The journey to Novus Monastery began three days before the two men returned to base, dying. The sky in the north was gray, and a dry wind carried a fine dust from roads long untouched by civilian vehicles.
Xenon and Veronica disguised themselves as food distribution officers, an old disguise they had used when infiltrating the outer zone. They didn't carry much, just a bag containing documents, an analog radio, and a copy of Eileen's voice recording. Hidden beneath their jackets were small pistols and light steel knives.
For two days, they traveled overland along the old route. The road was destroyed, several bridges had collapsed, and once-active border posts lay abandoned. They had to get on and off vehicles, follow trails, and then hitchhike on old trucks whose drivers were illiterate
