Kyle had no answer, though he'd been wondering exactly same thing.

They continued south, past a stretch of streets near Chicago Avenue that was just charred rubble. It reminded Kyle of pictures he'd seen from wartime. Not a single soul was in sight

Without any warning, the car suddenly lurched as the sloped rear of the Jackrabbit buckled and shattered. Kyle slammed on the brakes, and turned to look as a sickly sweet odor reached him and the insect spirit began to chitter at a terrible pitch. Metal shrieked and tore as the back of the car peeled away easily, one of the ant's long, gleaming black legs kicking it in. The braking car had thrown the creature off balance, and its sharp leg cut between Kyle and Seeks-the-Moon, ripping the seat and shattering the windshield.

The ant spirit thrust its head forward, tearing more of the car and itself in an attempt to get its mandibles near its prey. Neither Kyle nor Seeks-the-Moon could get a spell off as the car skidded to a halt, turning and sliding to the left. The ant, beginning to spit some glossy, semi-liquid spume, surged forward again, bending the top of the car. Both Kyle and Moon dove from the car.

Cluttering and frenzied, the black ant pulled back, free of the car, a piece of the rear seat dangling from one of its mandibles. Its head moved side to side, looking from Kyle to Seeks-the-Moon, then it backed up slightly as it saw the power gathering around both of them.

Twin bolts of crimson energy, one slightly darker than the other, struck the ant simultaneously. It stepped back again, screeching and twisting its head and spraying drops of the greenish fluid that now oozed from it. Then it seemed to recover and rushed directly at Kyle.

But Kyle was ready. His foci were all active, and none of his attention was diverted to their masking. The spirit lunged, and Kyle released a different spell-a simple, focused dart of power backed by everything he had. It caught the charging ant head-on, penetrating deep in a flash of power. In the same instant, the rear of the ant's form was engulfed in a sickly green substance that pulled it to the ground, stopping its rush and slamming its head down onto the pavement. Kyle stepped back as the creature thrashed, its big head cracked and oozing. He readied another spell, felt Seeks-the-Moon doing the same, and then watched as the ant spirit thrust itself upward in a final act of defiance before suddenly losing cohesion, its form drifting apart and streaming away in an unfelt breeze.

Kyle and Seeks-the-Moon stared at the creature until its form was completely gone. "Come on!" Kyle shouted, rushing back to the still running car. He threw himself behind the wheel and had the vehicle gunned and accelerating away even before Moon had shut the door behind him. When they were clear and saw no other signs of insect spirits, Kyle turned to Seeks-the-Moon. "Why didn't you just slip into astral space?" he asked.

"What?"

"When the ant attacked, why did you wait until the car had stopped and you could use the door."

The spirit stared at him blankly and then Kyle saw quick realization dawn on the spirit's face. His eyes widening, Seeks-the-Moon laughed. Very loudly.

“I think you are a bad influence on me," he said, continuing to laugh as they drove on.

Turning at the intersection of Ogden with Western, they headed southwest into the township of Cicero, which was not part of the city of Chicago, but was still within the Containment Zone. Kyle knew the area fairly well and was able to find his sister-in-law's apartment quickly. The street was as quiet as the last time, but now he could see signs of abandonment. Only one house, a structure across the street from Ellen Shaw's apartment building, still looked inhabited, and now resembled a fortress.

Kyle pulled up onto the curb and into the courtyard of the building, scraping the passenger side of the car against part of the iron fence that used to stand there. Then he turned the car off and let the engine wind down. He considered leaving it running in case they needed a fast getaway, but decided that the risk of theft was potentially greater than the likelihood of quick flight.

"Do you wish me to check inside?" Seeks-the-Moon asked Kyle as they studied the section of the building where Ellen Shaw had her apartment.

"Wait one second," Kyle said as he stepped forward and pushed against the front door. It swung open easily, both lock and frame smashed.

"Drek," Kyle said, looking up toward the apartment

"Looters?" asked Seeks-the-Moon.

"Maybe. Do you want to check ahead?"

The spirit grinned slightly. "It was you who reminded me of my abilities, remember?"

Kyle nodded. "Go ahead, but step into me foyer so that anyone watching won't see you disappear. Ellen's apartment is on this side"-he pointed south-"two floors up."

The spirit nodded and stepped through the door, with Kyle close behind. Even before completely entering the trash-strewn entranceway, Seeks-the-Moon faded from view. Kyle pulled his gun, an Ares Predator II heavy pistol Ravenheart had given him, and waited. But the gun was only clear of the holster a moment before the spirit returned.

Seeks-the-Moon was shaking his head. "The apartment is empty and looks like it's been ransacked."

"Looters."

Kyle and the spirit climbed the old staircase to the first door on the second landing. Here too the lock and frame had been shattered, and then Kyle remembered that he'd done the damage himself with one of his own spells the last time. It didn't look like anyone had tried to repair the damage, even temporarily, in the interim.

Kyle pushed the door open, holstering his pistol as he entered. The apartment had indeed been looted, with little of value left behind. Most of the appliances were gone, as were the electronics and the food from the kitchen. In the bedroom, Kyle saw that clothes had been pulled from the closets and dresser. He couldn't tell if any of their contents were missing, but the bedclothes were gone.

Then, in one corner of the dining room, where random trash and debris had apparently been pushed, Kyle found a small padded chip-book carrier. It was identical to the one he'd given Natalie two years ago for Christmas, and the more he stared at it and turned it over in his hands, the more certain he was that it was hers.

"I think they may have been here," Kyle said to Seeks-the-Moon, who'd quietly followed him in. The spirit nodded.

They continued to search, but turned up nothing of further interest except some dishes in the dishwasher. Kyle counted them and paired them with utensils and drinking glasses also sitting there. One partial set was smaller, as if someone had deliberately been given a smaller portion of what looked like prepackaged lasagna. The drinking glass was even a tumbler, not full-sized. The food was hard, but hadn't yet begun to turn bad, probably not more than a day or two old.

Kyle nodded. "They've been here."

Seeks-the-Moon called out to him. 'Then you should look at this." He was back in the living room.

Kyle walked out mere and found Moon pushing a small tack into the wall. A tattered and torn sheet of paper dangled from it.

"What's that?" Kyle asked.

"It was on the floor. I think it was hanging here and someone ripped it down."

Kyle looked at the paper, but it was only a fragment obviously torn from a larger sheet. "Is the rest of it around?"

Seeks-the-Moon shook his head. "I haven't found it."

Kyle nodded, also looking this way and that. "If the whole sheet was torn down by looters, why isn't it here?"

"You think they would have torn it down and left it on the floor?"

"Why do anything else? Why take it if it had no value?"