Chapter 22: Into the Unknown

The mood at base was uneasy.

A small group of hunters gathered near the preparation area, murmuring in low voices as they strapped on their weapons and gear. The search party was forming, but the air was thick with uncertainty. Mara's report had shaken the camp, but not everyone was convinced.

"They didn't come back," Captain Raines said, addressing the assembled hunters. His voice was steady, authoritative. "That alone is reason enough to send a team out. We don't abandon our own."

Mara sat on a supply crate nearby, silent. Her arms were wrapped around herself, fingers gripping the fabric of her sleeves. She had told them everything—the Pukei-Pukei's unnatural mutations, Jorren's fate, Alden's stand. But as the hunters spoke around her, she could hear the doubt.

"We've all seen monsters act strange before," one of them muttered. "There's nothing supernatural about it."

"You're saying a Pukei-Pukei somehow took out Alden?" another scoffed. "I've hunted with him for years. That doesn't sound right."

"I believe her." A third voice cut through. It was Rhea, a quiet but respected hunter. "Something's wrong out there. You all heard how she described that thing. And Jorren? If he really turned on them…" She shook her head.

"Turned?" One of the skeptics frowned. "You're saying he was changed? That's not how this works."

Mara clenched her jaw. "Then explain what I saw."

Silence.

Raines let the conversation settle before speaking again. "We aren't going in blind. We'll track their last known movements and find out what happened." His gaze swept over the search party. "Stay sharp. We don't take chances."

As the group finalized their preparations, Mara's stomach twisted. The food she'd eaten earlier still sat wrong in her gut, a lingering unease she couldn't shake. She wanted to believe it was just nerves.

She wasn't sure anymore.

With a final check of their supplies, the search party set off into the jungle.

The hunt had begun.