Luca opened his eyes slowly. A dull ache spreaded across the sides of his forehead, irritating him. Above him, a canopy of green leaves stretched in all directions, filtering only a few golden rays of light that slipped through the branches. The air smelled of damp earth and fresh vegetation.

  Ah. The forest.

  A bright, pulsing message appeared in front of his eyes, interrupting his thoughts.

  Luca sighed and sat up, leaning his back against the rough bark of a nearby tree. He murmured to himself, "should I be surprised that this is the worse of the two possibilities?"

  At the mines, he would have his Night Vision on his favour —and not much to fear. Here...

  He ran a hand over his face, sighing. Alright. There was nothing to do but to adapt his plans. Glancing around, his eyes captured the details of his surroundings. The forest was dense, with wide, twisted tree trunks and branches laden with dark, thin leaves that. A dirt path slithered in both directions, disappearing into the thick foliage. To one side, there were mountains; to the other, nothing but forest.

  There was no sign of anyone else—just him. For now.

  The map Michael showed them had been extense. It felt almost like a bad joke that they were given only four hours to fulfill the mission —or resign themselves to death. Luca, of course, had no interest in the last option. If something went wrong... no, better not to jinxe himself so soon.

  Pushing aside those thoughts, Luca checked himself over. He was wearing a khaki vest, practical but uninspiring, with several pockets. Could there be something useful in them? He found the answer as he felt through each one—no. It was like he had spawned out of thin air on the forest.

  Another message appeared in front of his eyes, this time more interesting:

  Luca pressed the only available option, feeling a bit optimist. The Junky Box had a prophetic quality to it - what it gave was always something necessary for the person who opened it. A series of messages followed quickly:

  "Inventory," Luca muttered. He kept an ear on his surroundings as the screen flickered and changed. The new interface was a grid with nine slots, two of them occupied. One by a blue capsule he recognized from his previous mission, and the other by the newly obtained silver multi-tool.

  Both would led him to sucess, he knew.

  With a quick motion, he reached for the capsule and tucked it into one of his pants pockets. Then he did the same with the multi-tool, making sure both items were within easy reach. Being well prepared was key.

  With a minimal sense of security restored, Luca set out to decide his next move. However, before he could fully stand, another message appeared, this time with a more formal tone:

  "No surprises here," Luca murmured, wiping his hands on his pants. This wasn’t exactly what he considered fun, but he supposed there could have been worse assignments... In other Mysteries.

  Standing up, he brushed the dust off his pants and take another look around. From his new perspective, he could see a rusted wire fence stretching beyond, along the path to his right—where the mountains loomed. He was still on the 'outer border' of the map so he needed to cross that fence and then move forward.

  'Survive the Forest', it said the mission.

  Luca took a deep breath, adjusted his vest, and started walking to the right, with the multi-tool ready in case he needed it —and the capsule not far from his fingers. The songs of birds and the scattered sounds of other animals filled the air, creating a natural white noise that drowned out his footsteps.

  He didn’t have to walk far to reach the fence. It was tall and imposing, at least three meters high, topped with a tangle of barbed wire. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed the wire itself was thin, almost fragile to the touch. It cut easily with the multi-tool; only a few precise movements were necessary.

  It was surprisingly easy, so easy that for a moment he wondered if he’d even needed the tool. His nails might have been enough.

  Once on the other side, he encountered a barrier of thorny bushes blocking his path like a second fence. There was no way around them, so he had no choice but to crawl through the dirt, avoiding the sharp thorns as best he could. The last thing he wanted was to leave a trail of fresh blood that could attract something.

  Despite his best efforts, he felt the thorns scrape his back and the backs of his arms. However, he managed to make it to the other side with only a few superficial scratches. It wasn't the best but not the worst.

  The clearing he found himself in didn’t offer a clear path, but it didn’t matter. The mountains were impossible to miss. However, his expression darkened as he noticed marks in the dirt not far from where he stood. They were hoofprints, vaguely shaped like inverted hearts—and they looked fresh.

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  This isn’t good, he thought, frowning.

  A bird chirped overhead, briefly breaking the tension. Luca looked up and caught a glimpse of long brown feathers before the bird flew off into the sky. That sight of life was a reminder that, at least for now, the danger wasn't over him. Still, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

  With the capsule in one hand, he continued forward, keeping his full attention on his surroundings. The birdsong and the sound of small animals became more sporadic. The trees became thicker, older. The soil darkened.

  The further he went, the more the environment changed.

  Luca stopped at the edge of another clearing. This time, he couldn’t ignore the sense of unease that had grow like vines on his heart.

  Something was wrong.

  The trees seemed darker, their leaves almost black, stiff and unmoving despite the light breeze that stirred the rest of the forest. The air was different too; the smell of damp, fresh earth had been replaced by something more metallic. If he focused, he could smell a hint of... burnt. It was faint for now but he knew as he moved forward, it would grew stronger.

  But he couldn't stay there, waiting for something to happen.

  Crinkling his nose, Luca took a step forward and accidentally stepped on a small twig. The snap echoed in his ears, amplified by the silence around him. And then he understood.

