INDRUS - CHAPTER 13 — THE RESCUE CLOCK BEGINS

00:00 / 12:00 HOURS REMAINING

The 12-hour countdown had begun.

Twelve fighter jets tore across the night sky.

Five rescue choppers followed close behind.

And above them all, the blinking red of the lone medic chopper promised hope for the broken—if they made it out alive.

00:13 / 11:47 REMAINING

In the forest—

Veer, tangled in vines, shrieked, “I SWEAR THIS PLANT IS TRYING TO MARRY ME!”

Ishaan, slapping mosquitoes off his face, groaned, “I didn’t sign up for Jungle Fear Factor.”

Dev, trying to keep calm, stepped into a pit trap and vanished with a yelp.

Saira and Erik rushed over. She peered in. “Dev?”

His voice echoed faintly, “Tell my cat I loved her.”

“Shut up,” Erik laughed, pulling him out.

Then Saira blinked, realizing—

“…Wait. Where’s Sayaka?”

Everyone froze.

00:42 / 11:18 REMAINING

Inside the mansion bunker, Luce, Lev, Raiden, and Avni scrambled to play the remaining surveillance videos.

Every single one failed.

Error. Static. Corruption.

Luce stared at the final file—stuck on a single name:

Natalia Dragunov

Lev’s hands trembled. “That’s my mom. Why is she here?”

Luce muttered, “It’s bait. He’s trying to use you.”

“You think I care about strategy?!” Lev shouted. “She’s DEAD, Luce!”

“I KNOW!” Luce snapped.

Then—Lev punched him.

Hard.

Luce barely dodged the second one, slammed Lev back, and the two crashed into the comms desk.

Chairs fell. Glass cracked.

Raiden pulled Luce off.

Lev, panting, eyes wide with fury, yelled, “Maybe you’re the traitor!”

Avni stepped in. “Shut up, both of you.”

Lev spat, “What do you even know?! You don’t care! You only protect Sayaka.”

Raiden grabbed his collar. “Say that again—”

Luce’s voice cut through.

“That bastard... he's done with Sayaka. He planned to dispose of her.”

Avni narrowed her eyes. “Which bastard?”

Silence.

Luce didn’t answer.

01:35 / 10:25 REMAINING

Fighter jets swooped low across the jungle. From each, elite COMA officers rappelled down—armed in tactical black, visors glowing red.

One officer’s voice crackled through the comms:

“Target located. 400 meters west. Six Oathless.”

Silently, they closed in.

Gunshots echoed—quick, precise, deadly.

A fleeing Oathless tried to raise a blade—was cut down mid-motion.

Another activated a trap—was shot before he could blink.

COMA was done playing games.

“Confirmed: 9 Oathless neutralized. Proceeding.”

02:10 / 09:50 REMAINING

Elsewhere—

Erik was running for his life, chased by… something.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”

Ishaan yelled, “It’s a mutant deer! A DEER WITH FANGS!”

Dev tripped again and yelled, “Tell my mom I died bravely!”

Saira tossed a firecracker she’d found earlier. It exploded.

The creature backed off, snorted… then ran into a tree.

Veer threw a leaf. “MY TURN! Fear me!”

The team collapsed laughing—until they heard rotors overhead.

“Is that—?”

A chopper broke through the tree line.

“Rescue team! Get down!”

03:00 / 09:00 REMAINING

32 students rescued.

But something darker loomed.

Back at the bunker, Avni turned to Luce.

“You said Sayaka isn’t the traitor.”

Luce nodded once.

Avni pressed, “Then someone else still is. And they were on the scout team. Only someone on that team knew we split.”

Luce froze.

Raiden’s eyes narrowed. “One of us leaked it.”

Lev growled. “So who is it?”

They all fell silent.

“Act normal,” Raiden said coldly.

Avni whispered, “We find them. Tonight. We end it before Sayaka gets killed.”

Raiden added, “Who told us about the surveillance room?”

Avni clenched her jaw. “…That bitch.”

Lev slammed his fist against the table. “I'll kill them.”

“Calm down,” Avni snapped. “Sayaka’s still alive. We need her. But we also need to confirm it. No assumptions.”

08:00 / 04:00 REMAINING

Rescue Status:
37 students rescued
3 confirmed dead
2 seriously injured (under medic care)
42 accounted

Inside COMA HQ, Elda Kurogane’s voice shook.

“Have we found them yet?”

The officer responded, “Only one heir has been recovered—Erik Falk.”

A long pause.

Then Elda turned to the Inner Circle.

“…Send in the remaining ground squads. Now.”

Her hands were trembling.

Her granddaughters and grandson dot had gone cold.

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