POTENTIAL: THIRTY-TWO

**ALEX POV**

"Which way, Alex?" Maica asked. We're stuck in a dilemma. There were two tunnels in front of us, and the probability of reaching our destination was 50:50.

"We have to split up," suggested one of Dr. Deguro's team members.

"No. We have to go together. I'm the only one who can protect you." An idea popped into my head, and I was pleased with it. I dropped to my knees and touched the ground. It felt gross and disgusting, but I had to do it. This was the only way to reach our destination.

"What is he doing?" I heard one of them ask.

"Locating the monster," Maica directly responded.

I closed my eyes and released a wave of energy. A visual of a cave appeared in my head, following the waves I just released. After a minute, I immediately knew where we needed to go. But there was a problem.

"We will take the right, but be careful. I felt several energy signatures ahead," I warned, and they nodded in agreement. We continued walking into the right tunnel. The air became warmer, and the soil turned soggier. I could feel our feet sinking with each step. The smell was terrible, too. I couldn't describe it, but it was enough to make us nauseous.

"Alex, look," Maica called, looking at her GPS tracker. I walked towards her, and we examined the tracker screen. "Based on our current location, the village is just a few meters below us."

"Really?"

"Alex?" one of our companions called. "Look. There's something up ahead," he added, pointing in that direction. I couldn't really see what he meant, so I took out a ground light and turned it on. We were shocked to see large flesh-like roots attached to the walls of the tunnel.

Despite our concern, we continued walking, keeping a close eye on the pulsating roots. This meant we were getting closer. But why did I feel this way? I felt warned.

"Alex!" Maica suddenly shouted, aiming her gun forward. The others also aimed their guns, so I looked to see what they were focused on.

In front of us were human figures about the size of children. They were made of the same material as the roots, and there were about ten of them. I almost believed they were real people.

"No one will shoot. Not until they attack," I instructed.

"What should we do, Alex?" Maica asked worriedly.

"Send a message to Sky. Tell him we can't be sure it won't wake up. Secondly, tell him to prepare the people for evacuation," I replied in the message.

"Got it," she immediately responded. We were on high alert now. They could attack at any moment, and if that happened, the worst would follow. "Done, Alex."

"Good."

"They're moving," reported one, making us more alert. The figures began to walk towards us, so I signaled them to come closer to me. I enclosed us with a force field to stay safe from any potential danger from the figures. They kept walking, while we were nervous. As they got closer and closer, our anxiety intensified. But we were surprised when they just passed by us.

"That's weird," one of our team members commented.

"Hey, Benjie? Are you okay?" another man suddenly asked his friend. I looked at them, concerned, as they were looking at the young man. He seemed weak as if influenced by fatigue. His breathing was deep.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. He suddenly became like this," the man replied, addressing Benjie.

Maica put her palm on Benjie's forehead, with her companion supporting him. "He's burning."

"Did he have a fever before coming down here?"

Some of them looked at each other, and one replied, "We don't know, but he wasn't like this when we were still above. He only gets like this whenever he has an infection."

"Infection? Does he have a wound?" Maica asked in surprise.

"Check his body," I instructed. They examined Benjie's body one by one. Everyone was in a hurry due to panic.

"Here!" one exclaimed, shining a light on the back of Benjie's thigh. I went over to look. It was an incision about half the length of a ruler. It wasn't too deep, but enough to cause an infection.

"You two," I pointed to the two holding Benjie's shoulders. "Take him to the village for treatment. I'll give you a way." The two nodded, while Benjie couldn't respond. I pointed my palm at the figures, creating a pathway surrounded by a force field. I signaled the three to walk, and they followed immediately.

Once they were completely out, we continued walking. We breathed a sigh of relief when we noticed that the figures were no longer following us. We kept glancing at the roots, which I noticed were growing larger, unlike before.

It seems we're getting close.

After a few more steps, we stopped when we saw a barrier made of a thin, pulsating membrane. "Who among you has a knife?" I asked, and a man walked towards the membrane wall, taking out a Swiss knife. He made a long, deep cut on the membrane, but it immediately closed.

It indeed regenerates quickly.

"I'll make you a path," I volunteered. I held out my hand, focusing on creating a pathway through the membrane. The guy made another cut, followed by my ability to prevent the membrane from healing. Maica and the others walked through until we all passed

We were surprised when we saw the full size of it. Dr. Deguro was right—it was as large as the warehouse. Luckily, it was still asleep. We didn't waste any more time and began our mission. Maica prepared the anesthesia, while the rest grabbed some explosives and ammunition, just in case.

"Here, Alex," Maica offered, handing me the syringe with anesthesia. I took the container and borrowed the knife from the man earlier for the incision. Afterward, I carefully walked toward the sleeping creature.

As I approached, my nervousness increased. We didn't know what this creature was thinking right now, but we didn't have a choice. We needed to do this. I stopped half a meter away from the creature because I didn't need to get too close—I had my abilities to help me.

