Chapter 15 - The Hunt Begins

Alex moved quietly, listening to the forest. The deeper he went, the more unnatural it felt.

The air was too still. The sounds of wildlife he expected were absent.

Then he heard movement ahead.

He ducked behind a tree, watching.

Two figures stood in a small clearing, scanning their surroundings. Their military suits bore insignias of a different color than his.

Alex's eyes narrowed.

Not all recruits were allies.

He adjusted his watch, preparing to record his findings.

The assessment had only just begun.

And the real battle was yet to come.

If he was right, they belonged to a different division, but what he was confused about was why they appeared here of all places.

He quickly corrected himself— since the transportation could land him close to the forest, there's also the possibility of others landing inside the forest.

One of the figure tutned his head in Alex's direction. "Who's there?!"

Receiving no reply, they both moved towards Alex's hiding spot but found nothing when they got there.

A whistling sound was heard as the two of them quickly separated apart as they dodged a short knife that flew past them.

The knife embedded itself deep into the tree trunk it hit, which means the throwing force was enough to take a life had the ambush been successful.

The two of them quickly prepared themselves for battle but they were surprised when they saw their assailant show up with his hands slightly raised up.

"Oh, so it's someone from the recon division." One of the figure said as he took a subtle step forward.

His partner understanding what he did took a step back as they waited for Alex to spit out what he came for.

"I noticed you guys were clearly protecting something you don't want anyone to find out."

The figure in front tightened his hold on the knife he held as he prepared to attack Alex.

"If you know what is good for you, transfer your points to us. Still I can't guarantee that you'll leave alive when you comply."

Alex shook his head slightly. "So if I complied or not, I may still end up dead," he paused as he observed the other figure at the back. "And how do you plan to collect them?"

"We do have a device that can be used to do that. Just that the success rate is not too high." The second figure spoke as he raised his wrist connected to his watch to show a green stone embedded in the hollow.

Alex nodded in delight as he almost shed tears if happiness. "Just what I needed."

"Enough talk. You want to transfer easily and I give you a quick death or you want it to be the other way." The figure at the front shouted as he lunged at Alex.

Clang!

A sharp sound, aAlex raised a knife he had kept hidden to defend himself. He raised his leg as he aimed at the knee of his attacker but he quickly retreated as a blade grazed his arm. He narrowed his eyes as he saw that the other guy had joined.

This is going to be stressful!

He blocked another attack from the first man as he quickly arrived before the second figure and stretched his arm as if he was holding a knife.

The second figure quickly jumped to the side as his instincts screamed danger.

A knife had appeared in Alex's outstretched palm at some point which could have proved to be a fatal injury if the attack had hit.

Not good—!

Cough! Cough!

Alex held his chest as blood leaked from his mouth. The first figure had injured him in his bid to attack his partner.

"You are not the only one with tricks up your sleeves." The first man said as he threw three knives at Alex blocking every routes of escape.

The second man also crouched as he threw two knives at Alex's two knees. The first man could be seen grinning as he imagined the scene of Alex begging for his life.

"You are right. I'm not the only one with tricks." Alex sounded frightening calm for someone who was in a dangerous situation. The two figures felt a sense of unease when they saw that he didn't have any intention of defending himself.

"What—?!"

The first figure sounded shocked as Alex disappeared before them. His breath quickened as cold sweat covered him.

"But one thing you're wrong about is that I'm currently without points."

He heard Alex say as a blade had driven itself deep into his right chest. He felt a sharp pain as Alex sliced at his two knees muscles. He screamed loudly as he fell on the ground.

Alex didn't even spare him a glance as he chased after the second figure who had decided to run when he saw Alex take down his partner.

Huff! Huff!

The second figure could be seen breathing heavily as he ran.

What bad luck! How did that guy even managed to escape? He fooled the both of—

He wasn't able to complete hia thoughts as he felt his knee joints dislocate. He screamed as he fell on the ground. He tried dragging himself as he grasped at a chance for survival.

