faintly.
"You’ve made me into this."
They returned their room key downstairs before heading toward the dining hall. Breakfast was simple; fresh bread, scrambled eggs, dried beast meat, and hot tea.
Nobody lingered very long. Most contractors were already preparing to leave. The atmosphere was noticeably different from the previous evening.
Yesterday people had laughed but today, everyone seemed eager. Detroin Town waited only a few hours away. Silver quietly listened while eating.
"...My team is heading straight for the commercial district."
"...We’re checking the municipal offices."
"...Somebody found an old pharmacy yesterday..."
"...If we’re lucky, there’ll still be medicine..."
Every table discussed the same destination. Greed wasn’t the right word,hope was. Everyone believed Detroin might change their future.
As they left the dining hall, Silver’s eyes searched the surrounding crowd.
Ravenna noticed.
"Looking for someone?"
"The man from yesterday."
"The survivor?"
Silver nodded. The image of the strange movement beneath the man’s skin hadn’t left his mind, something about it continued bothering him.
He approached one of the checkpoint reception staff.
"Excuse me."
The woman looked up from her terminal.
"Yes?"
"There was a contractor staying here. He returned from Detroin and usually ate alone."
She thought for a moment before recognition crossed her face.
"Oh. Eric."
Silver nodded.
"Has he checked out?"
"Yeah, sorry. He left nearly an hour ago."
"Already?"
She nodded.
"He joined another exploration convoy since they wanted an experienced guide."
Silver frowned slightly.
"Do you know which group?"
She pointed toward the eastern gate.
"One of the larger contractor expeditions, probably thirty people. They wanted to reach Detroin before noon."
Silver thanked her before walking away. Ravenna waited until they were outside before asking,
"Still thinking about him?"
Silver nodded.
"I can’t explain it, but something felt..." He searched for the right word. "...Wrong."
Ravenna didn’t dismiss the feeling.
"You’ve trusted your instincts before."
"I have but instincts aren’t evidence."
Brian’s convoy was already preparing to leave. The large man stood beside his truck checking supplies while Claire leaned against the vehicle eating a piece of fruit.
She waved enthusiastically the moment she spotted them.
"Morning!"
Silver and Ravenna returned the greeting.
Brian smiled.
"Good, you made it. We’re leaving in ten minutes."
Jonah climbed into the rear vehicle.
"Fuel’s topped off, supplies loaded and radio check complete."
Everything moved efficiently since each person already knew their responsibilities. Silver quietly appreciated that. Before long, the convoy rolled through the eastern gate.
The Checkpoint disappeared behind them as the mountain road stretched toward the valley beyond.
The morning air felt unusually still, even Brian seemed to notice.
"... it’s quiet today."
Claire looked out her window.
"Yeah, too quiet."
Nearly forty minutes passed but nothing attacked them, not a single beast.
Silver frowned slightly.
Normally, by this point, they would have encountered at least wandering scavengers: instead, the forest remained strangely empty.
Ravenna lowered the passenger window slightly.
"...Listen."
Silver did. There was nothing. No sound of morning birds chirping away, insects screeching deep within the woods, or the distant howls of pack beasts; only the steady sound of engines dominated the usually noisy morning.
The silence finally broke when they rounded another bend. Several deer-like beasts sprinted across the road ahead. Strangely, there were dozens of them. Normally these gentle herbivores lived in scattered family groups, but now, they moved together in one enormous herd.
To make matters even stranger, none of them even looked toward the convoy. They simply kept running south, away from the mountains.
Claire’s voice crackled over the radio.
"...That’s fucking weird."
Brian answered calmly.
"Keep moving."
The sightings continued. A flock of Razorbeaks flew overhead clearly migrating with the clear V pattern they formed.
Later, a family of Stonehide Tortoises slowly crossed a nearby river, moving in exactly the same direction.
Even predators appeared uninterested in hunting. Several Gray Fang Jackals ran alongside the road for nearly a minute before disappearing into the forest. None of them attacked or even glanced toward the vehicles.
Silver rested his arm against the open window.
"...They’re leaving."
Ravenna nodded.
"Every species, this isn’t normal."
Around midmorning, Brian contacted the convoy.
"We’ve received another checkpoint report."
Silver increased the radio volume. Brian continued.
"Multiple Green Zone patrols are reporting large-scale beast migration, no known cause. Current assessment is environmental displacement."
Jonah’s voice came over the radio.
"Still because of the worm?"
"Probably."
"The Tier Five moving around would’ve disrupted territories."
Several people agreed since it sounded reasonable. When predators moved, prey followed. The forests naturally adjusted. That happens.
Silver accepted the explanation, mostly, yet... something still felt off.
The road eventually left the mountains behind. Rolling hills replaced rocky cliffs. In the distance, partially hidden beneath morning haze, they finally saw it.
Detroin.
Even from several kilometers away, the old town looked surprisingly intact. Rows of weathered buildings stood shoulder to shoulder, and an old water tower still overlooked the surrounding streets also several apartment blocks remained standing. Vegetation covered rooftops and balconies, but far less than Silver expected after so many years.
Smoke rose lazily into the sky clearly from cooking. Contractor camps were visible even from the distance.
Claire laughed over the radio.
"Looks like half the Green Zone’s already here."
She wasn’t exaggerating. Vehicles surrounded the outskirts of the town. There were dozens, maybe more. People walked between temporary camps carrying supplies, weapons, and recovered equipment.
At first glance, everything looked almost ordinary. Silver looked out toward the town.
"I don’t know why..."
Ravenna followed his gaze.
"...But I don’t think I like this place."
Neither did she, yet she couldn’t explain why. There was no obvious danger, just an old town filled with opportunity. And still, as Silver watched the quiet streets beyond the camps, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something, somewhere, was watching all of them.