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Chapter 32 – Into the Whispering Forest
"...We'll leave you to it. Get cleaned up. It holds tonight."
Jack's voice trailed off as the door hissed shut behind him, leaving Frank alone in the heavy silence. The click was final. Too final.
Frank stood still for a moment, expression blank. Then he let out a long, low sigh. The clothes slipped from his fingers, falling limply like the weight of all his choices. With slow, tired steps, he moved toward the tall window, its smooth glass glowing faintly with blue light. Outside, darkness pressed close, shadows flickering across cold, metallic walls.
He reached out, fingertips inches from the pane—
ZAP!
"Hmphgrrgh!" He snarled through clenched teeth as a pulse of electricity surged through him. He stumbled back, collapsing with a heavy thud, limbs twitching from the residual shock.
His chest rose and fell in ragged gulps. "Those assholes…" he muttered, voice rough and bitter. "They meant it."
A faint crackle echoed from the glass—a cruel reminder not just of the barrier, but of freedom slipping further away.
Groaning, Frank forced himself upright, joints aching. He collapsed onto the bed, sinking into the soft mattress like a weary traveler buried in snow. The voltage still hummed in his bones.
"They got foodstuff, though…" he murmured half-sarcastically, eyes locked on the ceiling.
"I'm so cooked…" Exhaustion crept over him like fog, blanking his mind.
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Elsewhere…
A brisk wind swept across the cliffside, carrying the sharp tang of ozone and rustling the cloaks and coats of the gathered force. Hover cars lined the jagged edge, their chrome shells reflecting the dusky light. Massive hover trucks hummed faintly nearby, soldiers standing in clusters—white-armored knights gripping spears of light, assault gear strapped over their backs. Tank-like drones hovered silently, engines purring low like predators waiting to pounce.
The cliff jutted out like a balcony over a yawning forest. The land dipped sharply, trees rolling out in dense, endless waves. The forest wasn't ordinary—it seemed alive. It shimmered faintly, almost like heat waves rising from the ground, magic curling in the air like smoke.
Laura lowered her binoculars, lips pursed with disbelief. "So… that's it?" Her voice was sharp.
"That massive pile of shrubs and vines is where they're hiding?"
Tayla stood behind her, fingers idly tapping the hilt of her sword. "Yes. But something's off."
A woman holding a thin glassy tablet stepped forward, tense. "Sir," she addressed General Augustus, who stood a few feet away with his cape caught in the wind. "We're not detecting any body heat or signs of movement. Except two. Very faint."
Augustus didn't flinch. His uncovered eye studied the forest below like it was lying to him. Hover trucks rumbled behind him as knights awaited orders.
"Magic, maybe?" Raymond said, striding toward the group, boots crunching softly over the cliff gravel. "My tracker still says they're in there."
"I already sent scouts," Augustus replied coolly.
"And?"
"Nothing." His voice was flat. "They didn't find even the two signals we saw earlier."
The soldier beside him saluted. "We're going in blind, sir."
A tense silence.
Augustus exhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. "Hmph… Then it is magic."
"So… what do we do now?" Scott asked, joining the group, flanked by Piko, Andrea, Nick, and Joel.
"We follow Raymond's tracker," Augustus said, checking his wrist chrono. "Move to its final signal point and wait."
"That sounds bleak," Kaido muttered under his breath.
"Watch your mouth, kid," Laura snapped instantly.
Kaido shot her a sharp look. "If you call me kid again, I assure you—I won't hold back."
"Calm down, Laura," Tayla sighed. "He's just a kid."
"A kid that needs some beating," Laura muttered.
"Hey Kaido, chill," Scott said, trying to defuse the tension.
"I'm just saying," Kaido mumbled, stepping back.
"Geez… Always the trouble type," Piko whispered, appearing silently behind him.
"Whoa!" Kaido jumped. "Why do you keep doing that?!"
She leaned in close, eyes playful and intense. "Nothing," she said softly, "I like trouble."
She nearly brushed his face with hers. Kaido blinked hard. "Of… okay?"
Before anything else could be said, Raymond raised his voice, snapping the mood back to urgency.
"Alright, let's move! We don't know what they're doing with Frank right now—no time to waste!"
Soldiers packed gear, locked magazines, and checked sensors. The air thickened with tension.
The cliff view was hauntingly beautiful. Below, the forest swirled with colorless fog, tendrils of magic moving like veins. The trees loomed like ancient guardians, layered slopes overlapping like folded hands. Small orbs of light flickered deep within the canopy.
The knights moved in formation, white-clad with golden insignias, weapons glowing faintly in the dimming light. Hover cars lowered, engines adjusting.
"You okay?" Scott glanced at Tayla's thigh—still wrapped in a crimson-stained bandage from the earlier beast encounter.
"Heh… I'm fine," Tayla smirked. "No need for piggy-back rides in combat."
"You sure there's not an issue?" Aott teased passing by.
"I've walked through worse," she replied, smacking her blade against her boot as she moved.
"Steve," Augustus barked, "assemble the medics and keep them on standby."
"Yes, General," the long-haired lieutenant replied, moving with practiced ease as Laura followed.
"Sir," a knight asked hesitantly, "What about the humans we detected earlier?"
Augustus turned, gaze unwavering. "If they slipped past my scouts, they're no ordinary prey—skilled, tactical."
He paused.
"But leave them be."
The wind picked up again, carrying the scent of old wood and something unnatural from the forest depths.
"We focus on our top priority," Augustus finished, voice low and dangerous.
"And let the shadows come to us."
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