Odyssey Of Survival-Chapter 187 - Explosion

Nate turned back, sweat still dripping down his temple, blood splattered across his shirt and knuckles. The hallway behind him was littered with bodies—the silence following the chaos was almost deafening. He scanned the corridor and spotted Alice and Sera up ahead, guiding weakened people out of the rooms. It looked like nearly everyone had been freed. Some of them limped, others were being carried by the stronger ones who had already woken up.

Alice's ice-blue eyes met Nate's for a moment, and she gave a short nod, then continued supporting a disoriented man who looked half-conscious. Sera had her arm around a woman who was clearly still shaken, whispering something reassuring into her ear. Relief washed over Nate for a split second, but then he noticed someone approaching.

Ryder.

He walked with heavy, unstable steps, like every bone in his body ached. It looked as if he had being tortured , leaving him in just a torn shirt and tattered pants. Despite his condition, Ryder's eyes were sharp, and his jaw was tight.

"You shouldn't have come," Ryder muttered, his voice dry and low.

Nate furrowed his brows, confused by the comment. "What do you mean? I took care of everything. They're all down. You're free."

Ryder shook his head, frustration written across his face. "They know everything, Nate. About you. About us. They made us talk. We didn't have a choice. They used something on us... something that made it impossible to resist."

A heavy silence fell between them for a moment. Nate felt a sharp pain in his head, like a migraine creeping up fast. He closed his eyes for a second, then asked, "Who's behind this? Who planned all of this?"

Ryder looked down, lips pressed in a thin line. "I don't know. We were never told names. Only saw masks, heard orders through speakers. But there's something you need to understand. Whoever these people are, their roots go deep. They're not just military. This is something else. Something darker. The man who runs this base... his political connections alone could tear nations apart."

Nate's fists clenched. His jaw tightened. He had dealt with more challenges on the island, but this? This felt different. He glanced around at the unconscious and dead soldiers on the ground, the facility's high-tech structure, the chemical gas that still lingered in the air. Whoever ran this place had insane resources.

"How did they even know us in the first place?" Nate asked, his voice low, cautious.

Ryder looked away, guilt washing over his face. "It was me. I told someone... someone I trusted. I thought she could keep a secret. She seemed curious... but she was working with them. I didn't know until it was too late."

Nate let out a long breath. He could feel his frustration bubbling beneath the surface, but he didn't yell. Instead, he shook his head. "We all make stupid decisions when it comes to love. Don't beat yourself up."

Before Ryder could reply, Nate's ears twitched slightly. A distant noise. A soft hum. Something was wrong.

Sera appeared beside him in an instant, emerging from the shadows like a ghost. Her face was serious, focused. "You heard that too?"

Nate nodded. His fist instinctively tightening.

Suddenly, a weak voice came from behind them. "Nate... there's a problem."

Ray.

He was awake, supported by two of the freed prisoners. His steps were shaky, but his eyes held urgency. freёnovelkiss.com

"They're after Jack," Ray said hoarsely. "They know where the lab is. They know about the crystal. And they know it's the only way to reach the island."

Nate's eyes widened. So did Sera's.

"Cleo," Sera whispered, a tremble in her voice.

Nate's heart dropped. Madison. Bella. Jack. All of them were in the lab. And if this group knew about the crystal, they would be heading there right now.

He clenched his fists tighter. "We have to get out of here. Now."

Alice returned at that moment, breathless. "Everyone's out. The wounded are being carried. We're ready to move."

"Good," Nate said, eyes already calculating. "Ray, can you walk?"

"I'll manage," Ray said, gripping the shoulder of one of the others.

Nate turned to Ryder. "We need to move fast. You can still fight, right?"

Ryder gave a grim nod. "Barely, but I'll push through."

Before Nate could even start leading them, a familiar but terrifying sound echoed through the corridor. That rumbling... he knew it. His eyes widened. The same sound again.

"Get back!" he shouted.

But it was too late.

A violent explosion ripped through the hallway ahead, blasting the walls apart. The fire roared in like a living creature, fast and merciless. Nate was at the front with Sera when it came, and by the time he reacted, the flames had already closed in. He spun around, pushing Sera back just in time—but a piece of her shirt had already caught fire.

His eyes burned with panic. Everything around him suddenly slowed.

His instincts kicked in—again, just like back at the lab. The gas in the air was meant to suppress their powers, to drain them until they were no different from normal people. But Nate wasn't normal, not even close. And the suppression? It didn't last on him for long. His body refused it.

Time slowed drastically as Nate pushed Sera out of the fire's reach, pulling her shirt off and stomping out the flames in a split-second. The others stood frozen, unmoving, their eyes still wide in shock. It was like the whole world had stopped, the only sound was his own heartbeat, pounding like war drums in his chest.

The fire was still coming. Slow, creeping like a monster, but in real time it was racing toward them at a speed no one could dodge. If not for his powers reawakening in that moment, everyone would already be dead.

