The gray streak vanished from sight. Adam's eyes scanned the chaotic tangle of the forest, and he spotted it. The Stone Mantis was a blur of motion, leaping from one distant tree to another with a speed that was simply astounding for its size. A faint smile touched Adam's lips. He had been getting bored.
"It seems this won't be so easy after all," he murmured to the silent woods.
In the next instant, he was gone. Adam unleashed his own speed, becoming a shadow that flowed through the forest. He pushed off the ground, his body light, and began his own deadly dance across the treetops.
He leaped from one thick branch to the next, his movements fluid and precise, a stark contrast to the Mantis's frantic, desperate flight. The forest became a three-dimensional chessboard, and he was closing the distance with every powerful stride.
