Chapter 45 Survive?

Words : 1291 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

The drop pods pierced through Cannadah's swirling clouds, and what the students expected to be endless desert suddenly transformed into something that made more than a few gasp through their comms. Below them sprawled an impossible landscape - an "island" that seemed to defy Cannadah's natural order. The massive plateau rose from the surrounding desert like a lost world, its edges dropping off into sheer cliffs that plunged hundreds of meters to the sand below. But it was what lay on top that caused the real shock. "Is that... a jungle?" Cora's voice crackled through their team's private channel as their pods descended toward the plateau's surface. She wasn't wrong. The plateau was a patchwork of ecosystems that had no business existing on a desert planet. Dense patches of alien vegetation bordered crystalline lakes that sparkled under Cannadah's twin suns. Rocky outcroppings created natural mazes, while sections of the land seemed to steam with geothermal activity. In one section, what looked like purple grass swayed in patterns that suggested it was more alive than ordinary vegetation should be. "Artificial environment. At least for some part," Kelvin's voice came through, his scientific curiosity evident even through the comm static. "The soldiers that came here to drop off the flags must have terraformed certain areas specifically for training. Those energy signatures I'm picking up... they're maintaining some kind of massive environmental control system." Their pods touched down in a clearing near the plateau's edge, auto-dampeners absorbing the impact. Noah's HUD immediately began cataloging potential threats - movement in the undergrowth, unusual energy signatures, and the distant calls of beasts that definitely weren't bore moles. As students emerged from their pods, many still gawking at their surroundings, the third-year chaperones took charge. Micah Reeds approached his assigned team with measured steps, his custom armor gleaming with modifications that spoke of countless successful hunts. Though he'd been their team leader for days, there was something different in his bearing today – a barely contained intensity that made even Kelvin shift uncomfortably. Noah kept his expression neutral behind his visor as Micah's gaze lingered on him a fraction too long. Their leader had been watching him closely since the cave incident, though he never directly voiced his suspicions. The constant scrutiny was becoming harder to ignore. "Listen up," Micah commanded, pulling up a holographic map with practiced efficiency. "This isn't just about running around grabbing flags. This ecosystem is designed to test every survival skill you've developed. Different terrains, different beasts, different challenges. The flags aren't just sitting out in the open - they're placed in locations that will push our limits." His words were addressed to the team, but his eyes kept drifting back to Noah, studying, analyzing. Through his visor, Noah caught sight of other third-year students leading their teams toward different sections of the plateau. Unlike Micah's subtle surveillance of him, they were focused entirely on the competition ahead. Each one wanted to prove they deserved their ranking among the top 25. "Movement, northwest quadrant," Kelvin reported, his sensors already tracking something large moving through the purple grass field. "Energy spike to the east," Kelvin added. "Similar to the bore mole's signature, but... different." Noah remained quiet, his mind already working through the possibilities. With Micah watching his every move – as he had been since they met – using his system would require even more careful timing than he'd initially planned. Suddenly, a massive shape burst from one of the crystalline lakes, its serpentine form casting prismatic reflections before crashing back into the water. Several students stumbled back, ravager guns automatically tracking the movement. "That's why the flags are worth different point values," Micah explained, his tone clinical and precise. "Higher risk, higher reward." He paused, scanning his team. "We'll need to be strategic about our approach. And everyone needs to perform exactly according to their... documented abilities." The emphasis on those last words was subtle, but Noah caught it. Cora muttered something under her breath about "paranoid leadership," while Kelvin continued running calculations through his devices. Lila pretended to adjust her armor settings, clearly sensing the underlying tension. In the distance, a flag's marker beacon pulsed temptingly from atop a crystalline spire, right at the edge of what appeared to be a steaming jungle. Something large moved through the canopy beneath it. The game was on - and Noah had to navigate not just the terrain and beasts, but also the watchful eyes of a team leader who seemed determined to solve the puzzle he represented. ---- Noah's team moved through the jungle following the signal of a nearby flag. The humid air clung to their armor as they navigated between towering vegetation. Other student teams darted between trees in the distance, all racing toward their own objectives. Kelvin suddenly held up a closed fist. "Hold position." His voice was tight. "Something's not right." The creature dodged with impossible grace. Each movement was a study in efficiency, no energy wasted. It analyzed. It adapted. "Wait," Adrian gasped as he closed the distance between him and where the beast and Cora fought "Is that... armor?" The realization came too late. The creature's tail lashed out, impaling Cora through her abdomen. In the same motion, it gripped her arms and – with a sound that would haunt Noah's nightmares – twisted them from their sockets. "EVERYONE BACK!" Adrian's voice cracked with desperation as his body blazed like a newborn star. He could see it. The way the creature focused it's eyes on him. Those eyes...those eyes.. The creature discarded Cora's broken form like refuse. From her position behind a massive fern, Sienna Voss watched Adrian tearing off his armor. Her expression remained cold, calculating, but there was a flicker of something else in her eyes –recognition, maybe even concern. "You idiots," she breathed, seeing other students preparing to charge in after him. "You have no idea what he's about to do." She took three measured steps backward, her hand raising slightly to signal her own team, the remaining girls to retreat. The boy was his father's son after all. And Sienna had seen firsthand what happened when an Albright decided to go nuclear. She'd been there during Commander Albright's demonstration last year. They'd needed to rebuild that entire section of the training facility. As Adrian's skin began to glow, she turned to her team and mouthed a single word: "Run." *BOOM!!!* Adrian slammed into it, his nuclear ability releasing a blast that turned the jungle white. When the light faded, when the smoke cleared, when they could see again... it still stood. "What?!!" Was the word to describe the expression on multiple student's faces. From 1A to 1C. From top to bottom of the ranked twenty five students. They all stood completely astonished looking at the creature. But now, as its burning camouflage sloughed away, they saw its true form. Komodo-dragon like scales over rippling rhinoceros-type muscle. The distinctive horn. The intelligent, calculating eyes. Noah's system pinged: [THREAT DETECTED] [NEW QUEST: SURVIVE] [REWARD : YOUR LIFE] The silence that followed was deafening. Then Micah's voice, cracking with primal terror that Noah had never heard from their composed, smug faced leader. "HARBINGER!!!!" The word echoed through the jungle, carrying years of human nightmare. Not a beast. Not a monster. Something worse. The thing that had driven humanity into an endless perpetual war. The apex predator of the galaxy. The nightmare that haunted humanity's collective consciousness. And it was hunting them.

Chapter 45 Survive?

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