Odyssey Of Survival-Chapter 188 - Jack’s Abduction

Three. Two. One.

Nate counted down in his head, eyes locked on the flames still swirling and crackling ahead like a raging beast hungry for flesh. Beside him, Sera stood with trembling legs, but a determined look in her eyes. The plan was risky, but they didn't have the luxury of a better option. Nate could survive the fire. He knew that. Fire was his power. Even though it was dormant, suppressed by the gas lingering in the air, his body had always resonated with flame. There was no way he'd let something born of his own essence destroy him. But Sera? She needed protecting.

The moment Nate hit "one," Sera's shadows shot forward like a wave, dark tendrils unraveling and stretching toward the fire to clear a path.

But the moment her shadows touched the wall of fire, everything went wrong.

A hiss like boiling oil met their ears as the shadows disintegrated on contact. Not just pushed back—erased. Consumed. It was as if the fire didn't just burn but devoured anything with life. Sera's knees buckled, and her face drained of all color.

Her eyes rolled back as she staggered back, nearly falling. Nate caught her just in time, arms wrapping around her waist. Her skin was cold. Her breathing, shallow.

"This... this won't work," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Nate nodded grimly, teeth clenched. He gently lowered her against the wall, his own chest rising and falling in rapid thought. The fire was no ordinary one. It wasn't just heat—it was enhanced, weaponized, likely built using the same twisted technology they were using to suppress their powers. It fed on energy, on essence. That's why it ate her shadow—her very ability.

He rubbed his forehead as sweat trickled down the side of his face. Think, damn it.

Then it hit him.

The ventilation.

He had seen it earlier. Too narrow for him. That's why he had dismissed it. But now... everyone else was inside Sera's shadow. If she could make it through, they could survive.

"Sera," he said softly, helping her up. Her eyelids fluttered open as she blinked back into consciousness.

He pointed toward the nearest door. "Ventilation. You can get through it. Get out through the other side. It's the only way."

Sera stared at him for a second, processing. Then she nodded weakly. "I'll do it..."

With effort, she pulled herself up, stumbled toward the nearest room, and vanished inside. Nate followed her to the doorway and watched as she looked up toward the vent. With a shaky breath, she turned into shadow once more and disappeared upward.

Nate exhaled in relief. That was one problem solved.

But now came the hardest part.

He had to hold time.

He had to keep everything frozen—this moment of near-death—until she made it out. Because if time resumed while she was still in the vents, that fire would rip through like a blade.

His body trembled. The sweat that had been trickling before now poured like rain down his face and neck. His hands shook slightly, but he forced his focus. He could feel his control over time stretching, straining, bending like a rusted metal rod about to snap.

"Just a little longer," he whispered to himself.

He stood there in the stillness, the fire frozen mid-curl, like some sort of monstrous sculpture made of light and rage. It looked beautiful and deadly.

Every second dragged like an hour. He clenched his fists. His knees buckled slightly. His vision blurred, black spots forming at the edge of his eyes. He could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears, thudding like war drums.

"Come on, Sera," he muttered. "Come on…"

Then, just when he felt like he couldn't hold on any longer—just when the world started spinning and his lungs refused to work—he felt it.

A tiny shift.

A tug in the air.

She was out.

He knew it. Somehow, he knew.

His lips parted. He let go.

Time snapped back into place.

BOOM!

The fire surged forward in a massive wave, chasing oxygen and life as it swallowed the hallway. But Nate was already moving. His body lit up—not with the usual crimson flames, but a blue fire, pure and almost electric. Sparks of lightning danced around his skin as if welcoming back their rightful host.

He sprinted toward the flames.

Then into them.

For a moment, nothing could be seen.

The fire roared, engulfing the space, wrapping everything in smoke and light. But within the inferno, a figure moved like a comet. Nate.

His body glowed, not burning, but shining. He was like a man reborn in the storm. His coat burned off, leaving just his torn shirt beneath, skin covered in heat-rippling light. The flame licked his skin, yet did not consume him. It bent around him. It knew him.

Sera's body shot out of the narrow ventilation shaft like a ghost slipping through the cracks of reality. She rolled onto the grass outside the facility, gasping for air, her form flickering as shadows rippled around her like smoke. Her body trembled, her limbs heavy as if weighed down by chains. That trip through the ventilation had taken everything she had, and more.

She panted hard, pressing her palm to the ground to stay upright. Her eyes lifted slowly, catching sight of the explosion in the distance—fire still rising from the blown corridor. Her chest tightened. Nate was still inside.

