The cemetery falls quiet except for cooling metal and the soft scrape of wind through dead grass. The zombies lie still among the graves, and the road beyond the gate is clear.
Lacey remains between the open graves, staring at the scattered sparks where her summoning failed. Cheryl wipes her chainsaw clean while Stella gathers her tambourine and follows Dante toward the gate.
Lacey Strum
Go, then. I will put the graves back in order before dawn.
Cheer Girl Cheryl Lee
You heard her. Our little cemetery shift is officially over, and Dante is leading the after-party to the City!
Cheryl swings the chainsaw over one shoulder and steps through the gate beside Dante. Stella skips after them, her tambourine chiming softly whenever her boot meets a stone.
Stella Nabokov
Do we tell the City that Lacey is staying with the quiet people, or is that a surprise?
Behind them, Lacey does not answer. The cemetery gate swings shut, leaving her alone with the silent dead as Dante, Cheryl, and Stella start down the road beneath the dark skyline.
“I call back and offer Lacey supplies”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +0)
Dante the Demon Hunter
Lacey, wait. I can spare you supplies before we leave.
Dante calls back through the gate. The words carry across the graves, practical and plain, but his composure falters for a visible second before he steadies himself.
Lacey Strum
Supplies? You would leave them after what I did?
Cheryl glances back, chainsaw resting against her shoulder. Stella stops at the road and turns, her tambourine quiet in her hands.
Lacey Strum
All right. Leave them by the gate. I will use what helps, and bury the rest of this night with the dead.
Dante sets the supplies beside the gate. Lacey comes forward to collect them, and the exchange closes the distance between the cemetery and the road without reopening the argument.
Cheer Girl Cheryl Lee
That is a responsible after-party contribution! Now let us get the City safely through the night.
Dante the Demon Hunter
Take these. Food, water, bandages. Use whatever helps.
Lacey Strum
I will. And... thank you, Dante.
His hand lingered at the gate, then fell. The old distance between them had finally given way to something gentler.
Cheer Girl Cheryl Lee
Come on. City first, safely. We can leave the cemetery in good hands.
Stella Nabokov
The silence sounded almost like peace.
Dante led Cheryl and Stella through the gate as Lacey turned back toward the graves. The gate swung shut between them, but it no longer felt like a wall. Behind it, Lacey began the slow work of repair; ahead, the City waited, and the dead remained still.