Chapter 1 — Drop Zone
As we were yanked off the transport, the bags were pulled from our heads, revealing stark darkness around us. As my eyes tried to adjust to the darkness, I could only make out shadows shifting around me as if they were alive. The forest we found ourselves in was so densely packed that I couldn't catch a glimpse beyond a few trees before it all thickened and obscured any line of sight entirely.
At this point, I noted that whoever had taken the bags off our heads was no longer around. Desperate to align my thoughts, I was jolted by a woman's fearful voice cutting through the confusion "Where are we?" To my right, a man grumbled, "They dropped us off in an undisclosed location near the site. They told us they would do this. Obviously, we don't know any more than you do." A harsh tension filled the air followed by silence. I wasn't sure why this man was so hostile so quickly. I made a mental note of it as his demeanor gave me a sense this man wasn't trustworthy.