A dozen others began appearing around her, stumbling as they emerged from the thin wisps of shadow she had brought with her. Confused voices rose among them—Ryder, Ray, Liam, Elena, and several others who had been rescued from the rooms inside the facility.

"What… how did we get here?" someone muttered.

"We were in the hallway… there was fire, a blast—"

"Wait, where's Nate?"

The question hit like a hammer. Everyone turned, eyes scanning, but all they saw was the towering flames eating away at the facility in the distance. Sera was frozen, still staring. Her hands were trembling as she clutched her chest.

"No… no no no," she whispered. "He was still inside…"

Alice's heart slammed inside her chest. "Nate…"

And then—

BOOM!!

A streak of lightning burst from the heart of the explosion. It shot across the sky like a comet, trailing fire and electricity in its wake. Before anyone could react, the streak curved down toward them and slammed into the earth just ahead, blasting up dust and grass in every direction.

The dust settled.

There he was.

Nate.

Collapsing onto one knee, his shirt torn and body soaked in sweat, his skin flickering with faint embers and sparks of lightning. His breathing was ragged, muscles twitching from exhaustion. Smoke rose from his back.

"Nate!" Sera screamed, rushing forward.

She knelt by his side, gripping his shoulder, her voice trembling as she said, "Are you okay? Say something!"

Nate let out a weak laugh between breaths, "Told… you I'd be fine…"

Alice followed behind her, but before she could reach him, Nate raised a hand to stop her. "I can still… run…"

Liam stepped in beside them, still panting. He placed a firm hand on Sera's shoulder and looked over at Ryder. "We don't have time. Jack… the lab…"

Ryder's face darkened instantly. He nodded grimly. "We need to move. Now."

Nate didn't wait.

The second he caught his breath, he vanished. A blur of lightning and fire raced across the landscape, moving faster than any of them could see. The others began to regroup, catching their breath and getting ready to follow.

But Nate was already at the lab.

He kicked open the front door and sped through the hallway, calling out: "Jack! Madison! Bella!"

No answer.

He skidded into the main room—and froze.

Cleo.

The little girl was lying on the floor, unmoving.

His heart stopped. "Cleo?!"

He rushed to her side, kneeling down and scooping her into his arms, only to realize… she was still breathing. Her chest was rising, very slowly. A tranquilizer dart was lodged in her arm.

Nate's fists clenched.

They hadn't killed her. But they had drugged her and left her behind like luggage.

His mind raced. Where were the others?

Where were Bella, Jack, and Madison?

Something deep inside Nate burned—not just anger, but something darker. Whoever had done this… whoever had taken them—they weren't going to get away with it.

---

Jack's eyes fluttered open.

His head throbbed like someone had slammed a hammer into it, and his mouth felt dry. The ceiling above him was curved—metallic—and the constant vibration under his body made it clear he was in a vehicle… no, a chopper.

Panic rushed in fast.

He jolted upright only to realize he could barely move. His arms were strapped down, wrists bound to the sides of his seat. He twisted his neck with effort, his vision still blurry—but he could see her.

Madison.

She was seated across from him, also restrained, her head drooping slightly forward, unconscious. A little to the side, Bella sat slouched with her arms bound behind her, her breathing steady but slow. They were all drugged.

"Madison!" Jack yelled.

No reply.

"Bella!"

Nothing.

He tried again and again, shouting their names louder each time, his voice bouncing inside the tight interior of the chopper. But the pilots at the front didn't even flinch. They sat there silently, their helmets on, hands steady on the controls as if his screaming didn't even exist.

Jack's breathing picked up, his body struggling against the restraints. His tiny body trembled with rage, frustration, and fear. Where were they taking them? What did they want?

He leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to calm his mind. Think, Jack. Think.

His wrist watch gone, no gadgets. Just him, strapped down in some unknown chopper with two unconscious teammates and no idea who the enemy was.

He tried moving his fingers. They were stiff, slow—but the drug was starting to wear off, at least for him.

That's something, he thought.

He turned his head again toward Madison. Her face was pale, her brows twitching like she was fighting to wake up. Bella hadn't moved at all.

Jack gritted his teeth and kept tugging at the restraints. He wasn't going to let it end like this. Not without a fight. Not without at least getting one of them to wake up.

Then, suddenly—

A sharp jolt.

The chopper dipped slightly in the air, and Jack heard one of the pilots mutter something through the headset. He couldn't make out the words, but the tension in the air suddenly changed.

The chopper was picking up speed.

They're getting close to wherever they're going, Jack realized.

And wherever that was… it wasn't going to be good.