Chapter one hundred and seventy two

Rhys slowly opened his eyes, groggily taking in his surroundings. He was met with an unfamiliar sight – a clearing surrounded by dense foliage, with a bright blue sky above. He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his head, forcing him to lie back down.

As he struggled to remember, fragments of his last conversation with Rio in his space came flooding back. They had been discussing the project, and then…the plane crash. Rhys’s mind reeled as he tried to piece together what had happened.

He was alive. But how?

Rhys tentatively sat up again, taking in his surroundings. He was in a clearing, with no sign of civilization in sight. Where was he?

Panic set in as Rhys scrambled to his feet, stumbling around the clearing. He called out, but his voice was swallowed by the trees. As he looked around, Rhys realized that he was on some sort of unfamiliar place. But how did he get here? And where was everyone else?

Rhys stumbled through the underbrush, desperate for answers. He tripped a