Lying Henry down gently, Ella felt for his pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it. "He's alive," she muttered.
"What was that?" I asked, still trying to grasp how a virus could make someone lose control like that.
But no one answered as all eyes were on Benjamin, expecting him to explain, but he didn't speak. Instead, he was entirely transfixed on Henry, a look of utter bewilderment etched across his face.
Following his gaze, I felt my stomach twist, but as my mind processed what I was seeing, that sense of foreboding turned into utter astonishment… they were gone. His injuries. Every. Single. One. Every scratch and bruise was erased as if they had never existed. His skin looked untouched, like nothing had ever harmed him. Even his hand showed no signs of injury.
I was still trying to wrap my head around it when Henry suddenly blinked, causing all of us to flinch back. But though he was awake, he remained still, and within his eyes lay a strange glimmer as his gaze darted back and forth as if reading something only he could see.
"Henry… are you alright?" Benjamin asked carefully.
He didn't answer at first, but eventually he slowly turned his head toward Ella, an aching apology written all over his face.
"I… I didn't mean to do that," he mumbled. "I'm sorry…"
Unconcerned about what he had done, Ella didn't hesitate as she threw her arms around him in a crushing hug.
"Don't scare us like that," she cried. When she finally pulled back, she looked him over, relieved to see him acting like himself. Then, just to be sure, she asked, "You are back, right?"
Henry gave a soft chuckle and nodded. "Yeah. I'm back."
A beat passed. "Although… I think I should tell you. I might be seeing things."
Ella narrowed her eyes. "What kind of things?"
"Some kind of video-game screen," he said.
"A video Game screen?" Benjamin Muttered stepped in to check his pupils. "You might be hallucinating as a side effect."
"No, I'm fine. Seriously." Henry shook his head. "It's just… it says I have skills. And ive got this strange feeling… I don't know how to explain it."
He turned toward us as if demonstrating. "Look."
He stretched out his hand in what I assumed was meant to be some kind of spell-casting gesture, but honestly, he looked more like a guy trying really hard not to crap himself.
"I think he's gone crazy," Emily muttered, clearly concerned.
He furrowed his brow, trying again. The effort showed on his face, but the result was the same.
Ella spoke up, her voice gentle but curious. "What are you trying to do?"
Henry opened his eyes, visibly frustrated. "That plant, over there. I was trying to use one of my skills on it."
She sighed, clearly weighing whether he'd finally lost it. But just to appease him, she asked, in a gentle tone, like what you would say to a child. "It might help us to understand what you are trying to do?"
Frustrated Henry huffed," I know I sound crazy, and you are all looking at me like I am, but I'm telling you, whatever happened gave me something like a power."
"Ok, let's say I believe you. What is it you're trying to do?" Ella said in an attempt to calm him. '
Looking at Benjamin, we shared a concerned look.
"I got this Skill called common Poison, and I was trying to use it on that plant over there," he huffed. Clearly, seeing that no one believed him.
Playing along some more, she tilted her head. "At this distance?"
Realization dawned on his face. "Right… yeah, maybe."
He stepped forward, crouching beside a vibrant green plant and hovered his hand over it for a moment, hesitation flickering in his eyes, before he pressed his palm against the stem.
We watched in silence as seconds passed.
Sighing. I wasent sure how to deal with this. Depending on how severe his hallucinations were, this was going…
Then it began.
The leaves curled inward like they were recoiling from his touch. Color drained from them, turning that lively green into a brittle, ashen gray. The plant sagged, lifeless and crumbling at the edges.
Then, like a tide, my chest tightened. The sight struck something profound, and in a flash, the world shifted.
Beneath me, Cold mud clung to my boots, trying to pull me down as rain fell in sharp, icy needles. Trees loomed like charred skeletons, and the sky was nothing but a smothering void.
Somewhere close, a wet gurgling rose through the storm like the last desperate attempts at life.
"Help… me…"
But I couldn't. I was stuck in a body of inaction, one that couldent move or speak as I was left frozen there to bear the sounds of it until it dissolved into static as the dark swallowed it all.
Then, just as fast, I was back.
The jungle folded in around us again, dense and humming with the constant drone of insects. Henry lifted his hand from the ruined plant, revealing what little was left of it.
I blinked hard, and the visions slammed through me again until I forced myself to breathe. Shallow at first. Then deeper. In… out… pushing the memories back where they belonged. Reminding myself that I wasn't there anymore. That I was fine and in control.
Somewhere through that fog, Henry spoke. His voice drifted in like a sound underwater.
"It's kind of creepy. I mean…"
I didn't catch the rest. My hand had already found the grip of my knife, fingers curling tight before I even realized what I was doing. A spike of shame cut through the panic.
What the hell am I doing?
