She quickly climbed the stairs and entered Alberto's office. It was a small room, with no intricate corners or hiding places, just a desk with a chair behind it and a map of the city on top. They would have been planning something, no doubt, only she wasn't the least bit interested.

More importantly, the thief she had been chasing wasn't there. For a moment she cursed her luck and vowed to beat the teeth out of the man who had lied to her, until, checking the office, under the chair she came across another trap door.

—Naaaaaaaaaaaah!— she exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement at the prospect of an extra secret.

Without wasting any time, she swung the chair away, opened the trapdoor and threw herself through the hole it hid, face first into the adventure.

Again she fell, this time into a real cave. It was narrow and small, she had to lower her head to get through the corridors, but there was only one way, she could not get lost.

She ran and ran through the rocky tunnels, crouching low, until she found her way out. At last, she found herself on a plain in the desert. A couple of hundred meters ahead, the terrain was beginning to give way and to present slopes and gradients, until it converged in a wide valley several tens of meters deep. As she looked, she noticed a black silhouette running away. Erica smiled mischievously at the sight of it; the thief had no escape. She quickly ran towards the silhouette, putting all her strength into her steps, hitting the ground like cannonballs with her feet until the thief realized she was being chased.

At that moment, Liliana turned around, frightened. Her nerves made her trip over a stone and she ended up falling to the ground. Unfortunately for her, she was on a slope, so she rolled and slid helplessly to the edge of a high area. One meter beyond was a deep chasm. There was no escape.

Erica planted herself behind without giving her time to recover. Liliana turned around, not daring to stand up to look at her.

Just then, Erica saw Liliana's face for the first time: she was a short, pale girl with coal-black hair. Her eyes were large and green. Her features were round and harmonious. Her face was so beautiful that she looked more like a painting in a museum than a real person. Erica could not remember ever seeing such a pretty girl in her life.

For a moment, she thought she was speechless, but she was still angry about the theft, she just needed to remember it to come back to her senses.

—You stole my pay— she told her, and formed a dagger with her timitio to look intimidating.

Liliana looked at the black dagger, then at Erica, and knew she could not dissuade her from hurting her. In truth, stealing had been wrong, she knew that perfectly well, but she had to survive somehow.

Suddenly, all the frustration that had built up over the past two months came flooding back to her; to be kidnapped and sold, forced to serve and then to steal, to go hungry, cold nights and inhumane conditions. To hate so much and for so long. All that stress was overflowing with the fear that Erica produced in her.

For the brika it was a surprise. Suddenly the thief looked at her with a crying face that melted her heart. In a broken little voice, the thief said:

—I'm... I'm sorry— she sobbed— I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to....

She could speak no more, for she burst into tears. Erica dissolved the timitio dagger in her hand and nervously bent down in front of Liliana to wipe her tears.

—C-calm down, it's okay— she said.

But Liliana shook her head vigorously.

—No! I'm a damned thief! I'm a vile harpy! I'm despicable!— she sobbed, desperate— You must hate me! Just kill me!

Erica made a little distance, bewildered.

—You're just... you're just confused, I'm sure— she snapped.

But Liliana put both hands to her face and shook her head again.

—I can't take this anymore! You're right, I'm a horrible person!

—No, I didn't say that— promised Erica —look, I won't hurt you, okay?

Liliana stopped for a moment to breathe, but she didn't stop dripping tears. In that state she looked at Erica, confused.

—Really?— she asked between sobs —Will... you... forgive... me?

Erica shrugged her shoulders.

—Yes, well, you apologized. That's something. Just give me what you took from me and we'll be fine.

Liliana felt a huge relief. Erica spoke calmly, apparently she was telling the truth. Liliana couldn't believe that after so long of dealing with violent nonis and spiteful humans, she found someone willing to forgive.

Grateful, she nodded, ready to explain everything and apologize as she should. At that instant, however, they both felt a snap. Startled, they turned and noticed that the rock edge where they were standing broke.

There was no time. Before either could react, they tumbled down, into the abyss more than a hundred meters high. Erica immediately buried a timitio knife in the rock and reached out for Liliana to grab her, but the thief fell faster down the slope.

She had no time to think. Erica flung herself down, ran along the sloping cliff wall and threw herself toward Liliana. Erica wrapped her arms around her and turned to slide down the slope on her back. However, the chasm was not perfectly vertical, but had a small incline full of hard, sharp rocks, capable of cutting in half anyone who slid down the slope.

The first blow came sooner than expected, like an axe to the spine. It was quickly followed by a sledgehammer to the ribs, a gash in the ass and hundreds of other blows. Rocks ravaged her back as they fell. The descent lasted a good while, some blows made her jump, others buried themselves in her back and left an ugly blood mark on the road, but at no time did she let go.

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For an indefinite time Liliana did not know what had happened, nor where she was. Then she opened her eyes. She sat up.

—We fell off the cliff— she remembered.

