Hiro was frantically drinking something from a black bottle. His hands trembled slightly, the liquid flowing so fast that some spilled from the corners of his mouth.

  He stopped abruptly, wiping his lips with the back of his hand, and made the bottle disappear into his storage ring.

  A torch burned in his other hand.

  "Hiro!" Cassian's voice was muffled, desperate. "Get me out of here!"

  He approached, the torch illuminating the scene.

  Cassian. Stuck. Her upper body in the crevice, her lower body outside.

  "How..." he began, embarrassed. "How did you end up stuck like that?"

  "Are you kidding me?!" Cassian's voice rose an octave. "Is this really the time to ask that question?!"

  "Sorry." Hiro rubbed the back of his head. "It's just that..."

  "Listen." Cassian took a trembling breath. "I went looking for you because you weren't coming back to the entrance. I followed the spider corpses. I ended up here. And... things happened."

  Vague. Deliberately vague.

  "I see." Hiro nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Lena and Lucia are waiting at the cave entrance."

  He suddenly realized. "Ah. We came out when you were on the right side. We crossed paths without knowing it."

  He bowed slightly, even though the gesture was useless. "I'm sorry it took so long. If we'd been faster, you wouldn't have had to come looking for us."

  "I'll listen to your apologies later," Cassian growled. "Right now, it's driving me crazy being stuck. Get me out."

  "Okay, okay."

  Hiro gently set the torch against a rock, making sure it stayed stable.

  He approached Cassian, assessing the situation.

  "I'm going to pull you out gently," he explained. "Tell me if it hurts or if you're slipping."

  "Just do it."

  He gripped her ankles firmly—not too hard to hurt her, but enough for a good hold.

  "On three. One... two... three."

  He pulled.

  Gently. Gradually. The walls of the crevice resisted, rubbing against Cassian's sides.

  "Damn," she hissed. "It's rubbing."

  "Sorry. Keep pushing with your hands if you can."

  "I'm doing my best."

  Inch by inch, she emerged from the crevice.

  Then finally, with an almost comical sucking sound, she came out completely.

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  Cassian collapsed to the ground, panting.

  "Finally."

  Hiro sat down beside her. "This is where we found the little girl's brother."

  Cassian looked up at him.

  "In one of these crevices," he continued, pointing to the walls. "He was completely covered in webs. Immobilized. Probably kept as a food reserve."

  He shuddered slightly. "We were able to save him. He's outside with his sister now."

  Cassian sat up slowly. "Wait. If you found him earlier, why didn't you come out right away?"

  Hiro hesitated for a fraction of a second.

  "We couldn't leave knowing this place existed," he said finally. "We had to clean out this spider nest. To avoid any future danger."

  What he couldn't say: the system had given him a side quest. Exterminate all the spiders.

  He'd gained a ton of experience points.

  "Let's check out the other side," he suggested, picking up the torch.

  The left part of the cave opened into a massive chamber.

  And in the center...

  Cassian stopped dead.

  "This has to be a joke."

  A spider. The size of a house. Dead. Its massive body sagging in on itself, its legs curled up.

  "That was the mother," Hiro explained calmly. "Of all the little spiders."

  He approached the corpse, examining it. "Once the young had finished devouring their mother, they would have left the cave. In search of more food."

  He turned to Cassian. "The little girl's village is right nearby. Can you imagine what would have happened?"

  Cassian imagined. Hundreds of hungry spiders swarming over a defenseless village.

  "It could have ended really badly," she murmured.

  "That's why we took our time," Hiro continued. "To eliminate everything. Lena explained the life cycle of these creatures to me. She knows a lot."

  Cassian suddenly realized. So I should have just waited a little longer. Instead of going to look for them.

  And ending up stuck in a crevice like an idiot.

  "Let's get out of here," she said abruptly. "I'm sick of this cave."

  They headed toward the entrance.

  The tunnel was narrow. Hiro walked ahead, the torch lighting the way. Cassian followed closely behind.

  Too closely.

  They reached the opening at the same time.

  And got stuck.

  Face to face.

  Hiro's chest pressed against Cassian's. Their faces inches apart.

