The question wasn't just a bluff. When I thought it was the school decided to reward me with a poll with my classmates names on it and it seemed to me like it was just numbered down to the total of the people in the room with me, no pictures just names. They wanted us to choose who we wanted to kill, they wanted to turn us into murderers.“This is crazy, there's no way they want us to kill someone right,” Ethan asked as he trembled. “Unfortunately, I don't think they're just messing with us,” I answered. “The hell-” Ethan suddenly turned away and wrapped his arms around his stomach. I could hear him try to force himself to throw up but it didn't sound like things were going too well for him. Poor guy must have probably swallowed his vomit. “What- what are you going to do now Ande?” I looked at the list I had to choose from once again, I'm certain not everyone would choose the same person I'm choosing right. “Wait! What if!”Knowing what to do I quickly punched in my answer a
Rope climbing, As easy as it may have sounded, I've spent my whole life climbing trees so I'm guessing it should be just about the same- hopefully.A quick look at the start to finish line and my brain already got a reset, as high as it may be fact is, this is our only way out. “Damn, it's pretty high,” I murmured. “It's a miracle we could even get the ropes to reach that high.” “Relax, I'm sure we got this,” Ethan said. “Is everyone ready?” Ready or not, I'm not sure we even have a choice, the tide was rising at an incredible speed to the point where it's almost at my knee. “All I have to do is get on the other side,” I tried to convince myself. Perhaps it was the fear of the unknown or just speculation but something didn't feel right and I could feel it at the tip of my tongue, it wasn't just like the school to make this easy, besides, Dale wouldn't have intentionally wanted to sit this trial out if it were so easy. Something big was waiting for us.“Let's move people,” Etha
Everyone was terrified as we watched our classmates get ground into bits, their screams could be heard as they were dragged underneath the shredder without struggle.“That could be me,” I thought to myself.“Hey, that thing's drawing closer!”“It’s going to shred us into pieces.”I snapped out of my clouded thoughts and realized just how close I was to knocking at death's door. There was no need to remain standing except I had a death wish and so I gathered myself and walked up to the wall.“Perhaps you will if you don't move your story ass,” Ethan yelled.“But-”“There are no buts, the only exception you have is if you'd like to die, if you don't want to then move it, those people aren't going to resurrect even after a million years, so hurry up already.”I did not expect those words from him and yet I was glad he had awoken from his delusions. Amid the chaos, I stared at the wall and secluded myself in my thoughts. My group was weak compared to before, and I had lost all my muscle
In no time the game had come to an end but there were no signs of the rest of our classmates. “I'm sure we weren't half our numbers back there, so where is everybody?”Save for the fact that Ethan and I were in the same room, I couldn't spot a single soul around. The exit, or should I say safe spot was just a small cave with no way out. “How do we get out of this place?” I asked myself.Surely the school didn't plan on trapping us here, did they?Just as my thoughts began to run wild, I heard a congratulatory speech echo loudly, “Congratulations student, you have successfully passed the penalty round and showed the school just how sorry you are and how alike your minds are, we are very impressed by your actions and have forgiven you all. Please follow the arrow guiding you back to your rooms.”Gotta admit I was tempted to ask where we would go from here, that is until the arrow appeared. It seemed to be pointing towards the end of the cave, although hesitant, I pushed the wall and
“Destitutes, what are they? Aliens, Humans? Both?” Our history teacher asked. “The reason why you're here is because you have been choosing to liberate this great planet from the clutches of its enemies, you are heroes for your Division, Heros whose task is to develop your bodies into the smartest, fastest, and craftiest of weapons against our mortal enemy.”For some reason, today's class took an unexpected turn. It was nothing as we had learned before, it was also the first time they spoke about the Destitutes to us, I was beginning to believe they weren't real until now. “The higher-ups decided to create a treaty with the Destitutes, every ten years, we send out our best to the battlefields, whichever side wins gets to call the shot for the next ten years. Which is why sometimes, we, feed the Destitutes and sometimes they provide us with resources, all are for the betterment of the world.”And that was it, the truth was finally out and I wished I had never left home. I could hard
“Could you at least be polite,” one of her minions jumped to his feet, and the others followed, guarding Everett as if I aimed to attack her. People began to stare and whisper amongst themselves that I was surprised to see them in their depressed state. “It's alright, I'd also like to hear what he has to say, hopefully, it's something that interests me,” she said. Skeptical as her guards were they couldn't possibly refuse her when she asked for it, with a frown they backed away and allowed Everett to leave. She signals for outside and I follow closely behind her until we reach the girl's locker room. “I don't think this is a good place for both of us to meet,” I said to her. Everett laughed, “What, you think I'd do something to you, or that you have the balls to do something to me? Except you've got any better place to be then we'd just have to meet here.”Fiesty as ever she was, it's unfortunate that I don't admire this side of her like the others do, for some reason she seems