She looked around. Behind her was the huge wall where they had slid down. Next to her stood the blonde girl who had spared her. She was on her back on the ground, with several wounds on her head and arms, and blood stains peeking out from behind on her clothes. For a moment Liliana feared for her. She put her hands on Erica's back to examine the wounds, desperately trying to see if there was something she could do, but after a few seconds of touching her skin, Liliana noticed that Erica's wounds were all superficial.

—She protected me...— thought Liliana, stupefied.

Liliana didn't understand how could there be no large wounds, but that didn't mean Erica was perfectly fine.

She felt bad. Liliana wanted to scream at her that she shouldn't have done it, but it was no use; Erica was unconscious. So many blows were too much for anyone.

—I have to help her— she thought nervously —But what do I do?

She looked in all directions. Near the cliff wall she noticed a rather large rock. With great effort she grabbed Erica and dragged her into its shadow. There she pulled off her clothes to check her and cleaned her small wounds as best he could. It was nothing fatal, but it still would hurt like hell when she woke up. Then she dressed her again, sat down against the rock and left Erica resting on her legs, as there were no pillows around.

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Liliana had plenty of time to think about her life in Mother, about the invasion and also about her fellow outcasts. She had run away, had left the thieves behind to deal with the trouble she had caused. She didn't know if they would forgive her for that.

—Are they looking for me?— she wondered.

She felt she had to run away, they would find her at any moment if she stayed so close to the lair, but she couldn't leave the blonde girl alone while she was unconscious. All she had left to do was wait.

And that's what she did; she stayed calm, taking care of the girl who had sacrificed herself to save her. After more than an hour someone appeared: a long, white-haired, blue-eyed animal ran down the hillside. It approached and stopped a few meters away from the girls, attentive to Liliana. She looked back at him, wondering what kind of animal it was.

Finally Papel decided to approach Erica and sniff her all over, worried. Then he did the same with Liliana, perhaps to get to know her better. Liliana brought her hand closer to him. Papel climbed up and ran her whole arm to get on her shoulders, tickling her.

—At last, a friendly little animal.

The long animal reached down for a moment to lick Erica on the cheek.

—Are you worried about her?— Liliana asked —Don't tell me you know each other.

But Papel did not answer, for he was an animal and could not speak. Instead, he slipped for a moment under Erica's clothes, emerged from the other end, climbed on Liliana's shoulders and lay down around her neck as if he were a scarf.

Everything seemed calm, quiet. Liliana did not remember feeling so relaxed in Nudo, so much so that she almost forgot about the thieves and her boss, Alberto, whose voice surprised her.

—Lili.

The girl turned around. She noticed Alberto and a handful of men appearing from the sides of the rock on which she was leaning.

—Alberto!— she greeted him, surprised.

—How are you? Did that traitor do something to you?

Alberto didn't wait for her answer, he stood in front of Liliana and noticed that Erica was resting next to her.

—Did you kill her?— he asked, surprised.

—No!

Alberto looked at her with the face of one who doesn't understand.

—Is she asleep?— he guessed.

—Yes, she protected me when I fell down the slope.

The boss pondered for a moment.

—So you didn't dare kill her— he concluded —Well, that's all right. It's all right as long as she didn't hurt you.

Then he pulled out a concealed knife he had with him, he wielded it tightly. Liliana did not like what she saw.

—What are you going to do?— she pleaded, frightened.

—She knows our lair and gave us all a beating. Whoever she is, she's not on our side, she's a traitor. You said you found her by the bounty office, right?

Liliana nodded.

—She's probably a bounty hunter. Luckily she wasn't with the police today, but if we let her go, she'll go to them and tell them where we are so they'll give her the reward for capturing us.

—But we can't kill her— Liliana argued.

—She wouldn't hesitate to kill us— explained Alberto —maybe you didn't see the mess she left in the lair, but it's not pretty.

Alberto took a step towards Erica, but Liliana stood between them with her arms outstretched to stop him.

—This is serious— she pleaded —You can't just kill someone!

—I'm not doing it because I want to— the boss put a hand on her shoulder —Go with the boys to the lair, you don't have to see this.

Alberto wanted to get closer to Erica, but Liliana hugged him by the ribs to stop him.

—I won't let you!— she asserted, not knowing what else to do.

However, there was little she could do against five or six men. Alberto's friends took her by the arms and carefully separated her from their boss. They also understood Liliana's point of view, but they had seen what a monster Erica was and knew well the consequences of letting her go free.

—No! Let me go!— shrieked Liliana, while two of the thieves held her and moved her a few steps away from Erica.

For his part, Alberto approached her, bent over her and pointed his knife at her neck.

—Like slitting a piglet's throat— he muttered.

For a moment he hesitated. Liliana was right, taking the life of a human was no trivial matter. Maybe what he was about to do would give him nightmares for the rest of his nights... but there was no other way.

—Just do it, quick and easy— he told himself.

He gritted his teeth and gripped the handle of the knife tightly. Suddenly, Papel climbed up to Liliana's head and screamed at the top of his lungs, so loud that he made the people around him shudder.

—EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!— he shrieked in his high-pitched voice.

