"I should have died." Michele says, his voice a whisper laden with resignation and torment.

The young man's words hang in the air, creating an atmosphere charged with conflicting emotions: pain, anger, confusion. The members of the  squad, inside the Rinascita caravan, feel the weight of those words enveloping them like a heavy shroud.

Brina, with her empathetic heart, senses the intensity of the emotions that emanate from Michele's eyes. She decides it's time to intervene, trying to break the somber atmosphere that has settled in.

"Don't talk nonsense! Do you have any idea of the precious resources we used to heal you?" Brina says, perhaps with more harshness than intended. Michele's anguish hits her, yet she can't contain her protective instinct.

Michele remains silent, lost in his thoughts, as if the words hadn't reached him. The road stretches out before them, the Rinascita vehicle continues to speed through the desert in an atmosphere charged with tension.

"Hey, you!" Milano chimes in, still at the wheel. "A thank you wouldn't hurt, you know?" Even though he's focused on driving, his ears catch every nuance of the conversation happening in the back of the caravan.

"Thanking? For what, excuse me?" Michele retorts bitterly. "You saved someone who's already dead."

Michele's words are laden with a profound darkness, and tears continue to flow as he struggles to contain himself. He rubs his eyes with his hands, as if trying to wipe away the pain.

"If you had only arrived sooner..." he whispers, as if his words were carried away by the desert wind.

Brina's patience has a limit, and her impulsive side takes over. She turns towards Michele and delivers a forceful slap.

"Brina!" Otilia interjects, reproaching her.

"He deserves it!" Brina protests, her voice a mixture of frustration and empathy.

Otilia, seeking to restore some calm, addresses Michele gently. "Michele, you don't have to feel obligated to tell us anything. First and foremost, we care about your well-being."

Michele doesn't respond, his eyes still moist with tears as he wrestles with his inner demons.

Brina huffs, clearly frustrated by Michele's attitude.

"M-Maria... She... Maria was my sister. We were fleeing... from the Raiders." he confesses with a broken voice, his words nearly choked by the weight of memory.

Michele's words cast a dark shadow over the Rinascita community. The term "Raiders" sends a shiver down the spines of all three squad members. It's a concrete threat, a force that brings destruction and terror wherever it goes.

"Damn it... uh, sorry!" Milano exclaims, nearly slamming on the brakes in response to the gravity of what he's hearing.

The faces of Brina and Otilia contort slightly, each struggling with their own emotions in the face of the horror that the Raiders represent. But Otilia knows it's crucial to remain focused on the present situation.

"I can understand it's difficult, Michele." Otilia begins, choosing her words carefully. "But if you're willing to share your story, we're here to listen."

Otilia's gentle words seem to have an effect on Michele, who now appears more willing to open up. "We... we were in a small community. We had heard stories about the Raiders and what they had done elsewhere. But it seemed distant, like a remote threat. Then... they arrived in our area." he continues, his voice trembling with intense emotions.

"Eureka was our outpost, and suddenly all contact was lost. I checked personally: the Raiders attacked and destroyed Eureka, killing all the residents. Then they targeted Speranza, the domus I come from."

Otilia clenches her fists, anger and sorrow reflecting in her eyes. The threat that the Raiders pose is now more tangible than ever.

"They have weapons of war and numerous vehicles." Michele continues, his voice tense with anxiety. "I took one of their assault rifles, but I abandoned it along with everything I had near... near my sister's body." He pauses for a few seconds, horrified memories playing in his mind. Then he resumes speaking: "These are the coordinates of the rifle, and these are those of my fused Etriclo." Then, turning to Brina, he adds with a tone wavering between irony and sincerity: "Maybe this could be a token of gratitude, even though I have no desire to thank you. My place was with my sister and my mother."

Otilia looks at Michele with compassionate eyes, recognizing the immense weight of his words. "Michele, you can't burden yourself with guilt for what happened. There was no way you could have prevented this tragedy."

Michele shakes his head with melancholy, struggling to accept the kindness offered amidst all this suffering. Meanwhile, Otilia speaks firmly. "Milano, set the coordinates. We must retrieve the rifle, the Etriclo, and give this young girl a proper burial."

Milano's face twists in discomfort. "Oh, fantastic! Now I have to remove a corpse? Just what I dreamed of doing today." His voice drips with sarcasm, but beneath the irony, a certain degree of remorse can be sensed. When Brina shoots him a glare and she sees that even Michele is giving him a dirty look, he startles and apologizes, stammering. "S-sorry..."

