Chapitre 47: Kidnapping Ruined
The steps were slow, but they could not demand more from that wounded young woman who seemed to be bleeding to death. After the escape of that gloomy boy and the beasts that were waiting to attack any prey, that group of young people were looking for a place to take refuge.
So far, it seemed as if the instructions given previously, before starting this test, were not true. At no time could any instructor be sighted. Furthermore, the presence of wild animals was not something that would be considered a relief.
- Hah hah ... This is not good, we must find a place to hide ... - commented Liam who seemed somewhat exhausted.
- Look ... that place looks like the entrance to a cave ... let's try there. - said Renato who was carrying the wounded girl.
- Okay ... Daniel, keep an eye out if someone follows us.
- Understood.
Soon the whole group headed for that supposed cave. Having entered, they understood that it was not very deep, maybe it was only two meters in diameter, but it was enough to hold them all.
As everyone rested, they were able to notice in greater detail the presence of the young girl they had rescued; long blonde hair, a slender figure and a refined expression; for some reason, she gave the appearance of being the daughter of a high status family.
What surprised them most, however, was the action that young woman took.
Placing her right hand on her wound, a kind of faint white light appeared which caused her wound to heal in less than 30 seconds.
- Th-That is...
- Yes... I have the healing ability, but only on minor or superficial wounds... - replied the girl.
- Are you sure about revealing this to us? - asked Liam.
- Right now, I don't care about that anymore; I can't go with this wound leaving traces of blood.
The young people saw that certainly in the grass there were those traces that could easily be seen up to the entrance of the small cave.
- ¡¿?!
- Yes ... it is as you think; if we are not found by another applicant, surely those animals will be attracted by the smell of blood. - replied the woman to all present.
- Then ... we must leave immediately. - said Daniel, somewhat disconcerted.
They all confirmed this and, seeing how the unknown woman seemed to be better, they wasted no time in leaving.
Fortunately they did this in time; within seconds of leaving, the silhouettes of tigers could be seen approaching the cave, attracted by the blood.
As the group walked, they began to introduce themselves to each other.
- My name is Ofelia, I really thank you for your help, could you please tell me your names?
- I am Daniel.
- Liam.
- Renato.
- ... You already knew each other before?
The assumption of that girl left a little impressed to that group of young people.
- Yes... it's been a while... I think it's better to have a group than to go alone. Besides, we are not the only group, are we? - commented Renato.
- What? - asked Daniel a little surprised.
- So you noticed it too. - added Liam.
- Yes ... in total we are 58 participants ... so far, we only know of 10 people including us. Of the rest, I could notice there were some that were grouped together; however, there is one group that I noticed that stood out from the rest. - explained Renato.
- What do you mean? I didn't see anything like that. - said Daniel.
- It's just that they weren't together, but their gazes were recurrently focused on each other. At least, I think there will be 6 or 7 applicants who make up the group, but I don't know how they are organized, let alone who will be their leader.
- So we have to worry about four situations: meeting that shady guy who defeated that couple, the guy who attacked Ophelia, the wild animals and that group. - Liam confirmed.
- ... I understand, but we also have to figure out how to pass this test ... we can't just hide until tomorrow. - said Daniel.
Understanding the albino's point of view, they all tried to think of a way to get the codes from the other applicants' chips.
However, a reciprocal action impressed the group.
- This is my code... 8104..." said Ophelia showing her token to the rest of the group without being embarrassed.
- But... are you sure about this? - said Daniel surprised.
- Yes, it's the least I can do for having saved myself... besides, there's still time, isn't there?
- Yes, you're right... but...
While the impression of those young men faded, there seemed to be a constant thought in Liam's mind.
No longer stopping, that group continued on an unknown course.
From the room monitoring the applicants, the group of ARET instructors and professors continued to watch the second stage of the entrance exam.
- Applicants 189, 3667, 4905, 1498 and 6010 eliminated. The instructors are already bringing them in.
- Well ... there are only five, an acceptable number ...
- That being the case there are only 53 participants left ... we have already pre-approved 20 of them; however, the remaining 33 are still being evaluated.
- It seems that of the remaining ones, only about 43%, or 14 applicants, will pass.
- Yes, there are higher expectations in that recent group of five young people, although four of them seemed to already know each other.
