FLAW: FIFTY-THREE

**ALEX POV**

I never thought being bait would be this difficult, especially in a dark and scary forest. It's 9:45 pm, and in a few moments, they would attack. The plan was to lure the creatures towards the trap Sky and Dao prepared. I just hoped to reach the trap without them catching me.

With only my flashlight in hand, I nervously scanned my surroundings. The scene was pitch black, and only the light from my flashlight illuminated my position. Apart from the vast darkness, I also heard noises – indistinct sounds from unknown sources. Rustling, the footsteps of animals or whatever, wing flaps, insect cries, and more. I could also hear my heartbeat due to nervousness and fear.

"Five minutes left, Alex. Get ready," Dao informed, making me more anxious. I conjured my barrier while preparing myself for a potential attack. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before panic set in.

"Come on, Alex. You can do this," I cheered myself, shaking off the anxiety.

I stopped when my watch beeped, signaling it was already ten in the evening. Strange noises filled my ears as soon as the clock struck ten. My heart raced as I heard multiple footsteps running a few meters away, probably trying to scare me.

Suddenly, the noise stopped, and silence once again enveloped the place. But after a minute, I heard a child's cry, a baby's wail. "Imps are babies with demonic faces. They trick people with their baby cries as if they were distressed," I remembered Calli saying.

"They're out, Alex," Sky informed through the earbuds. It was my cue to lead them into the trap. But as I took my first step, something grabbed my feet. I quickly shone the flashlight on it but couldn't see anything.

"Bogies," I hissed as I scanned the vast darkness around me. I immediately started running, accompanied by the echoing of hundreds of feet. They were following me, which was our plan. I could hear them uttering strange languages, and by the sound, you wouldn't want to see what they looked like.

I summoned a psi ball and hovered it above me. Sky had told me this would prevent the bogies from using my shadows, and it seemed to work. Thanks to the psi ball, I could see parts of the creatures illuminated by its light – tiny feet, a hand, and a bat wing.

"I'm close," I said between breaths. I ran until I reached the designated place. I slowed to a walk, realizing that whatever chased me was no longer running.

I disabled my psi ball, leaving myself in the darkness. At that moment, I felt countless hands grabbing my body as if trying to immobilize me. They groped their hands all over me, and it disgusted me. I could feel the roughness and hardness of their hands, and it felt like my skin would come off due to their toughness.

I let them hold onto my body until a bright white light spontaneously lit up the area. I covered my eyes from the intense brightness but quickly uncovered them as the surroundings adjusted. Four large lights surrounded me, not just me, but the creatures. When I looked at them, I was surprised by their appearance. They were even more repulsive than they looked on the internet. I could see how disgusting and scary their faces were.

While they were still in shock, I released a shockwave to remove them from my body. They all gathered, but I prevented them from moving away using my telekinesis. They were all surprised to see themselves floating in the air; even the imps were shocked to learn that they could fly without flapping their bat-like wings.

I gestured with my hand, moving all of them into a cage that Sky had prepared. The cage for the bogies was special, surrounded by lights in every corner, preventing them from escaping through their so-called shadow portals. It's such a brilliant idea.

When we captured them, they immediately struggled. They tried to break the cage, but it was too sturdy for their small hands. Even the goblins had no tools to break it. They all shrieked and screamed, trying to call someone to help them.

"Good job, Alex," Trisha complimented as she walked towards me. "They're scared. I can see their auras," she added while observing them.

"Shall we?" Sky inquired, referring to the rescue mission we still had to do. I nodded, and the four of us headed back to the tree. Since we had been there earlier, locating it was not difficult. Like before, the place had a creepy and gloomy atmosphere, making you want to leave rather than stay for a second.

"I saw her again," Trisha informed as she ran, looking to her left.

"The ghost?" Maica asked, receiving a nod from Trisha.

"Ghosts sometimes appear either to help or need help," Trisha explained. "I think she wants to do both for a clairvoyant like me."

"Like she wants to help us, and she also wants us to help her?" clarified Maica, receiving a nod from Trisha.

"Let's stick to the plan first," Sky reminded us, and we agreed.

We continued running until we reached the tree. Like earlier, it emitted a frightening aura. But knowing that the threats had been removed, my fear was reduced by half.

Sky descended first, and we followed suit until we reached the depth of the staircase. The three held out their guns while I summoned three psi balls. Sky gestured for me to split the vines, allowing us to pass. Using my ability, I separated the vines into two, leaving enough space in the center for us to walk through.

"Stay close," I ordered the two, and I conjured my force field before slowly entering their supposed hideout.

A vast space unfolded before us the moment we passed through the vines. It was like a cavern, and I noticed holes in the walls. If I'm not mistaken, these were their rooms or a tunnel system they created. But what we were looking for wasn't here.

