Inside the Cinema
On the giant screen, fed by combat drones, a savage fight was playing out.
The Frog Twins—Mike and Mikel—were tearing through five death-row criminals.
The theater roared.
The crowd was starving for blood.
Victor ordered his servant to detain Diego in a room until the matches ended.
The servant headed to the checkpoint, where guards were already interrogating Diego.
"The White Father said to hold him until he arrives."
Diego sat there, listening in confusion.
His heartbeat suddenly spiked.
What's happening?
How did they find me?!
He was dragged to a cell and locked inside. Tight.
Inside a massive cargo ship.
The brothers Mike and Mikel moved slowly, their bodies enormous.
Two and a half meters tall.
Four hundred kilos each.
Every step boomed like thunder.
The five criminals darted around them, fast and desperate, dodging leaps that reached ten meters and smashed the deck apart.
Inside the cinema, the crowd screamed louder.
The criminals were terrified.
Even firearms were useless against the twins' thick, crimson skin.
In a sudden move, Mike fired a sticky substance.
It hit three of them, locking their bodies in place.
Mikel leaped toward them, his massive body airborne.
"WHO WANTS A HUG?!" he roared.
"My God!" the criminals screamed.
Mikel slammed down.
The impact blasted a crater straight through the ship's deck.
Mike scanned the wreckage.
"Where'd they go?"
"I guess they couldn't handle my hug," Mikel laughed.
Two criminals were left.
One held a machine gun.
The other clutched a Kalashnikov.
"I'M OUT OF AMMO!" the Kalashnikov wielder shouted in panic.
"We're no match for them! We have to run—NOW!"
"There are small boats on the lower deck. Move!"
They split.
The machine gun fired wildly for cover.
The other rushed to open the metal stairway door.
Victor watched, amused.
"A very exciting match… The remaining prisoners are planning something.
I like that.
They didn't surrender, even with death guaranteed."
A stream of bullets slammed into the twins, throwing sparks and tearing metal.
The brothers didn't even flinch.
"What is he doing?" Mike said. "Is he that stupid?"
"I don't think he's realized yet that this just tickles," Mikel laughed.
The twins advanced, heavy steps shaking everything, laughing as they moved.
Behind them, the other criminal finally forced the iron door open.
The gunman threw his weapon aside and ran.
"Finally… he understood this is pointless," Mike said.
"Hahahaha!" Mikel laughed.
The two prisoners sprinted down the stairs.
Combat drones followed them everywhere, filming every second.
Victor frowned.
"How did they know about the boats on the lower deck?" he muttered.
Then he turned to the gamblers in the front row.
"Nervous?" he smiled.
"Most of you bet on the Twins. Logical.
Either way… I win in both outcomes."
The twins chased after them.
"This door is way too small!" Mikel growled.
"Break it. We can't lose this round," Mike said—then smashed a massive hole through it.
"LOSE?!" Mikel snapped.
"Yes. If they escape, we lose," Mike replied.
They charged downward, wrecking everything behind them.
Entire levels collapsed under their weight.
The two prisoners reached the boats as debris rained down.
"They're still chasing us! They'll sink the whole ship!"
"HURRY! Push the boat!"
Just before the Twins reached the lower deck, the prisoners jumped into a small boat and drifted away from the ship.
"Damn it! They escaped!" Mike shouted in rage.
"Does that mean… we lost?" Mikel growled.
Inside the cinema, chaos exploded.
Shouts. Screams.
Most gamblers were furious, stunned by the loss of huge sums.
Victor looked at them with a soft laugh.
"Losing that much money hurts," he said calmly.
"You'll forget it with time."
He turned to one of his men.
"Kill them. Burn the boat."
"Yes, sir."
Victor spoke into the loudspeaker.
"And the match ends with an unexpected result.
The prisoners defeat the Twins.
Now relax, my dear audience.
The next match begins in fifteen minutes."
Victor stood and walked out with his guards, heading to see Diego.
Armed drones flew low over the sea, catching up to the small boat.
They unleashed a storm of bullets.
Blood sprayed.
A horrifying scene.
One drone fired a final burst of flames.
The boat burned.
What remained drifted as a flaming skeleton before sinking into the dark water.
Victor entered the detention area.
Diego sat behind the bars, staring at the wall.
His face was pale with fear.
His mind drowned in the unknown.
Victor glanced at him, then spoke to a servant.
"He's a foreigner.
From which country?"
"Sir, his ID says he's a tourist. From Mexico."
"A Mexican tourist?" Victor smiled coldly.
"Then he's a foreign agent."
He sat at the table.
"Bring him here."
Two guards grabbed Diego.
He turned toward them in terror, eyes wide, like a man staring at his own death.
They dragged him to the table and forced him into the chair across from Victor.
Silence.
Victor lit a cigarette.
"Why are you here?"
Diego said nothing.
Victor raised his head.
"Did fear eat your tongue?"
Still nothing.
One guard whispered, "Maybe he doesn't speak English."
"Really?" Victor said softly.
He looked at Diego.
"Do you speak English?"
"No!" Diego cried in fear.
Victor stared at him for a long moment.
Then he turned to the guards.
"Take him.
Don't stop torturing him until he answers my first question."
He stood and walked toward the door.
"I have business to attend to."
"But sir," a guard protested, "he said he doesn't know English!"
Victor paused, hand on the door.
"He just forgot," he said with a mocking smile.
"He'll remember after a few hits."
The door closed.
The guards grabbed Diego.
His face turned even paler, drained of color.
He couldn't even scream.
Inside the Mutant Village
Khaled walked through the quiet village toward the clinic to check on Chris.
The sun was bright.
The air was clean, filled with the scent of trees.
Across the fields, Stan and his workers harvested ripe tomatoes.
Then Mousta arrived.
"Need help?" Mousta asked.
Stan looked up and smiled.
"Mousta! Yeah, of course. Come on, my friend."
As they filled the crates, Stan laughed.
"So… how are the warriors?"
Mousta sighed.
"I had a session with the kids today.
The most exhausting session of the week.
I feel like I'm turning from a trainer into a kindergarten teacher."
Stan laughed.
"Hey, deal with it. It's only one hour a week."
"An hour and a half," Mousta said.
Then he added, "I heard Khaled and his team have a mission, right?"
"Yes. But they're still here," Stan replied.
"I think it's extremely sensitive.
They're waiting for Almy's orders."
At that moment, Maru walked down the road from the wall toward the village.
"Maru!" Mousta called, waving.
Maru waved back.
"Remember our first fight with him?" Stan said.
"Yeah," Mousta smiled.
"That's when he discovered his power. Against you."
"He was gifted even before that," Stan said.
"Exceptional in combat. Worthy of the team."
"Absolutely," Mousta nodded.
"He's better than many of them.
But making him captain of the guards was the right choice.
He's calm. Not reckless.
The village needs someone like him."
"You're right," Stan agreed.
At that moment, Khaled stepped out of one of the clinic rooms and rushed to Daisy's desk.
"Where's Chris?!" he shouted.
"He's not in his room!"
Daisy snapped her head up.
"What?! I just checked on him!"
"How was he?" Khaled asked.
" I left hem asleep " Daisy said.
" when? " Khaled asked.
"Maybe… two hours" Daisy said.
Khaled stood there, silent for a few seconds.
"He still doesn't trust us," he said quietly.
"It's fine. I'll find him again. In the forest."
"But why?" Daisy protested.
"You saved his life. We took care of him.
Why doesn't he trust you? It makes no sense."
"He's a werewolf," Khaled replied.
"Trust doesn't come easily."
He turned and walked out.
"It will come… with time."