Good night, Aleks

I froze.

Beside me, the Japanese guy stiffened. His jaw dropped.

From here we could see the Russian from our shelter running toward them: "Get the hell away from him!" Nikita's shout. Everyone looked at him, and we stayed unnoticed.

I shot a glance at the Japanese guy. "Shit. We have to do something."

"Yeah."

"Can you fight?"

"Hell no." You?"

"Hell no."

"They're going to demolish us."

"Yeah."

We stared at each other for a beat.

"...fuck it."

At the same time, we dropped the bundles of sticks we'd carried all this way and sprinted full speed forward.

Nikita was already deep in the fight, blocking a swing and countering with a hook that caught one elf square in the jaw. But four on one was too much.

"About time!" Nikita barked when he saw us. "Let's kick their asses!"

I didn't have time to think about how bad of an idea this was. One elf came straight at me. My block was clumsy, and his fist still clipped my jaw. Pain flashed white behind my eyes. I swung back on instinct, catching his shoulder.

Beside me, the Japanese guy moved fast, ducking under a swing and ramming his shoulder into someone's gut. "Let's go, bro!" he yelled, grinning like we weren't about to die.

To be honest, we didn't even fight that badly; of course we took a few hits now and then, but I felt like they took more.

My theory proved right when Nikita found an opening and landed a clean hook on one of the elves, knocking him out. They picked him up and started running away. They shouted: "Why the fuck are you protecting one of them?"

Another added, "I told you humans are dumb."

Their voices slowly faded, and they disappeared into the distance. Meanwhile, Cealith, the silver‑haired elf, was still on the ground, unconscious.

"Help me," Nikita said.

The three of us hoisted him up, his arms slung over our shoulders. He was lighter than I expected, and we headed back to the shelter.

Amina looked up from the fire, her face full of shock, eyes fixed on Cealith we were carrying,

"Oh my God, why did they do that to him?"

"He'll have to tell us when he wakes up," Nikita said.

Amina's gaze shifted from Cealith to the Japanese guy and me. "Oh, you're finally here—what took you so long? We were worried." "And where are the sticks you were supposed to collect?"

The Japanese guy and I locked eyes.

"We dropped them when we saw Cealith getting beaten."

"Yeah, we'll go back and pick them up."

"Yeah," I added, already turning around.

"Seriously?" Amina called after us.

We walked off without answering.

"Okay," he muttered, "we need a solid excuse, otherwise we'll get in serious trouble because we were at the ruin."

I shrugged. "Let's tell her that… squirrels attacked us."

"Or we fought a bear."

"A bear?"

He grinned. "Way cooler, but do you think bears live on this planet? That could make us look super unbelievable if there actually aren't any."

"Whatever."

When we got back with the sticks, he dropped them by the fire like nothing happened. "A bear attacked us in the forest earlier, that's why we took so long," he said casually.

Amina's brows shot up, then she started laughing. "You two are idiots."

"Yeah." I said, because honestly… yeah.

The mood eased after that. Nikita showed Amina how to keep a campfire going as efficiently as possible. The Japanese guy tried to "subtly" talk to Carmen, which meant everyone could hear him simping. Carmen smiled politely but didn't give him much. Cealith was resting, head propped against a log, eyes half‑closed.

I drifted to the edge of camp, where the fire's glow faded into shadows. The sky was bleeding into orange, the sun sinking low.

For a long time, I'd believed people were garbage. Years of getting pushed around, laughed at, made me think that was all humanity had to offer. But here I was.

With people who'd risked themselves for someone else. With people who laughed together. With people who let me sit here and feel like I belonged.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax there, sorting through everything that had happened today, until a warm, sweet voice reached my ear.

"Hey."

I turned. Carmen stood there, looking down at me.

"Mind if I sit?"

I nodded. She lowered herself beside me, close enough that her shoulder brushed mine.

"You still don't think this is real, do you?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," I admitted.

She leaned back on her hands, gazing at the sky. "Remember that summer when we tried to camp in your backyard? And it rained so hard your mom made us sleep inside?"

I snorted. "Yeah. You kept saying we could 'tough it out' in the tent, but you were shivering."

"I wasn't shivering."

"Uh‑huh."

