Chapter 390: Only Grows Stronger
Ethan leans in close to Hawk as they walk toward the medical tent.
"Let it go, Hawk. Let it go. Don’t take it personally. You know how she is." He whispers.
Hawk’s jaw visibly clenches. He shuts his eyes, takes a slow breath. When he opens them again, he looks marginally calmer.
"Yeah, I know, Bartlett. But she didn’t do a single thing in there besides barking orders. And most of them were wrong." He mutters through gritted teeth.
The other three stay quiet. None of them can argue, because he’s right.
They’d spent the last three days fighting just to survive, made worse by the fact that this was the first time the Hunters had ever entered a dungeon with only five people. Usually they went in with a minimum of ten.
Taylor smiles, bitter. "Ethan, Hawk’s right. She hid the whole time. Called it ’staying out of our way.’"
"Right." Carter chimes in. "Staying out of our way." He rolls his eyes, then claps Hawk on the shoulder. "Thank God you were there, man. You basically saved us single-handedly."
Taylor lights up. "Yeah! You were insane in there, Hawk!" He punches him lightly on the upper arm.
Hawk frowns. "It wasn’t my intention to be a hero or anything. I was just trying to survive."
"Yeah, but you also saved me. And plenty of others. The only reason we got this many people out, Hawk, is you." Taylor replies without hesitation.
Hawk looks at him grimly. He hadn’t done any of it to play hero. Most of the victims were teenagers, caught in the dungeon during a school trip when the gate first opened.
That’s the part that’s been eating at him. He can’t shake the feeling that the Baroness picked this particular gate on purpose, precisely because of how high-profile it was.
Young kids as victims meant cameras. Meant coverage. Meant attention.
As if to prove his own point, he glances toward where she’s currently standing, and finds exactly what he expected.
She’s holding court in front of what looks like hundreds of reporters, flanked by two people who clearly carry their own weight of importance.
The three of them are already deep in performance mode, fielding questions like it’s rehearsed.
Hawk takes a deep breath when he sees the Baroness answering questions in front of the flashes of the camera, with fake solemn expression one second, and relieved smile the next, it’s all are disgusting to Hawk.
He forces himself to swallow the disgust. He turns away and shifts his attention to the medical tent. He clenches his teeth and enters.
A short moment later, a muffled cheer is heard from inside the tent, welcoming Hawk.
J.C., who is still standing outside, subconsciously grits his teeth and scowls. But it’s only for a second, then gone. His expression returns to normal.
With the rest of the Hunters, he enters the tent, following Hawk, and immerses himself in the cheer and applause.
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Silence.
Complete silence.
No sound at all. No wind, no branches brushing together, no insects, no birds, no river.
Nothing.
Captain Daniels can barely hold in his own shaky, ragged breathing. He’s beyond terrified now. The other survivors around him are all silent too, not from hiding, but because they’re dead.
He’s certain of it. No one could have survived whatever’s out there. He’s alone.
How the hell am I supposed to survive this?
Daniels whimpers, then flinches violently at the sound of his own voice, clamping both hands over his mouth immediately.
Shut the fuck up, Daniels. You want to die?
He waits.
A noise rustles from the bushes to his left. He presses himself harder against the giant boulder he’s hiding behind, back flat to the stone. His heart pounds, fast and hard. His eyes are wide, too afraid to look, too afraid to close them either. Every muscle in him locks tight.
He turns his head slowly, toward the sound.
And nearly passes out.
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"Zombies?" Linus clearly doesn’t believe it. He looks at Sonia with open, unguarded skepticism.
Sonia sighs, annoyed, though she can’t fault him for it, she knows exactly how he must be feeling.
"I know it doesn’t make any sense, Mr. Monfort. But I know what I saw. When I ran, I looked back, and there was a group of them chasing me." Her voice trails off toward the end. She hears how ridiculous it sounds even as she says it.
