From a distance, near where the Hilux was parked, Jaxon and his group were finishing their preparations to leave. They had managed to escape earlier by reacting quickly to the explosions, keeping their distance and never pushing too deep into the city.
That decision paid off. They made it out alive, and had gathered plenty, food, gasoline, solar panels, a generator, and various chanical tools. The truck bed was already packed, and Jaxon’s storage space was filled to the brim.
Isabel started the engine again. From the front seat, Jaxon glanced back at Cindy, who was still catching her breath after all the running. anwhile, Natasha and Na-rin looked... oddly pleased.
"Why are you two smiling?" Jaxon asked, raising a brow.
Natasha and Na-rin exchanged a look, noticing the sa expression on each other. Then they both let out a small laugh.
"Nothing," Natasha said casually. "We just don’t feel like telling you."
Na-rin nodded along, a faint smile still on her lips.
Jaxon shook his head at them. "Weird."
Then... a distant thrum of rotors reached their ears. All five of them turned toward the city. Monts later, two helicopters ca into view, flying low before passing overhead.
"It’s them... the special agents," Jaxon muttered, narrowing his eyes as he tracked their movent.
"They’re coming from deeper inside the city," Na-rin said, analyzing their direction.
Natasha leaned back slightly. "So they made it out. I wonder if they got what they ca for."
Jaxon let out a quiet breath, his eyes still on the helicopters fading into the distance. "They’re lucky just to get out alive. But I’m more curious about what they ran into in there."
Isabel tightened her grip on the wheel. "Let’s head back to the safe zone. I don’t like staying here any longer than we have to."
Jaxon nodded. "Yeah. Let’s go."
The Hilux rumbled forward, leaving the quiet, dangerous city behind.
.....
Deep inside a skyscraper in Ironpoint City... Raya was still alive, barely.
Her body hung suspended in the air, bound by thick, pulsing tendrils. They coiled tightly around her arms, legs, and chest, leaving just enough space for her to breathe... and to see what stood before her.
She looked pinned in place, like prey held up for inspection. Her chest rose in short, uneven breaths. Every muscle trembled as sweat ran down her face, mixing with dirt and dried blood.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t even struggle as the creature in front of her simply watched.
All of its eyes, too many to count, were locked onto hers.
Raya felt it. That cold, deep, and endless gaze. Her instincts scread at her to run, to fight, to do sothing, but her body refused to respond. Because deep down... she understood.
This thing in front of her wasn’t sothing humans were ant to face.
Sothing shifted behind it. From the creature’s back, a long tendril slowly rose. At its tip, a thin, needle-like stinger ford, dark, wet, twitching faintly as if it had a will of its own.
Raya saw it, and her breath broke. "No..." she whispered, her voice trembling.
She had endured training, pain, interrogation drills. Things ant to break a person. But this was different.
Her entire body scread in terror. Every instinct, every nerve, every part of her was begging... run.
The stinger moved closer, circling her slowly, almost deliberately. Then, without warning, it drove straight into the base of her spine.
"AHHHHHH!" Raya’s scream tore through the room. Pain exploded through her body, sharp, deep, unbearable, as if sothing was digging its way inside her.
But then... the pain changed. It was not just pain anymore. It felt like sothing was being pulled out of her.
Her thoughts... her mories... her voice... everything that made her her began to slip away.
The creature’s many eyes flickered rapidly, as if absorbing it all.
Images flashed through Raya’s mind, faces, missions, fragnts of voices, before everything started fading into darkness.
Her screams weakened. Her body slackened, head dropping forward. Saliva dripped from her lips, a thin line of blood trailing from her nose. And her eyes rolled back, empty.
The stinger pulled away. And for a mont... everything went still.
Then another tendril rose, tipped with a different kind of stinger. This ti, it struck fast, piercing her spine again
Raya’s body jolted violently as a thick, black liquid surged into her.
Her eyes snapped open. She scread again, but this ti, it wasn’t fear. It was sothing deeper... Her body began to change.
Muscles twisted beneath her skin, shifting in ways they shouldn’t. Bones cracked and realigned, the sharp sounds echoing in the silence.
Her back arched, limbs jerking uncontrollably. Fingers curled tight, as if sothing inside her was trying to claw its way out.
