The wilderness seemed to spread over thousands of miles filled with distinctive floral wealth. Though an aerial view would clearly segregate the wilderness by its vivid characteristics.

The area following the campsite had a scant amount of trees. A bit deeper into the forest, their density seemed like a well-connected circuit network. The trees were old and ageless as they vanished into the sky, rugged with age, but their roughness had been worn down by the soft greenness of moss that had gradually become their home. Some trees were laced with vines, ever trapped in its embrace, while others remained barren, immature shoots that hadn't had enough time to claim an affiliate.

Mellow sunlight poured through the lush canopy, permeating the leaves letting the light and shadow dance across the ground. There was a composite smell of woody trees, dewy foliage and a musky fragrance of wildflowers in the air.

“Ah, it feels quite refreshing..” Noah taking a deep inhale.

“Seems like I need to make a shelter fast.” Noah sighed as the twittering flutter of a flock of birds was heard, signaling it was almost sundown. Noah chose a tree and climbed up. He had some devices that helped make a platform fast.

Night at the forest was different. He had already read certain books at the library before coming. The slightest sound or light may bring about imminent dangers. He would have to keep one eye open and sleep.

Zone C of the NMZ was mostly covered in the same type of forest. Further up ahead there were some hilly areas. Above the hills, there was another forest covered in dense fog at the foothills of the chilly mountains. A river had meandered through the mountains and hills into the plain lands flowing northwards towards the sea. The river marked the boundary of Zone C. However, at the boundary, there is a fountain in one of the hills that have peeked into Zone C which has the highest probability of growing the medicinal herb Noah needed.

During the night Noah was mostly awake, as he heard the sounds of leaves rustling, insects churring, underbush twitching, lizards scrabbling on tree bark. However, he did not hear any roaring sound that may have sounded the alarm. Also, he had built a proximity sensor device that would detect any large object moving towards him, so he got that part covered.

The next morning, he came down and ate some of the packaged food he was carrying. It was time to look for the herb. He launched his drone out of his backpack and started to build a holographic view of the terrain from the images captured by the drone.

It took him a whole day to reach the foothills. But he had almost chalked out the terrain. The data was stored in his Holo device and he could refer to it as a map now. That night also, he built a platform on a tree and rested.

It was deep into the night when a high-pitched moan snapped him out of his slumber. He heard it again and could immediately register it as a howl. Then there was a roar. It was from a large animal while the howl was definitely a wolf or rather a pack of wolves.

Noah had read that the wolves get a thrill out of fighting. So it must be having a fight with some other animal. He quickly checked his proximity sensor and found it not to be far away.

“Let’s have a look”, he thought.

He hurried to the spot and picked a safe enough place to peek. There was a pack of grey wolves pacing stiffly, tails lashing as they waited for their opponent to make a move. Their opponent was a huge black bear, who seemed to be roaring at the audacity of the wolves to hinder his sleep.

Bears are huge, incredibly tough predators with massive claws and powerful bites. They have been used to hunting and surviving on their own since a young age. Wolves being much smaller and faster don’t stand a chance against such a large animal, however, things change when in a pack. Wolves in a pack are incredible hunters.

A Black Bear could kill five of them. But the wolves were 7 in total including the Alpha, so they had an advantage. The Alpha snapped his jaws in an attempt to startle the Bear. The pack of Wolves would stare down the Bear and vice versa. It seemed rather the animal equivalent of a Sumo match, in which whoever can push the other away first decides the winner.

The Black bear was the first one to attack, as he waved his fierce claw at one of the wolves. It fell down instantly due to the power in the bear claws. The Alpha took the opportunity to go for the kill and attacked his neck. With a sway of his right claw, the Bear avoided the attack. The Alpha though was a smart tactician. He let the other wolves attack and fell back searching for the best opportunity to strike again.

The other grey wolves started attacking his feet from different sides. The number advantage was a huge plus for the wolves. They could tire out the bear and finish in one single blow.

Suddenly, Noah could feel something on his leg. He had been concentrating on the fight and forgot to keep a watch on his surroundings. He slowly moved his leg to see and found a green vine coiling around him. Suddenly beside his neck, he heard a hissing sound and turned around to find a pair of eyes glowing in the dark. It was a Boomslang snake.

The Boomslang snake resembles a green vine and is highly venomous. Noah reached his pocket slowly for a small laser knife. He would have to be swift else he will be bitten. Noah made a swing with the knife at the pair of eyes. It suddenly disappeared. Noah could anticipate the attack from any side. It was a test of patience for Noah. The snake would appear and disappear as if it was playing hide and seek with a child.

Finally, from his blind spot, the snake appeared again, this time to bite.

Noah suddenly felt it and swung his knife hard. The head was chopped off in one blow and the poisonous snake died. It was a close shave. Measuring his surroundings carefully he went to see the fight again.

The fight was almost over. Sun was about to rise as well. The bear was gravely injured. But he has taken down 4 wolves already. The Alpha wolf was approaching the Bear growling in pain to secure his kill.

But as the first rays of sun entered the area, Noah found that the cave of the Bear was by the fountain. Beside the cave, there was the medicinal herb he needed, the Tears of Anigrides.

