There was smoke everywhere.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9ZZygzB5B
Soldiers were crying out—yelping in agony. Understandable.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzwfZZSQjk
Some had lost their arms, others their legs—and some even both.
Only Nicole had been fast enough to react.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHjXwj5wkS
Yet even she wasn’t without injury.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcvoWnciOj
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxoZMaPmb2
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsaJDf4CKUW
Without a word, he turned and flew away.
The group felt a rush of relief—momentary delight.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLryp6rnpUa
But they knew he’d be back.
He was a predator.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETAcY8DbgP
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2eRfOoICp
‘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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlc7YQrHo6k
Returning to the forest wasn’t an option—not with the pressure and the lights emanating from there.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVPQxlrIhD
People were fighting.
At the front, Jessie and Larah suddenly stopped.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclawMeRGnn
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gnTDpLKfK
‘Aren’t you soldiers of the Special Forces—Alpha and Beta?59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYTJ4msDB9
How come you're more scared than me?’
The soldiers remained silent.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcC4nbBknwC
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:59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4EZqSW3jr
‘Attack!’
The ghouls charged.
Larah tightened her grip on her weapon and leapt over some of them.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQK38AJSBj0
She landed in their midst and started cutting down everything in her path.
She didn’t differentiate.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWNwgbUgyP
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyXJJ5JDef
‘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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWggY9OYmRV
Even more shocking was Larah suddenly appearing behind him.
The priest pulled back their hood, revealing long blonde hair—59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡip793oDk8G
and eyes that shimmered gold and white.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTNx0vhjit
A woman.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZUODHslJM
An immune one.
‘I can feel it! You two are crazy!59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNR8BvwIqse
Well, I’m crazy myself—hahahah!’
In the Forest
Nicole had placed the wounded soldiers beneath a tree, giving them something to lean against.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvLAV98O8f
They had lost their light, their hope.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMduDEpaCPB
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmoDV9BPPK
‘We’re already dead men. But you—you can still save the others.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jFTWtCBln
And the commander—he’s wounded.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKtbVPLVwV
If you drink our blood, you might be able to defeat him!’
‘You mean kill him,’ Nicole corrected.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrni39CcTz
‘You want me to kill our commander?’
‘Yes. I do.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7GioqRf7p
He’s not our commander anymore—he’s an enemy.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81p8tZ2mnm
And you’re the only one who can stop him.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7U1hZL0k9R
I can feel it—my body is reacting to something... something dangerous.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxezxQQx4qU
He’s coming. So what will you do?59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNY6oQbhz4
Die with us—or fight for us?’
The other soldiers said nothing.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnbXj38ejf
But their silence was not hesitation—it was unity.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmWFDKkDAl
Their faces all said the same thing:59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS09GkGHCNf
We’re ready.
Nicole had to decide.
She rose, stepping back.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdv4WHFxRPi
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jWaOtMFMo
‘You’re our commander now! We serve you!59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrIBhmnUIm
And we will gladly lay down our lives if it helps you.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyz6LdR6ci
So, Commander—what are your orders?’
Tears spilled down her face.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq64WHrZQS
Nicole gave her order.
‘Die… for me.’
‘Yes, Commander!’ they all replied.
Suddenly, blood left their bodies—59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrRYLIBpVt
and Nicole’s skin absorbed it.
Her wounds healed.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxWI4jkl2m
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.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24tZBQnHBE
‘You’ve even lost the ability to speak.59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYzZvJ1sVf
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?59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfh9j01xdz
Shit’s about to get real here…’59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgeVhFem3h
