NOVEL NEXT Chapter 77 - Running on Fumes
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
— Mike Tyson
Ryan and Luca pushed deeper, their helmet lights cutting feeble tunnels through the darkness. Every snap of a twig, every drip of water, sounded like a threat. The silence between them was heavy, thick with a worry neither of them would admit to.
Where are you, Zoe? The question pounded in Luca's skull with every step.
They moved together through the brush, the silence between them thick with tension. Every few minutes, they'd pause, listening, hoping to hear some sign of her.
The forest was a damn pressure cooker. Wet, dark, and dense with mist that made everything feel closer than it was. His visor's heads-up display flickered as droplets ran down the visor, and the comm line with Ryan was silent except for their breathing.
They were close.
Zoe was out there, somewhere ahead. But something else was closer.
Luca focused on his interface and activated his [Proximity Threat Map] ability.
A faint shimmer passed across his vision as the system lit up. Four blips. Moving low, fast, circling in from all sides.
"Four incoming," Luca said, his voice tight. "Forty yards. They're coming in quick."
Ryan grunted. "How the hell do you see in this mess?"
"Scout eyes, baby." The smirk felt hollow. One of the blips was already flanking them, moving to cut them off. "Check your left."
Ryan pivoted, raising his plasma rifle, squinting down the sights.
He didn't hit.
The plasma bolt scorched the trees while the raptor lunged.
"Shit!" Ryan shouted.
Luca launched himself sideways, activated [Reflex Shot], and spun mid-slide. The raptor's jaw was open wide, eyes gleaming.
He didn't aim and just pulled the trigger, letting the ability do what it was supposed to.
Its head snapped back in a splash of green blood, and it crumpled mid-leap, skidding across the mud with a wet hiss.
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"One down," Luca muttered. "You're welcome."
"Did you just dive in front of it?" Ryan asked, already turning to catch the next movement. "You're gonna get us both killed."
"Yeah? Well, maybe if you could shoot worth a damn, I wouldn't have to."
The raptor lay there, dead, as a loot box materialized near its remains.
Ryan stepped over and popped it open. "Helmet," he said, fishing it out and tossing it Luca's way. "Looks fancy."
Luca caught it one-handed, raising a brow. Sleek carbon-polymer frame, matte finish, low profile. The visor shimmered faintly as it powered on.
[Item acquired: Centauri Phantom Mk-64 Recon Helm]
"Oh, this is nice," Luca murmured, thumbing along the visor's edge as it flickered through modes. Heat signatures, EM pings, low-light overlays. "Built for scouts. Like me."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You gonna marry it, or put it on?"
"Don't tempt me." Luca slid the helmet into his pack for now. No time to fiddle with loadouts, not while Zoe was still missing.
Still, it was a good find. Lightweight, stealth-optimized, made for someone who needed eyes everywhere at once.
Another raptor burst through the brush, claws slashing. Ryan ducked and slammed his [Arcwave Disruptor] into the ground at point blank range.
A heavy pulse burst outward, crackling through the air. The raptor staggered, muscles seizing as its body spasmed violently from the low-tier EMP pulse. It wasn't enough to kill it, not against a TL9 beast, but it slowed it.
That was all Luca needed.
[Trajectory Focus]. Two throws were now available to him, each giving him a 30% increase in accuracy and 20% additional range.
His interface locked in the arc. He whipped the tomahawk forward, a clean, perfect curve, and the blade slammed into the beast's throat with a crunch, embedding halfway down the shaft. The raptor gurgled and hit the ground hard.
"Two."
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Ryan kicked it once for good measure. "That throw was actually sick."
"Don't sound so surprised."
Another movement behind them, close.
Luca's mind lit up like a warning flare. He felt it before he saw it. He spun around.
Raptor three dropped low, lunging straight for Ryan's exposed back.
Luca aimed with his plasma blaster and fired.
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The bolt slammed directly into the joint between the creature's front shoulder and neck. It screeched, rolled through the dirt, and didn't get back up.
[+3,143 XP]
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Ryan didn't even turn. "Didn't even see that one."
"I know," Luca said, breathing hard. "That's three."
Then they both paused.
The fourth one hadn't moved.
"Wait, hold," Luca said, activating [Target Lock Assist]. His HUD caught the faintest shimmer. It was stalking, moving slow, coming from behind.
Ryan didn't see it yet. Luca stepped back toward him, low and slow.
"On me," he murmured.
Then, fast movement. It came in from above, a leap from a high branch. Too fast to aim.
Luca dropped his rifle and spun with his energy tomahawk, bringing it up in a wide arc. It crackled to life in his grip, slicing through mist and rain as he caught the thing mid-air.
A flash of heat as the tomahawk slammed into the raptor. It gave a loud screech. Bones breaking.
The raptor hit the ground hard, twitching, dying. The light on his tomahawk hissed and faded.
He stood there, panting, soaked, staring down at its twitching body.
Ryan let out a long breath. "Alright. That was badass."
Luca gave him a tired smirk. "You're welcome for saving your ass. Again."
He laughed, shoulders relaxing. "That makes four, yeah?"
"Four."
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Luca's pulse was still racing. The mist swirled around them like it hadn't noticed anything had changed.
But it had.
They were still standing.
Fear gnawed at Luca. She was out here alone, unarmed, unprotected.
He should have been a better leader. Should have kept them together. What if they didn't find her? They'd lost people before, other teams they knew, but never one of their own.
Not like this.
A sudden rustle in the undergrowth snapped him back to the present.
They both froze, their lights converging on the sound. Another raptor, its scales glinting in the dim light, emerged from the shadows, its eyes fixed on them.
Shit.
"Contact!" Luca barked, just as Ryan fired.
