If one looked closely at Cal as Alicia read the message she had received, they would have seen him tense up suddenly before suddenly relaxing again. It was a false relaxation though, while he knew enough not to keep his body tense, it belied his entire being becoming a tightly-coiled spring as he readied himself for action.<br/><br/>There were multiple entrances to the Hearth, and he quickly and efficiently moved to every single one before sliding and locking it shut before doing the same for all but the most necessary and fortified air vents.<br/><br/><span style="color: #b30000">"Trust me, Alicia"</span>he said<span style="color: #b30000">"It can get much worse than a horror vid around here. In retrospect they frankly feel quaint."</span><br/><br/>He wished he had his rifle, that would have improved things, instead he had to settle for the impressive knife at his belt. he tugged the handle reassuringly, but didn't draw it.<br/><br/><span style="color: #b30000">"I can do all I can to get rid of the nastiness inside the base or in the forest around it."</span>he said<span style="color: #b30000">"And in doing so I've seen a lot of thing's I'll see again in my nightmares. But I've always suspected there was something evil lurking in the machines, and I cant hunt it there."</span><br/><br/>He had always hated this feeling of helplessness. he was a good hunter, hell he was a great one. He'd killed man-eaters and town-despoilers that would make the proudest old Earth game hunter quake in their safari boots, but he couldn't hunt something that lurked in electric wire and lines of code, the very machinery he needed to stay alive. It was a maddening feeling, haunting.<br/><br/><span style="color: #b30000">"No more little trips out."</span>He said<span style="color: #b30000">"We stay together in here until the work is done. We'll sleep here if we have to."</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>