Chapter 99:After math.
Chapter 99: 99:After math.
As emergency crews began taking over, the atmosphere slowly changed. Instead of soldiers rushing into battle, engineers rolled heavy construction vehicles toward the crater.
Portable floodlights illuminated damaged sections of the checkpoint.
Medical teams moved among contractors performing final examinations. Large drones descended from transport aircraft carrying steel support beams.
The cleanup had begun before the dust had fully settled. Silver watched an engineer directing workers around the collapsed lodging building.
"Mark this section! We’ll rebuild after sunrise! Don’t remove that support yet!"
Another shouted back.
"There’s still a storage room underneath!"
"I know!"
"Get the scanners first!"
It reminded Silver of disaster relief operations. They were always efficient and methodical, making sure that nobody was wasting time.
"You two."
Silver turned. A middle-aged medic approached carrying a tablet.
"I don’t recognize you... passing through?"
Silver nodded.
"We arrived this afternoon."
The medic sighed.
"You picked one hell of a day."
Ravenna laughed softly.
"...We’re beginning to think that’s normal."
The medic grinned.
"If monsters keep following you around... I’m charging extra."
Silver actually laughed.
"I’ll try not to make it a habit."
The medic pointed toward Silver’s shoulder.
"How’s the wound?"
"Better. The pills are helping, it should probably take a few days before it’s fully healed"
"Good. But if there was a healer here, it would have made both our works easier." He turned to Ravenna. "And your shoulder?"
"It still aches. It’ll ache for another day."
"Don’t swing too hard."
"I’ll try."
The medic raised an eyebrow.
"That’s exactly what the last contractor said, he dislocated it again before lunch. Sometimes I wonder if you contractors are masochists."
Silver couldn’t help smiling.
"Occupational hazard?"
"You have no idea. Okay, let me go and look for more people. Thankfully, this time, people aren’t too injured."
He walked off before Silver could speak again.
Not far away, volunteers had begun distributing hot drinks. One elderly woman wearing a kitchen apron walked through the compound carrying an enormous kettle.
"Tea! Hot tea! No charge tonight!"
Several tired contractors immediately lined up. Silver accepted a cup with both hands.
"Thank you."
She smiled warmly.
"You youngsters earned it."
Ravenna accepted one as well. The warmth spread through her fingers almost immediately.
"...This tastes wonderful."
The old woman beamed proudly.
"My husband always said tea fixes everything."
Silver glanced toward the destroyed lodging block.
"...Almost everything."
She followed his gaze before her smile softened.
"No... But it helps people start again."
For a moment, neither Silver nor Ravenna found anything to say. After finishing their tea, Ravenna looked toward the vehicle parking area.
"...Should we check?"
Silver followed her gaze.
"Our car."
She nodded.
"If that thing came up underneath the lodging district... I’m hoping it didn’t decide to visit the parking lot too."
Silver smiled.
"I suppose there’s only one way to find out."
Together, they began walking toward the western side of the checkpoint. Around them, the cleanup continued beneath the floodlights.
The anxiety hadn’t completely disappeared. Every loud sound still caused someone to look toward the ground and every vibration made contractors pause for half a heartbeat.
Everyone knew that, the worm was dead, yet the memory of those crimson eyes... would linger long after the checkpoint had been rebuilt.
Ahead of them, beyond several overturned transport trucks, the parking area slowly came into view.
Silver stopped walking.
"...Well..."
Ravenna followed his gaze.
"...It could have been worse."
Their vehicle was still there but only just.
Silver and Ravenna stood quietly for a moment, taking in the condition of their vehicle beneath the harsh white glow of the checkpoint floodlights.
Compared to many of the other vehicles scattered throughout the parking area, theirs had been fortunate.
Several military transports had been crushed beneath fallen sections of concrete. One civilian truck had disappeared almost entirely beneath the collapsed roof of a nearby warehouse. Another contractor’s off-road vehicle had been split nearly in half by a slab of reinforced steel.
Their own vehicle, looked almost dignified in comparison. It had been overturned onto its passenger side, probably by the shockwave when the worm erupted beneath the lodging district.
Someone, most likely the checkpoint recovery crew, had already righted it during the cleanup. The chassis remained straight and the engine compartment looked untouched.
One rear side window had shattered completely, leaving jagged pieces of glass still clinging to the frame. The back windshield was heavily cracked but hadn’t collapsed inward. The front windshield had somehow survived with only a spiderweb of small fractures near one corner.
The biggest problem was immediately obvious. The front right tire had been completely shredded.
Silver slowly walked around the vehicle, crouching every few steps to inspect it more closely. He placed one hand beneath the frame.
’No obvious structural bending’
He checked the suspension.
’Scratched but still intact’
Opening the driver’s door, he leaned inside and turned the ignition halfway. The dashboard lights flickered to life and a quiet hum filled the cabin.
Silver smiled.
"The battery’s fine."
Ravenna let out a relieved breath.
"And the engine?"
"We’ll know in a second."
He turned the key. The engine coughed once then settled into a steady idle. Both of them smiled.
"Still alive."
Ravenna patted the roof affectionately.
"I was beginning to like this car."
Silver chuckled.
"I’d rather not buy another one."
He shut off the engine before walking toward the rear storage compartment. Unlike ordinary civilian vehicles, contractor exploration vehicles carried emergency equipment as standard.
There were recovery cables, basic tools, medical kits, a hydraulic jack, and a spare wheel.
Silver opened the compartment. Everything remained exactly where he had packed it before leaving the Sanctuary.
He nodded approvingly.
"I knew organizing everything would pay off."
Ravenna folded her arms.
"...You planned for getting attacked by assassins and giant worms?"
"No."
He pulled out the jack.
"I planned for flat tires."
She laughed.
"I’ll give you that one."
Without another word, Silver rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. The bandages around his shoulder immediately became visible.
Ravenna noticed.
"So much for the doctor telling you not to strain yourself."
Silver looked at the tire.
"It won’t change itself."
"I can do it."
He shook his head.
"You helped carry that child while your shoulder was also dislocated. You need the rest as much as I do."
She stepped closer anyway.
"Then we do it together."
Silver looked at her for a long moment. Finally, he nodded.
"... Fine, together."
Changing the tire became strangely peaceful. Ravenna positioned the hydraulic jack beneath the reinforced lifting point while Silver loosened the damaged wheel nuts before raising the vehicle.
The quiet rhythm of working together felt natural and comfortable. Eventually, Ravenna broke the silence.
"...I’ve never really had someone to do things like this with."
Silver looked up from the wheel.
"What do you mean?"
She shrugged lightly.
"When I was younger, my mother did everything. After she died..."
She tightened her grip on the jack handle.
"...I learned to do everything myself."
Silver continued loosening the final nut.
"I understand."
She looked at him curiously.
"Do you?"
He nodded.
"I lost my parents too."
The words came naturally. He wasn’t even sure who he was talking about anymore, maybe he was talking about his previous life or the original Silver’s parents. At this point... it was both. Loss had become something shared between them.
Ravenna offered a small smile.
"...Looks like neither of us had particularly lucky childhoods."
Silver laughed softly.
"No. I suppose not."