- Don't you think it would be interesting for the larger group to face this new team?
- Enough, Reynaldo. We don't want any more unnecessary danger. They already have enough to deal with the beasts we let loose. Even if they are trained not to kill, the fear they instill is still a predominant variable.
- Well, if you approve those 20 participants, that's more than enough. Remember gentlemen and ladies; what we want is quality and not quantity. - said one of those present who was leaving.
The rest, after hearing these words, only remained monitoring in silence.
The gas was beginning to fade and the fainting victims were being picked up by a group of men wearing gas masks.
- Let's retreat quickly ... we must not arouse suspicion among the tenants, besides, have you already taken care of the security guard? - asked a burly, bald man who seemed to be the leader.
- Yes ... I left him unconscious and locked in the cleaning room. - replied a young woman who appeared to be the deputy leader.
- Okay, so one team will take the elevator and the other will take the stairs so that they will supervise that no one else uses the elevator while we take these.
The rest of the group nodded to the orders.
Diligently, the men began to leave the room taking the bodies of Alexander, Victoria, Lorenz and Lirio with them.
- ... So she's from Torre Castilla who hired the superiors, huh? - commented the bald man when he saw Lirio.
- Apparently... What do we do with her? - asked the young woman.
The man smiled.
- We will interrogate her later... I want to know how much she has talked about us.
Being the first group inside the elevator that had the capacity to carry more than ten people, they were communicating through their smartphones with the other group going up the stairs who were already positioned to see if any tenant was coming.
- Floor 7, clear.
- Floor 6, clear.
- Floor 5, clear.
These were the messages heard by those descending the elevator.
However, there was no word from floor 3. This puzzled the first group, but a sudden blackout inside the elevator along with the abrupt stopping of the device seriously alarmed them.
- What's the matter? - asked one of the men.
- An ambush?
Both the leader and the deputy leader smiled mischievously.
Suddenly a rumbling sound was heard near the closed elevator door and some groans of men outside.
The surrounding area could only hear footsteps approaching.
All the members of the first group readied their weapons, one-handed pistols that they concealed in their clothes.
It was not necessary to order them to be attentive, as they seemed to be an experienced group; however, those men became worried when they heard no more noise.
- From above?! - reacted one of the men when he heard a light footstep from the roof of the elevator.
However, the two ringleaders did not flinch.
They all began firing towards the roof, but this did not alarm any of the tenants, as their weapons had silencers.
As they finished their shooting, they did not notice anyone above them. The situation became more and more confusing.
Everyone was silent, as they tried to figure out how many enemies had come and where they were.
However, those thoughts were interrupted when one of the men seemed to have been caught by something unseen. His suppressed moans alerted the rest.
- W-What's the matter, Fernando! - one of them exclaimed.
Only moans could be heard, as he seemed to be losing air. A few seconds later he fainted.
It was then that one of them tried to force open the elevator door, but it seemed to be totally sealed.
- What's the matter, Walter, don't you always brag about your strength? - said one of the men when he saw the futile effort of his companion.
- Will you shut up and ... help me with this.
Both men tried their best, but when they were able to open the door a few inches, it was immediately closed. It was as if an external force was holding it shut.
- I see... so they want to finish us off inside here. - commented the smiling leader.
- What do we do, use the hostages as bait? - asked the woman naturally.
- No ... the orders are clear; we must take them alive to the base.
The woman was silent, looking somewhat cheerfully at the leader.
- I guess it's time to act personally.
The woman closed her eyes and smiled.
Bringing her right hand to the door, the man seemed to unleash a strong pressure that made the entrance open, throwing the door to the end of the passageway.
Slowly, everyone exited the elevator, but with extreme care as they had to secure the hostages and the member who had fainted. Looking around the area they found no one, but the bodies lying around of the second group.
- Where are they? - murmured the team.
Only one of them noticed something strange, the last one to leave, who was carrying Victorica's body, noticed a shadow behind him. Suddenly, as if it were an invisible hand, it covered the man's mouth so that he would not say anything.
In the same way, without anyone noticing, the other three men carrying the bodies of Alexander, Lirio and Lorenz were subdued without making any noise.
The leader's closed eyes opened slightly, as he seemed to have noticed what happened behind him.
