The walk back from the residential district should have taken less than ten minutes.
Instead, nearly half an hour passed.
Not because the roads were crowded.
Not because they got lost.
Mostly because Ramos kept finding food.
The man had somehow purchased roasted corn, sweet bread, and something wrapped in banana leaves despite repeatedly insisting he was full. Ryan eventually stopped questioning it and simply accepted that Ramos operated under different biological laws than everyone else.
By the time they reached the central district again, the streets had begun to quiet down. Families returned home. Market stalls closed one by one. Workers finished their shifts and headed toward the residential blocks.
The city was settling in for the night.
Eventually, Ramos spotted another group of soldiers near the recreation hall and wandered off to join them.
Ryan followed shortly afterward.
Not before giving Adrian a suspicious look.
Then Chandrika.
Then Adrian again.
