Two.
The third one had backed away from the first two's falls, creating distance, which was the sensible response and also the one that gave Damon the clearest read of its positioning. He pursued at a pace that was fast enough to prevent the gap from becoming useful and the exchange that followed was three beats — read, close, find the entry.
Three.
He looked at the front of the cluster.
The resupply had stopped. The Year Three squad that had been managing the cluster's front edge was finding, for the first time in however long they had been holding this position, that the pressure against them was not being replaced. The cluster's front demons were dying and nothing was coming through behind them.
He watched the squad push forward.
Then he moved back toward the center.
Elias pointed right before he reached him.
Not a full gesture — barely a shift in his attention, a slight tilt of his head toward the right section that Damon read as a direction rather than a look.
