Still running, Abigail didn't have time to worry about their surroundings.

"I can't...," Rodger gasped.

Abigail looked behind her to see nearly all of her friends with their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath. Sweat was pouring down their face.

"At this point, I don't care if they eat us. I'm not taking another step." Liam sat on the floor, his face looking pale from the dead sprint pace they'd been going at.

Michelle laying her head on Liam's lap equalling looking exhausted. "Abigail, we can't keep this up. What are we going to do?" She said between gasps.

Looking over at Timothy, Abigail noticed how much better he was doing compared to everyone else.

"Got any ideas?" Timothy asked when he noticed Abigail looking over at him.

"I say we keep going to the lab. At this point, we have nothing to lose. This forest is weirding me out." Abigail raised both hands to indicate the glowing forest around them.

As she glanced at the canopy, she couldn't even see the light from the sun. Instead, she saw the glowing purple leaves with the strange veins running throughout the trees. They slightly pulsated, reminding her of own heartbeat when she wasn't running for her life.

"Are you sure about that?" Helen asked. Looking at lot better compared to before.

All their heads turned to look at her after Helen asked her question. Abigail sighed, trying to think about what needed to happen in their current predicament. "How the hell am I the leader?" She cursed to herself, blaming herself for taking charge of the hunting trip.

Seeing her stay silent, the group looked to be getting stressed. It wasn't a good situation to inject doubt into, making Abigail decide on what they were going to do.

"Yes," She motioned for them to wait until she finished. "Those things are probably going to keep following us. The sound they made was likely to increase our fear, not from them chasing us. This is why the best thing we can do is to head to where we were planning on going."

Hearing her words, the group didn't look happy, appearing to doubt her idea and plan.

"Help! Is anyone there?" A voice called out to them.

When it looked like Sheila was going to say something, the woman they picked up rushed to cover Sheila's mouth.

Sheila's eyes became round in shock from the woman reacting in such a manner. She squirmed, trying to get out of the woman's embrace but the woman only held her firmer.

Abigail was startled by the reaction and the voice calling out to them. Though seeing how the woman was staring straight at her, fear in her eyes, Abigail held back.

Helen moved forward but was stopped by Abigail. When she looked at Abigail, Abigail merely shook her head.

"Help! Is anyone there?" Several additional voices called out in the same manner, like a recording.

It was at that moment where Abigail realized why the woman had reacted in such a fashion. Not daring to move, she glanced at each of her teammates.

Rodger, Liam, and Michelle were frozen, listening to the voices. It didn't take a genius to realize the voices was mimicking someone else. Each of them stared at the ground, aside from Michelle who stared at the top of the trees from her position.

When seeing Timothy, Abigail found him to be calmer compared to everyone else. Her brows lowered, unsure of what to make of Timothy's reaction to everything.

There was the sound of twigs snapping off in the distance and scampering of hooves, followed by a series of high-pitched shrieks. The sounds of dozens of animals chasing after the sound were heard, slowly fading away.

The woman still holding Sheila sighed in relief, all the energy in her tense body leaving her body.

"Can someone explain what the hell was that?" Liam sharply whispered, too frightened to say anything louder.

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"That's a good question," Abigail said as she looked at the woman.

As the woman let go of Sheila, she shook her head. "Now is not the time to become complacent. There are more of those things roaming these forests."

Gritting her teeth, Abigail nodded her head. Reluctantly looking away from the woman, she turned to face the group. "As the woman said, we can't stay here and need to reach our destination."

If there weren't monsters roaming the forest, she was certain there would be sounds of groaning from having to begin moving again. It was likely the monsters roaming about which helped keep everyone motivated. Even Liam didn't make a smart comment.

The problem was how they weren't able to run anymore. With the fear of being discovered, they needed to step with more caution.

Abigail looked at the floor of the forest and thought it strange the lack of leaves and the number of roots. The benefit of the strange floor allowed them to be able to watch where they stepped, not worrying about twigs underneath the covering.

As they walked, Abigail tried to listen for any sounds of monsters. A tap on her shoulder startled her, but she realized it was Timothy.

"We're almost there," He said to her. Seeing her face scrunch out in confusion, Timothy just shrugged. "I'm good with directions. It'll soon be within sight."

As if not wanting to talk anymore, Timothy moved faster making his way ahead of them. She was shocked by how agile his movements looked.

Seeing the way he moved and how he looked compared to everyone else, Abigail started to question things about Timothy. There were things not adding up in her mind, making her wave a hand to Helen.

"What's up?" Helen made her way close to Abigail.

Motioning with her hand to get Helen to talk quieter, Abigail asked, "Do you think Timothy is acting weird?"

Helen looked at Timothy, who was still ahead of them and making sure to keep pace with the group. She squinted one of her eyes, thinking about the question. "Hasn't he always been a little weird?"

Abigail shook her head. "This is beyond weird. Even when the woman moved, I didn't notice him reacting to her covering Sheila's mouth. And how he hadn't been as tired as everyone else."

"You weren't as tired as everyone else," Helen pointed out. Adding, "He does train a lot, going out into the forest and maintaining his physical fitness. I've heard the guards mentioning how impressed they are of him and his dedication to keeping in shape."

Hearing Helen's words shed a little doubt to the thoughts going through her mind. "He could be training to become a guard... He did mention showing an interest." Abigail thought to herself, no longer fully sure of her suspicions.

As she talked to Helen, Abigail soon saw the trees begin to open up slightly. Just beyond the trees, they saw their objective.

It was massive, likely employing thousands of workers. Unlike typical buildings, it lacked windows looking to only have thick concrete walls. There were areas with thick metal plating, whether it served a purpose or only served as decoration was unsure.

As they stepped onto the property, Abigail looked on either side, seeing the property begin to curve off in the distance. "Looks completely different from buildings in the city," Abigail muttered.

"It was due to the work they did," Timothy softly said. He was standing just outside of the forest, waiting for everyone to join him.

"How?" Liam began to say but stopped.

Again, Timothy walked ahead of them. He looked back and said, "This is the rear part of the building. Follow me, I'll take you to the entrance."

None of them knew how to react, Helen looking at Abigail saying, "I think I know what you're talking about now."