The network was destroyed, and everyone who sought it was dead; it was time to leave. Kano didn’t much want to go back to Shorinstown, but where else was she supposed to go? The thought that it was the closest thing to a home did little to motivate her. It was only when she thought of the people who were waiting for her that she got moving.

She needed to get back. They wouldn’t be able to survive without her for long. Her exhaustion turned the short walk to the research center’s front door into an ordeal, but she couldn’t rest, not here.

The sensor embedded in the wall above the door flickered at her approach, but the door didn’t move. She sighed. Couldn’t anything work right? She waved her hand in front of the lens, but there was no response. Was it broken? It looked like it still functioned. Had it still been an option, she’d have just cut her way through the rebellious door.

It occurred to her that she could ask the humans for help, but she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. Especially not them. She still had her pride, or what was left of it. Going back to beg for aid was out of the question.

Relying on her own ingenuity, she followed the exterior wall, looking for another exit. Unbroken, the polished steel stretched on and on, without a single convenient hole for her to squeeze through. It was only when she reached the second floor that she found a window. She swung a nearby chair and shattered it.

Destroying part of this monument to human stupidity brought her a small measure of joy. At least she could take solace in the fact that the humans who were going to live here would ruin the place eventually. Once she was safely on the ground, Kano turned back and looked at the Armonin Research Center one last time.

The shining metal structure towered over everything for miles around, an eyesore that was completely out of place in this world. Kano wondered what the builders had been thinking. Did they think they were so much better than everyone else that this seemed like a reasonable place to live? Or were they just unable to accept reality? From what she knew of humans, it was probably a mixture of both.

Thankfully she was rid of the place, though it was a shame Thirty-Six had to die in a place like this. Kano could almost convince herself that was why she felt bad about the ghoul’s death, why she felt like she’d lost a part of herself. Kano shook her head and turned away. Whistling a tuneless melody, she left it all behind.

Weary, she was looking around for somewhere to sleep when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. It was Urick, whose existence she’d all but forgotten about. She sauntered over to where he was standing watch, clutching his rifle. “What?”

“Are you fucking serious? I’ve been stuck out here for days, and that’s all you have to say?” He stared at her, open-mouthed.

After a cursory attempt at remembering what he was taking about, Kano decided it wasn’t worth her time. “Yep.” And with that, she walked off.

“Where are you going? You can’t leave me here!”

Kano turned back to him and rolled her eyes. “Of course I can. And why shouldn’t I? You’re no use whatsoever.”

“Then you could at least release me, let me go where I want.”

“Yeah, I could. But I won’t.”

“Why not?” His voice had something of a high-pitched whine to it now. It reminded Kano of… the children. That threw her off a little, and she stopped to actually consider letting him go. On one hand, sure, he probably would prefer being free. But what would be the point? He was just a stupid ghoul. Nothing worthwhile could come of it. And yet, it still didn’t feel right to leave him here.

“Fine, come with me.” Kano was tired of thinking about it and decided she may as well take him along. It was as good a decision as any.

“Where are we going?” he asked, catching up to her.

“Back to Shorinstown.”

“Why? What about what we came out here for?”

“That’s all over now.”

“What about Yon and Thirty-Six? Are they staying here?”

Kano ground her teeth. Did she have to explain everything to this dolt? “They’re dead.”

Seeing that he was opening his mouth, almost certainly to ask another stupid question, Kano ordered him to shut up. Once she found a spot among the ruins with some semblance of a roof, she left him to stand guard while she slept.

Her slumber was blessedly free of dreams, at least any that she could remember, and she awoke refreshed. Maybe she owed her peace to exhaustion, it was hard to say. But she was certain her waking mind had enough to worry about without any other part of her adding to it. Her impending death, for example. And she still had to do something about that. This trip really had been a waste of time. Time and life.

Why couldn’t she have just found a better solution? This was what came of trusting necromancers. It was the only possible cause for her misfortune. Well, that and relying on something humans had built. She burst out laughing. What had she been thinking? The sheer scale of her foolishness astounded her.

She felt sure it would haunt her for the paltry remainder of her life. Only the fact that it was all over brought her any consolation. That and knowing she wouldn’t have to worry about it for much longer. These were the sorts of delightful thoughts that occupied Kano on the trip back to Shorinstown.

It wasn’t exactly her idea of a good time, but it was still better than enduring Urick’s incessant questions. Acting like he had some kind of right to know what was happening. What an insufferable man. She was doing him a favor, if anything. Knowing hadn’t made Kano’s life any better. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The dilapidated squalor of Shorinstown loomed, and its familiar putrid stench washed over Kano. It was like a warm blanket over her mind, promising security and shelter. Approaching the gate, Kano glared at the man on watch. Recognition dawned, and he scrambled to get the gate open. With a metallic shriek, the rusted mechanism pulled the sheets of metal that served as doors wide, and the gatekeeper waved her through.

There was a small clearing by the gate where hawkers warred with beggars for the attention of new arrivals. But none of them were fool enough to bother Kano. Beyond that was the city proper, a twisted maze of rusted metal and cracked concrete structures that served as homes or businesses. Or both, as there was often little distinction between the two.

Kano drank in the sights. She’d spent far too long in the research center’s spotless corridors. This was where she belonged. Her spirits lifting, Kano remarked to Urick, “Isn’t it good to be back?”

Recalling that he still wasn’t allowed to talk, she magnanimously allowed him the privilege of speech.

“Back to this shithole? Yeah, it’s great. Maybe even better than that dump where you were going to leave my body.”

Kano laughed. It was good to see he still had a sense of humor. “I can always send you to back there, if you’d prefer.”

She marveled at how quickly he shut up without being ordered to. Could anyone in Shorinstown match her incredible powers of persuasion? She took in the worthless ghouls shambling through the streets around her and decided that surely none could come close to equaling her.

Striding past trivial people going about their trivial lives, she reached the street where her home stood. And there she stopped, gripped by uncertainty. If she went back to Nove and the others, there’d be questions. Questions about what had happened, about how Thirty-Six had died.

About how Kano had failed. It was something she’d much rather avoid, but she had to face it, or so some part of her insisted. The rest of her wasn’t sure it agreed. Who were these pathetic leeches to question her, anyway? It was her house, and they were alive because of her benevolence. Why not just abandon the lot of them?

She’d given them more than enough as it was. She didn’t owe them anything. The more she thought about it, the better it sounded. They could stay here, and she’d find somewhere else to live. Somewhere nicer. It was a perfect plan. She’d be free and so would they. Great, now all she had to do was turn around and walk away. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to move. Something about it felt wrong.

Against all her better judgment, Kano headed for home. She tried to convince herself that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad; she’d just have a short chat with Nove, and then she could rest. As for what came after that, she had no idea, and at this point she didn’t much care.

Trying to foster whatever fragile hopes of peace she could muster, Kano reached the front door, and her carefully cultivated hopes wilted. Her door was lying in the dirt outside, covered in blood.