"Move. Now."
That is the only order that matters.
Rhayne falls into step right behind me, her storm-cloud eyes wide with unease. "Is it something we need to worry about?"
"I don't know exactly what it is," I say, my voice tight as I push through the glowing brush. "But I do know that sound isn't something we can fight."
With our OXI tanks completely topped off from the makeshift drop, we tear through the corrupted jungle.
But the footsteps don't fade.
They follow. And with every heavy, rhythmic THUD, the earth shifts beneath our boots. It isn't just a vibration anymore; it's a rapid, violent tremor that threatens to rattle the teeth right out of my skull.
The air itself feels wrong. I can feel the ambient OXI in the forest reacting, distorting wildly around whatever is prowling out there in the dark.
The seismic shaking spikes.
I drop to one knee, pressing my ear flat against the damp, magenta-stained dirt.
I need to triangulate the shockwaves…