"They're not here," Maica commented as she scanned the entire room.

"Looks like we failed," I said, disappointed and disheartened.

"Not yet," Trisha said while looking up at one of the holes. "Follow me," she ordered, approaching the hole she had observed earlier. The three of us exchanged glances at Trisha's command. "What? Do you want to save them or not?" Trisha asked, prompting us to follow her. Even though we didn't know her plan, we had no choice but to follow.

"What do you have in mind, Trisha?" Sky asked, seemingly puzzled by her actions.

"Remember what I told you about the ghost?" she questioned. The three of us nodded in response to her question. "It seems like she knows where the missing persons are," Trisha continued.

After a few minutes of running in the dark and damp tunnel, we reached another room. We all felt relieved to see the missing persons unconsciously tied and caged individually.

"Oh my god," Trisha gasped while looking at one of the victims. She was staring at a girl sitting hunched over. But something was wrong. I couldn't see her body moving. It was as if she wasn't breathing. "She's the one I saw. She's the ghost," Trisha informed, surprising us. That meant she was dead.

"Let's get them out of here," Sky ordered, which we immediately did. With my telekinesis, I opened their cage doors. I thought they would wake up from what I did, but they didn't. It seemed like they had been forced to sleep at a certain time.

Luckily, one of them regained consciousness. The moment he saw us, his eyes widened, seemingly surprised to see us. Then he started shaking his head.

"Hey, it's okay. We're here to help you," Maica reassured the man, but he just kept shaking his head.

"You shouldn't be here," the man said, trembling. "It will eat you," he continued. Maica looked at me with concern. Based on his statement, he used "it" instead of "they." That meant we had another enemy aside from those creatures.

Then, we heard a rattling sound coming from the tunnel. It resembled the rattle of a rattlesnake, but not as detailed. "It's here," the man said, his eyes wide in fear of whatever monster was approaching.

The three approached me, and I quickly released a force field. I summoned three psi balls before us, waiting for the monster to reveal itself. A hairy leg emerged from the hole in a few moments, and it kept multiplying. That's when we realized that the monster the man was talking about was a giant spider.

Three pairs of eyes stared at us while its two poisonous fangs twitched as if they wanted to taste us. Its whole body was creepy.

"Why a spider?" Trisha cried while pointing her gun at the spider. The spider just stared at us, waiting for us to engage or for it to find an opportunity to attack us.

We were surprised when the man suddenly screamed, giving the spider a scare and prompting it to attack us. I launched my psi balls at him, but his skin was too thick. The guy kept on screaming in pain, and we didn't know why while I was busy keeping the spider away from the victims.

"Maica, the eyes!" Sky shouted. Both of them shot their guns at the spider’s face, trying to hit the eyes. Trisha was busy calming the man.

"We need to get them out of here!" Trisha stated.

"There are six of them, Trisha, and only four of us!" Maica pointed out. "Only Alex can bring them outside all at once!"

"Don't worry. I'll finish this," I informed. I took a step closer to the spider and extended both of my hands towards it. With all my strength, I started removing its legs one by one. If it couldn't walk, then we could leave without being chased. The spider shrieked in pain as I removed its three legs. A fluid of blood oozed out from its wounds, resembling a fountain that had been left open.

Then I noticed a branch, big enough to deliver a painful and deadly pierce. Fortunately, its tip was sharp. So, without hesitation, I took it. I hovered it over the wounded spider's head and mercilessly stabbed it with the branch I had taken. The branch pierced through its head like skewering meat for the barbecue.

The spider fell to the ground after losing its life. Sky and Maica let out a sigh of relief upon seeing our opponent dead. But the man's screams still didn't stop.

"What's happening to him?" I asked as I approached them. The other victims started screaming one after the other, filling the entire cave with their wails.

Then we were surprised when the body of the woman suddenly collapsed. We looked at her, and we could see how her body twitched and jerked as if she were still alive. All of us squinted our brows as we stared in bewilderment at her. Before long, we heard a sound as if something was forcefully puncturing flesh. A piercing sound of flesh.

We were shocked when we saw a spider as giant as a dog emerge from the woman's abdomen. It was covered in blood as it staggered towards us. But then, a gunshot echoed throughout the room, killing the newborn spider.

I realized Sky had shot it, wearing a face full of disgust and hatred. Soon, other spiders emerged from the other victims, and Sky and Maica quickly dealt with them.

It's disgusting, and I feel like throwing up. We watched them die as the spiders made holes in their bellies. Who could have thought that it wasn't just a simple abduction? They were used as incubators for the formation of a new life. A life for a life.

How cruel.