It's Henry, I told myself. He isn't the enemy, never has been.
Then he moved to pick up a stone, utterly oblivious to me, as he pressed his hand to it.
But nothing happened.
"Looks like it only works on living things," he muttered, setting it down again.
Ella, on the other hand, was utterly awestruck by what he could do, furiously scribbling notes, muttering to herself as she cataloged every detail.
I let out a slow breath and forced my hands to still, finally able to put these reactions to the side to make room for the more pressing matters.
Like his apparent second skill, I had entirely missed thanks to my panic attack.
Ella looked up from her journal, pen tapping against her chin. "What about that second skill. The multilingual one? Maybe we just haven't triggered it properly."
"I mean," Henry said, glancing around, "we all speak the same language, so maybe that's why nothing's happened?"
Emily shifted where she sat, then tilted her head thoughtfully. "What if I try something?"
She cleared her throat, and suddenly, her voice shifted into quick syllables that rolled off her tongue with an unfamiliar cadence. I blinked, completely lost. Whatever she was speaking, it wasn't English.
Owen frowned. "Was that... French?"
"Not even close," Benjamin muttered.
Only Henry didn't look bewildered. His brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed at Emily. "... you're the one who took my desert rations?"
Emily smirked, unbothered. "Maybe."
I glanced at Henry. "You sure that's what she said?"
"Positive," he said flatly as he glared at her. "I know I didn't forget them."
"What language was that?" I asked.
"Sámi," Emily replied, completely unbothered by Henry's glares. "My grandmother taught me."
Ella's eyes widened. "That's... amazing."
Benjamin let out a low whistle. "Impressive."
"We still need to be careful," Amelia reiterated. "Understanding a language is one thing. But we don't know what this core did to you."
"Agreed," I muttered, still eyeing Henry from the side.
Owen groaned, shifting on the ground. "Figure it out in the morning. I'm running on fumes."
"Nice try," I said. "You're on watch now."
He let out a long, theatrical sigh. "I hate this place."
I stood to stretch the tension from my shoulders. "Don't worry. Benjamin takes over in two hours. You'll survive."
As I walked to the edge of camp, I found myself watching Henry again. He'd gone quiet, now resting his hand against a small plant. When it wilted again, he didn't seem surprised, just thoughtful. His eyes studied his fingers with a sort of detached curiosity. Like he wasn't entirely sure where he ended and the new abilities began.
My hand brushed the hilt of my knife out of instinct, but I didn't draw it; instead, I allowed my hand to rest there for a moment and leaned back against the tree. The fire crackled softly nearby, but its warmth felt distant now. My hand dropped to my side as I closed my eyes, letting the weight of the day finally pull me under. Sleep came uneasily, but deep enough to keep the worst thoughts at bay.
By morning, the forest had shifted again, its eerie quiet replaced by birdsong and the rustle of unseen creatures in the trees above. We woke with a shared sense of purpose.
The core had changed Henry.
That fact lingered in all our minds, unspoken but heavy. And it led us to a new conclusion: if there was one core, there might be more.
Our goal became clear. We would capture another QuadraSimian.
A brief debate broke out over tactics. Some suggested using firearms, but the risk of drawing attention from larger predators, or worse, far outweighed the benefit. The jungle was alive with dangers we hadn't yet seen. Stealth would be safer.
That's when Ella spoke up, fingers still stained from yesterday's notes. "We build a trap," she said, already sketching ideas in the dirt. "A cage, baited with fruit. When it enters, we drop the gate."
It was a long shot, but in a place like this, it was the best idea we had.
That spark of hope, the possibility of gaining something new, something that could help us, was enough to get us moving.
We spent hours gathering materials: thick vines that could hold our weight, branches strong enough to form a frame. Every movement was cautious, our eyes scanning the treetops for signs of the QuadraSimians as we worked.
Eventually, the trap began to take shape as Henry stood back with his arms crossed, surveying the final result with a crooked grin. "Well, I gotta say…it doesn't look half bad."
"True," I said, letting a trace of optimism into my voice. "Let's just hope it's sturdy enough to actually trap one."
Amelia stepped beside us, eyeing the structure critically. "Well, there's only one way to find out."
We baited the trap with the fruit we'd collected earlier, placing it carefully inside the cage. Then we backed away, taking cover in a nearby thicket, our eyes fixed on the trap from the shadows. The waiting game began, and with it came the slow crawl of time.
"Are there even Simians around here?" Henry muttered, barely keeping his voice down.
"Quiet. You'll scare one off," I warned.
"Like there's anything out there to scare," he huffed, but he settled into the brush anyway.
The doubt started creeping in after what felt like hours. I was just about to say something when the bushes stirred. And out from it, a QuadraSimian emerged, hesitantly approaching the cage, its eyes glinting with greed.
