Odyssey Of Survival-Chapter 43 Murderer On Loose

Nate moved methodically across the land, his boots crunching lightly on the sandy terrain. The sun had started its descent, casting long shadows over the area. His eyes scanned every detail—the slope of the ground, the positions of potential hiding spots, and the escape routes that could save them in an emergency. He paused to jot mental notes, marking key landmarks in his mind. The land seemed promising, but Nate knew better than to trust appearances.

As he walked closer to the center of the clearing, something snagged his boot. The unexpected jolt sent him stumbling slightly, and he immediately looked down, annoyed. Brushing away loose sand with his foot, he revealed the corner of a fabric sticking out of the ground.

Nate crouched, squinting at the material. It looked worn and weathered, but something about it felt... familiar. Curiosity took over, and he began scraping at the sand with his hands. The deeper he dug, the clearer it became that this wasn’t just discarded clothing—it was attached to something. His heart skipped a beat when he realized it was clinging to a form.

"Axel! Alice!" he called out, his voice tense.

The two came running, their expressions shifting from curiosity to shock as they saw what Nate had uncovered. The outline of a body, partially buried in the sand, became more visible with every handful of dirt they removed. The silence between them grew heavy, the reality of the discovery sinking in.

"What the hell is that?" Axel finally muttered, though his tone carried an edge of unease.

Nate didn’t respond immediately. He focused on clearing more sand until the figure was fully exposed. The body was clad in tattered clothing, and though decay had begun to set in, the face was still somewhat recognizable. Nate froze, his breathing quickening as recognition hit him like a punch to the gut.

"No... no way," he stammered. "I—I know him."

Alice and Axel exchanged confused glances.

"It’s the pilot," Nate said, his voice barely above a whisper. "The pilot of the plane that brought us here."

Axel’s brows furrowed, his usual snark replaced by genuine surprise. "The fuck are you talking about? That dude was supposed to be toast with the rest of the plane!"

Nate shook his head, still staring at the body. "No. He... he must’ve survived the crash somehow. But... how the hell did he end up here?"

Alice’s face had gone pale. "Are you sure it’s him?"

"Yes," Nate said firmly. "I remember his face. He’s the one who flew us. I... I don’t understand."

They stood in tense silence for a moment before Alice spoke again, her voice shaky. "So... what does this mean? How did he die? And who buried him here?"

"That’s what we need to figure out," Nate replied, his mind racing. He began to pace around the site, scanning for any signs of who might’ve been here before them. His thoughts returned to the other half of the plane.

"When we crashed," Nate began, addressing their confused stares, "the upper half of the plane didn’t just disappear. It landed somewhere else. Some of those people survived."

Alice and Axel both blinked, startled by the revelation.

"You never told us this," Alice said, her voice laced with a mix of fear and curiosity.

"It wasn’t something we had time to talk about," Nate admitted. "But the survivors from the upper half... they scattered when the beasts attacked. No one returned, well apart from Claire and a few others. I thought they were all gone. But maybe—"

"Maybe one of them made it here?" Alice finished for him.

Nate nodded. "The pilot could’ve been injured. Someone could’ve buried him here."

The air grew colder, or at least it felt that way to Alice. Her arms wrapped around herself, as if to ward off the growing unease.

"Alright," Nate said, breaking the tense silence. "We’re taking him out."

"What the fuck?" Axel snapped, his usual defiance returning. "What the hell do you want with a goddamn corpse? Leave it there and let’s move on!"

Nate’s eyes darkened as he turned to Axel, his tone sharp. "We need to understand what happened here. If you want to stand around like an idiot, fine. But I’m not leaving him like this."

Axel grumbled under his breath, clearly irritated but unwilling to outright refuse. "Fine. Whatever. Let’s get this over with."

The three of them got to work, carefully removing the sand around the pilot’s body. As they dug deeper, Alice couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. She glanced over her shoulder repeatedly, her fingers trembling slightly as she worked.

Finally, the body was fully unearthed. The decay was worse than they’d initially realized, but Nate’s expression remained hard as he studied it. The pilot’s hands were curled unnaturally, and there were faint signs of a struggle in the dirt around him.

"What the hell happened to him?" Axel muttered again, his bravado replaced by unease.

Nate didn’t answer. He crouched down, his fingers brushing against the cloth of the pilot’s uniform. His jaw tightened as he tried to piece together the story this body might hold.

His brows furrowed as he traced faint markings on the decaying body. His mind was racing, piecing together clues as he unconsciously muttered to himself. He pointed at the pilot’s uniform, then at the disturbed soil beneath him, his fingers moving rapidly as if sketching invisible lines.

Axel stood a few feet away, his arms crossed as he glanced between Nate and Alice. "The fuck is he mumbling about now?" he muttered.

Alice sighed, giving Axel a sharp look before answering. "This is just... one of Nate’s things. Back in school, he’d get like this when he was solving a problem in the lab. He calls it ’analyzing,’ but honestly? It’s more like he enters his own world."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Genius mode? Great. So, what? We’re supposed to stand here and watch him talk to himself?"

Alice ignored Axel and knelt beside Nate, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "Nate," she said softly, breaking him from his trance-like state. "What are you seeing? Can you explain it to us?"

Nate blinked, his focus snapping back to reality as he looked at Alice. For a moment, he hesitated, his lips pressing into a thin line. Then he spoke. "We assumed he died from his injuries—maybe from a beast attack. But…" He paused, lifting the pilot’s arm to reveal faint discolorations. "That’s not what happened. He didn’t die from an injury."

Alice’s breath caught in her throat. "What are you saying?"

Nate shifted, his tone grim as he turned the pilot slightly to expose the chest. "I’m saying he was murdered. Someone did this to him."

Axel’s jaw tightened as he stepped closer, the usual bravado slipping from his face. "Murdered? By what? How the hell can you tell?"

Nate pointed to a faint, charred imprint near the center of the pilot’s chest. It was shaped like a hand, the skin around it discolored and partially burned. "This," Nate said, his voice steady but cold. "It’s a palm print. Whoever killed him... used something electric. Maybe even an electric ability. Look at the burn patterns. This isn’t natural."

Alice’s eyes widened as she instinctively moved closer to the corpse, her stomach churning. "Electric? You mean like... someone with powers?"

Nate nodded. "Exactly. This wasn’t an accident. Someone buried him here, hoping no one would find him. But whoever did this had the intent to kill."

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

The weight of the revelation settled over them like a heavy fog. Axel muttered a curse under his breath, taking a step back. "Shit. So... we’ve got a fucking murderer out here? That’s just fucking perfect."

Before Nate could respond, a sudden sharp sting shot through his neck. His hand flew to the spot instinctively, but before he could process what had happened, his vision blurred. His limbs grew heavy, and he stumbled forward, falling to the ground.

"Nate!" Alice’s voice rang out, panicked, but it was quickly followed by her own gasp of pain. She clutched her neck, her legs giving out beneath her as she crumpled beside him.

Axel barely had time to curse before he too felt the sting. "What the f—" His words were cut off as his body fell limply to the ground, his vision darkening.

The three of them lay motionless on the ground, the corpse of the pilot lying in eerie silence beside them. Above, the trees swayed gently, their rustling leaves masking the faint sound of approaching footsteps.