  Ah. That was what was wrong.

  The silence.

  How could a forest like this be so quiet? Just minutes ago, the air had been full of life: birds, insects, the rustle of leaves. Now there was nothing. Not a single sound.

  Luca squinted, scanning his surroundings more carefully. There were no birds in the trees, no movement in the canopy. On the ground, there was no trace of life either. Not even the usual small forest creatures, like squirrels or rabbits. Not even ants.

  Pressing his back against a trunk, Luca stayed still, half-hidden, his senses on high alert.

  Seconds passed without anything happening—seconds that dragged on heavily, as if time itself had slowed down. Luca wasn’t worried about the four-hour rule right now; his priorities were different. At that moment, the main one was to get out of this forest as soon as possible.

  The only problem was that there was something here—something crucial for his plan to prove valuable to the company and, in turn, secure his brother’s admission to Pendulum’s hospital care. A Gem. This little ‘surprise’ was hidden somewhere in the forest, in the territory before reaching the mines: an offensive, rare Perk—Acid.

  (The best defense was a strong offense nine and a half times out of ten.)

  The sound of a bird’s chirp interrupted his thoughts. It was somehow stranger than the ones he had grown accustomed to. Frowning, he scanned the branches for the source of the sound, but he saw no flash of feathers. The leaves were still. The forest was… still unnervingly quiet.

  Luca didn’t move, even as the urge to flee surged within him. His eyes never stopped scanning his surroundings. Waiting. He was waiting for the Thing to move away. A vague hope.

  A soft breeze broke the heavy silence, brushing the leaves, but it offered no relief. It carried with it a horribly familiar coppery smell -fresh, so fresh. He was sure he could hear something dripping, dripping, dripping.

  A futile hope.

  His expression cooled. He knew he couldn’t stay there. Moving forward was the only option. He gripped the capsule tightly, squeezing whatever reassurance he could from the small item. It wouldn’t be entirely useful here—but it was better than nothing.

  Moving carefully, traying to avoid making noise, Luca persisted forward. It was difficult, considering the branches and dry leaves that covered the forest floor, and it was probably useless at this point —but it never hurt to try.

  He had only covered a few meters when a sharp scream cut through the air—feminine and piercing. A shiver ran down his spine. The sound seemed to have come from behind him, not far away. It was horrible. And Luca was almost certain he’d heard it before.

  Still, he didn’t turn around, continuing in the same direction. His mind, however, prickled—Where had he heard it? Who could it be?

  Why not take a look?

  Luca did his best to suppress those thoughts, not stopping. He wouldn’t stop. But—a few minutes later, when it almost seemed like everything had settled—another scream made his pulse quicken. It was a child. A small child, scared and hurt. Luca recognized the voice instantly and hated the way his body betrayed him, freezing in place. Yet he didn’t give in, refusing to turn around.

  He needed to go.

  His feet stayed stubbornly still.

  Taking a deep breath, Luca opened one hand as wide as he could and pinched his other arm hard. The sudden pain unlocked his legs. Move, move, move, he chanted in his mind, his heart pounding wildly. He managed to take a step forward, then another, and another.

  The child was left behind.

  (The child had been left behind years ago.)

  His eyes caught something beyond the bushes and the few trees there—the river. A strip of dark water, its depth only guessable, flowing fast, fast, fast. He felt a glimmer of hope amidst the panic and forced himself to move toward it.

  He couldn’t stay there.

  He stumbled forward as best he could, leaning against a tree trunk.

  He had to get away, as far as possible from that place before—

  A piercing scream cut through the air, shattering all his thoughts. A nauseating cotton-like cloud seemed to settle in his head. His entire body froze.

  No, he thought, it can’t be… His breathing became ragged, uneven.

  It can’t be…

  A second scream found him clinging to the tree trunk, pressing his face against the rough bark. Tears pricked at his eyes, and his entire body fought against itself, wanting to rebel, to run, to find Shawn. He needed to leave. He needed to find him.

  He just had to turn around—

  Shawn would be there. Behind him.

  He just had to—

  With a superhuman effort, Luca managed to stop himself and closed his eyes. Without hesitation, he slammed his forehead against the trunk. Hard. The pain was enough to stun him, to break the confusion that had wrapped around him like a heavy, malicious sentence.

  The despair he’d been feeling gave way to rage.

  "Fuck you," he breathed through clenched teeth, grinding them so hard it was a miracle they didn’t shatter.

  If he ever got his hands on that creature, he’d make sure to skin it alive.

  How dare it use his brother—!

  The temptation to turn around and end the creature seized him—rage flowing through his veins. He was already turning when a flash of clarity broke through the red cloud in his head, and he only caught a glimpse of long, brown tendrils peeking out from one of the nearby bushes before he forced himself to close his eyes again and repeat the same strategy.

  The impact reverberated in his forehead, and he hissed in pain.

  He really had to get out of there.

  Taking a deep breath, Luca shook his head and then staggered toward the river. He had only one goal at that moment—to reach the river.

  Getting to the mountain, to the mines, was all he could think about.

  (Everything he could afford to focus on.)