There was smoke everywhere.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYZ7TvTarR
Soldiers were crying out—yelping in agony. Understandable.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUJixNvK9t
Some had lost their arms, others their legs—and some even both.
Only Nicole had been fast enough to react.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPpuB1PHfg
Yet even she wasn’t without injury.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4MzvFF1cX
She touched her chest—blood seeped from the wound and dripped to the ground.
She had already been in bad shape, but now... she was truly done for.
The commander still hovered in the air above them, watching like a predator.
Nicole struggled to her feet and staggered toward a wounded soldier.
‘Can you stand up?’ she asked.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PHJQH0vFY
The soldier nodded—his arm was gone, but he could move. Still, tears streamed down his face.
‘What happened to our commander? What happened to him? Daaamnn!’
Suddenly, something caught the commander’s attention.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5C8OOxJem7
Without a word, he turned and flew away.
The group felt a rush of relief—momentary delight.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQW3sGqapp
But they knew he’d be back.
He was a predator.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnBTIMSmhI
And the way he had looked at them… he enjoyed the hunt. That much was certain.
Still, with him gone, they could finally breathe.
‘He’s become a beast,’ Nicole whispered, her voice cracking as her tears threatened to return.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0r92hfEjHW
‘He’s turned into a beast… and this time, for good.’
In the City
Sark and the others had no better plan than to follow the women.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVCXlDKkBi
Returning to the forest wasn’t an option—not with the pressure and the lights emanating from there.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFI86spCJXS
People were fighting.
At the front, Jessie and Larah suddenly stopped.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtCHD1vLjz
They all ducked behind a truck, observing the incoming army of ghouls.
Leading them was a light priest.
‘What do we do now?’ one of the soldiers asked.
‘We capture that bastard and force the information out of them,’ Larah declared.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDQqpJcBdy
‘Aren’t you soldiers of the Special Forces—Alpha and Beta?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwfUrkIPxp
How come you're more scared than me?’
The soldiers remained silent.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDb5nI9UE0e
Larah ignored the side-eyes Sark was giving her.
She stepped out from behind the truck. Her walk turned to a jog—and then to a sprint.
The priest spotted her and bellowed:66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthaAE0KH0k
‘Attack!’
The ghouls charged.
Larah tightened her grip on her weapon and leapt over some of them.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AxUeW3Oke
She landed in their midst and started cutting down everything in her path.
She didn’t differentiate.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOPSAOuXq5
If it moved, it was the enemy. If it was alive, it had to be cut.
As she sliced, she bathed in blood—hers and theirs.
‘She’s totally snapped!’ Sark grunted.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4tv4FjRWp
‘Let’s go!’
The rest joined the battle.
Jessie fought her way toward the priest, who was clearly stunned that she had gotten so far.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxp5bToYtDl
Even more shocking was Larah suddenly appearing behind him.
The priest pulled back their hood, revealing long blonde hair—66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBM4e1755E2
and eyes that shimmered gold and white.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7py9mf1ww8
A woman.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuG6IeN2NOy
An immune one.
‘I can feel it! You two are crazy!66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NSmiNFYHX
Well, I’m crazy myself—hahahah!’
In the Forest
Nicole had placed the wounded soldiers beneath a tree, giving them something to lean against.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApTAjm2YTH
They had lost their light, their hope.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdNFFoJkAl
They were waiting for death.
One of them had already passed—his body completely drained of blood.
‘What’s the plan, Nicole?’ one soldier asked.
‘I—I don’t know! I’m sorry! I don’t know! I—fuck!’
‘Drink our blood,’ the same soldier suggested.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuxSprDlIK
‘We’re already dead men. But you—you can still save the others.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJX6A39TQCF
And the commander—he’s wounded.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJG8fQ5hZ8c
If you drink our blood, you might be able to defeat him!’
‘You mean kill him,’ Nicole corrected.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrcMDTH2Rd
‘You want me to kill our commander?’
‘Yes. I do.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7qcyrBVVn
He’s not our commander anymore—he’s an enemy.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3jfbJxbsv
And you’re the only one who can stop him.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2iC3slifE
I can feel it—my body is reacting to something... something dangerous.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0mIl5Ec52
He’s coming. So what will you do?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5mV65jIg6
Die with us—or fight for us?’
The other soldiers said nothing.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIR9mHuzWd
But their silence was not hesitation—it was unity.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OmvkrjQud
Their faces all said the same thing:66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8IyJZFAXt
We’re ready.
Nicole had to decide.
She rose, stepping back.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokfhELnz0U
Shaking her head.
‘First I lose the commander… and now I must kill my own men. I can’t—’
‘Get a grip, Nicole!’ one soldier shouted.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdWYMsdWzh
‘You’re our commander now! We serve you!66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0lip1aVy6
And we will gladly lay down our lives if it helps you.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemEaCGpyxA
So, Commander—what are your orders?’
Tears spilled down her face.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cfbWWLI8U
Nicole gave her order.
‘Die… for me.’
‘Yes, Commander!’ they all replied.
Suddenly, blood left their bodies—66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOHXLkniyw
and Nicole’s skin absorbed it.
Her wounds healed.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbwY1ZUVxY
Her strength returned.
Just in time.
Because the commander had returned.
He approached slowly.
‘You’ve come back… to be hunted like a beast,’ he said with a groan.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZn6AWXZXj
‘You’ve even lost the ability to speak.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMFkE1dH8R
Let me end your suffering… my love.’
Somewhere in the Forest
Seraphina finally woke up.
‘Damn… that was a strong woman!’
She gasped for air and crawled toward a tree, leaning against it for support.
‘Guys… where are you?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfZV0C6wux
Shit’s about to get real here…’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaD8PBLFaZ