The black liquid spread quickly, racing through her veins, like poison... or sothing far worse.
Her body tightened, hardened, becoming stronger... but no longer human.
The creature watched in silence, patiently waiting. Then it opened its mouth. Its voice ca out rough and broken, sothing between an animal and a human trying to speak.
"Live... and spread... child."
Raya’s body suddenly went still. For a second... nothing moved. Then slowly, her head lifted.
Her eyes opened, now completely pitch black. A wide, unnatural smile stretched across her face. And then... she laughed.
.....
Along the abandoned road, the Hilux cut through the silence, its engine the only sound for miles.
Jaxon sat in the passenger seat, glancing back at the items stacked in the rear. All the food and weapons were safely stored in his storage space to keep them from spoiling, leaving only materials, tools, and other supplies piled in the back.
"Where are we even going to hide all this?" he muttered, thinking it through. Maybe they could set up a hidden stash sowhere outside the safe zone... a backup in case things went wrong.
"Hide?" Natasha asked, glancing at him.
"Yeah. What if they try to confiscate everything when we get back?" Jaxon said.
Natasha shook her head. "They won’t. As C-5s operating outside, whatever we scavenge is ours. No one’s taking it."
Jaxon raised a brow. "And you know that how?"
"I read the manual," she said plainly, then gave him a look. "You didn’t, did you?"
Jaxon didn’t even try to deny it. He just nodded. "Well... that makes things easier. We’ll just bring everything back then."
Natasha let out a quiet breath and shook her head at him.
The Hilux rolled on, heading steadily back toward the safe zone.
About an hour later, Isabel suddenly hit the brakes. The car stopped almost instantly, the abrupt halt jolting Cindy, Natasha, and Na-rin awake from their brief rest.
"What happened, Mom?" Jaxon asked, already alert as he opened his eyes.
Isabel pointed ahead.
Dozens of soldiers stood in the road. So were positioned up in the trees, others lined up below. Each of them had a launcher strapped at their waist, and several had their weapons raised. Three soldiers aid directly at the Hilux as one stepped forward.
"Identify yourselves."
Jaxon stayed calm. He recognized the gear—they were from the safe zone. Still, he frowned slightly. He hadn’t expected them here.
He slowly pulled out his identification card and held it out the window. "We’re field runners."
The soldier glanced at it, then looked back at his companions. "Field runners? Do we even have those?"
Before anyone could respond, a familiar voice called out.
"Jaxon?"
Jaxon looked up. On one of the tree branches, an athletic figure stood, watching him. Then she dropped down with a smooth motion and landed lightly on the ground. Another figure followed right behind her.
"Annie... Lina," Jaxon muttered.
The two won stared at him, just as surprised. For a mont, no one spoke.
The tension lingered, the soldiers unsure of what was happening, but seeing their two aces recognize him, they slowly began lowering their weapons.
"So... you two are here too," Jaxon said, finally breaking the silence. "What’s going on?"
Annie didn’t answer right away. Her eyes moved over him, then to his group, the Hilux, and the pile of supplies at the back. And a slight frown ford on her face.
Lina nudged her lightly, then let out a small sigh. "We’re here on a mission," she said casually. "Didn’t Annie already tell you to head back? You’re only leaving now?"
"I did tell them," Annie cut in before Jaxon could respond, her gaze still fixed on him. "You didn’t return then, did you?"
Jaxon t her eyes and nodded. "We had sothing to take care of before leaving."
Before Annie could speak again...
"Are we free to go now?" Natasha’s calm but edged voice ca from the back seat. "...or do we need to report everything again? I already gave my report before."
Annie glanced at her, eyes narrowing slightly. Natasha didn’t back down, eting her gaze without hesitation.
Sensing the tension, Lina stepped in quickly. "Of course you’re free to go," she said with an easy smile. "We just didn’t expect to run into anyone out here." She looked back at Jaxon. "We’ll see you around."
She gave him a quick wink before pulling Annie along.
The soldiers stepped aside, clearing the path as the Hilux rolled forward, continuing on its way.
Annie and Lina stood there, watching until the vehicle disappeared into the distance.
"He seems pretty settled into his role now," Lina muttered under her breath.
Annie didn’t reply. She simply kept her eyes on the empty road, lost in thought.
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