Chapter 62 #2
I picked my way across the muddy ground, watching out for puddles hidden in the tall grass.
The change in scenery told me this must be the second part.
I ate the rest of my turus to free up my hands and kept walking, searching for drier ground to step on.
I felt I was getting close to where the vials should be—by my calculations, I should already be right on top of them.
I just needed to stay alert for the faintest glow.
I searched the area, advancing slowly. I checked among the trees, in the puddles, the bushes, roots, and rocks, but there was no sign of them.
I felt my hope fading, along with the time I was wasting walking in circles empty-handed.
I was certain they were somewhere in this area, and if they weren't, it was because someone had gotten here first and taken them.
If that had actually happened, I was screwed—the other vials were much farther ahead, and they were all green.
That meant I'd have to grab three of them to make up the points, and this delay could jeopardize my success in the test. Despair crept in, because failing the test meant losing everything I'd worked so hard for.
I pushed forward anxiously through the trees while a drone circled close by. I got the feeling it was laughing at my desperation—my time was running out. I'd already lost a day and a half and still had nothing to show for it.
In the middle of my torment, I heard a woman scream.
Every instinct told me to run, but I crouched beside a tree, quiet as a shadow.
Moments later, I heard men's voices shouting curses.
Zion had told me to run if I encountered anyone, but I had no points and this was the place to search.
If I fled, I'd still have no vials and wouldn't pass the test. I had to do something.
My feet moved toward the sound before my brain even gave the order.
I crawled through the trees and ended up hidden behind a bush, eager to see what the commotion was about.
Naoki and Adrian had Adele pinned to the ground, looking furious.
“Give it back to me!” Naoki bellowed in her face.
“I already told you: there's no way!” she shot back, trying to appear indifferent, but the paleness of her skin and the trembling of her hands said otherwise.
“Of course there is!” Adrian swore and shoved her harder against the ground. “Vomit them up or transfer the points now! I knocked those vials down from the trees—they were mine, Adele! You had no right to take them, and I wasted two arrows doing it.”
“Finders keepers. The vials were on the ground, not in your hand!” she taunted, and got a punch to the stomach for it that made her double over.
“You hellish bitch! They were on the ground because I'd just knocked them over. You're going to give me that vial back, even if I have to cut open your stomach and pull them out myself.”
The longer I watched, the more horrified I became. Adele had stolen two vials and swallowed them? Was she crazy? Naoki turned and started digging near the root of a tree, leaving Adrian pinning the Yonserian to the ground. Then the blond came back holding two worms that squirmed in his hands.
“Come on, Adele. You're going to puke one way or another,” Adrian said, sitting on her stomach.
The Yonserian thrashed on the ground, terrified. A girl like her had probably never touched a worm in her life.
“Pinch her nose. Eventually she'll have to open her mouth,” Naoki said.
Adrian pinched Adele's nose, but not before she bit him. He slapped her across the face, leaving her dazed for a moment. Then he reached for her nose again and pinched it.
I didn't know what to do. If I was going to obey Zion's commands, I should keep moving and not interfere.
But my years in the forest wouldn't let me just stand by and watch, because I'd been in Adele's place before and knew how crushing that feeling of helplessness was—being overpowered, being brutalized.
Back then, I'd begged for help, but no one ever did anything, until the day the shadows found me in the basement.
I might be scared and cowardly, but I would never turn my back on someone who needed help. Before I could overthink it, I stepped out from behind the tree and crept silently toward them—Adele's screams covering my approach.
My heart was pounding like crazy as I moved into position behind Naoki and called out:
“Hey, boys?”
Naoki turned to face me, so I raised my right leg and kicked the side of his head with everything I had. There was a muffled thud when my foot connected squarely with his temple, and as I caught my balance, his body crumpled onto the muddy ground.
Adrian released Adele, who scrambled away, jumping to her feet and staring at me in fright.
“Leave her alone, Adrian. If she swallowed the vials, that's it. They're hers now. It's easier to find another one than to cut those out of her stomach,” I said, bracing myself to fight or run. Adrian was a strong opponent, and I didn't want to fight him.
