Chapter 181: CH 181: Rescue party (Edited)

Words : 1672 Updated : Oct 12th, 2025

After being released by Dave, Tasha wasted no time slipping away into the outskirts of the city. The first light of dawn stretched across the sky like a slow breath, painting the clouds in soft strokes of pale gold and lavender. A low mist hovered over the fields, curling between the blades of grass as if trying to cling to the last remnants of night. She moved briskly along a narrow dirt path, the air crisp and cool against her skin. Each step sent a soft crunch through the silence, gravel and twigs breaking beneath her boots. Tall grasses flanked both sides of the trail, swaying gently in the morning breeze like watchers whispering secrets in the dim light. She had been walking for hours now, the terrain growing lonelier with each mile. The road twisted through pockets of trees and sloped hills, with not a single soul in sight. And yet... she felt eyes on her. A presence. The invisible weight of someone tracking her prickled against the back of her neck. She didn’t look back, not once. She knew better. Turning around too soon might confirm suspicion, might trigger a reaction she wasn’t ready to face. Her fingers curled tightly around the edge of her cloak. Whoever was behind her moved like a shadow, silent, constant, calculated. But Tasha didn’t panic. She had a theory. It has to be Dave. she thought. He said he’d be behind me... watching. Her stomach tightened at the memory of that void, cold, endless, suffocating. The place he had trapped her in with a flick of his will. A place without light, time, or escape. She didn’t want to end up there again. So she played along, obedient, careful, cautious. But she also had something important to do. Something Dave mustn’t find out. As she approached a large tree standing tall at the bend of the path, its thick roots twisting above the soil like gnarled fingers, Tasha slowed her pace. Her eyes flicked around briefly before she clutched her abdomen and winced, feigning discomfort. "Damn it," she muttered aloud for good measure, staggering slightly toward the tree’s shadow. "Need a moment..." She crouched low behind the tree, facing away from the path. To anyone watching, it would look like she was answering nature’s call. But her real intention was far more dangerous. Her fingers dipped into the inner seam of her dress, sliding past the folds of fabric until they brushed against something cool and metallic. With practiced ease, she drew it out, a miniature walkie-talkie, no bigger than a matchbox. Its surface was smooth, black, and shaped to blend into anything. She had tucked it deep inside a hidden pocket sewn by her own hands, a backup she never told Dave about, not even when he had her trapped in that suffocating void realm. She pressed the tiny receiver to her lips and whispered, "Ajax, come in. This is Tasha. Do you read me? Over." A pause. Only static answered. She twisted the dial slightly, keeping one eye trained on the shadows around her. Her hands were steady, but her breath had started to quicken. There was no time to second-guess. Whoever was behind her was keeping their distance, for now, but they wouldn’t wait forever. "Ajax," she hissed again, a little more urgent this time. "Status report. Have you reached the Tai faction? Is the rescue unit deployed? Are they in position?" Still nothing. No voice. No coded signal. Just silence and that steady hum of dead air. Her throat tightened. She didn’t have time to worry about why Ajax hadn’t responded. Maybe his message hadn’t gotten through. Maybe the Tai faction had refused to act. Or maybe... Ajax had been compromised. Tasha clenched her jaw and shoved the device back into her dress. Her fingers lingered over the pocket for a heartbeat longer than necessary before she forced herself to stand. She couldn’t afford to look suspicious. She had already feigned needing to relieve herself, lingering too long might alert whoever was watching. She stepped back onto the trail, her mind racing. According to the plan, there was a point a few miles ahead, a very popular garden, where the rescue party would be waiting to pick her up. Ajax had promised that a group of people would be stationed there to escort her to safety and protect her until the executives were neutralized by the Tai army. But that’s only if he succeeded. That location was her test. If they were there, it meant Ajax had succeeded, that the Tai faction had accepted their offer, and her gamble was about to pay off. But if the clearing was empty... Then there’d be no doubt left. It would mean Ajax had failed, either caught, killed, or betrayed. If that were to happen, her only one option would be to return to the executives and act like nothing had happened. Slip back into her role. Smile, lie and try her revenge plan again. Tasha pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders and kept moving. Every step forward brought