"Do you want your partner to enjoy all the fun?"

He heard a voice beside his ear. He quickly swung his fist in the direction of the voice but his attack met nothing but air.

He felt his surroundings shift then found himself beside his partner.

"You guys are God sent opportunity for me." He raised up the green stone he had removed from the second figure's wrist at some point in time.

Alex saw the two of them looking at him with many expression on their faces: fear, anger sadness.

"Just when I was thinking of how to get points, you just had to deliver them to me." He smiled at the two of them.

"So you tricked us into attacking you. You don't even have any points to boast. You thief!"

Alex pretended not to hear him as he moved over to the second figure.

"Your points or I kill you. As long as you cooperate, I won't attack you."

The man nodded his head as he quickly transferred all he had accumulated— a total of ten points. Alex then moved over to the first figure and repeated the same process.

Alex licked his lips as he saw the twenty-five points in his balance.

The first figure noticed that Alex didn't have any visible injuries. "What happened to your wounds?"

"One of the tricks up my sleeves." Alex smiled as he replied.

"Thanks for the points. I did say I won't attack you, but I can't say the same for the beasts here."

"You lured them here!" They both screamed in unison as they noticed that Alex was nowhere to be seen.

A beast appeared as it laid it eyes upon the two figures on the ground trying to flee. It pounced on them as screams and shredding sounds could be heard later.

Alex could be seen running at full sprint few kilometers ahead. He counted himself lucky that he had decided to leave quickly.

For the next few days, Alex went after others if they were in the same direction towards his destination. If they were in groups, he avoided them, but if it was just one or two he attacked them and collected their points.

He had managed to accumulate a total of sixty points. He was surprised when he got to know some had surpassed the hundred points mark. It seemed he was still too slow in gathering the points.

He still remembered his main objective, but the points collection had made his journey longer. He decided to stop as he didn't want to draw too many attention to himself as he proceeded to his destination. He checked the map on his device and je discovered he was almost out of the forest. After the forest would be where he was tasked to investigate.

John, Lena, and Ethan moved through the dense underbrush, keeping their footsteps light. Their temporary alliance had been built on necessity rather than trust, but so far, it was working.

"We're getting close to the river," Lena whispered, checking the map on her watch. "If we follow it east, we'll avoid most open terrain."

John nodded. "Good. We stick to cover. No unnecessary fights."

Ethan scoffed. "Easy for you to say. Sooner or later, we're going to run into something."

As if on cue, rustling came from their right. Instinct kicked in— Lena pressed against a tree, John crouched low, and Ethan drew his knife.

A humanoid figure emerged from the brush. For a split second, they thought it was another recruit, but then its elongated limbs and sickly gray skin made it clear— this was no human.

"Shit," Ethan muttered.

The creature snapped its head toward them, sensing their presence. Its hollow eyes locked onto John.

"Move!" John barked.

The creature lunged. Lena was already moving, rolling out of its path. Ethan slashed at its leg, but it twisted unnaturally, avoiding the blade.

John didn't hesitate. He pulled a small capsule from his belt and hurled it at the ground. A thick smoke exploded outward, masking their retreat.

"Go, go, go!"

They sprinted through the trees, adrenaline surging. The creature screeched behind them but didn't pursue, whether deterred by the smoke or uninterested in a chase, they didn't know.

They didn't stop until they reached a rocky incline near the river. Panting, Lena wiped sweat from her brow. "That wasn't in the briefing."

Ethan shook his head. "If this is what we're up against, I'd rather deal with other recruits."

John exhaled. "Creatures like that aren't common spawns. Which means we're heading toward something important." He glanced at his watch. His score had barely moved.

Lena caught the look. "We need points."

John hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. But we stay smart. No reckless fights."

A distant howl echoed through the forest.

Ethan tightened his grip on his knife. "Too late for that."

They exchanged glances. Without a word, they moved out.