At the first reaction, they all turned together and could notice the appearance of a young man in black clothes with a mask concealing his face.
- Inside the elevator? But how did he do it? - muttered one of the men.
- Could you tell us who you are? - asked the leader cordially and without wasting time.
The man in black did not answer.
- It seems that we will not be able to come to an agreement.
The leader who seemed to be getting ready to make an attack soon noticed the voices of the tenants starting to come out of their apartments; this held him back from making any kind of attack. However, he knew well that he could not leave empty-handed.
- This has gotten complicated, huh?
- Boaz ... it looks like we're running out of time ... let's pick off as many as we can ... we don't even know if he's the only enemy, plus the tenants will alert the officers. We are at a disadvantage. - commented the woman without losing her spirits, rather it seemed that she was having fun at all times.
The leader sighed.
- Nothing ever goes exactly the way you want it to, does it? Well, at least we know where they are... they can't hide anymore.
The group, still armed and aiming at the guy in black, was carefully retreating. They were only able to take some of the fainted, but the rest were left behind.
"Will they leave most of their group?" That was what Eric thought, who silently and hidden behind his mask only watched the kidnappers retreat.
"Well, now I must think what I will do with them, but first we must not be seen by the tenants ... I don't want any more trouble than I have."
As the neighbors arrived on the scene, they could notice how the elevator was destroyed and how there were some unknown people lying on the floor, but there was no trace of Eric or the others.
Standing at the exit of that apartment building, a sudden call came to the leader.
- How did it go?
- Well, it was a failure; however, we know that the Hanz house is being supported by the Valdelomar group. - replied Booz, who despite Eric's effort to hide, could recognize him.
- I see... What about the girl?
- Yes... it seems she is with them. Inform Torre Castilla that if they don't take care of her, we will act.
- Understood... Anything else to report?
- ... Yes ... we are dealing with 'will users'.
The call ended.
Getting into a car, they all left the place.
At a street taco stand in the daylight, a young employee was hard at work, but seemed to have grown tired of the pressure of his job.
- Asu ... How much longer will I be in this place? - said the young man, who was dressed in waiter's clothes.
- Hey, stop complaining and serve the customers!
- Yes, yes... I'm coming...
Approaching a table, the boy carried a tray with several dishes.
- Here are your bean and asado tacos, pastor tacos and your drinks.
Minutes passed, but the place didn't seem to be slowing down.
Suddenly, a message of relief reached the young man's ears.
- You have a half hour break. - said the store manager.
- At last! - exclaimed the young man as he stretched.
Going to an alley where it seemed to be the employees' rest area, as it was right next to the store and it seemed that no one else stopped there, the young man sat down with a bag of tacos and a drink he had been given for lunch.
- At least I get free food.
As the minutes passed while eating, the young man who was only looking at the sky tired of his work could hear some people approaching that alley.
They were some customers who went to eat in that place. However, that seemed strange to the young employee.
- The whole place is full, at least there is no one here. - commented one of the men of that group who, upon arriving at the alley, saw nothing but small dumpsters and clearing. Yes, the young employee hid in them out of reflex.
- Changing the subject... What about the quest? She's supposed to be here, isn't she? - said one of the men.
- The cameras at the Zaragoza bus station show that, but we don't know exactly where she is ... on the other hand, the guy who helped her seems to know about the situation ... we should get him too.
- Well, we can only wait for the information group to tell us where to go.
While this group was talking, the young man in hiding was somewhat intrigued.
"Bus station? Zaragoza?"
Suddenly, a call came in from one of the customers.
- Yes ... we're all here ... Tres Cantos? Isn't that just outside the capital? ... I see ... Just him? ... What about the woman? ... I see ... Red eyes and long black hair ... Her name? ... Aren't they?
- What?
This name dismayed the young employee when he heard it, letting out a brief sound.
The men signaled to look for the source of the noise. They began to search the surroundings and each time they came closer to where the employee was hiding.
However, the one who had received the call gave the order to leave immediately as if in a hurry.
They all did this and withdrew.
- W-What... is going on? - The young man, who seemed relieved, but worried about what he had heard, asked himself heatedly.
A few minutes later, the store manager came into the alley.
- Hey, Glen! Your break is over!
There was no one there.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone