[POV Era]

  The first day of marching toward Settlement Number Four felt like a pilgrimage through the entrails of a corpse. The city, which in Orion’s memories had been a hive of lights and sounds, had become an ossuary of concrete and steel. We walked along what had once been an elevated highway, now fractured into uneven segments that forced Chelsea to constantly climb and descend through the cracks.

  The silence between us remained a physical presence, an invisible membrane filtering any attempt at connection. Chelsea walked a few meters ahead, her bck suit blending into the shadows of burned vehicles. I followed her, the weight of the red egg in my backpack and the constant hum of the system in my head.

  "[A decrease in locomotor efficiency has been detected in Subject Chelsea]," the system’s voice echoed in my mind, breaking the monotony of the wind. "[Heart rate: 110 beats per minute. Skin temperature rising. Hydration break recommended within the next 400 meters.]"

  "Wait a little longer," I replied internally. "If we stop now, we’ll lose momentum before it gets completely dark."

  "[Biological logic is fwed, Era. Physical exhaustion in humans is not linear, it is exponential. If the subject reaches the critical fatigue threshold, recovery time will triple. Do not compromise the integrity of your only local information source for a ten minute gain.]"

  I sighed, a gesture my synthetic lungs performed automatically to release processing pressure.

  "Chelsea," I said, raising my voice so the wind would not carry it away. "Stop. Let’s rest at that gas station on the right. You need water and to catch your breath."

  Chelsea did not stop immediately. She took ten more steps before her shoulders sank and she slowly turned around. She said nothing, but her eyes, both the visible one and the one hidden by her bangs, reflected exhaustion bordering on defeat. She veered toward the ruined gas station, its fuel pumps hanging like amputated limbs of dead giants.

  We sat on the sidewalk beneath the rusted roof that still offered some protection from the icy wind. Chelsea pulled out her water bottle and drank greedily. I stayed standing, leaning against a column, looking toward the horizon where the sun, hidden behind the perpetual yer of ash and clouds, painted the world an anemic gray.

  Suddenly, a sound broke the hiss of the wind. A metallic creak, distant but distinct. Chelsea jumped to her feet, her hand instinctively reaching for the barrel of her left arm. I had already activated long range sensors.

  "[Biological signature detected. Distance: 200 meters. Sector: Interior of the station building]," the system marked an orange contour in my vision. "[Not a Ganut. Too small. Too erratic.]"

  "Stay here," I ordered Chelsea.

  I stepped into the dim interior of the gas station building. In the corner of what used to be the storage room, I saw movement. It was a dog. A emaciated German shepherd, its fur full of scabs and ash. When it saw me, it did not bark. It simply looked at me with eyes clouded by malnutrition and fear. Its ears drooped and its tail moved timidly.

  I took out one of the energy bars and pced it in front of it. The dog devoured it desperately. Chelsea entered shortly after, stopping when she saw the scene. She knelt and began stroking its ears. The dog sighed and rested its head on her knee.

  "It feels... real," she said, looking at me. "Like for a second the world didn’t completely end."

  "[Subject: Canis lupus familiaris. Condition: Extreme malnutrition. Imminent multi organ failure within 48 hours]," the system reported. "[It does not represent a threat. Suggestion: Terminate to avoid unnecessary suffering.]"

  "I won’t," I replied internally. "I used to love animals. I can’t leave it alone here."

  "We can’t leave him, Chelsea," I said aloud, surprising myself. "If we leave him, he’ll die in a matter of hours. He’s not a burden to me. I can carry him."

  Chelsea looked at me with a mix of surprise and gratitude that shattered the ice of the past days.

  "Would you really do that?" she asked. "Era, he’s... he’s just a dog."

  "To me, he’s not just a dog," I replied.

  I approached the animal. With a delicacy my system had to calibrate to the millimeter, I lifted him off the ground. He weighed little, his ribs visible beneath his skin, but his heart beat with a determination that fascinated me. I cradled him in the angle of my left arm while Chelsea packed our things.

  We walked the rest of the day like that. Me carrying the dog as if he were a fragile treasure, and Chelsea walking beside me, checking from time to time if the animal was still breathing. The silence was no longer hatred. It was shared purpose.

  "[Era, the biological load is draining your bance efficiency by 4 percent]," the system commented during the night. "[Additionally, heat from your core is being transferred to the specimen to maintain its temperature. This is an unnecessary energy expenditure.]"

  "It’s my energy," I replied. "And it’s not useless if Chelsea feels better."

  The next day, the sky was darker than usual. Ash fell like gray snow on us. The dog, whom Chelsea had begun calling Shadow, was growing weaker. His whimpers were barely audible.

  Mid afternoon, Shadow began trembling in my arms. I stopped abruptly in the middle of a deserted street. Chelsea rushed over, her face full of concern.

  "Era, what’s happening?" she asked.

  I lowered the dog to the ground but kept his head resting in my porcein hands. My internal sensors detected the drastic drop in his vital signs. The system began issuing alerts.

  "[Systemic colpse in progress. Cardiac function cessation in 30 seconds]," the system’s voice was monotone, but for the first time, I thought I detected a solemn note of observation. "[Era, the specimen is expiring.]"

  Shadow opened his eyes one st time. There was no fear in them, only deep calm as he looked at my metallic face and then at Chelsea. He weakly licked my white hand, a small patch of moisture on the perfect alloy. Then, with a final sigh that sounded like relief, his body completely rexed in my arms.

  Chelsea broke down crying, burying her face in her hands. I stayed there, holding the lifeless body.

  "He died knowing he wasn’t alone," Chelsea said through sobs, repeating what she had said the day before.

  "[Mission failed regarding the specimen]," the system said. "[However, the secondary objective of emotional stabilization of Subject Chelsea has been achieved. Proceeding is recommended.]"

  We dug a small grave in a nearby garden that still had some soft soil. Chelsea pced Sora’s thread bracelet, which I had returned to her, on the dog’s back before covering him.

  "Now he’ll find her first," she whispered.

  We started walking again. The filler journey had ended, but Shadow had left us something: the ability to talk again. As the hills of Settlement Number Four appeared on the horizon, Chelsea walked beside me, not ahead of me.

  "Thank you, Era," she said softly. "For trying."

  "[Detection of unusual thermal signatures at 5 kilometers]," the system interrupted, its voice sharp and alert. "[Era, the anomaly I detected has intensified. Settlement Number Four is not emitting radio signals, but there is massive heat activity. It is not a fire. It is... concentrated biotic energy.]"

  I stopped, looking toward the top of the hill. The pain over Shadow turned into a combat alert.

  "Chelsea, get ready," I said, activating the white gauntlets. "We’re arriving. And whatever is on the other side of that hill is nothing like anything we’ve seen before."