her closer to the truth, and further from the shadow that stalked her. ... It was about a few hours ago, at the clearing where Tasha was supposed to rendezvous with the rescue crew, a quiet tension settled over the morning mist like a thick blanket. Three men stood just beneath the arching limbs of a withered sycamore tree, their breath rising in thin clouds as the last of the dawn fog clung stubbornly to the underbrush. They had only just arrived, boots leaving fresh prints in the dew-soft earth, still brushing dust off their cloaks and scanning the treeline for signs of movement. One of them adjusted the strap on his rifle while another reached into his vest to pull out a small comms device, attempting to check in. "He said this was the place, yeah?" one muttered, narrowing his eyes at the empty road. "Supposedly," another replied, stretching his shoulders. "Tasha’s nephew said she’d meet us here. So we wait. That’s the job." They didn’t know it yet, but they weren’t the only ones who had been waiting. From above, hidden among the thick foliage of an old tree, barely visible against the sky, a shadow stirred. Then— Thud! The heavy impact of boots hitting solid ground broke the stillness like a crack of thunder. All three men jolted as a figure dropped from the treetop and landed squarely in front of them, crouched like a predator ready to pounce. The stranger slowly rose to full height. For a moment, the three men froze, paralyzed by the sudden arrival of the hulking figure who stood before them like a statue carved from nightmare. His build was unnaturally broad, muscles coiled beneath his cloak like caged steel. He’d landed from a high perch with no sign of strain, no buckled knees or heavy breath. Just silence... and that haunting, expressionless face. His skin looked pale, too smooth, too flawless. Not quite human. Something about him felt... engineered. As though whatever soul he once had had long been hollowed out and replaced with pure obedience. "What... the hell are you?" one of the men whispered, stepping back instinctively, his eyes wide. But the figure didn’t answer immediately. He simply took one slow, deliberate step forward, boots crunching softly on the gravel path. Then, in a flat, cold voice devoid of emotion, he spoke: "Boss says to eliminate you." The sentence struck the men harder than any fist could have. For a second, none of them moved. Until one of them, gritting his teeth and summoning every shred of false courage he had, charged forward with a shout. His fist flew straight for the hybrid’s gut, aiming for flesh, bone, something soft enough to feel pain. But what met his knuckles was like striking a wall of unyielding stone. CRACK! "AHHHH!!" the man screamed, staggering backward, cradling his crushed hand. His knuckles were bleeding, fingers already swelling grotesquely. The other two men watched in horror. The hybrid hadn’t flinched. Hadn’t even blinked. One of them lost it. "Wh-Who are you?! What the hell do you want?!" The hybrid didn’t pause. Didn’t tilt his head. Just walked forward again with those slow, heavy steps, like the sound of doom inching closer. "Boss says to eliminate you." That was all he ever said. Panic shattered their nerves, and the three turned to flee, legs pumping with raw terror. "He’s not human! RUN!" They bolted through the trees, shoving branches aside, stumbling over roots. But the moment they turned their backs, the true horror began. A sickening, fleshy sound echoed through the woods, muscle stretching, bones popping, skin tearing and reforming. The hybrid’s form began to contort grotesquely. His neck extended, thickening and elongating. His limbs cracked and twisted into bestial proportions. Green scales erupted across his skin like armor plating, and claws the size of daggers burst from his growing paws. A snarl that sounded half-reptilian, half-demonic rumbled from his throat. He was no longer a man. He was a beast. A towering dinosaur-like creature stood in the hybrid’s place, its long neck curled, its maw wide and lined with jagged teeth, its eyes glowing with a primal hunger. "HE TRANSFORMED! HE JUST—HE JUST FUCKING TRANSFORMED INTO A BEAST!" The terrified cries echoed uselessly into the trees. They ran harder, legs burning, lungs screaming for air, but it didn’t matter. With terrifying speed, the beast lowered its head, its neck slicing through the air like a scythe. CHOMP. One of them vanished with a scream, swallowed whole. The second guy didn’t have time to turn around before the massive jaws snapped again—another one gone. But as for the third one, the hybrid hadn’t killed him. "Boss says to keep one alive." The hybrid beast then let out a low, guttural growl of satisfaction as it raised its head to the lightening sky, blood dripping from its jaws. The mission was complete. Two men eliminated. One captured.

Chapter 181: CH 181: Rescue party (Edited)

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