Alex's core immediately greyed and became void of energy.
Now that his beast art was no longer active and he was out of energy, he was starting to feel just how bruised and scraped his skin was.
White-hot pain managed to shake off his persistent concussion.
"Shit! Were they trying to kill us?!" He groaned through gritted teeth and accidentally put his weight on his left leg which hadn't fully healed.
The sharp jolt of pain shot through his bones and made him fall to his knees. "Shit! Why?!" His breath was uneven, shaking from a mix of fading adrenaline and fear.
'I am stranded, only God knows where. I don't know my way back to town, the others might be dead, and I don't even have energy to fully heal myself.' Hopelessness filled Alex.
"I am pretty much easy prey to any passing predator, human or animal, and I don't have anything to eat." Alex took in a deep breath and forced himself to sit.
He looked at the forest in the distance, then at the body lying a few meters from him, "Why am I complaining?"
Alex placed both hands firmly on the ground and pushed himself off it until he stood on his feet.
He limped as he tried to take a step. Letting out a sharp breath, he limped out of the line of the forest.
"This is no different from my life: I'm stranded with no place to go, there are things that could kill me easily and I'm not even sure that I'll eat." A faint chuckle left his lips.
He threw his head back and started laughing, 'I have barely had this beast art for a week and I've grown complacent and rash. Not to mention the trouble it has gotten me in.'
Alex's laughter died down as he looked at the map of building lights and movement down the hill he was on — a city.
Sitting on the ground, he waited patiently, for his core to fill. 'I can't go unprepared. What if I meet the other kidnappers?'
He was tempted to heal himself completely, but decided against it. How would he explain his pristine state after the accident?
There was next to no point preserving his life only for that oversight to end it.
Surprisingly — or perhaps not — he passed out, whether that was from actual exhaustion or shock, he didn't know.
_____
His eyes opened, and he immediately jumped to his feet, only to regret it a second later.
Alex fell and held his left leg with tears welling in his eyes. The fall had only exacerbated the pain, sending it spiking to near-unimaginable heights.
He rolled over a bit, clutching his leg. After the pain died down a bit, he let out a stiff breath and forced himself to his feet again.
Sparing a look at the city in daylight, he was starting to consider heading there.
"I have no reason not to go there. As far as I'm concerned, I am a victim here and should actively be seeking help." His eyes traced the city, and he remembered his kidnappers, who happened to know the driver and the route that they'd take.
They had even counted on the Principal's absence.
'But they could also be there, maybe even with the other three.' Alex was seriously weighing the pros and cons.
"Fuck! I don't know what to do!!" He ran his shaky hand through his hair.
He dragged in a breath until his lungs were full, "I have to go there."
'Best case scenario, I can get help. Bad case, I can escape using my beast art as a surprise advantage, and as for the worst case… Ah, I don't want to imagine it.'
Alex limped downhill. More pressure was put on his leg, nearly to the point of driving him to tears, but he held it back as much as he could, though the occasional tear slipped out.
"Think about Blessing Of The Sky and even other elite superhumans like Silent Song." He tried to distract himself by remembering as many things as he could to distract himself from the blinding pain.
Soon, the slope evened out. He was at the border of the city.
He passed undisturbed, uncertain of what the future held.
_______________
In an abandoned warehouse, three people were gathered wearing black suits, with two having a tattoo of a wolf devouring a moon. The Black Fenrir gang.
One of the members had a sickly pale complexion, "Oh? I believe that I completed my part of the mission." His voice was rough and dry as though he had been starved of water for so long. He scratched the tattoo on his neck.
The other shrugged, "You must have done something wrong, Reen. The boss wouldn't lie."
The last person in the room, the one without tattoos and the leader of the Black Fenrir gang, cleared his throat.
"I can sense the life of all members who carry my mark. Two have been snuffed out in such a short time. I'm still investigating the first…" Raven's eyes turned distant.
"The second, however, happened when he was taking one of our recent hostages. We aren't sure which of them or where they are but we will, and when we do-" He paused.
"THEY DIE!"