Slade and Olivia stared at the shaking forest and trembling ground. No longer waiting, Olivia drew her wand and channeled her meager recovered energy, urging plants and trees to shift and conceal their position—buying precious time.
Slade wasted no more time. He advanced slowly into the forest as shadows rose from his feet in light, soft wisps, enveloping him and blending seamlessly into the darkness.
Olivia's eyes went wide—she realized if Slade had been serious earlier, she'd already be dead. Refusing to show weakness, she crept toward the forest, hearing muffled gunshots and heavy thuds of bodies hitting the ground.
Suddenly, Slade burst from a thicket of foliage, sweating and breathing heavily. Only he knew how he'd escaped—a herd of 10-15 beasts.
Pre-apocalypse, it would've taken him 2-3 minutes to wipe them out. Now they overpowered him; he'd only downed 3-4, and that too due to his unpredictable shadow-energy bullets.
"There are still 11-12 beasts left. Do you have a plan?" Slade demanded.
"I had a plan—I would've bound them, and you could've taken them down. Why did you just charge in?" Olivia burst out in a hushed, high-pitched whisper.
"Since you were just standing there doing nothing, I had to act. See? Now you're sharing," Slade said sarcastically.
"Okay, keep your snide remarks to yourself. Can you still fire those bullets?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'll bind them with my abilities, and you snipe them—or whatever works. Deal?" Olivia outlined the plan.
Slade paused, then said, "What if one breaks your bindings? You expect me to play sitting duck?"
Olivia knew he wouldn't fully trust her, but they had no better option if they wanted to save points. Since both were still holding back aces, they'd gamble on this risky combo to survive.
Olivia glanced at the cave and said in a low voice, "If one breaks free, we direct it there."
Slade had considered it too but lacked a way to execute. Thankfully, Olivia could harass beasts from afar, herding them toward the cave.
Plan set, they slipped through the tangled fauna and brambles. After about five minutes, they reached the site: 11-12 beasts feasting on their fallen comrades—who were now just food.
Olivia waved her wand, and thick purple vines—thick as one-third the surrounding trees—shot out, binding every beast's limbs. Each beast was between the range of level 6 to level 8. Slade didn't hesitate, firing headshots while darting between cover.
It went smoothly until four beasts remained. First, a fox-like creature with fiery fur and rising embers which burned it free.
Second, a snake-lizard that shifted colors, blending its energy to mimic Olivia's vine constructs. Third, a porcupine with ice quills that shattered her bindings.
Finally, a rhinoceros with energy-charged horns and fortress-thick hide that blocked bullets—this thick-skinned beast was the main reason Slade had fled earlier, nearly ambushed by the snake-lizard despite his shadow energy and anti-detection skills.
Seeing it was only a matter of time before the beasts broke free, Olivia sent a private message to Slade:
"Let's guide them to the cave."
Slade replied with one word: "Okay."