Chapter 9: Uneasy Alliances
Ryan stayed put in his leafy hiding spot, feeling a bit like a nature documentary cameraman waiting for the interesting animals to leave so he could inspect their leftovers.
Scarlett "Red" Viper and her two surviving teammates were now cautiously examining the dead Alpha Grove Stalker.
They were clearly tired, and the one who’d been hit hardest by the sonic pulses was still looking a bit green around the gills.
"Okay team," Scarlett said, her voice low but clear enough for Ryan’s enhanced hearing. "Let’s see what this thing dropped. And we need to find where it dragged off Alex."
Alex. That must have been the teammate Ryan had seen go down earlier, clutching his head. So, the Stalker had managed to grab one of them. Ryan felt a little knot of guilt.
He’d been watching, analyzing, but he hadn’t helped. Then again, jumping into a fight against a Level 3 Alpha with an A-Tier and her team might have just made him another casualty.
His SSS-Tier power was amazing, but it didn’t make him invincible, especially when he was still technically Level 0.
Scarlett’s team didn’t find much on the Stalker. A few chipped quills, some tough hide they didn’t seem equipped to skin properly. No sign of that super-rare Sonic Emitter Core, much to Ryan’s non-surprise.
After a few minutes of poking, they seemed to give up on looting it.
"The drag marks lead that way," Scarlett said, pointing in the direction Ryan had originally come from towards the Whispering Grove where he’d fought the first Grove Stalker.
"That must be its lair. Alex could still be alive."