Linus exhales loudly. Zombies. Kids these days really do have overactive imaginations. He doesn’t say it out loud, though. He can see she’s already doubting herself without his help.
"I’m not saying I don’t believe you, Ms. Hart. But you have to admit, it sounds far-fetched. There’s no such thing as zombies. Not in the real world."
"Like there’s no such thing as magic?" Sonia challenges.
"I—" Linus stops dead.
He can’t argue with that. Before all of this, he’d felt something subtle, unexplainable, more than once. And every time, logic won out. Until the day he finally saw it with his own eyes.
And now here he is, hearing something just as impossible from Sonia, someone who’s claiming she’s seen it firsthand. He hasn’t. Which apparently, in his mind, means it doesn’t exist.
Is that really what he’s thinking right now? Has he learned nothing at all?
Linus doesn’t know what to think anymore.
He takes a slow breath.
"Okay. I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry for doubting you, Ms. Hart." Linus finally says.
Sonia stares at him, disbelieving. What? He’s just giving up? Just like that? No way. He’s a full-grown adult, isn’t he? Even Elder Loujt doesn’t fold this easily.
She frowns. What game is he playing?
What she doesn’t realize is how openly her thoughts are written across her face. Linus catches it, and the corner of his mouth curves up slowly.
"Now. What do you suggest we do?" He asks, catching her completely off guard.
"Me? Why are you asking me?" Her mouth falls open.
"Well, you know more about these... zombies than I do. So. You tell me." Linus says, a faint smile lingering.
Sonia continues to look at him with suspicion.
Linus looks back at her, unbothered. He can feel the hostility radiating off her, and he doesn’t fully understand it, but he’s used to it by now. Most people look at him the same way, more often than not. Some with fear. Some with suspicion.
Only his immediate family, and now Rhaenas, have ever looked at him with warmth. Acceptance. Something close to love.
After a few minutes of silence, Sonia begins telling him what she knows about zombies, though she’s quick to add that she has no idea whether the ones here behave the same way as the ones in the movies.
His frown deepens with every detail.
"If everything you just said applies to whatever’s out there, this isn’t good. We can’t stay locked in here forever. We need to find other survivors, and figure out how to contact anyone who can actually help." He gets up abruptly.
"Where are you going?" Sonia asks, a flicker of fear slipping into her voice. She hears it herself, hates how scared she sounds, but there’s no stopping it.
Linus looks at her. "I’m going to search for any kind of communication device."
"Here." He adds quickly, catching her fear. "I haven’t had the chance to properly search this suite yet. I’m not going out there. Not after hearing what’s waiting for me."
He offers a faint smile, then turns and begins searching.
Sonia sinks back onto the bed, visibly relieved.
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"You—" Elder Loujt stops dead when he sees Captain Daniels pass out cold in front of him.
He frowns, displeased. Am I really that frightening?
He’d left his perch at the top of the tree only because he couldn’t stop searching for Sonia. Even if she’s already dead, he needs to find her body. He owes her that much.
After several days stranded in the forest, there’s one thing Elder Loujt is certain of beyond any doubt now. He’s inside a dungeon.
The realization had sunk in his stomach like a stone, drained the color right out of his face.
Inside a dungeon means they can’t leave until it’s cleared. He’ll need to kill every last one of those zombies. And that also means there’s a dungeon boss somewhere out there. A Zombie King.
He sighs. This won’t be easy. No matter how strong he believes himself to be, he knows one man alone can’t clear a dungeon like this. Not even with Sonia’s help, if he ever finds her.
He sighs again, heavier this time. All he can do is wait to be rescued.
That thought alone doesn’t sit right with him at all.
After leaving his safe spot in the tree, he’d tried to find other survivors, but all he found were more zombies. Some of the survivors he’d left behind days ago had already turned. Others were in the process of turning right in front of him.
Elder Loujt doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like any of it.
This is a war where the enemy only grows stronger the longer it goes on.