Viper's blood stained the rotting forest floor. It seeped through Gryphon's fingers, warm and slick, a grim reminder of the life pouring out of his teammate. He ground his teeth, pressing harder. The gauze pad was useless, just a sodden red cloth now.
"It's not holding! Wraith, morphine!" Gryphon's voice was hoarse with strain.
Wraith scrambled over, her hands, usually so steady with explosives, now trembling slightly. She ripped open Viper's trouser leg, plunging the needle in with practiced certainty. In the faint green glow of their night vision, Viper's face was ashen, her lips pressed tight to stop a scream of pain.
Kael and Jotun stood like stone statues, their weapons trained on the darkness. They were the wall, and they knew that wall was cracking. Kael could hear Jotun's ragged breathing beside him, feel the tension in his own muscles.
The jungle's silence wasn't peace. It was the silence of a closing trap. The monster wasn't making an all-out assault. It was smarter than that. It stalked, it tested.
A dark shape flashed through Kael's vision. He fired reflexively, but there was only the clatter of shell casings and a spray of bark. A feint.
Instantly, from another angle, a chilling SWISH cut the air. A razor-sharp limb slashed past the rock right in front of Kael, leaving a deep gash as if cut by a machine. Sparks flew, the acrid smell of burnt stone hitting his nostrils.
It's gauging our reactions. Looking for an opening.
"It's boxing us in!" Jotun growled, backing up, nearly bumping into Kael.
Each of the B.O.W.'s lightning-fast attacks forced them to move, to huddle closer to protect Viper. The invisible perimeter was tightening. They were being herded into a single spot, a perfect killing field.
Kael felt cold sweat trickle down his spine. They couldn't win. Not like this. Their bullets were like pebbles against a tank. They needed a different weapon.
And the only weapon they had was this damned jungle.
Kael's mind screamed. He stepped back, pressing his back against Jotun's, his eyes never leaving the shadows. Analyze. Don't panic.
His eyes scanned the scene. Vines. Dry leaves. Rotted logs. The pieces of an insane plan began to form in his mind, a plan born of desperation and survival instinct.
There was no time for persuasion. No time for a democratic debate.
"Gryphon!" Kael's voice was sharp and cold, cutting through the chaos. "Get Viper out of here! Head west! Make noise! Don't try to be quiet!"
"Are you insane, Spectre?" Gryphon looked up, his face a mask of anger and disbelief. "We're trying to get away from it!"
"TRUST ME!" Kael roared, a primal sound from deep in his chest. "DO IT!"
For a moment, Gryphon stared at Kael. He saw something in the outcast soldier's eyes—not madness, but a terrifying certainty. The certainty of someone who had danced with monsters before and survived.
He nodded. "Rook! Help me!"
They carefully lifted Viper.
Kael turned to Wraith. His eyes darted from her to a hollow log twenty meters away, then up to the vines above. He said nothing, just held up one finger. One minute.
Wraith, their demolitions expert, understood instantly. Her eyes widened. It was a suicide plan. But it was also the only plan. Without hesitation, she darted into the darkness, her hands already pulling out a block of pliable C4.
"Jotun," Kael said, his voice low and even. He didn't have to look. He knew the giant was listening. He just jabbed his chin towards the dark canopy. "When I give the signal, turn the sky into hell."
Jotun didn't reply. Kael heard a dry click as he ejected his old magazine and slapped in one with a red stripe. That was his answer.
Gryphon's group began to move, their footsteps heavy and deliberate. The monster above seemed to pause, perhaps confused by the prey's strange behavior.
Wraith worked with terrifying focus. She pressed the explosive charge to the log, then, quick as a squirrel, scrambled up lower trees to attach small detonators to the massive vines. She gave Kael a thumbs-up and then silently vanished after Gryphon's team.
The clearing was suddenly empty. Only Kael and Jotun remained, two lone souls on the predator's stage.
A light wind blew, carrying the musty smell of the jungle and the metallic tang of blood.
The wait began.
"I'm here," Kael whispered, his voice lost in the vastness. He stepped out from cover, Kestrel in hand. He was the lost lamb, the easy meal.
For effect, he deliberately stepped on a dry branch. The CRACK was as loud as a gunshot.
From above, a low growl answered. It had seen him. It was savoring this moment.
Not enough.
Kael pulled a flashbang. He pulled the pin, counted to two, and tossed it up onto a large branch.
BOOM!
The blinding white light and deafening bang were an insult to the predator's arrogance.
An enraged shriek tore through the night. Patience was gone. The monster dropped, no longer a shadow but a black mass of muscle and chitin, aiming straight for Kael.
"JOTUN!" Kael yelled, his feet already carrying him towards the trap.
The roar of Jotun's sniper rifle was like thunder. Incendiary rounds painted glowing arcs against the night sky, slamming into the foliage above the monster. Fire erupted, leaping from branch to branch. A canopy of fire began to form, cutting off the B.O.W.'s escape route.
Forced to the ground, the monster went berserk. It let out a roar of frustration and accelerated, the distance between it and Kael closing with terrifying speed. Kael could hear the dirt and rock kicked up by its every stride.
He sprinted into the designated area, vaulting over the rotted log.
The monster was right behind him, its compound eyes locked on its prey.
From a distance, in the darkness, a finger pressed a button.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Small but simultaneous explosions rang out. The vines were severed, dropping like a massive net. They entangled the monster, slowing it down for just a fraction of a second.
But a fraction of a second was all they needed.
It thrashed, tearing at the vines. It realized it had been tricked.
Kael was out of the danger zone. He dove to the ground, covering his head, feeling the earth tremble.
Time seemed to thicken.
Then, a deep, heavy CRUMP, not a loud bang, but a contained release of energy.
The explosion from inside the hollow log. A brilliant orange fireball bloomed, consuming the monster, the vines, and the darkness. The shockwave hit, a wall of hot air that threw Kael several meters.
His ears rang. The heavy smell of ozone and burnt meat filled the air.
When Kael staggered to his feet, all that was left was a smoking black crater. Fire still danced on the surrounding branches.
And scattered on the ground were the cracked, glossy black fragments of what was once a perfect predator.
Jotun stepped out from cover, his face smudged with dirt, but his eyes held a tired relief.
They had survived.
Kael looked up at the sky. Through the flaming holes in the canopy, he saw stars. For the first time since he'd arrived.
They had brought light to the green hell.
And the cost was a battle that had only just begun.