It circled the cage, inspecting the setup with surprising caution. Then, finding the opening, it slipped inside.
"Pull!" I hissed.
Owen and I yanked the rope simultaneously, and the cage snapped shut with a satisfying clack. The QuadraSimian screeched, slamming its fists against the bars in a frenzied attempt to escape.
"Ha! It worked!" Owen grinned. "Told you those knots would hold."
Henry gave a small nod. "Yeah, alright. I'll admit it. You tied a good one."
We all stepped forward, watching the creature's desperate thrashing as it tried to force its way free.
Ella adjusted her grip on her journal, watching with curiosity. "So... what now?"
I looked at the cage, unsure. The rush of success faded just enough to make room for uncertainty.
Emily broke the silence. "Why not let Henry kill it? He has a core. Maybe it'll do something?"
Owen glanced at the cage warily. "And how exactly is he going to kill it? That thing's strong. What if the cage doesn't hold once it realizes what's happening?"
He had a point. Our weapons weren't exactly reliable. We had a spear made earlier, but the stone tip was too dull to pierce anything tough. That's when I got an idea.
"Give me the spear," I said, and pulled out my knife. With a bit of careful work, I lashed the blade to the end of the shaft using a sturdy cord from my pack. It wasn't perfect, but it was sharp, and sharp was what we needed.
I handed it to Henry. "Here. This should work better."
Henry hesitated, gripping the spear tightly. We all took a step back, giving him space as he slowly approached the cage. The QuadraSimian snarled inside, arms slapping against the wooden bars, but Henry didn't flinch. His expression was tense, but focused.
He stopped just short of the cage, met the creature's eyes, and then drove the spear through the bars, striking it cleanly in the head.
The creature jerked once, then collapsed as the forest fell silent.
We waited, watching for any sign that it might still be alive, but for a few long seconds, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing and the distant hum of the forest.
I spoke up, trying to inject some encouragement into the quiet tension. "Keep an eye on your stats, or whatever system you're seeing. Maybe the changes don't show up right away."
Henry nodded, brows furrowed in concentration. "I can feel something… like there's pressure building, but I can't quite reach it. It's just… strange. Like standing on the edge of something..."
We exchanged curious glances, but our attention drifted back to the creature's body and the core tucked within its chest cavity.
Without wasting time, Ella immediately began the dissection, carefully peeling away layers to reach the rib cage. When she finally pulled the orb free, it shimmered faintly in her palm, though far less vibrant than the one Henry had.
"This is it," she said softly. "Let's see what it can do."
But despite our best attempts, the core remained silent in her hand. We handed it to Henry, hoping it would respond to someone who already had a core, but nothing happened. We passed it from person to person, tried heat, water, and even pressing it against our skin. Still, nothing happened.
Henry rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated. "Maybe it only works once. Like a one-time use."
"Or maybe it's tied to the creature that killed it," Owen offered. "You know, like ownership by right of conquest or something."
Ella shook her head. "Then why didn't it respond to Henry right away? He killed it."
"Maybe because he already has one?" Emily asked quietly.
"Or maybe there's some kind of trigger phrase," Henry muttered, half-joking. "Like 'open sesame' but in alien."
We all stared at him blankly for a beat, and then Benjamin actually considered it. "Language… Maybe it's tied to intent or comprehension. Like how Henry's multilingual skill works."
Emily perked up. "That could make sense…maybe it responds to thoughts. Or intent."
I held the orb in my hand, its surface cool and smooth, yet deceptively inert. "Or maybe it has to bond with you physically." I paused. "Through blood."
That suggestion made everyone go still.
Emily grimaced. "That's… risky."
"I know," I admitted, "but we don't have many options. If it reacts to contact, maybe it needs something deeper than just holding it."
Benjamin's practical tone cut through the hesitation. "We're in uncharted territory. It's worth testing."
With a breath to steady myself, I took my knife and made a small cut along my palm. The sting was immediate, but not severe. I placed the orb against the open wound, every eye trained on me.
Nothing.
The core sat there utterly unchangeing.
Minutes passed in silence before Henry finally spoke, his voice edged with disappointment. "I really thought that was it."
I exhaled slowly, the initial rush of adrenaline fading into fatigue. "So did I."
Ella frowned, still studying the core in my hand. "Maybe it's more complicated than we thought. What if it needs a certain blood type? Or some kind of biological marker?"
"Or maybe it only reacts under specific stress," Amelia offered. "Like the first time, when Henry went berserk."
Sighing, I knew this wasent going anywhere, so I spoke up. "I don't think debating about this all day is going to help. So if we truly want to test it out, then we need a wider range of cores."
Ella nodded, "Atlas is right. There could be a thousand different ways these could activate. So we need to gather a wider range of cores to test from."