She laughed, soft and warm. Then she leaned into me a little, head resting lightly against my shoulder. My face went hot.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. Just the fire's crackle in the distance. I let the silence wash over me and wished this moment could last a little longer.

"Hey! You two!"

I looked up. The Japanese guy was standing a few meters away. "Beds are ready."

Carmen stood, brushing off her pants. "Coming." She glanced down at me once before heading back.

The Japanese guy stayed where he was, arms crossed, a sharp look in his eyes.

"You asshole," he said flatly. "You told me you didn't like her. And now you're out here alone with her?"

"Chill. It's not what it looks like."

He stared for a moment. "I hope for your sake you're telling the truth."

I didn't answer. We just walked back to camp together, the firelight growing brighter ahead.

We walked back toward the shelter without saying much. The glow from the fire ahead flickered through the gaps in the trees, and every step made the weight in my arms and legs heavier. My jaw still ached from that hit earlier, and my ribs pulsed with a dull sting. I just wanted to drop onto the ground and stay there, but the second we stepped inside, Daisuke started mumbling, "I have a question."

Oh. So that was his name. Daisuke. I tucked that away without reacting.

Amina answered, "Yeah, shoot?"

Daisuke turned his attention back to me, ready to keep going, but his eyes scanned the shelter instead. "How exactly are we all fitting in here tonight?"

No one answered at first, just the crackle of the fire between us.

"I can take night watch," Nikita finally said from the far side, his voice low but firm. "Gives you more space in here."

"I can do it," Daisuke jumped in, his head tilting slightly toward Carmen like that was somehow subtle.

Nikita didn't even look at him at first, then let out a short snort. "You're a twig. Makes no difference if you lie here or not—you take up the same space as a backpack."

Daisuke's head snapped around. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me."

It went downhill fast. They were both leaning in, trading jabs under their breath but loud enough for the rest of us to hear every word. The tension in the air had a pulse to it, and it was only getting worse.

"Enough!" Carmen's voice cut clean through.

Daisuke straightened instantly. "...Fine," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, already avoiding her gaze.

Nikita smirked. "Thought so."

We started arranging ourselves for the night. Cealith was placed on the far left, still out cold but breathing steady. Daisuke lay next to him, then me, then Carmen, with Amina on the far right. Nikita moved to sit outside, leaning his back against the entrance as our night guard.

I turned onto my side, facing Daisuke. His eyes were open and locked on me in a way that made my skin crawl.

"You said you didn't like her," he whispered, his voice like it was meant to cut. "Now you're sleeping next to her?"

I stared back for a second, but the look in his eyes was enough. I rolled over fast—straight toward Carmen.

She was asleep, her breathing soft and even. I caught myself watching her for a moment longer than I should have before I shut my eyes. Exhaustion was already pulling me under when her voice came, quiet but close enough to send a small shock through me.

"Good night, Aleks."

It was almost too soft to catch, but I heard it. I felt my mouth twitch into a stupid grin before I could stop it, and the next thing I knew, sleep dragged me down.

I woke to someone shaking my shoulder hard.

"Aleks! Wake up!"

My eyes snapped open. Nikita's face hovered above me, sharp and tense. All around, people were stirring, voices low but urgent. Amina's eyes were wide, her hands gripping the edge of her blanket. Outside, muffled screams cut through the night, joined by the sound of heavy footsteps pounding somewhere in the dark.

"What's happening—" I started, but Nikita grabbed my arm and pulled me down.

"Stay low. Don't go out there," he hissed.

My heart was already thudding so hard it hurt. The footsteps outside slowed, and a deep, uneven breathing filled the air like something was searching. Then, through the narrow slit in the wall, I saw it pass.

A massive shape, blotting out the firelight for a moment. My stomach clenched instantly. One of them. The same kind of thing from Earth. We stayed perfectly still. No one even dared to breathe loud. Every muscle in my body was tight, my ears straining for any sign that it was leaving.

And then, behind me, a voice broke the silence.

"What… happened?"

Cealith.

The words weren't even loud, but they were enough.

The creature stopped.

I could hear the shift of its weight, the slow turn of its body toward us. And then it started to move—one step at a time—straight for the shelter.