There was smoke everywhere.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EiaDs3dtD
Soldiers were crying out—yelping in agony. Understandable.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzAUGmQq1i
Some had lost their arms, others their legs—and some even both.
Only Nicole had been fast enough to react.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9J1yOi6bUp
Yet even she wasn’t without injury.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPrAn4uOKr
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEugeTwkmZG
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrXsTbE8dy
Without a word, he turned and flew away.
The group felt a rush of relief—momentary delight.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KVqAq5NyA
But they knew he’d be back.
He was a predator.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLa8gmZqMP
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXd1Xrn1mNZ
‘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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsv8fqdP6Y9
Returning to the forest wasn’t an option—not with the pressure and the lights emanating from there.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFU30SpykZ
People were fighting.
At the front, Jessie and Larah suddenly stopped.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQe89kcKHf
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCNRaPhZk9
‘Aren’t you soldiers of the Special Forces—Alpha and Beta?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgZHvQznOV
How come you're more scared than me?’
The soldiers remained silent.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1irNTO5wx
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMhhHeGce6
‘Attack!’
The ghouls charged.
Larah tightened her grip on her weapon and leapt over some of them.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC657bB4RrG
She landed in their midst and started cutting down everything in her path.
She didn’t differentiate.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2K2AIQbyQF
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlnTCpVwev
‘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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GGkw6EH9m
Even more shocking was Larah suddenly appearing behind him.
The priest pulled back their hood, revealing long blonde hair—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xaMt74Ukr
and eyes that shimmered gold and white.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXy3A4f7z4
A woman.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfscMVRFuN
An immune one.
‘I can feel it! You two are crazy!24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRkpNKEI77
Well, I’m crazy myself—hahahah!’
In the Forest
Nicole had placed the wounded soldiers beneath a tree, giving them something to lean against.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9K4vPbhsx
They had lost their light, their hope.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdf8dN9gX7Y
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2os0rdxdK
‘We’re already dead men. But you—you can still save the others.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdRvdUhR4l
And the commander—he’s wounded.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBa19swHzu0
If you drink our blood, you might be able to defeat him!’
‘You mean kill him,’ Nicole corrected.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtH3hVwKAP
‘You want me to kill our commander?’
‘Yes. I do.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyC9NC3lN7
He’s not our commander anymore—he’s an enemy.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACAoRFuxaa
And you’re the only one who can stop him.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyvdqK83N8
I can feel it—my body is reacting to something... something dangerous.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhgzGrdaWg
He’s coming. So what will you do?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VyNmPCSfu
Die with us—or fight for us?’
The other soldiers said nothing.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorWEPKa1F5
But their silence was not hesitation—it was unity.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGefTWBB6C
Their faces all said the same thing:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAkLQpjtmA
We’re ready.
Nicole had to decide.
She rose, stepping back.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyjZb7LPWJ
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3ygr5rGk5
‘You’re our commander now! We serve you!24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkDeQrHYaY
And we will gladly lay down our lives if it helps you.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xqyyz4DAr
So, Commander—what are your orders?’
Tears spilled down her face.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXO5v5wozp
Nicole gave her order.
‘Die… for me.’
‘Yes, Commander!’ they all replied.
Suddenly, blood left their bodies—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3NmHBFbsh
and Nicole’s skin absorbed it.
Her wounds healed.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFxUCHzp5c
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBfszAMcKq
‘You’ve even lost the ability to speak.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MZkd1u7Cu
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?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5H4vVVazrt
Shit’s about to get real here…’24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOepVpKN8c