He carefully thought that if the wolves take over this place, it will be hard to get it.

So he devised a plan.

As the Alpha wolf went for the kill, a sudden huge roar was heard. The wolves fell back instantly. Coming from the cave, the sound started to become louder. Within moments, the wolves saw another Black Bear emerge out of the cave. The Alpha wolf snapped his jaws to scare it away. The situation has changed, their numerical advantage is no more. 3 remaining wolves versus 2 bears, with one being fresh to battle. They didn’t want to leave their prey but this is not a situation where they can win. They started retreating while still keeping an eye on the enemy.

The bear kept on pounding its chest and roaring until the wolves left the area. Noah confirmed it with his proximity sensor and turned off the drone projection.

This is the idea he thought. A Holo projection from the drone showing another of such a huge predator would scare away the wolves. So he sent in the drone.

The wounded Black bear slowly retreated inside the cave, licking his wounds. It was as if he did understand the situation but he did not care. His wounds were too grave to think about anything.

“Phew...Job half done. Now will have to wait for the flower to bloom.” Noah sighed in relief.

The sunrise over the snowy mountains was a sight to behold. The snow seemed like dazzling gold as the rays fell on it. The chirping of birds was like a long-lost melody, which when accompanied by the sound of the waterfall sounded like an orchestra playing.

Almost half an hour past sunrise the flower petals started opening. The flower, when rinsed in water, secretes a liquid that mixes with water to create the medicine.

Noah left his hiding place and went near the cave to fetch the flower. The growl of the bear can be heard from the entrance. Noah quickly plucked the flower as he did not want to spend much time in such a dangerous place. He was about to leave when he noticed 3 shadows near him.

“Who’s there?” shouted Noah.

“So you finally noticed us...” a voice arose from the shadows. 3 people came out of the bush near the cave. They were wearing hoods and masks covering their faces. With one look anyone can say they are bad news.

“Who we are is of no concern to a soon-to-be-dead child. You may though consider us as the ones giving you a quick, painless death. But you need to hand over that flower...” said the voice.

Noah backed a little towards the cave, maintaining some distance.

“Assassins. You are assassins! Who hired you?” shouted Noah.

“That is of no concern to you again. But we were paid heavily for the job. So he’s a rich guy. That’s all you're gonna get...” said the assassin.

Basically, these people were from an organization that worked from the dark, The Masked Jackals. They are hired for various types of illegal jobs including assassination. They generally go by their aliases, in this case, let us refer to them as A1, A2 and A3.

“I was almost losing my patience”, said A3. “If not for the plant’s value, we would have finished the job as soon as you entered the forest. We can get a high value for the flower in the Black Market. So give it to us and be done with.”

Noah measured them carefully and was certain of the disadvantage he was in. The three of them were EVOs having EQ above 20 and with one of them being EQ-25, A1. Noah was no match for them even with his gadgets. He quietly reached out in his bag and pulled out some spheres.

Noah threw the spheres at the ground, which activated with a blinking sound. It was kind of a proximity bomb, which detects unknown heat signatures within its range. It then explodes. Though it won’t be life-threatening, it would do significant damage and stall them giving enough time for Noah to flee.

However, the assassins used smoke bombs to vanish within the smoke. Something Noah did not anticipate. The smoke filled the area slowly. Noah couldn’t see anything within the smoke. Neither did his proximity sensor device, which did not register the heat signatures of any of the assassins.

“They are efficient in masking their body heat. I need to get out of here fast.” Noah looked at the waterfall beside the cave. It was deep enough. He might get hurt in the rocks below if he jumps.

But he didn’t get more time to think as someone lunged out of the smoke and before he could react, he was cut in the calf muscle of his right leg. The assassin vanished into the smoke.

Again another one emerged from his back and grazed his left arm, only to disappear again. As if they were playing with him, a game of shadows.

After a while, he found it inserted. A knife in his abdomen. One of the assassins emerged from his blind spot. As he turned towards him, he hurled the blade into him.

“Time to finish the game.” All 3 assassins came out of the smoke.

Noah was bleeding from almost all parts of his body. Now the knife was like the last nail to his coffin. He understood he wouldn't last long. So he moved towards the waterfall to jump.

A2 released a whip which wound up Noah’s leg. Noah fell down.

“Thinking of escaping. No chance boy. Your journey ends where.” A2 approached Noah to finish him. Suddenly they turned around to a huge roar. The bear came outside the cave. It was as if the bear was returning the favor.

Noah took this opportunity to take out the blade in his abdomen and plunge it into the neck of a distracted A2. He threw A2 into the waterfall immediately and jumped with him, making him a meat shield to take the blow of the rocks.

The other assassins tried to reach out but the bear made their job difficult. They retreated in the shadows, as they were not the bear’s opponent.

Noah and A2 were in a death struggle as they fell. A2 hit a rock protruding from the wall behind the waterfall. The blow was quite heavy. Meanwhile, Noah avoided the rock but hit a branch of a dead tree and broke one of his ribs. Both fell into the water down below losing consciousness.

…