After Mike and Ravel managed to hide in one of the empty apartments that hadn't been completely destroyed by the earthquake or the monsters, Mike finally relaxed for a moment, leaning against a wall and sitting on the floor.
"Mike, your arm..." Ravel said with a touch of concern.
Mike gave a long sigh before beginning to answer everything.
"My bone will grow back; it takes about half a day."
"About what that was? I don't know for sure either... How do I have powers? It's a long story that needs a long time. Time is not a luxury we have right now."
Mike leaned his head against the wall while looking at the ceiling, lost in thought.
At that moment, a voice echoed in Ravel's mind.
'What did I miss?' Aiden asked with sarcasm, as he sifted through Ravel's memories and visions.
Ravel felt his companion grow increasingly pale with horror before answering his own question.
'No need to answer me, I think I get it... I think.'
Aiden floated out of Ravel's eyes, causing the color of his pupils to take on a gray tone again.
'I'm going to take a look around and keep watch,' Aiden transmitted to Ravel before disappearing from sight.
"What now? What do we do? Where do we go?" Ravel pressed Mike for answers while looking for something to cover his wound.
"I don't fucking know! Stop pressing me for everything, Ravel; think for yourself for a bit."
A bad taste lingered in Ravel's mouth after Mike's response; he knew he needed to be useful somehow, but taking a lecture from his friend so suddenly left him embittered.
After searching for a bit, Ravel managed to find a first aid kit inside a bathroom drawer; he opened it quickly and began treating his wound.
He poured a handful of antiseptic on his cut, making it sting like hell, but he gnashed his teeth and endured the pain.
Afterward, he applied an adhesive bandage to the cut, put on a shirt from the wardrobe, and returned to the living room. Mike was lying on the sofa, pensive.
Ravel threw a set of clothes he had grabbed for Mike and went to the kitchen to look for something to eat. The power had only recently gone out, so the food in the fridge was still in perfect condition. Ravel grabbed some crackers from the cupboard and juice from the fridge; he served himself at the apartment table.
"I was thinking... your powers... can I get something like that too, or is it something genetic of yours?"
Mike got up from the sofa and sat down with Ravel.
"You can get them too. They are relics. It's a bit complicated to explain because I earned mine. But from what I know, when monsters die, a relic is formed from their spirit, holding one or more aspects of the creature."
Ravel almost spat out the cracker he was eating before asking hurriedly:
"But what about that monster you killed? Where was its relic?"
Mike shook his head in denial. "I stood there watching it for a few seconds precisely because of the relic. It should have formed, but nothing was happening."
Ravel seemed to wither when he heard Mike's answer.
"And how did you know the creature wouldn't attack if we didn't move? Actually, why did it attack me?"
"I didn't know, it was a hunch. I can't explain it, but I felt it... I think it attacked you because that guy bumped into you when he tried to flee."
Ravel felt uneasy because Mike was clearly keeping him in the dark for some reason. But he didn't know why.
Both finished their meals—or rather, crackers—in silence.
"Rest, Ravel. I'm not going to risk moving without my body being fully recovered. Tomorrow we'll decide where to go. Have Aiden keep wa—" Mike cut his sentence short when he realized Ravel's eyes were gray.
"Of course you've already done that."
The next day, both were sitting on the sofa. Ravel had found two backpacks in the apartment, and they were stuffing as many supplies as possible into both. Mike had used one of his bones the previous day to fashion a sword for Ravel, taking advantage of his recovery time. He was fully recovered now.
When both backpacks were full, they enjoyed one last meal, where they decided to head toward a military base in search of refuge and also look for other survivors along the way. In an apocalypse, it was always good to have a group of three or more people. Sometimes, to survive, you just had to avoid being the slowest.
'Aiden, what's the situation out there?' Ravel asked his companion.
'Clear for now. There's a pack of giant wolves that passes nearby every 40 minutes, as if they're standing guard. You have about 20 minutes until they pass again.' Ravel looked at Mike with determination.
"Let's go."
Both began to sneak through alleys and backstreets. Aiden always warned Ravel when monsters were nearby; these warnings were more frequent than Ravel would have liked, but he could do nothing but wait for the right moment to move.
Until, suddenly...
Boom! Boom! Explosions coming from nearby made the ground and surrounding buildings shake violently.
"What is that?" Mike asked Ravel, expecting a visual description.
Ravel didn't even have to ask his companion, who was already moving toward the conflict.
'It's soldiers, a large group. They are fighting monsters.'
"Soldiers," Ravel answered simply.
"They must be looking for survivors. Let's go before it's too late."
Both began to move toward where the explosions and the deafening noise of gunfire were coming from.
The sound of shots grew louder; soon they also began to hear screams and bones being shattered.
Again, the sight before him made Ravel's heart sink.
A kind of hairless chimpanzee, with red spots and rotting skin, was leaping from soldier to soldier, using the surrounding buildings like trees.
It landed on a soldier and, in less than a second, his head was twisted like an owl's, and the chimpanzee had already leaped again to one of the nearby buildings.
The gunfire didn't seem to have any effect on the chimpanzee; the bullets couldn't even penetrate its rotten skin.
Ravel felt a surge of impulse to go help the soldiers, but Mike placed his hand on Ravel's chest, signaling for him not to move prematurely.
"What? We're not going to help them? Are we just going to let them die?"
"No, idiot. But this noise is going to attract the attention of various creatures. Let's wait for the right moment; I have a plan."