The authority in Otilia's words brooks no argument, but Brina can't help expressing her concerns. "Otilia, they might still be in the vicinity. Shouldn't we perhaps chase after the Raiders?"

Otilia shakes her head slightly, reflecting carefully before responding. "We need to be cautious. If what Michele said is true, we're at a numerical disadvantage."
"In Speranza, we were about forty people, yet the Raiders annihilated us with ease and swiftness." Michele confirms through gritted teeth and clenched fists.

Michele's words highlight the cruel reality of the current situation. The boy, with his face marked by sadness, guides the group to where his sister Maria's body rests. There, with a broken heart, he kneels and allows the tears to flow freely.

The squad gathers the abandoned resources, including the weapon they had used to injure Michele. Otilia studies the rifle with a mix of curiosity and concern, seeking to better understand the threat they face. In the meantime, Brina and Milano work together to place Maria's body into a refrigerated capsule, respecting the importance of giving her a dignified farewell.

With their cargo removed from the harsh terrain, the squad heads toward the waiting Etriclo. They secure the Etriclo, carefully attaching it to the Caravan, while Milano huffs and says: "At least the Etriclo doesn't complain."

The idea of heading toward Speranza is definitively set aside when monitoring instruments signal the approach of a sandstorm. However, the threat of the Raiders looms, further complicating the decision on how to proceed.

In that moment of uncertainty, Michele offers a suggestion that could prove vital to their future. "Maybe we should head to Eureka. There, we might gather more detailed information about the Raiders from the surveillance systems. There could be clues about what they're seeking and their movements."

Otilia ponders Michele's words, weighing the options carefully. As the sun sets over the desert, the squad is forced to make a crucial decision, knowing that the future is uncertain and the threat of the Raiders is ever-present.

If she could, Otilia would chase those murderers to the ends of the Earth. But she has human lives under her responsibility. They're not ready yet to confront them head-on. Soon, though, the day of reckoning will come.

Through gritted teeth, she orders: "Milano, let's head to Eureka."

"Yes ma'am, I'm at your orders." Milano replies exaggeratedly.

Brina, with a penetrating gaze, watches as Michele holds a weathered photograph in his hands. Despite his efforts to hold back tears, his face is marked by deep sadness. It's evident that he's experiencing a moment of intense mourning, a loss that might be difficult to process. For Brina, fully understanding that emotion is a challenge; she's never known her parents and never had close relatives. She's witnessed the pain and suffering of others, seen death in various forms, but she's never experienced the loss of someone so close. She wonders, deep down, if something terrible were to happen to Otilia, would she feel such profound sadness? She hopes she never has to undergo such a painful experience, never has to know that kind of pain.

"Mind you, you're not out of dehydration yet. Continuing to cry could make you worse off." Brina says with a concerned yet light tone, trying to alleviate the tension.

"Have you ever felt a pain so intense that you can't even breathe? To feel like there's no reason to live anymore?" Michele asks, his gaze lost in emptiness, as if seeking answers in an invisible world.

Brina isn't sure how to respond. Her gaze lowers as she searches for the right words. "I've never felt something like that," she admits sincerely, "but I've seen people suffer terribly. I've seen the pain in their eyes and heard it in their voices. It's always been a terrifying thing to witness."

"Yes, I've felt it," Otilia interjects, having listened to the conversation in silence. "It's a pain so sharp that it feels like it's tearing you apart from the inside. The kind of pain that makes you hope you never wake up again."

Otilia's words cast a shadow of silence in the Caravan. Michele is left speechless, captivated by Otilia's revelation. It's as if a secret has been unveiled, taking him to a dark and uncharted place.

Brina looks at the photograph that Michele still holds in his hands. She sees a much younger Michele, happy, standing next to two loving figures. It's a family, a happy family. "Who are they?" Brina asks, trying to shift the focus and lighten the atmosphere.

Michele looks at the photograph affectionately, his fingers brushing over the faded faces. "These are my parents, and this is my sister Maria." he replies with a choked voice.

"They were beautiful. And it seems like you didn't take after them!" Brina jokes with a smile, trying to lift his spirits.

"It's true." Michele responds with a resigned tone.

Otilia intervenes with a calm and measured tone. "Grief is a shared feeling among us all, in one way or another. Each of us has lost something precious in this devastated world. It's important to allow yourself to cry, to feel the pain. Cry and despair. Let out all your sadness."

Michele nods slowly.

"The pain will never go away. But it'll change over time, evolve into something different that you'll learn to live with." the blonde leader states with an icy tone, as if she, too, is grappling with her own demons.