Commander Zain urgently waved the remaining few miners toward the transport plane. "Get to the shuttle! We'll handle this!"
He didn't wait for confirmation. Zain sprinted toward the source of the recent, brutal exchange of gunfire, his rifle held high. He reached the clearing and found some of his men already gathered, grimly staring down at a figure on the forest floor. The scene was immediate and final.
"Report! What in God's name is happening?" Zain demanded, his voice tight with controlled fury.
"It's Officer Mack, Commander," Jarvis reported, his expression hardened. "We heard the shot and converged immediately. He was already gone. Looks like a close-range ambush."
Zain stared down at Mack's lifeless body, a cold fury rising in his chest. They were here for a simple extraction, yet the resistance had escalated into murder.
"Sweep the perimeter," Zain commanded, his voice dangerous. "Search everywhere. Move in pairs. Kill anything that moves, and double-tap anything that doesn't. They have just signed their own death warrant."
The squad fanned out instantly. Mack was one of their most reliable men, and his death fueled a brutal, focused determination in the unit. They moved with the silent efficiency of trained hunters, checking every thicket, every elevated root system, looking for any sign of human presence. The vastness of alpha_09 forest felt suddenly hostile, closing in around them.
For the next hour, the search yielded nothing but oppressive silence. Then, a sharp crack ripped through the stillness. PFC Miller had spotted a flicker of movement, the hostile target, concealed behind a dense cluster of ferns fifty yards out. Miller fired one shot.
Kealen lean and quick, dodged the incoming round, but the bullet carved a deep furrow across his forearm before he vanished again into the undergrowth.
"Contact! He's wounded and moving west!" Miller yelled over the comms.
The entire patrol converged on the position, Commander Zain leading the charge, determination set firm on his face. They formed a tight, relentless pursuit formation, determined not to let him slip away.
Kealen was running low, ignoring the searing pain in his arm. Fear was a luxury he couldn't afford; his only focus was escape and retaliation. He had known this day was inevitable, a final, violent confrontation for his freedom. There was no retreating; he would either succeed in his desperate struggle or die trying. But if he fell, he was determined to take as many of them with him as possible. He needed cover, an elevated position, a place where he could turn the hunters into the hunted.
The soldiers pushed their physical limits, following the scrape of boots and the scent of blood. Then, just as suddenly, all noise ceased.
They stopped short, their lungs burning, straining to hear anything over their labored breathing. The deep forest had swallowed Kealen. The oppressive, absolute silence was more chilling than any gunfire.
Zain motioned his men into a tight defensive formation. "He's close. Too close to be running. He's dug in," Zain whispered fiercely into the comms. "Eyes up, men. Stay alert. He's waiting for us to make a mistake."
As their focus tightened on the surrounding foliage, scanning for the hiding enemy, the true, ancient danger of the Alpha-09 forest asserted itself.
Without warning, a massive, thick-bodied serpent, coiled and iridescent, dropped silently from a tree directly behind the squad. It struck Officer Ethan's neck with brutal speed.
Ethan managed only a strangled, agonizing cry before he collapsed, clutching the venomous bite site. The squad instantly broke formation, scrambling to save their comrade. Kealen's potential escape was momentarily forgotten; the immediate crisis dominated their attention.
Tactical priority shifted instantly. Four rifles roared almost simultaneously, shredding the massive snake. It convulsed, thrashing violently on the forest floor, before Jack emptied his entire sidearm magazine into its head, ensuring it was dead.
They spun back to Ethan, who was already convulsing, the venom working with devastating speed through his system.
Jack dropped to his knees, pulling Ethan onto his lap. "Ethan, stay with me! Fight it! Think of Sarah—think of your wife!" Jack pleaded desperately, shaking his friend gently.
The rest of the squad stood paralyzed, watching the terrible, quick work of the poison. Ethan's breathing hitched, his eyes, moments ago wide with panic, began to glaze over. He didn't fight. He simply went slack, his last breath shuddering out as his body slumped lifelessly against Jack.
Silence fell again, heavier than before, broken only by Jack's harsh, choked sobs. It wasn't just the death; it was the cruel, pointless irony of it. They were hardened soldiers, armed with high-powered rifles intended to vaporize enemies targets, yet they were defeated by the forest itself.
The images flooded their minds: Ethan's wife, Sarah. Only yesterday she had come to the base, tears streaming, begging Zain not to dispatch Ethan to Alpha-09.
"It's a myth, ma'am," they had assured her. "Lions and wolves can't stand up to our armor, let alone will anything in the forest withstand our pump-action."
They had promised her safety, trusting in their superior firepower and training. Now, the cold body of the newlywed lay there, killed not by enemy fire, but by the primal wilderness they had so carelessly discounted.
Jack couldn't stem the flow of grief. They had come to Canada years ago, two friends chasing opportunity, finding stability in the structure of the military. Just same yesterday morning, Ethan had been buzzing with plans, talking about submitting his resignation papers, planning the future for his unborn child.
"I need to be home, Jack," he had insisted.
Jack had agreed it was the right decision. Now, all those future plans were reduced to a lifeless weight in his arms, proving that in Alpha-09, the most dangerous enemy was often the one you failed to see.
"Let's get back and focus on our mission. I don't want to lose any more of my men. We can't afford to be distracted by those enemies," Commander Zain urged, his voice firm.
Jack lifted Ethan's lifeless body onto his shoulder, grief heavy in his heart. The men silently dressed their scratched wounds and moved toward the spot where Mack had been killed just an hour earlier. They intended to retrieve their body, to give them a proper soldier's burial back at the barracks.
But when they arrived, they froze in horror. Mack's body had already been devoured by wild animals. Only pieces of his skull remained, scattered in the dirt. A sickening feeling twisted in their stomachs, no one dared step closer.
"What kind of cursed place is this?" one soldier muttered. "An hour ago, an enemy killed Mack. Then Ethan died from a snakebite. And now… this."
"Commander," another soldier spoke up, his voice shaking. "If the forest is this dangerous, we're not safe here."
Zain's eyes burned with fury. "One more word from anyone, and I'll waste two bullets on your head," he snapped. "We all signed up for death the day we chose to serve this nation. If we turn back now, what will you tell the president? That some trees and wild animals stopped us from mining his gold?" He took a deep breath, scanning their frightened faces. "If those enemies can survive here, so can we. We're finishing this mission, no matter the danger."
With that, they left Mack's remains behind and retreated to their camp. Tonight, they would rest. Tomorrow, they would rebuild their huts again. And soon, the pilot would return to the city to bring back the tools they needed.