The moment Richard, Devon, and Asuka crossed the threshold of the danger zone, the forest changed. The trees seemed too straight. The ground—too smooth. Even the air felt wrong, like a machine humming under the soil.
Devon stopped abruptly. "Rich… is it just me or—"
A screech split the air.
Four Plagued creatures burst from the darkness.
Lanky. Twisted.
Demogorgon-level threats.
Skin stretched tight over muscle.
Blackened veins.
Hungry eyes.
"Asuka—left!" Richard barked.
Devon and Asuka reacted instantly, grabbing fallen branches dipped in lighter fluid from earlier preparations.
WHOOM—
Both branches ignited.
Two of the Plagued lunged—
Asuka swung first, flames catching the creature's face.
Devon jabbed hard, fire licking its arm.
The creature shrieked, stumbling backward into the brush, burning.
"Two more!" Richard shouted.
A boulder perched on a cliff shelf above them caught his eye.
Richard sprinted—despite the creatures closing in—scrambled up a rock wall, and shoved with everything he had.
CRASH!
He timed it perfectly:
The huge slab crushed two Plagued creatures, pinning one completely and trapping the other beneath rubble.
But the fourth was faster.
It leapt from the shadows, hitting Richard full-force, slamming him onto the ground.
His ribs cracked.
His world blurred.
He tried to roll, but the creature pinned him.
Devon screamed, "RICHARD!!"
Asuka sprinted, swinging her burnt branch, but the creature swatted her aside.
Richard felt his leg twist—
POP.
Agony exploded.
He grabbed a stone and smashed it against the creature's jaw, buying a second of breathing room.
But it wasn't enough.
The creature raised its claws—
A flaming branch smashed into its skull.
Devon, wild-eyed, roaring like an animal, kept swinging until the creature hit the dirt.
Asuka finished it with one last flaming strike.
They dropped beside Richard.
"Hey!" Devon shook him, panic in his voice. "Stay with us! Rich—Rich, talk!"
Richard winced, coughing. "I… said… stick to the plan."
Tears welled in Devon's eyes. "He killed it," he muttered. "My brother killed it."
Asuka hoisted Richard's arm over her shoulders. Devon took the other.
"We're getting you out," she said. "No arguments."
Richard's breath was shaky, but he nodded.
He didn't have the strength to argue anyway.
Behind them, the crushed Plagued creatures twitched under the rubble.