The Baron's final word, "Survive," hung in the air like a final judgment. A moment later, the door slammed shut. Briar, Felix, Rhys, and Beatrice stood frozen, the reality of their situation sinking in.
"A bear?"
Beatrice whimpered, her wide blue eyes darting around the dense forest.
"He wants us to get a cub from a bear?"
"This isn't a test,"
Felix said, his voice filled with terror.
"This is a death trap."
Emmett and Corbin, however, remained still. Emmett's expression was a mask of indifference, while Corbin's intelligent blue eyes scanned the trees, as if the problem could be solved by sheer logic.
"Everyone, listen to me,"
Corbin said, his voice cutting through their panic.
"We have to be strategic. The bear will not leave its cub unguarded. We need two teams: one to lure the bear away and another to retrieve the cub. "
Corbin's face remained impassive.
"Our survival depends on this. We need to split into two teams. One to lure, one to retrieve."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the group.
"The luring team can be smaller since they are only tasked with a diversion. Briar, Rhys, Emmett, and I will form the retrieval team. Felix and Beatrice will form the diversion team."
Rhys and Briar nodded, their faces grim, but Felix and Beatrice immediately recoiled.
"No!"
Felix cried out, his voice shaking.
"Luring a full-grown bear away would be a suicide attempt! We can't do that!"
Beatrice's eyes were wide with fear, and she shook her head, clutching her arms.
"Please... don't make us do that."
Corbin's face remained impassive.
"Are there any volunteers to take their place?"
Silence.
The children, driven by fear, stared at the ground. They wanted to protect themselves, to not be the ones to face the monstrous creature in the woods. Felix and Beatrice's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears.
Emmett watched the scene unfold with a detached expression.
These people...
he thought, observing Felix and Beatrice begging desperately.
...Are driven by fear of death, they will sacrifice anyone for their own survival.
And the others…
He glances at the others
Their silence is an act of self-preservation. Humans are all the same. Weak, selfish, and desperate when faced with a threat to their lives.
He let out a quiet sigh. His deep grey eyes, devoid of warmth, looked at Corbin.
"I'll do it,"
he said, his voice flat.
Briar tensed, her eyes widening in silent protest.
Corbin's eyebrows raised slightly.
"You'll need a partner for this. It's a two-person job."
"I don't need a partner,"
Emmett replied, turning his gaze back to the forest.
"I'll manage it myself."
A collective sigh of relief passed through the group. Felix and Beatrice's shoulders slumped, their panic subsiding as they saw a way out. Briar, however, felt a different kind of tension. Her heart beat with a sudden, unfamiliar fear.
"That's a death sentence,"
she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"You can't do that alone."
"How long he's supposed to lure and distract the bear depends on how quickly we are able to secure the cub,"
Corbin explained, his voice calm and practical.
"We will have to race against the clock to ensure Emmett doesn't die. Everyone agrees to this?"
The others nodded, their expressions solemn.
"Where would the bear be?"
Rhys asked.
Corbin pointed to a huge cluster of rocks up ahead.
"A mother bear would keep its cub in a place that provides protection and safety from predators. That cave is the most likely spot."
They moved as a group, their steps silent, until they arrived at the rocks. They hid behind a thick bush and peered through the leaves. Just as Corbin had predicted, a huge cave entrance loomed ahead, guarded by a bear almost three times the children's height.
Corbin turned to Emmett.
"You know what to do."
Emmett stepped out of the bushes, his face impassive. As he walked toward the bear, he pulled a small dagger from a sheath attached to his leg armour.
The bear, sensing his presence, rose on its hind legs, its massive head turning toward him. A low growl rumbled from its chest. With a final roar of fury, it rushed toward Emmett. He sidestepped at the last moment, the bear's claws missing him by an inch. With the bear now distracted, Emmett turned and ran, darting into the forest in a direction away from the cave. The bear followed soon after, its footsteps echoing through the trees.
The others rushed into the cave. It was dark and damp, but they could see a small, quivering bear cub in a nest of leaves. Beatrice immediately reached for it, her hand shaking. The cub let out a high-pitched cry and bit down on her arm. The battlesuit held, but she cried out in pain.
Before anyone could react, Corbin's hand shot out. He took his own dagger from his battlesuit and, in a single, cold motion, stabbed the cub in the head. It went still, a small whimper dying in its throat.
Felix stared, shocked and horrified.
"Corbin! We were supposed to bring it back! Not kill it!"
Corbin's face was completely devoid of emotion.
"The Baron said our task was to 'retrieve' it. He never said to bring it back alive."
Suddenly, a massive roar echoed through the forest, much closer than before. A wave of dread washed over them.
Briar's eyes widened, and her heart began to beat with a frantic, desperate rhythm. She had forgotten all about the limited time they had. She had forgotten that Emmett was alone. Her heart pounded with a fear and concern she had never felt before, a fear for someone else's life.
She turned and ran, racing toward the location of the roar.
The others called after her, but she didn't listen. She burst through a thicket of bushes and into a small clearing. Her eyes dilated at the sight.
Emmett was sitting with his back against a massive tree, his battlesuit torn. A huge, savage scar was ripped through his armour and into his chest. He was bleeding profusely, his body still, his deep grey eyes unfocused and vacant, like those of a dead man. The bear was moving toward him, its jaws open wide, ready to finish its work.
Briar froze, the shock turning to a chilling, murderous rage. Her mark, a series of intricate tattoos on her collarbone, began to glow with a brilliant gold light.
The glowing lines spread over her body in a beautiful pattern. A brilliant, gold, flame-like aura burst from her body, making the air around her ripple with intense heat. Her pupils were a thin, vertical line, fixed on the bear with a bloodlust so intense it was frightening.
Meanwhile, in the observation room, the battlesuits' vitals monitor showed numerous warnings that left the scientists amazed and alarmed. Charolette stared at the screen, her eyes wide with shock.
"Baron,"
she stammered,
"The girl with the mark, her heart rate has multiplied tenfold. Her metabolism has increased to an impossible level, and her brain is processing information at a rate we've never seen before. These are just a few of the signals her battlesuit is displaying!"
Baron Calvin's cruel smirk widened.
"She's manifested it,"
he said.
"She's unlocked the first stage of the Mark."
Meanwhile, Briar's gold aura had intensified, and she took menacing steps toward the bear.
"You'll pay for what you did to Emmett,"
she whispered.
She raised her head, her eyes fixed on the towering beast. With a final, furious scream, she roared,
"I'LL RIP YOU TO PIECES!!"