Chapter 272: Escape!

Gideon barely had time to steady himself before Jasper moved.

The moment he saw the blood spreading across Gideon’s chest, something changed in his expression.

It was satisfaction.

After everything Gideon had done to him, after dragging him through the mine and tearing apart every infected that had stood in his way, Jasper finally had proof that the man in front of him was not untouchable.

He stepped forward and kicked Gideon hard in the side.

Gideon’s already weakened body rolled across the stone, his injured chest striking the ground again. Pain tore through him, forcing a strained breath from his lungs.

"You think you’re different from everyone else, but you’re not. You’re just another person who can bleed."

Gideon pushed one hand against the ground and tried to raise himself, but his arm trembled beneath his weight.

His vision began to blur, and the edges of the chamber grew indistinct.

"The fuck are you talking about, Jasper? Shut your mouth." Gideon cursed, clenched his hands to the ground.

It was painful and hot; blood kept pouring out of him without mercy. He was annoyed that the system didn’t protect him from this.

Of course, being poisoned by aberrants was much more common than being shot by your enemy or, in this case, an ally.

"You ruined everything." Jasper took another step closer. "You think you’re saving these people, but you don’t understand anything."

"The hive mind knows what this world is. It knows what happened to us. It knows what happened to Daniel."

"It can make a perfect world, but you don’t understand, do you? Someone as strong as you would never know the pain of losing someone."

Gideon sighed, and the voice that came from his mouth trembled with irritation.

"Gezz, this bastard... the hive mind lies to you. Daniel isn’t real, Jasper. He is dead, and all of us will be if you keep babbling nonsense!"

His hand pressed harder against the wound in his chest. Blood continued to seep between his fingers, warm and frighteningly fast.

He could feel the damage inside him with every heartbeat. The bullet had passed dangerously close to his heart. Too close.

He needed to stop the bleeding.

Gideon opened his system storage through his fading vision and searched through the items he had accumulated over time.

Materials, food, miscellaneous supplies. His eyes finally landed on something he had never bothered using before.

Healing potions.

He immediately pulled it from his storage and reached for the stopper and drank slowly from it.

Jasper noticed what he was doing.

"What are you—"

His boot struck Gideon’s hand before he could drink properly.

The bottle flew from his fingers, struck the stone wall, and rolled away across the floor until it disappeared into the darkness.

Gideon stared at the empty hand for a moment.

Then he slowly lowered his head.

"Fuck."

Jasper’s breathing became heavier as he stared down at him. "You still think you can survive this?"

Gideon ignored him. Talking to him was like talking to those people in a cult. It was useless.

He had managed to swallow a small amount before Jasper kicked the bottle away. It wasn’t enough to repair the damage, but he could already feel the effect beginning to spread through his body.

The bleeding slowed slightly, and the crushing pressure around his chest eased enough for him to breathe without feeling as though his heart was being torn apart.

Not enough. But enough to keep him alive.

Gideon reached into his storage again.

Jasper’s expression changed when another bottle appeared in his hand.

"No. What the fuck? How did you get that?!"

This time, Gideon didn’t give him the opportunity to interfere. He pulled the stopper free and drank the entire potion in one go.

Warmth spread through his body almost immediately. The damage around the bullet wound began to repair itself, tissue slowly rebuilding around the torn flesh.

The bleeding became weaker and the pain dulled from something unbearable into something he could tolerate.

Gideon lowered the empty bottle and looked at Jasper.

The man stared at him with disbelief and anger.

"You..."

Gideon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I told you," he muttered, his voice rough. "I have more than one trick."

Jasper’s face twisted. Before he could say anything else, the chamber suddenly trembled.

Both men looked toward the hole.

The pale tissue around the hole suddenly trembled.

The mass itself did not spread across the chamber, nor did the strands around them suddenly lash out.

Instead, a large portion of the tissue covering the edge of the hole began to gather in one place.

It thickened.

Layers of pale flesh folded over one another, slowly rising from the ground as though something beneath the surface was forcing it upward. The growing mass gradually took shape.

"What the..."

The tissue continued to rise until it formed something resembling an enormous hand.

Five thick, pale fingers emerged from the mass, dripping with white fluid as they flexed against the air.

"Huh. That’s new."

