"Spiders," Kael hissed.
I should have known better. There were no other animals here besides the spiders. They sat at the very top of the food chain. Nothing survived against a pack of giant, venomous, eight-legged monsters.
One of them lunged, its mandibles clicking impatiently. In a flash, Kael deflected it and drove his claws straight into its abdomen. He slammed the creature to the ground. It twitched briefly, then went still.
It was nighttime. Spiders thrived in cold, damp darkness. This was when they hunted best, especially in groups. They would never retreat after losing one of their own. If anything, they would only grow more aggressive.
I pulled out my baton and activated it. Blue light flared as electricity hummed sharply in my ears. One spider rushed forward, and I swung as hard as I could, while Kael lunged in and slashed it apart.
Two. Three. Spider carcasses littered the ground, releasing a stench so foul it made my stomach churn. This had to be what hell smelled like.
But their numbers were not thinning. The rustling in the bushes grew louder. Branches snapped closer and closer. I raised my baton toward the tree limbs, hoping for an opening above us, but spiders were already hanging there.
Kael and I were trapped. There was no avoiding this anymore.
The sound they made made my knees shake. It was not just one or two. More footsteps were closing in. I did not underestimate Kael's strength, but fighting more than a dozen of them was suicide.
"Can you swim?" Kael asked.
I turned and shook my head quickly. "Swim?"
Kael wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me in so tightly I let out a slight strangled sound.
"Hold your breath as long as you can," Kael ordered.
Three spiders charged just as Kael threw both of us off the cliff.
I could not scream. My stomach clenched painfully from the force of his grip. My body and legs floated helplessly in the air, like gravity had vanished. My chest tightened, breath torn away by the rushing wind as we fell.
Seconds later, my body slammed into violently churning water. Kael's hold broke instantly. There was nothing beneath my feet.
The impact and the current spun me out of control. My nose and chest burned as water flooded my throat and lungs. I could not call out to Kael. I only flailed upward, desperately, before sinking entirely.
My body kept tumoring in the current as water forced its way inside me, my lungs screaming as if they were about to burst.
I tried. I fought. But nature was not something I could defeat.
I'm sorry, Kael.
…
"Maddie! Maddie!"
The voice sounded distant, then clearer. My eyes opened slowly, pain still gripping my chest. Ash was in front of me, staring down with clear worry.
I coughed weakly. "A-Ash?"
"Thank god." Ash patted my shoulder gently. "You're at the second outpost. You're safe here."
The second outpost? How long had I been carried by the river? And how was I still alive?
Not that I wanted to die. But the last thing I remembered was surrendering to whatever fate awaited me. I had even embraced death while trapped in the current.
"Kael," I said suddenly.
Ash frowned. "What?"
"Where's Kael? We were together, and then… at the cliff, we were cornered. The spiders attacked, and Kael pulled me into the river," I rambled.
Ash let out a breath. "He's not here."
I looked around. We were inside a ring of sharpened wooden stakes. The scent of the wood was strong, something spiders clearly hated.
I struggled to sit up and noticed several other participants resting nearby. They looked rough, too, but still better than I felt.
"We need to find him," I whispered.
Ash's eyes showed doubt, even a faint, cynical smile. "He'll be fine. Kael is a werewolf. His chances out there are ninety percent without you, Maddie."
"So I'm the ten percent that could get him killed?" I asked quietly.
I knew I was a burden. Without me, Kael might have reached every safe outpost without trouble. But he had chosen to stay with me.
Ash shook his head. "You barely survived when I found you. Why are you still thinking about Kael, when he abandoned you?"
Kael did not abandon me. He tried to save me from the spiders. The words stayed trapped in my mind.
"Kael knows you're from the underground district," Ash continued. "He should have found another way. Not throw you into a river when he knew you couldn't swim."
"He tried his best!" I snapped. "If it weren't for Kael, I'd have died the moment I entered the arena! He was the only one who held my hand and didn't let go!"
All eyes turned toward me. Maybe my voice had been too loud. Or my words struck something deeper. Weren't we supposed to be a team, protecting one another?
Ash's eyes widened slightly. He cleared his throat and stepped away. "At least you're safe. For now."
I slept through the night shivering, my body aching as the cold gnawed at me. By morning, everyone was preparing to move again. We had only one day left to complete phase one.
I followed the others, moving more slowly this time. I did not know who was leading, but we walked straight ahead with the sunlight rising on our right. That meant we were heading north.
We traveled along a part of the forest that was not as dark. At least sunlight still filtered through. The journey felt easier since several channelers cleared difficult paths ahead.
A large bird suddenly swooped down toward the group. I flinched, but no one else seemed alarmed. The bird circled gracefully above a moss-covered boulder.
Then, as its wings folded, it shifted into a human.
"Oh my god," I whispered in disbelief.
I recognized him. He was the man who had dueled a fire channeler days ago. Shoulder-length blond hair and is still energetic compared to the others. He brushed his hair back like he knew he still looked good.
I lightly tapped Ash's arm beside me. "He's a shifter?" I asked quietly.
Ash nodded. "An avian shifter. There aren't many of them left. They were nearly wiped out during the rebellion. Avian and Dragon shifters are the ones who can fly."
"Are there any Dragon shifters in our group?" I asked.
"None. Not even in the other teams." Ash sighed. "Dragon shifters are extinct. They were considered the greatest threat to the Naturals."
A threat?
Weren't Strains and Naturals basically the same, both human? Then why were Strains treated like pests that had to be eliminated, slowly, one by one?