“I'm here to deliver breakfast to Dale.”Unlike before, the guards who stood guarding Dale's somewhat prison felt different, I couldn't put my teeth on it but I could have sworn they weren't the same people. Despite hearing my words they were on guards, I didn't need to see the face behind that mask to know that. “So I'll just go-”Suddenly their weapons were directed towards me as if they considered me a threat, no I'm certain they did. “Student Dale is to no longer expect visitors,” they chorused. That was new information to me, I couldn't help but wonder why such an important detail was only mentioned now of all times. Something felt fishy. I couldn't waste this opportunity with or without their permission, I needed answers, but I had to do so without triggering any suspicions from them. “I see,” I said with a nod, “It'll be such a waste for me to throw these out, everyone has already had their fill, so could you just give it to him instead, I won't bother you two again, promi
The class did not take the news very well.Questions on who, how, and where he died arose, I as well was puzzled by this sudden news, there didn't seem to be any games and yet there was a death, so many possibilities crossed my mind, one of which being suicide, but then if he did commit suicide, the next question I asked myself was where?The kid didn't seem like anyone who I had come across but something about him felt familiar- wait!At last, it finally clicked, who the kid was and where I had met him. I mumbled his name repeatedly as I recalled who he was, “Troy,” yes, it all came back. “Isn't he the kid from yesterday, the one who was crying about not wanting to play.”By the time I had blurted this out, I found everyone staring at me, they looked more freighted than before. “What happened?” I asked confused. “Ande,” Ethan called his hand gripped hard on my shoulder, “you don't think the school killed him because of that right?”Ah! I finally got it, a lot of them were whinin
"We're not your enemies. We're students, too. We escaped the school just like you." I hesitated, my grip loosening. "Prove it," I demanded. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" At last they took off the mask from their faces, they looked nothing older than eighteen at most, but I wasn't going to be fooled, definitely not by their appearance especially. We pointed the guns at them, cold sweat dripped all over my face but that wasn't enough to make me tremble, at least I wouldn't allow myself to fall victim to such trickery. “No problem, no problem, I'll prove it, I'll show you that we mean no harm I swear,” the female of the group yelled. “Please, just back off with the gun a bit, that thing's dangerous and I doubt you even know how to hold them properly which makes it more dangerous.” Was she mocking us or what? I couldn't make due with it. I took a quick look at her and her colleagues behind us. They didn't seem to have any sort of weapon on them and they didn't retali
I could hardly believe my eyes at first, but that was the honest truth apparently, and just like that, we had finally escaped the school, but freedom felt like a distant memory as we trudged through the arid landscape. Where we would go from here, that was the next question. Amid the celebration and excitement from my classmates I looked around, something didn't feel right, not in the slightest, but what was it? Suddenly, it occurred to me to look ahead as if I surveyed the land. "Does anyone have a binocular?" I asked. "A binoculars? I think I got one while we were escaping, it was amongst the staff gadgets," someone said. At once it struck me. Why exactly would they need such in the first place? The more I puzzled about this uneasy feeling the more restless I felt. The girl handed over the device with a bothered look on her face. I grabbed hold of the device and peered through. Scanning- Scanning- The coast looked clear, crystal clear however, what was this cloud of dus
(Diego's POV)I dart through the shifting corridors of the maze, my heart pounding in my chest as I try not to lose sight of the others. The disorienting twists and turns of this twisted landscape make it difficult to keep my bearings.And I'm finding it harder and harder to keep on going.As I watch my classmates struggle to cross the swaying platforms, a seed of doubt begins to take root in my mind. Something about this whole scenario doesn't feel right. The way the walls shift and the floors move - it's almost as if it's an illusion, a trick of the mind.I take a step back, studying the maze around us more closely. The patterns on the walls seem to shimmer and distort, and the very air feels charged with an unnatural energy. Narrowing my eyes, I focus my senses, trying to pierce through the deception.Suddenly, a flicker of movement catches my eye, and I whirl around to see a shimmering figure in the distance. It's the teacher, I'm sure of it. A wild surge of anger rises within me
(Ande's POV)We wait patiently for Ethan in the game room, the few of us that are still free, trying to cross check if we have everything. It was almost….. peaceful.Alas, things were not meant to be, as the world around us suddenly shifts and distorts.I grip the railing as the building contorts before my eyes, the once familiar corridors and classrooms twisting and distorting like a kaleidoscope. The floors seem to shift beneath my feet, and I struggle to maintain my balance as the world around me turns upside down. "What's happening?" I shout, my voice laced with panic as I glance at my teammates. Ava clings to the wall, her eyes wide with terror, while Chris braces himself against a doorframe, his knuckles turning white.A sinister chuckle echoes through the disorienting space, and I feel a chill run down my spine. "Did you really think you could escape me so easily?" The teacher's voice, dripping with malice, surrounds us.I whirl around, searching for the source of the sound.
