It was the dead of night. The Neosun had long since set. Those not already asleep were quite exhausting.

  The first half of the day, grueling-yet-powerful. This latter half, throbbing and aching.

  Amy was asleep in her bed by now. Or at least, John hopes she is. He and Lou sat in the truck can staring down the screen, accompanied by Crosby. Gary was supposed to join but… the old man needs some rest. And it is well deserved.

  The place was eerie without the lights on. You could just tell how vast it was based upon the diffuse pattern of rainfall, high above on the corrugated iron roof. With how the wind only dared intrude with nothing but whispers.

  They would use the flashlights on their digiphone to roam the place at night from now on. Perhaps the only light in the building was Lou's screen. Tiresome blues and whites.

  “Larry's team has yet to respond. I don't blame him considering the shit storm earlier today.” Lou tells them as a tab loads. Crosby wipes his face to stay lucid. “Ohhhhhh… God. Why have you forsaken us?”

  “Huh?” John asks, vigilant.

  “God. Just don't worry about it.” Crosby replies looking over. It came off as oddly aggressive to John, not the usual chipper snark he is used to.

  The tab finally loads so Lou can provide some info.

  Wait… no. The thing has crashed.

  “Useless fucking piece of shit…” Lou mutters under his breath.

  “You need to go to bed man. We can have a look at it tomorrow.”

  John tells the quietly seething man. Lou turns slowly with a look of utter judgment upon his face. “Is that an order or a request?”

  “A request?” John answers kind of confused. Lou looks back to his screen and replies. “Then nope… don't wanna.”

  John didn't reply. He accepted the wishes of Lou even if they will not help him in any way. Besides, something else echos in John's mind.

  The Archliege. Who is it? Where is he?

  How did he survive? How long has he been here?

  It was a shame Amy couldn't find anything today. Although it was quite nice spending time together earlier.

  His eyes see a screen loading, sure. But that's not quite what his mind sees. His minds sees an absence of answers.

  “Do you think perhaps the Archliege knows how we can defeat Gauth Van Hulsieg?”

  “Like I know what a fucking Archliege is. Probably not John.” Lou says frustrated. John still can't blame him. Looking at a computer all day isn't an enviable task. John looks to Crosby, who frowns with bags under his eyes.

  Poor posture. Folded arms.

  “I don't suppose you have any idea, Crosby?”

  Crosby blinks one eye at a time he was so tired. It took a couple seconds for his brain to come up with an answer.

  “...I don't know John. I remember hearing about it a while ago at the old work place. Can't recall what told me either. Or maybe I can't remember that. I don't know.”

  John leans back up on hearing the droney reply. He looks at the screen again which seems to have changed.

  “About FUCKING time!” Lou yells as an image and an article pops up. Luckily the doors were closed.

  It gives John a fright and mildly displeases Crosby. John looks to give it a better look, seeing some sort of island with a building on it. Most of the island was cropped, so he could mainly only see the shoreline and the sulfuric seas.

  Lou takes the liberty of finally talking to them about it.

  “That right there is called Darsa Island, part of the Socrota Archipelago in the Gulf of Commerce.”

  John reads through some of the articles. Something about it once being uninhabited… nature reserve? Reserved for what?

  He reads a little further, something about renovation… international corporate purchase in… Gulf of Yemen.

  “That says Gulf of Yemen? Where the Hell is that?”

  “That's what the Gulf of Commerce used to be called.” Lou informs. He lets John continue reading as he speaks.

  “I understand that Gilbert believes strongly in his defense. But ultimately, they could drop a bomb on us at any moment and kill us all. They don't need to attack.”

  “Are you suggesting we somehow flee there?” John asks as he reads. Something about famous people and a rave.

  Lou replies, his coherence weighing with each sentence.

  “No. It's on the other side of the world, man. There's no way we can get there because of how secret yet famous it is. If I had to guess, that Gauth Van Hulsieg guy is situated there. So who knows. Maybe you can get Amy to convince SERaMACs to drop a bomb on it instead.”

  Fat chance.

  “I'll keep that in mind for tomorrow morning.” He tells Lou.

  Lou turns in his seat signaling he wants to get out.

  “Welp. That's all. I'm tired. See you tomorrow.”

  John gets out his way so Lou can stumble out and head to the deck of the truck where he sleeps. John hops back in the cab with Crosby who is still awake. It was almost silent inside, the metal of the vehicle acting as a second buffer for sound.

  “John. I am getting tired boss.” Crosby admits.

  “Of course man. I can tell. You need to get some sleep.” John replies.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Crosby takes a deep breath in before he replies. But he doesn't look. He stares vacantly. It reminds John of how he felt at the obelisk. “No John. Well, yes, I am tired. But not just like this. This shit is taking its toll.”

  “What do you mean? Talk to me.” John encourages his friend.

  A friend he hasn't been able to see much recently.

  Crosby replies, but it sounds strained.

  “I can tell there is something in you boss. On every deployment, it's like a spark shines in you. I'm not the same. I don't wanna fight. I just want… peace.”

  John is taken back slightly. It's almost hard to believe what he's seeing.