His plasma shots finally connected, the raptor screeching as it stumbled back. The creature lunged, and they both dove to the side, narrowly avoiding its snapping jaws.
Luca's tomahawk was in his hand before he even realized it, but the raptor was too fast, too close. It spun, its tail whipping around, catching him in the side and sending him sprawling against a tree.
Ryan fired again, his shots finding their mark, piercing the creature's thick hide. The raptor staggered, giving Luca a precious second. He rolled, scrambling back to his feet, his tomahawk raised.
But the damn thing just wouldn't go down.
The raptor lunged again, its claws raking across Luca's arm, tearing through the fabric of his suit. Pain shot through him, but he gritted his teeth, swinging his tomahawk in a desperate arc.
It connected with the creature's leg, but the blade didn't sink in deep enough.
It's not enough.
Ryan's plasma bolt finally did the trick, a shot hitting the raptor square in the chest. The creature let out a final, agonizing shriek before dissolving into black wisps, leaving only the scent of burnt flesh and ozone in the air.
Finally.
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They stood there for a moment, catching their breath, the adrenaline slowly fading. Then, they were moving again. They had to find her.
After what felt like an eternity, Ryan's light swept over a thick tangle of roots, and there, huddled within, was Zoe.
Her face was streaked with tears, eyes wide with fear and exhaustion. She was shivering, her small frame lost in the shadows of the roots, and a sob escaped her lips as she blinked up at them, barely seeming to register that help had finally arrived.
Thank god.
"Zoe!" Ryan's voice cracked with relief, and he quickly knelt beside her.
She looked up at him, her face crumpling with emotion before she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, her body wracked with quiet, exhausted sobs.
She's safe.
We're all safe. For now.
"Hey, hey... I've got you. You're safe now," Ryan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. She clung to him, shaking, her breaths coming in uneven gasps as she tried to calm down.
Luca kept his helmet light trained on their surroundings, casting watchful glances into the dark as Ryan carefully lifted Zoe into his arms, carrying her back toward the Peregrine.
Zoe buried her face against his shoulder, clinging to him as if he were her only lifeline. The relief that flooded through Luca was almost overwhelming. We found her. She's alive.
Luca moved ahead, his rifle at the ready, his helmet light scanning for any movement as they made their way back to the vehicle. The rain had let up, but the damp ground squelched beneath their boots, every sound amplified in the heavy silence. Almost there.
Back at the Peregrine, Joey and Danny opened the airlock, and Ryan carried Zoe inside, keeping his hold on her as they stepped into the familiar, protective glow of the outpost.
Once inside, he lowered her gently onto a cot, but her fingers clung to his armor, her grip tight and desperate. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, her expression fragile. She's been through hell. A wave of protectiveness washed over Luca, so strong it almost buckled his knees. They were so close to losing her.
"I'm right here, Zoe," Ryan said, his tone reassuring as he knelt beside her, brushing a damp strand of hair from her face. "Take your time. You don't have to say anything. Just rest." Good man, Ryan.
Zoe nodded faintly, her eyes closing as she took a few deep, shaky breaths, curling up on the cot, her grip finally relaxing as she clung to the blanket he wrapped around her.
Ryan stayed close, never letting her out of his sight, his presence a steady comfort as Zoe drifted into exhausted silence. She needed that. They all did. Luca let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, the tension draining out of him. Thank fuck we found her. The thought of what could have happened... No.
Inside the Peregrine, Zoe stayed silent, her usual sharp humor absent. The way she'd returned left them all unsettled.
With the rifle slung over his shoulder, Luca stood near the vehicle's edge, scanning the trees. It was quiet now, too quiet.
Emily finally stepped out and shattered the silence. "What the fuck happened out there?"
She sounded tired but demanding as her voice cut through the stillness. Arms folded, she stopped a few feet from them, eyes moving between each face. "We scattered like we'd never trained a day in our lives. No formation, no fallback, no comms. We're lucky Zoe's alive. So what the hell was that?"
Slowly, Luca exhaled, trying not to let the knot in his chest pull tighter. "It's on me," he said. "I should've kept us tighter. We've been running non-stop, portals, the rain, constant attacks… we haven't had a real rest since New Dawn lit up. We weren't ready."
Danny frowned. "We've had rougher delves. Why'd we fall apart?"
"Yeah, because we had backup," Luca shot back. "The IFC was five minutes away. We had med teams, evac plans, and logistics support. We weren't alone."
Chris, who now had a bandage wrapped around his head, snorted. "This? This was amateur hour. We looked like green-tier scavengers back there."
The words stung.
Luca's stomach was turning as he looked out into the trees. Something in him had been quietly fraying, and now he could feel it starting to come apart at the seams. They were alone. Truly alone. And it was all on him; he should have been ready.
It had all felt manageable back in Sol. Even when it wasn't, even when it was chaos, there was structure, someone else above them. A net beneath the rope. Now? This planet was fully awake and was chewing them up, and Luca didn't even know where the next swing would come from.
"We triggered the System," Luca muttered, almost to himself. "Now the portals are awake. Mobs are spawning all over New Dawn. We haven't slept more than a few hours in days. Then the System drops us into this… this nightmare jungle? We walked in already running on fumes."
Luca let the silence linger, then straightened. "We can't do that again. I don't care how tired we are. If we're not sharp, people die. We do not fall apart next time."
Ryan let out a breath and looked at Luca. "So… what now?"
Luca looked toward the trees, jaw clenched. "Now we finish the mission. We find the herbs. We get out. And then we rest. Because we've got a hell of a lot more ahead of us, and I won't let this team burn out on my watch."
"Fine," Emily said, checking her blasters and flexing her fingers. "Let's just get this over with."