Gideon slowly approached Jasper, who was still struggling to recover from Aaron’s beating. He reached down, grabbed him firmly by the collar, and pulled him upright.

"You wanted to join them so badly, didn’t you?" Gideon asked, his tone almost casual. "Fine. I’ll help you."

Jasper’s expression changed immediately.

"No."

He began struggling, but there was little he could do against Gideon’s strength. He stepped backward, dragging Jasper with him until the man lost his balance. Then, with one powerful motion, Gideon swung him around and threw him directly toward the white mass.

Jasper fell directly toward the pale mass as his scream tore through the chamber.

The white tissue reacted immediately. A massive pale hand rose from the surface and caught him before he could hit the ground.

Fingers made of the same wet, fibrous material curled around his body, tightening around his legs and torso as Jasper desperately tried to pull himself free.

"You promised me!" His voice cracked with terror.

More of the pale tissue spread across his body, dragging him slowly toward the enormous mass below.

"Daniel! You said Daniel would come back!"

There was no answer. The hive mind simply pulled him deeper.

Jasper’s screams grew more desperate as the white mass swallowed his legs, then his waist, then his chest. He continued calling his brother’s name until even his voice disappeared beneath the shifting tissue.

Just like that, Jasper became part of the hive mind he had been so desperate to join.

Gideon barely had time to watch him disappear before Aaron suddenly shouted behind him.

"Don’t get close! I can’t control my body!"

The rifle fired.

Gideon twisted aside as the bullet passed where his head had been a fraction of a second earlier.

He closed the distance immediately, seized the barrel before Aaron could fire again, and wrenched the weapon out of his hands.

Aaron struggled against him, but Gideon struck the back of his neck with the butt of the rifle.

Aaron’s knees buckled. Gideon struck him again, hard enough to finally knock him unconscious and collapsed onto the floor.

Gideon caught him before his head could hit the ground, then lowered him carefully.

"Yeah, that’s enough excitement for a day. Let’s end this."

He then turned his attention toward the hive mind.

The enormous mass shifted almost immediately.

The thick white tissue began pulling itself toward the hole, strands sliding over one another as the entire mass slowly rose. It was no longer spreading aimlessly across the chamber. It was moving with a clear purpose.

Gideon narrowed his eyes.

"Nope. You’re not escaping."

He reached down and picked up the Unbreakable Sword before stepping toward the nearest mass of white tissue. With a single swing, he cut through the thick strands.

The blade passed through them cleanly.

For a moment, the severed pieces remained apart. Then the strands on both sides began to writhe.

They stretched toward one another, twisting and pulling until the two ends met. The pale tissue fused together almost instantly, sealing the wound as though Gideon had never cut it in the first place.

Gideon stared at it.

"Oh, shit."

He crouched slightly, watching as another section of the hive mind crawled toward the opening.

"It can regenerate." His grip tightened around the sword. "There has to be a core somewhere."

That was the problem.

The thing was enormous. Even if he found the core, destroying it was not as simple as cutting through the body.

If he used the C4, the entire mine could collapse around them. If he used his Pyro, the flames could spread through the tunnels and reach the surface.

Half of Climber Rift could end up paying for it.

Burning the entire thing was a fifty-fifty gamble at best, and Gideon had never liked gambling when the losing side included thousands of people.

Unfortunately, he was running out of alternatives.

More of the hive mind began crawling upward.

Gideon sighed and lowered the sword for a moment.

"Fine. Let’s see how much you hate fire."

Pyro gathered in his palm. The orange glow illuminated the chamber, casting dancing light across the white tissue and the ruined stone around him.

Gideon slowly extended his hand toward the thickest section of the parasite.

Before Gideon could move even more, a violent explosion erupted somewhere above him.

BOOM!

The entire mine shook.

Gideon staggered as the sound rolled through the tunnels. Dust poured from the ceiling, followed by chunks of rock that crashed onto the ground around him.

He looked upward.

The cracks spreading across the ceiling widened with a deafening groan.

For a second, Gideon simply stared.

Then his expression slowly changed as he realized what had happened.

The C4.

Of course.

The hive mind had already taken the charges.

Gideon looked toward the white mass, then back toward the ceiling as another section of rock began to break loose.

His shoulders dropped as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Jade is going to kill me."