  Cassian froze.

  We always end up in compromising situations.

  She could feel his breath. Warm against her cheek. His heart beating—or was it hers?

  Time seemed to freeze.

  One second. Two seconds. Three.

  Then Hiro forced his way through, pulling away abruptly.

  Without a word. Without even looking at her.

  He rushed out of the cave, plunging his hand into the storage ring.

  The black bottle reappeared.

  He drank greedily, emptying it completely in a few seconds.

  Cassian emerged a few moments later, blinking in the fading sunlight.

  She didn't even have the energy to react anymore.

  "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

  The little girl ran toward her, throwing herself against her legs.

  Cassian looked down, surprised.

  "My brother is okay!" The girl smiled through her tears. "You saved him!"

  A young boy stood a little farther away. About ten years old. Brown hair identical to his sister's. He looked exhausted, but alive.

  The brother, Cassian presumed.

  He bowed awkwardly. "Thank you."

  Cassian nodded vaguely, not knowing what to say.

  Hiro, having regained his composure—or at least seeming slightly more energetic than usual—approached Lena and Lucia.

  "Sorry for the wait," he said. "We had... complications."

  "What kind of complications?" Lena asked, frowning.

  Hiro explained briefly. He carefully omitted the part where Cassian was stuck in a crevice.

  "We should escort the kids home," Lucia suggested. "It's starting to get dark."

  The children's house was modest but warm. Built of wood and stone, with a small garden in front.

  The parents—a sturdy middle-aged man and a charming woman—burst into tears upon learning what had happened.

  "Thank you!" The mother hugged Hiro with surprising strength. "Thank you so much!"

  The father bowed deeply. "We can never thank you enough."

  "It was nothing," Hiro said modestly.

  "Nothing?!" The mother released him, turning to the whole group. "You saved our son! That's everything to us!"

  She looked at the darkening sky. "It's night. You must stay here. I refuse to let you leave now."

  "We don't want to bother you..." Lucia began politely.

  "No discussion!" The mother crossed her arms. "I'm making a big meal. You're all going to eat."

  The meal was indeed big.

  Meat stew. Fresh bread. Roasted vegetables. Cheese. Fruit.

  The atmosphere was pleasant. Warm. The children laughed, recounting their adventures (carefully omitting the terrifying parts).

  The father generously poured beer into everyone's mugs.

  "To our saviors!" He raised his mug.

  "Cheers!" the others replied.

  Cassian sipped her beer, observing the scene.

  Boom.

  The explosion echoed somewhere in the distance.

  Everyone froze.

  "What was that?" the mother murmured, paling.

  Shouts rang out outside. Multiple. Panicked.

  "We're under attack!"

  "Bandits!"

  "Run!"

  The father stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair. "Stay here!"

  He ran toward the door.

  Before he reached it, it exploded.

  Literally. Torn from its hinges, hurled inside.

  Three armed men entered. Swords drawn. Faces covered with dirty bandanas.

  "Well, well," one of them sneered. "A little family party."

  Hiro stood up.

  One movement. Just one.

  His sword sprang from its sheath, tracing a silver arc through the air.

  Shlick. Shlick. Shlick.

  Three heads fell to the floor.

  The bodies followed a second later, collapsing heavily.

  Silence fell like a guillotine.

  Cassian stared at the bodies.

  It was the first time she'd seen a human kill another human with her own eyes.

  The blood. So much blood. Flowing from the severed necks, forming pools that spread.

  The heads. Rolling slightly before coming to a stop. Their expressions frozen in surprise.

  Her gaze was blank. Frozen in incomprehension.

  On Earth, she'd seen violence.

  But not this.

  Never this.

  "Stay safe here," Hiro ordered the family.

  He ran outside, his sword already dripping with blood.

  Lena followed him immediately, drawing her own blade.

  Lucia hesitated, looking at Cassian. "Cassian?"

  Cassian didn't respond. She was still staring at the bodies.

  "Cassian!"

  She blinked, turning slowly toward Lucia.

  "We have to go," Lucia said firmly. "The villagers need help."