Josh and Darren handled the digging until the grave was soon large enough to contain Nathan’s body, and before long, they were finished. With heavy hearts, they gently lowered Nathan’s lifeless body into the pit, placing his severed head beside him before they slowly began covering the grave with sand.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

The only sounds that could be heard were the shovels scraping against the earth and the distant groans of the collapsing factory behind them.

"Uhmmm..." Darren began after a long silence. He released a heavy sigh and stared at the grave, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I can only say that you should rest in perfect peace, buddy."

His voice cracked slightly as he spoke.

Josh swallowed hard before stepping forward.

"You’re our brother, Darren," he said quietly while staring at the freshly covered grave. "We love you, and we’ll always love you. Nobody is happy seeing you lying there like this."

He clenched his fists tightly.

"You were a great warrior. A damn good one. You fought until your very last breath, and these motherfucking monsters took your life from you."

His jaw tightened as anger flashed across his face.

"But we won’t stop. Not until every last one of those bastards is wiped from this world. We’ll keep fighting, and we’ll keep avenging you."

Several members of the group nodded in agreement.

A heavy silence followed once again as everyone paid their final respects.

Finally, Albert stepped forward.

"It’s time to leave," he announced, his tone firm but sympathetic. "It’s getting late, and we still have a long journey ahead of us."

He glanced toward the darkening horizon.

"And don’t forget, there are still plenty of monsters roaming around out there. We’ll probably have to fight our way back more than once, so we need to move while there’s still daylight."

The group nodded in understanding.

A few moments later, Erick turned his gaze toward Ivy.

"I owe you a favor," he said seriously.

Ivy blinked in surprise.

"You saved my life multiple times in there," Erick continued. "Not just mine, either. You saved the lives of several members of my team."

His expression became even more sincere.

"So whenever you’re ready, ask me for anything. Anything at all. If it’s within my power, I’ll do it."

He paused briefly before adding,

"That’s a promise."

A promise?

Ivy thought inwardly as her heart skipped a beat.

She swallowed hard before eventually nodding her head.

"Alright," she replied softly.

Erick returned the nod before suddenly clapping his hands together.

"Alright, guys!" he shouted loudly. "Let’s get the hell out of this hellish motherfucking place before it decides to kill us too!"

The unexpected remark instantly earned several laughs from the exhausted survivors.

Even Ivy couldn’t help smiling.

The tension that had been weighing on everyone’s shoulders eased slightly.

One after another, the members of Erick’s team climbed into their truck.

As the engines roared to life, several of them leaned out of the windows.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Ivy!"

"Goodbye, Darren!"

"Take care of yourselves!"

The team members called out in unison while offering respectful bows toward Ivy.

Ivy smiled warmly and returned the gesture.

"You guys stay safe too," she called back.

With that, Erick’s truck began moving.

The large vehicle slowly pulled away from the burial site and headed toward the road leading out of the factory grounds.

A few moments later, Ivy and Darren climbed into their own truck.

The illusion dogs were already waiting patiently inside.

Darren settled into the driver’s seat and started the engine immediately.

He was eager to get away from the factory ground, from Nathan grave, from everything and just be alone for a while.

"You good?"

Ivy finally asked after a while with a concerned look as she turned toward Darren.

"You’re not responsible for Nathan’s death, Darren."

Her voice softened slightly.

"Even though that bastard probably deserved to die after everything he did... it’s still sad seeing him dead."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"I knew you weren’t going to kill him when I asked you to. I only said that out of anger. Back then, I was furious and wasn’t thinking clearly."

A small sigh escaped her lips.

"But then again, it feels like life itself was already fed up with him."

Darren remained silent for a few moments, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

Finally, he spoke changing the topic entirely shocking even Ivy but then she was glad. At least he wasn’t talking about Nathan, blaming himself for his death again.

"When do you plan on treating your wound?"