Chapter 76

  He didn’t have to wait long. The survivors skidded to a sudden stop in the middle of the street just before the building, where Jake stood at the entrahey were clearly surprised to see him just standing there instead of fleeing in fear. Trying to pretend to be scared, he flinched as if startled to see them still on his tail. He then spun around and bolted into the building.

  However, the survivors refrained from immediately following him in. As it turned out, they were smarter than that. Jake halted in the ter of the vast hall and turo face the entrao the building, keenly aware that they had dispyed a surprising refrain, opening not to pursue him into the building. His acute hearing picked up their voices from the street.

  “I don’t like it, Frank,” Isra’s voice, tinged with suspi, echoed from the street. “It almost feels like it’s trying to lure us in.”

  “I don’t care,” dismissed the leader’s harsh voice with a hint ance. “It’s just one lousy mutant. It’s no threat to us. Now get inside, everyone.”

  The sounds of approag footsteps grew closer, and a sed ter, the group showed up. When they saw him standing in the middle of the hall, they froze. A tense silence hung in the air as they stood frozen, their gazes fixed on Jake. After they took note of his ck of aggression, they quickly sed their surroundings, on high alert for any signs of a potential trap or lurking mutants he might have baited them toward. There were no immediate threats, but they did spot the torn remains of the dead mutants he had killed earlier.

  “What the hell happened here?” one of them asked no one in particur.

  Their expressions twisted in a mix of disgust and dread as they sed the se, eyeing the torn bodies of the sin mutants strewn around the area.

  “I think that freak killed them,” the guy named Rick specuted, pointing a fi the lone figure standing amid the aftermath of the age.

  “But why?” the one named Archie asked, a perplexed look on his face. “It might look different from the others, but it’s still a mutant, just like the rest of ‘em.”

  Rick raised his shoulders in a nont shrug. “Maybe they went after it because they just didn’t like the way it looked,” he said, a simple yet pusible expnation for the mutants’ aggression toward their unon terpart.

  Frank abruptly interjected, cutting off their argument. “Are you two dumb or what?” he growled like a wild animal. “There’s no way this freak could’ve killed them.”

  “Why not, boss?” Archie asked in a meek voice.

  “Look at the bodies, you idiot,” Frank snapped in frustration. “They’re cut to shreds. Now look at the freak over there. See any ons or cws? No. It’s got human hands. There’s no way it could have dohis massacre with them. It’s impossible.”

  “You’re right,” Archie ceded.

  Frank scoffed at the aowledgment. “Of course I’m right. Duh,” he retorted. “Anyway, it’s time to end the freak.”

  The group’s leader raised the assault rifle he wielded, aiming it at Jake. Just before he pulled the trigger, Jake swiftly spun around and sprinted across the expansive room to the far side. Bullets whizzed past him like crazy hors. He felt one of them punch him in the shoulder, but he remained unfazed. fident in his regeive abilities, he knew his body would soon mend itself, and the bullet embedded inside him would be dissolved by the mana held within his body, disiing it into nothingness.

  Reag one of the doorways that led further into the building, he dashed through it and into a long corridor. He covered a few more yards before easing his pace because he heard no footsteps behind him to indicate he was being followed. He came to a plete stop then, listening ily. The sounds of heated versation reverberated from the main area.

  “Frank, wait,” Isra excimed urgently. “It’s trying to lead us into a trap. ’t you see that?”

  “I don’t care!” Fraed, his voice filled with frustration. “I hahat freak. If you don’t e with me, I’ll make sure you never join Los Demonios. Isn’t that what y’all want?”

  His threat hung in the air for a sed.

  “e on, Frank,” Isra pleaded. “Let it go. That thing seems to be at least half-intelligent. There’s definitely something on its mind. It’s leading us further inside for a reason. It’s not just running away; it’s luring us in. I have a really bad feeling about this.”

  “She might be right, Frank,” Archie said timidly. “Perhaps we should just leave. Something feels off about all of this.”

  Given the explosive temperament of the leader of the group, Jake expected Frank to lose his temper once again. To his surprise, Frank remained silent, seemingly pting the words of his panions. Even within Frank, there must have been growing unease, gnawing at him, signaling that things were not adding up.

  Jake retraced his steps to the door behind him, causing the group to tense up at his ued return. As he stood in the doorway, Jake fixed his gaze directly on Frank, making sure the leader was keenly aware of his inteare.

  “What the hell are you looking at, you freak?” Frank growled, his voice rumbling with anger, his words cutting through the tension in the vast room like a knife.

  Jake slowly lifted one hand and flipped him the bird. The defiaure fueled the leader’s ao the point where his wariness was fotten, causing his face to flush a livid shade of red. Immediately, Jake wheeled around and vanished bato the corridor. Once he was sure he was out of sight from the main area, he halted, listening to the voices eg from the hall.

  “What the fuck?” Frank’s enraged voice bellowed to his panions. “Did you see that? The freak just flipped me off!”

  “Frank, calm down,” Isra attempted to reason with him.

  However, he refused to heed her words this time as his anger clouded his judgment.

  “After him! Get the bastard!” Frank’s and rang out.

  Following Frank’s order, the pounding of footfalls finally echoed from the hall, signaling the group resumed their pursuit of Jake.

  The leader’s quick rea to even a minor provocation definitely pyed into Jake’s pn.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Archie muttered so quietly that probably nobody except Jake was able to hear him. “’t believe we’re still doing this.”

  Jake sprinted down the long corridor until he arrived at the entrao the elevator shaft. The ptform with glowing symbols etched at the ers remained i the same level, patiently waiting for him to step aboard and transport him up to the eighth floor of the tower climb challenge, where he hadn’t bee. However, Jake took a few steps farther down the corridor, then turned around and lowered himself into a croug position, pg his palms on the floor before him.

  He could hear the pounding sounds of approag footsteps drawing closer to the entrance of the corridor. The survivors would show up any sed now. All he o do now was lure them into the elevator shaft and onto the ented ptform. It was likely going to be the most challenging part of his pn. Luckily, he had an idea in mind, so he waited patiently for the survivors to arrive.