Using my telekinesis, I successfully injected the anesthesia into its body. I waited for 30 seconds before taking a small piece of its flesh. I placed it inside the container and left.

"That was easy," I muttered to myself. Luckily, it was still asleep. But I was impressed by this creature. Even in its sleep, it managed to create those figures. Wait... Was it really asleep? Because if it was, it shouldn't have been able to do that. Cell activities decrease during sleep, so it's impossible for it to create those.

"Alex!" Maica suddenly yelled. I felt an evil presence behind me, causing me to turn around. I was surprised to see a gigantic eye staring at me. But I was even more shocked when multiple eyes suddenly appeared all over its body. Gunshots echoed through the cavern, drawing attention. The figures were approaching Maica. The figures' hands transformed into stakes, each with a very sharp end.

"Alex!

Look out!" On instinct, I created a force field that barely stopped the monster's attack. I released an energy surge that sent its tentacle flying, narrowly missing me. Seizing the opportunity, I ran back to Maica.

"To your right, Alex!" I jumped to the right, evading the monster's deadly tentacle. With Maica's assistance, I managed to dodge its attacks and return to them. I instantly created a force field to block the creature's attacks.

"Maica, give this to Dr. Deguro," I instructed my friend. "While you two, evacuate the people."

The two nodded, but not Maica. "I can't leave you here!"

"Yes, you can. It's too dangerous for you to stay. You have to go. You can't even help me, anyway," I reasoned, even though it went against my will. I knew Maica was hurt by what I said to her, but it was for her good. If her hating me was the best way for her to stay away, so be it. I couldn't afford to lose her, my best friend.

I shot a psi ball at the membrane wall to create a path. "Go! I'll hold them off!"

"We'll leave these explosives here for you to use," one offered and quickly ran out of the cave. Once they were completely out, I immediately covered the entrance with dirt so they couldn't be followed.

I faced the monster again, which had been staring at me since it woke up. If I wanted to win this fight, I needed a good plan. A good and effective plan.

"I need to do something with those eyes." I looked at the bag full of grenades and guns I left behind. "It's not enough. I guess I have to do this in my own way."

I raised both my hands, focusing on creating psi balls. One, two, three, four, until there were twenty. Without hesitation, I ran. With each eye I passed, I exploded it with my psi balls.

The monster released a screeching scream of agony and pain due to the explosions. It took me a minute before I fully blinded the monster. But I didn't expect my attack to become useless. The eyes were starting to heal, returning to normal.

"This is harder than I had expected."

******

**MAICA POV**

We had just come out of the hole and were on our way back to Sky. Holding the container, we quickly ran out of the forest. We didn't have time to waste. We needed to figure out how to kill that monster before it killed Alex.

"Damn it, Alex!" I cursed after feeling the ground shake. It seemed like the monster had awakened.

"Let's go!" I invited them, and we continued running. We got out of the forest, but we were surprised to see five black vehicles heading towards the village. We paused and hid in a bush.

"Shit! They're here again!" my companion angrily remarked.

I furrowed my brow. "Who?"

"Breese's men."

"Bring that back to Dr. Deguro, Maica, and no matter what, don't show yourself to them," another one instructed.

"What about you?" I asked, concerned.

"We'll take care of the people and the children." I nodded, and they left. I ran in the opposite direction to avoid Quinnie's men.

"Maica?" Sky called from my mind.

"Yes, Sky?"

"How's it going?"

"We're outside now, except for Alex."

"What! Why?"

"The monster woke up when we got there. Don't worry, Alex will be fine."

"Do you have the sample?"

"Safe and secured, but Quinnie's men are here."

"I know, so you need to go around the back of the warehouse. I'll meet you there."

"Okay."

Another tremor occurred, causing me to stumble. But I quickly stood up and continued running. After five minutes, I reached the back of the warehouse. As expected, Sky was here waiting for me. He opened the door, and I quickly entered. Due to exhaustion from running, I sat down immediately upon entering.

"He-Here," I gasped, handing him the sample while catching my breath. It's been a month since I ran this far.

"Are you okay?" Sky asked.

"Yeah, just let... me breathe for a mo... ment."

"Okay. Follow when you're ready." I gave Sky a thumbs up and returned to catch my breath. After a minute or two, I stood up and walked into the laboratory. I still walked a bit unsteadily, so Trisha quickly assisted me when she saw me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Just tired from running." Another tremor occurred. Everyone fell silent to feel what might come next. "That's a tough fight down there," I commented.

"Doctor, look!" Carlo suddenly shouted, pointing to a part of the monster inside the tank. It was moving, as if it could sense what was happening below.

"He's reacting," Doctor observed, marveling at it.

"I figured that out," Sky announced, causing us to look at him. "That's its core," he pointed to the tank that Dr. Deguro was holding.

All this time, we were holding the weakness of this monster? We can definitely kill it now.

"Doctor!"