“Here, let me have a look.” Nori crouched next to him. She examined the man’s wounds with a clinical detachment, then nodded. “Doesn’t look like there’s an internal injury. He should be alright.”

“Alright?” Lana’s voice rose by an octave. “He was just mauled by that … that … thing! We need to get him to a hospital … I mean … we need to do something!”

Nori shook her head. “You led a pretty safe life in your hideout it seems. People don’t die of flesh wounds anymore. Didn’t you know? Here, look.” She pointed at Nathan’s torn shoulder.

Lana frowned and leaned in closer. Fine silvery threads rapidly appeared across the wound, sewing the torn flesh back together right in front of her unbelieving eyes.

“See?” Nori said. “He’s even healing faster than anyone else I’ve seen before.”

“It’s probably because we’re no longer level zero,” Lana said slowly, then she shook her head. “This is insane.”

“Unfortunately, the Warped also heal,” Nori said flatly. “And they can do it even faster. That’s why conventional weapons are so ineffective against them. Come on; loot the body and let’s get off the street. We’re lucky the fight didn’t draw out the gang.”

“Loot the body?” Lana frowned.

“Gamer jargon.” Nori shrugged.

“Oh.”

The dead Warped provided them with more Tec and an additional 300 piTec, which Nori put in her pouch. She pointed her chin toward an upturned truck. “You two go hide over there, I’ll try to sneak in.”

Lana glanced with uncertainty at the impromptu hideout, then her face hardened and she nodded. “Be careful.” She bent down, helping Nathan to his feet. His wounds still looked awful, but they were no longer bleeding. The two limped toward the truck, and Nori turned to face the gray building. All the ground level windows were boarded up and the only visible entrance was through the front doors.

Nori snuck over against the side to avoid being discovered in case someone suddenly came out. The front wall of the library was chipped and full of holes, as if at some point someone had sprayed it with gunfire. As soon as she got close, she heard the unmistakable hum of a large engine. Looking around, Nori found a hole she could peek through.

The large Hummer stood in what used to be the library’s lobby. The interior wooden doors leading toward the main reading hall were broken and torn off their hinges, but she couldn’t see anyone else around. Nori silently walked to the front entrance and tried the doors. They were locked. She tried again, a little more forcefully, and heard a metallic clink. “They chained the door from the inside,” she murmured.