Alright, abc clouds c8 is now ~2000 words and right on track. It should only take two or three more writing sessions to wrap it up, and then some editing because I've written most of it in a sleep-deprived fugue state, aka how I'm living right now. After c8, there are only three chapters until we wrap up what I call 'part one' of the story.
Anyway, because I've been dreadful at updating this year, let's wrap up with a snippet from the upcoming chapter:
"So Caleb says, “I’m fine,” and throws back the rest of his cup."