Bright found Baggen near the convoy compound's eastern perimeter, the hammer-wielder sitting alone on a supply crate, his expression distant with exhaustion and trauma.
"Hey," Bright offered, settling beside him. "You made it."
"Yeah," Baggen confirmed, his voice flat. "Made it. Survived. Whatever that's worth."
"It's worth something," Bright said. " Means you can keep going."
"Can I?" Baggen asked, not looking at Bright. "Keep going, I mean. After tonight. After everything."
Bright didn't answer immediately. Because what could he say? That it got easier? That trauma faded? That survival justified the cost?
All lies. Or at least, not entirely true.
"You'll function," Bright said finally. "You'll continue forward. Whether that's 'keeping going' in the way you mean—I don't know. That's something you discover rather than something someone tells you."
Baggen nodded slowly. "You're going to Central soon. Getting out of Vester."
"Yeah."