  “Where is this coming from? You seemed fine earlier today. Hell, you’re who got me into this!”

  Crosby snickers, his body bathed in blue light. “Heh. I know I seemed fine. I always seem fine. But there's always something missing. Yeah I dragged you into this. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”

  John doesn't know what to do. Being a leader, everyone has just kinda decided he can lead them. But to be here now with the man who once supported him through similar times, just with the roles reversed.

  No amount of perception has prepared him for this.

  “Well… how can I help?” John asks.

  Crosby finally looks back to him.

  “...do… do you think the Archliege is the work of God?”

  “Uh oh.” John thinks. And before he thought these were foreign waters. John tries to think of something to say that doesn't come off as offensive. “I uhhh… well. Crosby. I am honestly the least sure of us all in that respect.”

  Crosby looks away again. His voice soft and vulnerable, his arms unfolding. “That’s alright. I just… I don't know.”

  Crosby pauses to find the right words to say.

  “I… I feel like a parody. But I don't try to be. I want to be Christian but… I don't really know what that is. I had thought maybe the Archliege was something like God, but… maybe not.”

  “You're not a parody.” John tries to assure while knowing nothing of what he speaks. “You're a good man. Hell, I would be dead without you.”

  “Probably.” Crosby says, looking up again with a soft expression.

  “But I don't feel right. This search for meaning this whole time… has felt empty. Trust me, I hate the system too. But I feel an ever stronger love for something I just… I just can't find.”

  Crosby looks away again. John has no idea what to say at the news. He reaches out to put a hand on Crosby's shoulder, and offers his friend all he thinks he can.

  “Once this is all over. Once we can finally… see the Sun. The real Sun. Something that, surely God wants to be seen… After that? I will try help you find God wherever he may be.”

  John doesn't get it.

  Crosby is disappointed, but he also isn't sure what he expected.

  “No John. Once we have to move away from this place… it'll be over for me. Assuming I live to escape.”

  The two make eye contact, Crosby holding back something as he asks.

  “Don't deny me this. Please.”

  John has to agree. “Alright man. Once were attacked… I'll cut you lose. But I'll try to keep in touch alright?”

  Crosby smiles and nods, reaching out his hand.

  “Thank you John. I knew there was a reason they called you that.”

  “Who?” John thinks. But it doesn't really matter. He returns the smile and gives a firm handshake. “Go get some rest man. We're gonna need it.”

  Crosby nods. He breaks the hand shake, opens the door, and exits into the hangar. He will leave to go rest with the boys from the fulfillment center.

  But just before he closes the door, he parts John with a quote.

  “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights him.”

  Crosby seems happy about it as he closes the door.

  And so John sits alone. Alone… and it is quiet. The loudest thing he can hear is his own breath.

  The light from the screen is an eyesore. He gives it another quick read.

  “Darsa Island. A rave? Where that tall dick lives? Not likely.”

  John thinks as he turns off the monitor.

  And so, now, it is dark.

  Quiet. Solemn. Alone. Unheard-of, and unspoken.

  Because the world is too loud to hear something so quiet.

  John can't see anything. He closes his eyes as his breathing cleanses his body. A moment like this shouldn't be unnatural. And yet it is. And John enjoys it for the time being.

  They will need an escape plan. They will need to draft the defense. And they will need somewhere else to run to if the time comes.

  But what John needs most of all is something else. His mind wanders, on to arrive at the same thing.

  Where is the Archliege? Who is the Archliege?

  It must be a who. It can't not be a person.

  It disrupts his peace just thinking about it. His mind tries to wander to no avail. Until, finally… his mind lands on something better to think about.

  “Amy.” He thinks. And so he opens his eyes, turns his digiphone light on, and opens the door quietly.

  His left foot makes a slight tap, his right a deeper thud due to cybernetic.

  And then, he closes the door. Nice, and easy. It is nice to be present even in the unknown. He navigates his way to her room finally, and slowly, slowly opens the door.

  He keeps his digiphone light on, the hinges of the door even quieter than the outside.

  As it opens, he sees she's still up on her digiphone doing something. She notices his light and looks over to him. “Is that you John?”

  “Yeah. It's just me.” He replies.

  “You're supposed to be asleep right now.”

  “So are you, silly.” She is quick to point out. He enters further into the room as she speaks to him through a yawn.

  “This whole Archliege thing is bringing another rabbit hole. It's making me stay up.”

  “Yeah… you're not the only one.” He replies.

  It feels like there's something in the atmosphere as he stands there quite awkwardly. It's like something's caught his tongue. And so Amy has to speak for him.

  “Ummmmm… do you wanna, like, stay in here tonight or something?”

  “Oh! Uh, only if you don't mind.” He answers with surprise. There have been a lot of surprises today it seems.

  And as Amy kicks the duvet over for him and makes some room, he'll be happy to put this day behind him.

  “Come on then. You can help me figure this stupid thing out.”

  John isn't sure how to feel about it, but she seems relatively fine.

  And so he hops in just after closing the door.

  A certain butterfly seems to be coming back.