Odyssey Of Survival - Chapter 147

Chapter 147: Chapter 147 The Hunt Begins
Shadows flickered across weary faces as the survivors stood in a loose formation, their focus still centered around Jack and the three girls. The earlier accusations and arguments had settled, and now there was little doubt left—Jack hadn’t been the one. Even Madison, Bella, and Alice, despite their initial suspicions, had come to the same conclusion. There was simply no way he could have been in two places at once.

If anything, the only logical explanation was that either someone had deliberately tricked them or something far more disturbing was at play. But at this point, it didn’t matter. What mattered now was what came next.

Ryder stepped forward, his gaze steady, his expression serious. His presence alone was enough to gather attention, and when he finally spoke, his voice carried the weight of a problem that had been lingering in everyone’s minds.

“Maybe it’s time we talk about the real problem.”

Madison arched a brow, arms crossed as she tilted her head. “Which is?”

Ryder turned his sharp gaze toward her, then to the rest of the group. “Our location is exposed.”

A heavy silence followed his words.

Faces dropped, shoulders tensed, and the murmurs that had once filled the space died down instantly. It was a thought that had been gnawing at the back of everyone’s minds, but hearing it spoken aloud made it all the more real.

“We’ve been here for months,” Ryder continued, his voice level but firm. “And now that they know where we are, staying here isn’t an option anymore.”

Some of the survivors exchanged uneasy glances. They knew he was right. Staying in one place for too long was dangerous—especially now that it was clear Zoro’s reach extended further than they had anticipated. Moving was the safest course of action, even if it meant starting over yet again.

But Jack didn’t seem to share that same line of thinking.

While the others were mentally preparing for another relocation, his expression remained unreadable, his eyes darting from one person to the next. Then, as the quiet tension lingered, he finally spoke, his tone sharp, cutting through the air like a blade.

“You’re all thinking about running again?” He shook his head, looking almost disgusted. “Are we just gonna keep doing this forever?”

Some people turned to him, puzzled. Others frowned.

Jack’s eyes narrowed slightly. “How about, instead of running, we finally talk about something that actually matters?”

Ryder folded his arms. “And what would that be?”

Jack’s gaze swept over the group before he answered, his voice filled with conviction.

“Getting the hell off this island.”

A wave of silence crashed over the survivors. Some flinched at the suggestion, as if the mere mention of escape was something foolish—something dangerous.

Jack continued, stepping forward. “We tried once, and yeah, we failed. But that was a long time ago. And instead of trying again, we’ve been stuck in the same damn cycle—running, hiding, surviving, waiting for what? For Zoro to hunt us down one by one?” He scoffed, shaking his head. “That’s stupid.”

Alice met his eyes, nodding slightly. She had been thinking the same thing. In fact, all three of them had. No matter how far they ran, no matter how well they hid, Zoro would always find them. The only real solution wasn’t to keep running—it was to leave.

But how?

Ryder, skeptical as ever, voiced the same thought running through everyone’s minds. “And how exactly do you plan on pulling that off?”

Jack smirked. He had been waiting for that question.

“We all know that Zoro uses teleportation arrays whenever he needs to travel across long distances,” Jack began, pacing slightly as he spoke. “We’ve seen him do it before.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. That much was true.

Jack continued, his voice gaining momentum. “And we also know that about a month ago, he used the same teleportation array to move a massive amount of equipment and minerals off this island.”

That piece of information caught some of them off guard. A few exchanged glances, realizing where he was going with this.

Jack’s smirk widened as he drove his point home. “Which means his portal isn’t just some small-scale thing. It has the capacity to transport a lot of things at once. Maybe even lots people.”

A murmur spread through the crowd. More people were paying attention now, the weight of Jack’s words settling in.

“Think about it,” Jack pressed on. “If we can find a way to harness the power of his portal, then we might finally have a way off this damned island.”

The idea was bold. Reckless, even. But for the first time in a long time, it wasn’t just about surviving—it was about escaping.

Then, from somewhere in the crowd, a voice finally spoke up.

“And how do you expect us to do that?”

Jack’s expression darkened slightly, his smirk turning into something sharper. Something dangerous.

“Simple,” he said, his voice dripping with confidence.

“We play his game.”

A few people stiffened, unsure of where he was going with this.

Jack’s grin widened.

“Zoro wants to hunt us?” His eyes glinted with a dangerous edge. “Then this time… we hunt him back.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Everyone stared at Jack as if he had lost his mind.

But even through their disbelief, a shift had begun. A thought—no, a possibility—had been planted. And for the first time, the idea of fighting back wasn’t just a wild fantasy.

It was a plan.

And it had just begun.

Jack turned, lifting his arm as he pointed toward the distant area where the Gorvaks had first emerged. His sharp gaze scanned the terrain, his mind working fast, piecing everything together. The group watched him in silence, waiting for him to continue.

“Earlier,” Jack said, his voice firm, “Alice told me that Zoro used a portal to bring those things here.” His eyes flickered toward Alice for confirmation, and she gave a small nod.

“That’s right,” Alice confirmed. “The portal was one-way. It let them in, but they couldn’t go back through it.”

Jack turned back to the others. “Which means if we want to figure out how his portal works, we need to cover every possible location he might use to bring something else in.” His voice was steady, but his words carried a weight that made some of the survivors exchange uneasy glances.

Ryder furrowed his brows. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”

Jack’s smirk was sharp. “We put people in every possible location he could come from.”

A small murmur spread through the crowd as people processed his words. Some looked unsure, others intrigued.

Madison crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. “So what, we just stake out every inch of this place and wait?”

Jack shrugged. “That’s the general idea.”

“That’s suicide,” someone muttered from the back.

Jack shook his head. “Not if we do it right.” He stepped forward, scanning the faces of the people around him. “Zoro isn’t expecting us to think like this. He expects us to run, to keep hiding like we always do. But if we change that—if we start tracking him—then we get the upper hand for the first time.”

Ryder exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. “Alright, let’s say we do this. How do we even know where to set up? The Gorvaks came from a portal, yeah, but that doesn’t mean he’ll use the same place twice.”

Jack furrowed his brows. “Which part of small groups covering key locations—places where he’s most likely to set up another portal don’t you understand. The more ground we cover, the better our chances of catching him in the act.”

Alice spoke up. “And once we do?”

Jack’s smirk widened. “Then we take the portal for ourselves.”

A few people inhaled sharply at the boldness of his statement.

Madison sighed, shaking her head. “You make it sound so damn simple.”

Jack chuckled as he dropped a bomb on them. “Nothing about this is simple. If we fail and he gets to us first we will have too many people fanned out and little less people to defend.”

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