He breathed heavily, his mind racing as he stood alone in the slowed world. He looked at the explosion. It hadn't finished yet. It was still stretching out, still burning, still expanding. There was no way he could carry them through it—not without their bodies being torn apart or turned to ash before he even crossed.

"Think... think... think!" Nate muttered to himself, pacing quickly in the slow-motion world.

His body was already sweating from the strain. Slowing time and holding it steady was one of the most draining things he could do. He wasn't at one hundred percent either. Not after all the fighting, the suppression gas, the bruises, and the blood.

He bolted into the side rooms, one after the other, using his speed and slowed time to search desperately. There had to be a path out—somewhere, anywhere. He kicked doors open, looked behind every bed, every crate. Nothing. The vents were too small—barely enough to fit a child, let alone a group of weakened escapees.

The other side of the hallway was a complete dead end. A trap. Whoever designed this place knew what they were doing. One exit. One path. Block it, and everyone dies.

"Damn it!" he cursed, slamming a fist into the wall, cracking it.

His head was beginning to ache now, and his breathing had turned ragged. Slowing time wasn't just mentally taxing—it burned through his energy like wildfire. If he held it too long, he'd collapse. And if that happened now...

No. He couldn't let that happen.

He returned to the group. Ray was still trying to tell Ryder something. He removed his jacket and wore it for Sera, panic was written across everybody's faces. Everyone looked so vulnerable. So breakable.

He looked back at the explosion. The flames were closer now, even though to his perception they were still crawling. They shimmered in the light, eating everything. Just seconds remained in real-time.

He needed a miracle.

Or something close to one.

His heart was pounding, his body strained from holding back the surging wave of fire and heat still creeping toward them through slowed time. Every second was stretching longer than the last, the air around him thick and vibrating like a mirage. He didn't even realize how drenched in sweat he was until a glimmer of movement caught his eye.

Sera.

Her eyes blinked.

Nate's breath hitched.

A moment later, her fingers twitched. Then her arm shifted. And before she could fully collapse, he rushed forward, catching her just before her knees gave out. Her body slumped into his arms, warm, confused—but alive.

"How..." he whispered, staring into her eyes, wide and wild like she had just crawled out of a dream. "You can move...?"

She didn't respond at first, still blinking as if adjusting to a new layer of reality. Her breathing was uneven, but growing steady. Then her gaze shifted down to the floor where a torn piece of her shirt lay smoldering, a hint of fire still dancing frozen in the air above it.

"You took it off," she said softly.

Nate looked away briefly, a little embarrassed despite the danger surrounding them.

"It caught fire," he murmured. "I didn't want it to spread."

She nodded slowly, already pulling herself upright in his arms, her eyes catching sight of the explosion still creeping toward them in slow motion—an inferno suspended in a bubble of warped time. She didn't need him to explain anything. The look on his face said it all. They were trapped. The others were frozen behind them. And time was quickly running out.

"I can bring them into my shadow," Sera said suddenly.

Nate turned to her, brows rising in surprise.

"What?"

"The others," she said more firmly now, the energy returning to her voice. "I can pull them all into my shadow realm. They'll be safe there. The heat won't touch them. But..."

She hesitated.

"But we still have to make it out," Nate finished for her.

She nodded grimly. "Just the two of us."

He took a moment, looking back toward the group frozen mid-motion—Alice, Ryder, Ray, even the ones barely conscious had stopped entirely. Their faces were locked in panic, unaware of the incoming doom.

He looked back at her and nodded.

"Do it," he said. "Get them to safety. I'll figure the rest out."

Sera didn't waste a second. Her eyes began to glow with that familiar dark hue, and tendrils of shadow slithered beneath the feet of every frozen body in the corridor. One by one, they were pulled gently into the ink-like realm—limbs dissolving into smoke, faces fading into the dark void, until the hallway behind them was empty.

Only Nate and Sera remained.

The fire was closing in.

Nate exhaled slowly. Time was still slowed, but even this pushed the limit of his ability. His entire body ached from the pressure. His vision blurred for a split second.

"We need a way out," he muttered, scanning the area again.

But they had already checked every room, every crack, every vent. There was nothing.

Sera stood beside him now, silent but focused, her eyes also darting side to side.

"The explosion," she murmured suddenly. "What if we go through it?"

Nate gave her a sideways glance. "We'd burn alive."

"Not if we time it right."

He frowned, confused.

She stepped toward the edge of the slowed zone, where the fire was still creeping but gaining momentum.

"I can use the shadows to shield us briefly, just enough for a split second to cross the flames. It'll hurt, but we'll survive."

Nate considered it. "You sure you can do it?"

"No," she said honestly. "But we don't have a choice."

He cracked a half-smile despite the heat. "Fair enough."

The fire now rippled like a wall of liquid gold, angry and alive. It was almost beautiful.

Sera took his hand.

"On my mark," she said.

Nate nodded.

"Three... two... one..."