Spirit's Ascension-Chapter 98—Investigation

The three of them exchange looks while they wait for someone to speak.

"You brought the topic up, Cole; say what you noticed," Linda said.

Though Cole was more than ready to listen to Linda first. Hearing her words, he decided to tell her his point first.

"When I was heading out this morning, I noticed something about those people."

"They looked extra scary and could even be said to be feral."

Bryan raised an eyebrow when he heard those words since he wasn’t expecting anything like that.

"That wasn’t the weirdest thing; while I was coming back around, they were all completely different."

"They all looked extremely happy, too happy for a group of people that just lost their home."

Cole fell silent after that, waiting for the others to say something.

"That does sound like something that needs some investigation," Bryan said.

After saying that, both Bryan and Cole turned to Linda to hear her own point.

"Don’t ask me how, but when we were returning yesterday, I sensed a deep danger from there."

"The type of danger that was almost palpable, I tried observing to see the source but couldn’t find anything."

Cole’s eyes widened in shock since he hadn’t experienced anything like that.

"So many dangers we have no idea of; this is really scary," Cole thought.

"That seals it; we need to check out that place."

The others nodded in acceptance of that decision.

"But before we do that, we need to check out the two locations first; those are the most important."

The three of them sat in a circle for a while more, discussing more about the details on their next action.

That night marked their second night they would be spending. Though the mission didn’t have a time limit.

Cole felt the urgency to complete it all within a week.

"We need to do this as soon as possible," he said to himself.

The group separated as the three of them went to separate corners of the small room to either rest or cultivate.

Despite it being more difficult than it was supposed to, they had nothing else to do, so they could only manage.

The night passed quietly, and as the next morning arrived, the group prepared to explore those locations.

Since it was broad daylight and after the little experience they had.

They had decided not to wear their academy uniforms today and act as casual as possible.

They made a soft plan for emergencies and situations that might need some urgent teamwork before leaving.

The trio moved with a steady speed, not too fast and not too slow.

All of this was just to prevent extra attention from the others.

With Cole in the lead, they weaved through the slums while they headed toward that spot. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

When they got close enough, the group stopped in their tracks as they observed their destination.

"It looks especially empty," Linda said.

"Yeah, too empty, but let’s check it out first before deciding on anything."

"Like we did earlier, let me go on ahead and check out the location; if anything comes up, you guys should come."

While trying to blend between the shadows of the surrounding buildings, Cole approached the location.

He arrived at an open window of the building and slipped into it.

In Cole’s line of sight was another large open space. The space had limited access to light.

So the surroundings were mostly dominated by shadows.

"Eery," Cole muttered.

He cautiously took steps to move deeper into the building. While simultaneously scanning the environment.

This time the surrounding area wasn’t littered with anything; the whole floor was completely clear without any dirt.

"This is different."

Cole quickly grew bored since there wasn’t really anything for him to do.

"I better go call in the others,"

"The cost seems clear," he said while heading back the same way he came.

Just as he arrived at the window and he was ready to leave, he suddenly heard a voice from behind him.

"I knew you would come," a voice rang out from everywhere around Cole.

Cole immediately froze in his steps as his scalp tingled.

A deep sense of danger overwhelmed him, originating from somewhere behind him.

"Stay calm, stay calm," Cole said to himself.

"How do I get out of this situation unharmed?"

"You know you are extremely predictable, right? You are probably planning on how to get out of this situation smoothly, right?"

"I knew you would come here, and that was exactly why I waited."

"Let go of the kids, Micheal," Cole shouted with his back still turned.

He wanted to prevent any sudden movements; she had no idea what danger was actually waiting for him.

"Hahahahaha, was that a command or a request?" Micheal laughed out.

"Give up, there’s no way you will get those kids away from me; they are too important," Cole heard again.

With extreme speed, Cole turned around to check his surroundings.

He was shocked to not find anyone behind him, not a single sign of Life.

"You are so lucky; I can’t deal with you now. See you the day you die, Cole Bremont," Cole heard as the voice faded away.

Cole still stood rooted in his place. He didn’t attempt a chase or anything, nor did he move.

He only stood there staring at the ceiling.

"I will get you soon, very soon," He said with a clenched fist.

Nothing else happens as Cole successfully exits the building and returns to where the others were hiding.

"Did you find anything?" Linda asked with a confused expression.

She could see the sweat beads all over Cole’s face and body, but she didn’t see the signal, which was supposed to signal danger.

Cole just stood there, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath.

The others also didn’t attempt to force him; they only stood there and waited for his response.

"I met Micheal again," Cole finally said after catching his breath.

"What, how did he know we were coming here?" Linda asked.

Cole raised his eyes to look at her before saying in a low voice.

"I think I know."