Caroline sprinted forward, placing a hand on the dying man's head and copying his ability just before he stopped breathing. Raven gave one final, savage shake, snapping the man's neck clean. He was dead for good this time. Nearby, the last of the mutant mantises had already been finished off by Tyler. From a distance, the ground continued to rumble. The tremors were getting louder, closer—it was almost upon them now. Caroline glanced at the badly wounded Raven and quickly poured two full canisters of spring water over his body, then forced a couple of cups down his throat. Raven panted heavily, enduring Caroline's ministrations, but his eyes were fixed on Snow. Snow had stopped her pained whimpers and was now staggering over. Caroline had used the spring water on her too, and her condition had improved significantly. Snow lay down beside Raven, resting her head against him and licking his muzzle. Raven drooped his ears and gave a grumpy look, clearly pretending to be annoyed—but a hint of warmth and tenderness was visible in his eyes. He was the only one allowed to mess with Snow—no one else. Caroline and Tyler exchanged a look, about to move the dogs safely inside before heading off to find Denton and the others ... The rumbling grew steadily louder, then surged all at once, its pace quickening as if whatever was approaching had broken into a sprint. At that moment, both of them heard Denton's voice shouting in the distance. "Tyler! Caroline! You're back? Nelson and I brought a gift! A housewarming gift for Caroline!" And then, Caroline and Tyler finally saw the source of the earth-shaking commotion. A ... massive herd of mutant roe deer was barreling straight toward them. Mutated, chubby, dopey-looking roe deer. Mixed among the deer were a few elk and some rabbits ... creatures that had been relatively docile before the apocalypse and hadn't developed much aggression even after mutating. No wonder it had taken so long from the first tremors and sounds until their arrival ... These were all animals of relatively low intelligence, hard to herd.They must have spent the whole journey zigzagging, with some running off course and others lagging, requiring constant rounding up. Driving them all this far down must've taken serious effort. And Nelson was riding atop Tartrate, right in the middle of the animal stampede, looking perfectly at ease and rather pleased with himself. Above them, Jet looped excitedly in the air. "Human! Human! We brought you a gift!" Caroline gave him a deadpan stare. She watched the chaotic procession and had a sinking feeling that this wasn't a gift at all—it was a problem. With all this noise, she wondered if anyone in the vicinity had heard it and might come to investigate. Just like that man and the mutant mantises—who knows if they'd been drawn by the commotion Denton and the others were making. She couldn't even begin to guess how those two idiots had managed to cause such a commotion. Beside her, Tyler had silently pulled out a familiar wooden stick. Caroline recognized it; it usually sat in a corner of their home, reserved specifically for disciplining Denton. The herd suddenly came to a screeching halt, kicking up dirt and debris. It was as if they'd slammed into an invisible wall. They milled about anxiously, emitting all sorts of strange calls and cries. A few of the mutant rabbits were even trampled and injured or killed in the confusion. Then Denton appeared, trotting happily behind the herd on his little pony, calling out. "Caroline! Tyler! We're back! We brought something too ... " His words died in his throat. He saw the stick in Tyler's hand, Tyler's darkened expression, and Caroline's slightly exasperated look. Denton blinked, big eyes round and innocent, as if he couldn't understand why anyone would be mad. He'd gone to get gifts, after all—how did that end with him in trouble again? And then ... he noticed the wounds covering Caroline's face and body. The extensive burns from her fight with Dyson hadn't fully healed yet. Before Denton could say a word, Nelson slid off Tartrate's back and calmly slit his own arm open. Instantly, the injuries on Caroline, Raven, and Snow vanished, completely healed. "Caroline, how did you get so hurt? I thought I was seeing things earlier. Who did this to you? Tell me. I'll poison them!" Nelson said angrily, his small fists clenched. His slender frame, extremely pale skin, and venomous glare created a strangely amusing contrast.