Enoria is preparing for war with Irithara, and the team sans Kaleth are doing the best they can to put a stop to it before it progresses even further.
Their plan? Find Mereria, get her help with killing Relioth, and save Kaleth in the process. They...
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Nef was tired.
Not physically, but mentally. A month ago, the plan to stop Relioth had seemed pretty realistic. It had actually been Mel's idea and Nef had agreed with him—find Mereria, help her get control of the Umbra again, attack Relioth, and kill him. When they'd discussed this, Nef really hadn't imagined they'd get stuck right on the first objective.
Sure, he'd learned how to use a few types of guns, started working on an app to translate Eternal writing, and got into great shape—for him, anyway—but Nira wasn't there, so Nef had no one to brag about it to.
Oh, yeah, Nira hadn't contacted them at all during the month she'd been gone, but Nef avoided thinking about that as much as possible because then his brain started coming up with ideas he hated. Like, the fact that Nira could be dead, and he had no way of making sure that she wasn't.
"I'm sure she's okay," said Mel, drawing Nef out of his thoughts. Nef gave him the best irritated expression he could muster in reply. Mel had been saying stuff like this basically since Nira had gone back home. The Eternal claimed that he wasn't reading Nef's mind, but Nef was calling bullshit. There was no way for Mel to try to comfort Nef every time he thought about Nira by coincidence.
"And I'm sure you should mind your own business," Nef snapped at Mel, who averted his gaze, looking hurt, but Nef was too frustrated to feel bad about causing that.
"Oh, c'mon, Nef, don't be a dick," said Rayni, walking over to them from where she'd been searching the Umbra hideout, also known as dead end number thirty-two. They were only here because they'd found a clue or two in different hideouts anyway, and right now they had nothing to go off on. "Mel's just trying to be nice."
"Let me guess, we've found nothing again," Nef said, desperate to change the topic.
"Well, maybe not," said Rayni, and held up a backpack. "I found this stashed in the back. I think someone lives here. Or, is hiding out,at least."
This hideout was much larger than any Nef had seen before, but it certainly didn't look like someone was staying here. Maybe that was the point, but who could possibly live here who would have to hide? Didn't only the Umbra know about these places? They didn't need to stay anywhere for long stretches of time because they didn't get tired, or hungry, or anything, really.
"Maybe someone just left this here," Nef said, and Rayni shook her head.
"There's no dust on it," Rayni pointed out. "Also, inside it is a packet of cheese that hasn't gone bad yet."
Nef frowned at the cheese as Rayni pulled it out of the backpack to show him, throwing it back in a second later.
"So you think we should wait here until whoever that belongs to comes back?"
Rayni let the backpack fall to the ground and pushed it away with her foot while shrugging and smirking.
"Well, it's not like we've got anything else to go on..." Nef muttered, wondering how Kara and Alor were doing.
