“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” I say. There’s no reason not to be optimistic. So far, this mission has run smoothly with no sign of any trouble. I still don’t feel right about leaving John and Ella behind, but the others were right. There’s nothing we could do for them in Chicago. I haven’t quite reached the levels of enthusiasm Nine has, but it definitely feels better to be out here doing something, searching for a way to help our friends and win this war.

Just as long as we don’t get lost in this swamp. No good could come from that.

A shadow passes overhead. Five. He hovers over the boat for a moment before gently dropping down beside us. He’s dripping sweat, his white T-shirt soaked through.

Nine snickers. “Probably gonna lose some weight if we hang down here long enough, huh, big boy?”

Five grits his teeth, pulling his wet shirt away from his body self-consciously. We’re all sweaty and gross, but for some reason Nine just can’t resist picking on Five. I had dared to hope that maybe the game of capture the flag helped them work out some of their issues, but there’s still tension festering between them.

“Ignore him,” I say to Five. “Did you find your Chest?”

Five nods, pointing in the direction we’re already going. “There’s a patch of solid ground about a mile farther. It’s there.”

Nine sighs. “Why didn’t you just grab the Chest and fly it back here, man?”

Five smirks at Nine. “You didn’t listen to the plan, did you? We voted that you should handle all manual labor and grunt work.”

“Huh?” Confused, Nine looks over at Eight. “Is he serious?”

Eight shrugs, playing along.

Six makes an exasperated noise. “Just drive the damn boat, Nine.”

“Aye-aye, captain,” Nine says, wiggling his fingers. “One Chest, coming right up.”

Six turns her gaze to Five. She’s been more quiet than usual. “Why didn’t you grab the Chest?” she asks sharply.

Five shrugs. “It’s getting dark and it’s a good place to rest, if we need to.”

“See?” Nine shouts, delighted. “Camping!”

“No way,” says Eight, shaking his head vehemently. “Drive this thing faster so we can get out of here.”

Nine accelerates the boat, spray kicking up over the side as a result.