Erica stirred as well, suddenly waking up. In a second she noticed and processed the immediate danger that threatened her. Alberto saw her eyes wide open and pressed the knife with all his weight downward; however, Erica was quicker and grabbed his forearm, stopping him.

She gave herself time to examine the rest of her surroundings: The men on the ground, the thief struggling to free herself, Papel on the tip of her head and the chief thief trying to kill her.

—Mmh...— She grunted.

With one swipe she sent Alberto's knife flying. Then she kicked him in the jaw to knock him unconscious. Immediately she stood up, threw herself against the guys who were grabbing Liliana and kneed them both in the face at the same time. She then rammed another, dodged a punch and elbowed him in the torso, breaking all the ribs on that side. The rest fled in terror. The fight was over in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that there was no longer any present danger, she calmly stretched. Then she remembered the fall and the blows she had taken. Alarmed, she checked her back, even pulled up her shirt, but there was no wound there. It was as if it had magically healed.

—Ah, I'm fine.

Then she turned around, just to greet a happy Papel. It jumped on her and circled her shoulders and waist excitedly.

—Oho, hi! It's good to see you too— she greeted him.

Then she noticed Liliana, who was smiling at her. Erica smiled too, not sure what had her in such a mood.

—Those guys didn't do anything to you?— Erica asked.

—No, I'm fine... emh... —Liliana held her arm with her other hand— Thanks for rescuing me when we fell.

—Heh! You're welcome. As I was saying, as long as you give me back my money, there's no need....

—That's right! Your money!— remembered Liliana.

She immediately took an envelope out of her pocket, the same envelope that Erica had received at the reward office, and held it out to her.

—I'm sorry! I shouldn't have stolen from you— she snapped.

Erica took it carefully.

—It's fine— she said, though she checked it anyway, just in case.

—Tell me, are you from Mother?— asked Liliana.

—Ah? Ah, yes, you too?

Liliana nodded.

—Strange, I've never heard of someone as strong as you— she admitted.

—Really?— Erica wondered.

—Who are you?— asked Liliana, with two large and hypnotic green eyes wide open.

—My name is Erica. And you?

—Liliana.

Erica looked around at the men lying on the floor, passed out.

—Well, it looks like I left your friends unconscious...— she interrupted herself for a moment —What happened?

—Heh, you see — Liliana lowered her head, not knowing how to tell her — my companions wanted to kill you.

She slowly looked up to Erica, who seemed expectant.

—And you? Do you want to kill me too?

—No! No, not for any reason— she asserted —I asked them not to. Killing is a terrible thing... please forgive them. They were just afraid of you, that's all.

Erica scratched her chin thoughtfully.

—Well, I already gave them what they deserved, I have no major problems with their intentions— she said— Thank you for protecting me, although they may see you as an enemy now.

Liliana shook her head.

—I was planning to escape anyway. This place is dangerous.

—Dangerous?— repeated Erica, meditatively —And where would you go?

Liliana shrugged her shoulders.

—I don't know, I don't know anything about this world. I'd like to go back to Mother, but I don't think it's possible soon. More than that, I would like to find my family and friends. I am worried.

—Ha. I'm looking for my dad. Would you like to come with me?

Liliana looked up, taken aback.

—She needed a few more seconds to understand what Erica was saying— Travel? With you?

Erica looked away. She had said it because she thought Liliana was cute, but the more she thought about it, the more complicated it seemed.

—Although it might be difficult...— she muttered, not so sure anymore— I usually get into trouble, I fight a lot of monsters and... well, I'm kind of dangerous myself. I'm sorry, maybe it's not such a good idea...

—I'd love to!— exclaimed Liliana, interrupting her.

—Huh? Really?

But Liliana was grinning from ear to ear, thrilled with the proposal.

—Yes, you're phenomenal, Erica! By Father, I can't believe that a girl from Mother is so capable! Surely you don't have a problem with nonis, do you? You give them the old one-two punch and keep them quiet, don't you? What a thrill! Let's travel together!— proposed Liliana, but then she became a little self-conscious —I mean... if you don't mind traveling with me, of course.

Erica froze, not quite sure. Liliana's reaction was something she had seen several times, people excited at the thought of the possibilities of having a super strong friend, but that joy soon turned to hatred and resentment as they were affected by the very strength they praised so much.

Liliana, however, was breathtakingly cute. Not only that, her way of behaving, her attitude towards Erica, was something very nice and attractive, although she didn't quite know why she felt that way. She had the impression that sooner or later her companion would run away in terror, but until then, she didn't mind having those green eyes looking at her.

—Amh... yes, let's travel together— Erica answered.

Liliana smiled from ear to ear. She was so happy that she jumped on top of Erica and hugged her. Erica turned red as a noni and froze.

—Where are we going?— asked Liliana.

Erica scratched her head.

—It doesn't matter, really— she looked at the desert —Do you want to go there?

—Yes!

—Eeeek!— shrieked Papel.

So, both girls and the strange animal left Vergherel behind and set off into the desert.