Shit!
Levi's mind went buzz—completely blank.
That crisp click was like Death himself pressing the start button on his life's countdown. The last trace of light vanished, and the entire world was swallowed by endless darkness and biting cold.
He couldn't see a damn thing.
In an environment like this, eyes were the most useless organs imaginable. No matter how wide he opened them, all he got was pure, panic-inducing blackness. Meanwhile, his other senses were amplified to a terrifying degree.
He could hear his own heart pounding—thump, thump, thump—like someone beating a war drum right next to his ears, the vibrations making his eardrums ache. He could feel the icy air pouring in from all directions, greedily siphoning away the last scraps of warmth from his body. And he could smell it—that damp, earthy stench tinged with decay, the kind of odor you'd expect from a grave.
Worst of all was the sound.
"Scrrrape… scraaape…"
That cursed metallic dragging noise didn't stop when the light went out. On the contrary—within the suffocating darkness, it became painfully clear, like someone sawing directly into his nerves with a rusted blade.
And it was still going.
Worse—it sounded like it was getting closer.
Levi's body stiffened like a log frozen in ice. He could feel every hair on the back of his neck standing straight up.
You've got to be kidding me. Just escaped Hydra, only to dive headfirst into some prehistoric horror's lair? What, is this cave the hideout of some deranged serial killer? That's how it always goes in the movies—isolated lunatic, isolated location, turning unlucky intruders into "art."
Or maybe… Hydra was running secret experiments here, breeding some light-averse monster?
Scenes from every horror movie he'd ever watched flooded his mind, each one enough to scare him half to death.
He gripped his MP40 tightly. The cold steel was his only anchor to reality. But he knew the truth—in pitch-black darkness, the gun was barely better than a stick. He couldn't just close his eyes and spray bullets. That would do nothing except give away his position.
So what now? What the hell do I do?
Raw survival instinct forced his nearly frozen brain back into motion.
Calm down. You have to calm down.
He drew in a slow breath, the icy air burning his throat and nearly making him cough—but he forced the sound down. He struggled to rein in his racing heart, commanding his rigid muscles to slowly loosen.
He stopped trying to see.
Instead, he focused entirely on listening.
"Scrrrape…"
The sound was heavy and rhythmic, but slow. And mixed into it—barely perceptible—was something else.
Breathing.
Human breathing.
That realization eased the tension in his chest just a fraction. Not a monster, then. If it was human, there was always a way to deal with it.
But immediately, another thought made his scalp tingle.
What kind of normal person wanders around a godforsaken cave like this, dragging heavy metal behind them?
Then—suddenly—the sound stopped.
The cave fell into absolute silence once more.
Levi's heart leapt straight into his throat. He held his breath, not daring to move, frozen in place like a statue awaiting judgment.
The unknown was always the most terrifying.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely, every second dragging on like an entire century.
Just when Levi felt like the silence was about to drive him insane, a hoarse, weak voice—strained with pain—rose from the darkness ahead.
"Who… who's there?"
English.
Levi jolted, nearly crying out loud.
His instinct was to answer immediately, but he forced the words back down. He didn't know who this was—friend or foe. If it was a Hydra captive and he revealed himself, that would be suicide.
But if he stayed silent… and the other guy had a weapon and started firing blindly?
Screw it. Gamble.
Levi made his decision in an instant. Lowering his voice, he answered cautiously in English:
"A friend. I'm just… looking for a place to hide."
His words echoed faintly through the cavern.
A few seconds passed in silence.
Then he heard a long, relieved sigh—followed by a sharp clang, like metal hitting the ground.
"Friend…" the hoarse voice repeated, exhaustion and disbelief mingled with unmistakable relief. "Thank God…"
A moment later—
Shhk.
A tiny spark flared in the darkness.
Then a small, trembling orange flame appeared, pushing back a thin veil of black.
An old-fashioned kerosene lamp.
In its weak glow, a familiar face came into view—a Black man drenched in sweat, contorted with pain.
"Gabe Jones?" Levi blurted out.
The man lying on the ground, struggling to light the lamp, was none other than Gabe Jones, the Howling Commandos teammate Levi had only seen a few times back at camp.
Gabe stared at him in shock, then joy lit up his eyes. "Levi? My God—it's really you!"
"How the hell did you end up here?" Levi asked as he hurried over.
Up close, the situation was brutal.
Gabe's left leg was clamped in a massive, rusted bear trap. The steel jaws looked like a fanged mouth, their serrated teeth sunk deep into his calf. His uniform pants were soaked dark red with blood.
A thick iron pry bar lay beside him.
Levi instantly understood.
That scraping sound hadn't been chains at all—it was Gabe dragging the trap, or trying to pry it open with the bar.
"Damn it, what bastard set a bear trap in here?" Levi cursed, kneeling to inspect the injury.
"No idea," Gabe hissed through clenched teeth. "Got separated after the jump. Came in here to hide—and stepped right on it. I've been stuck… almost two hours."
Levi frowned at the trap. Simple design, terrifying force. Once those springs snapped shut, brute strength alone wouldn't cut it. The fact that Gabe had lasted two hours with just a pry bar already spoke volumes.
"Hold on," Levi said firmly.
He set his gun aside and grabbed the steel jaws with both hands.
"Levi, don't waste your strength," Gabe said weakly. "It's too tight. I tried—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes went wide.
Levi inhaled sharply. The muscles in his arms bulged, cords rising like twisted roots beneath his skin. Power surged from his core, through his shoulders, and exploded into his hands.
"Haah!"
With a low roar, strength far beyond any normal human burst forth.
Grrrrnnnch—
The metal screamed.
Before Gabe's disbelieving eyes, the bear trap—something he couldn't budge even with leverage—was forced open, inch by inch, by Levi's bare hands.
Gabe stared, mouth hanging open, completely forgetting the pain in his leg.
He'd always thought Levi was just a sharp-shooting, lucky Asian guy.
This kind of strength… wasn't human.
Click.
With one final snap, the springs locked at full extension.
Levi released his grip, gasping for breath. His arms felt like they were about to tear off. That trap had been even stronger than he expected.
"Now! Pull your leg out!" he barked.
Gabe snapped out of it and hurriedly yanked his mangled leg free.
The instant it was clear, Levi let go completely.
BAM!
The steel jaws slammed shut again with a deafening echo that rang through the cave.
Gabe looked at his bleeding leg, then at the trap, and finally at Levi—his eyes filled with gratitude and something very close to awe.
"Levi… you…"
"Later," Levi waved him off, pulling out his med kit. "Let me patch you up. This place isn't safe—we need to move."
He cut away the pant leg. The wounds were deep enough to make even him suck in a breath. He rinsed them, applied hemostatic powder, and wrapped the leg tightly with bandages.
By the time he finished, Levi himself felt drained and sat back heavily.
He handed Gabe the remaining half of the compressed ration and his canteen. "Eat. You need strength."
Gabe didn't argue, devouring both gratefully.
The cave grew quiet again, filled only with breathing and chewing.
But the relief didn't last.
Gabe's leg was badly injured. Fighting was out of the question—and even walking would be difficult.
And in Levi's mind, the cooldown timer of [Ability Replicator] glared mercilessly:
Remaining Time: 3 days, 3 hours.
Within three days, he had to find Captain America—and touch him.
But now…
Levi glanced at Gabe, who could barely stand, then toward the pitch-black cave mouth.
Damn it all.
What was supposed to be a solo stealth survival run had just turned into an escort mission with a wounded ally.
Difficulty level—instantly doubled.