Chapter 1104

This was an ancient, untouched forest — filled with massive trees that had been growing for a thousand years, some reaching heights of 150 meters and creating such a dense network of branches overhead that sunlight barely penetrated to the ground below. Looking down from the helicopters, the rescue team couldn’t see even a glimpse of the ground through that thick green barrier.

The only way to reach Jason and Taylor would be for the rescuers to descend on ropes, fighting their way down through the thick layers of branches and leaves that stood in their path.

When Taylor caught sight of the rescue markings painted on the sides of the helicopters circling overhead, he grabbed Jason’s sleeve and shook it with barely contained excitement. “Jason, look! Do you think they’re coming for us?”

“Without a doubt,” Jason responded with complete confidence radiating from his voice. “Cole must have sent them. Nobody else would bother mounting a rescue operation — they’d all just assume we were killed on impact. But Cole? He’d tear this entire forest apart looking for us, even if all that remained was a single thread from our clothing.”

Taylor’s head bobbed up and down in agreement, his heart filled with absolute certainty.

That was exactly the kind of person Cole had always been to everyone in the Evans family — their rock, their protector, the person they could always count on, no matter how desperate the situation seemed.

Suddenly, the distinct sound of a phone ringing cut through the forest silence. Jason turned his head toward the noise and spotted his phone resting on the leaves nearby, its screen lighting up to show an incoming call from Cole.

Taylor noticed it at exactly the same moment. “It’s Cole calling!” he shouted with joy.

A massive surge of relief flooded through Jason’s entire body as he reached out to grab the phone and accepted the call. “Cole!”

The sound of Jason’s voice seemed to lift an enormous weight off Cole’s shoulders. “Jason — thank God. Are you hurt? How bad is it?”

g?lnσν?s﹒, the heart of fiction

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Jason assured him quickly. “Just some cuts and bruises, but I’m in one piece. Taylor’s right here beside me. He also made it through the fall.”

Cole released a long, trembling breath. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that. Listen, I’m directly above your position right now with the rescue team. We’re working on getting down to you, so just stay where you are and stay safe.”

“Understood,” Jason replied firmly.

The moment Jason ended the call, he moved to help Taylor stand up, but his movements came to an abrupt halt. His blood turned to ice in his veins as he realized they were no longer alone. Multiple pairs of glowing eyes had materialized from the shadows all around them — wild, predatory, and full of hunger.

As those eyes emerged from the darkness, the air itself seemed to grow colder, sending shivers of primal fear racing down their spines.

Every trace of relief vanished from Jason’s expression. Fighting through the screaming pain radiating from his injured back, he lunged forward and grabbed a sturdy fallen branch from the ground, gripping it like a weapon as his body instinctively prepared for combat.

Taylor stood frozen in place, paralyzed by pure terror. “There are so many wolves surrounding us! What are we supposed to do? Are they going to tear us apart and eat us?” ? ?s? ?s f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?.net

.

.

.