“What the fuck?” The Interian gaped at Naoki lying knocked out on the ground, then stared at me in horror. “She swallowed a red and a blue! I want at least the red one. She just has to say it's mine.”
I took a few steps back.
“Work that out with her like civilized people. I'm leaving.” When I turned my back on them, I heard Adele's voice.
“I'll give you half the points if you protect me and become my ally!” she shouted from behind the tree.
I almost stopped, thinking the words were meant for me, but since it made no sense for Adele to want anything to do with me, I decided to get out of there as fast as possible to avoid trouble.
“Are you deaf, Kyller? I'm offering you points! Are you going to turn them down?!” She called out again, and this time I stopped, letting the offer sink in.
“Son of a bitch!” Adrian snarled and lunged at Adele.
“Is that an alliance?” I shouted, testing just how desperate she was. She was running from him toward me, but it was clear he'd catch her soon—he was faster.
“It's an alliance! Do something!” she shrieked. Her shrill voice hurt my sensitive ears. I thought again of Zion telling me to stay out of trouble, but I couldn't turn down those points.
“Deal!” I shouted, already running toward them.
Adrian reached her first, yanking her back by the ponytail.
When Adele spun around, he landed a punch on her nose that made my insides twist—I heard the crack of bones breaking.
I threw myself at the Interian without thinking, forcing him to let her go.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt him try to sink his teeth into me.
The bastard was trying to bite me? Unbelievable.
I fought to keep my anger in check and focused on remembering the moves I'd trained with Zion.
I kneed him in the ribs, making him recoil, but took a headbutt in return that cracked against my forehead.
My arms went weak for a few seconds—long enough for him to break free.
Adrian turned on me, throwing punches and kicks that, by the gods, I managed to block.
“Grab my bow and get out of here! Find somewhere safe!” I shouted to her while trying to block his blows.
He was strong and his kicks were hard to block, but thanks to all of Zion's training, I fought back while defending myself and managed to dodge most of them.
But my blows weren't doing enough to stop him.
Adrian was enraged, and I wasn't focused enough.
We traded blows at a furious pace, and the exhaustion from the constant exchange let him gain ground with each attack.
Finally, Adrian exploited a small slip-up and drove his knee into my ribs—just like I'd done to him—and I saw stars.
Before I could react, he threw a punch that missed my eye by millimeters.
Pain exploded across my eyebrow, and something warm and sticky started dripping toward my eye, blurring my vision.
My hand shot to my face to clear my sight, and that mistake cost me—he swept my legs out and we went down hard.
The fall knocked the air out of my lungs.
“Two-faced bitch!” he shouted, pinning me down with his body while trying to hit my face.
Panicking, I defended myself as best I could, fighting to stay conscious while trying not to lose it over the fact that I was on the ground—ground fighting had always been my weakest point.
Adrian wrapped his hands around my throat in a classic chokehold.
Without air, blood clouding my vision, trapped beneath him—fear overwhelmed everything else.
I couldn't focus enough to think of any way out.
“Where's your partner now?”
My mouth gaped open, gasping for air. Once again, I was vulnerable, humiliated by Adrian. It felt like fate kept replaying the same scene, expecting something to change with each repeat. It never did.
“Did you know he threatened and beat up my friends? Did you know he promised to break us in half if we messed with you?”
I remembered the car accident—of course Zion would do something like that.
I clenched my fists and pushed against his forearm, trying to break free, but it was useless with all his weight pressing down on my stomach.
Powerless, my brain went into panic mode, frantically searching through all those lessons where Zion had taught me how to escape situations like this, but I couldn't do anything. Once again, I was frozen by fear.
“Where's your partner now?” he asked, slapping me across the face. “Where's your general?”
My vision filled with black spots, and then he squeezed my throat until my windpipe nearly collapsed. I thrashed, my body growing weaker with every second. I'd prepared for this, but where was all that training now? My brain had hidden everything from me.