(Ande's POV)After washing out the blood from my clothes, I looked down with a heavy sigh of disbelief, I could not believe that this was what I had been reduced to. A monster, perhaps. "We have to go," Chris said to me, his hand upon my shoulder. Yes, there was somewhere we had to be and I refused to let anything come in the way of my freedom, not even myself. Chris and I rejoin the others. The students from the lab are gathered, their faces etched with a mixture of fear and anticipation. They couldn't possibly reject me and I knew that, I was one of them and they were just like me, we had the same substance or whatever it was that was put in me running through their veins, they couldn't possibly bail on me. "Ande," one of them says, her voice tinged with relief. "We've been trying to make sense of what happened back there."As I explain what I found in the lab and the chip I retrieved, their expressions shift from confusion to horror."So they were trying to turn us into desti
(Ande's POV)I shake my head, refusing to believe what they're telling me. "No, I can't have done this. There must be some mistake." I couldn't accept that in the slightest bit, how could everything turn out this way, we had come so far and yet this was supposed to be the result?No, it couldn't possibly be this way. "Ande, listen to us," Ethan says, his tone urgent however I looked away from him, the last thing I wanted on my plate was someone to interfere with how I felt but he was persistent an attribute that I had hated for quite a while now. "We all felt... different, after what happened in the lab. And now, with what's happened here... we can't risk staying any longer. For our own safety, and for yours."I want to protest, to demand answers, but the fear in their eyes gives me pause. I took a deep sigh, surely this wasn't the end of everything, I knew there had to be some sort of way but the opportunity seemed difficult to come by. "I understand but I'm sure there's a cure
(Ande's POV)Ethan's head snaps up, his eyes wide with fear. "No, please, Ande! I swear, I won't do anything like that again. I'm with you, all the way. You can trust me, I promise.," he said, while desperately leaning to us for trust. I hold his gaze, searching for any hint of doubt or deception. After a long moment, I nod slowly. "Alright, Ethan. I'm going to hold you to that promise. We can't afford any more risks, not when we're so close to freedom."Ethan nods, his shoulders slumping with relief. "I understand, Ande. I won't let you down, I swear it."Before I can say more, Jay suddenly interrupts us, his gaze strangely vacant as he clutches the sleeve of my shirt. "Ande," he says, "Ande…""Jay, what's wrong?" I ask, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You seem... different."Jay turns to me, his eyes clouded with an almost otherworldly intensity. "We need to go back to the school," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's important, Ande. We have to leave go back now."I'
I'm in my office when a guard bursts into my office, breathless and wide-eyed. "Sir, there's an urgent joint summit being called. You're expected to attend immediately."I let out a frustrated sigh. These summits always mean more demands and red tape to deal with. "Can't they handle this without me for once?" I grumble.The guard shakes his head. "I'm afraid not, sir. They've specifically requested your presence."I groan in frustration, slamming the files shut. The benefactors - those stupidity wealthy elites who oversee the Games - are the bane of my existence. "Unbelievable. Can't they see I'm up to my neck in work here? We're still recovering from the disastrous events of the last Games."The guard shifts nervously. "I'm afraid they won't take no for an answer, sir. They said it's non-negotiable."I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling a migraine coming on. "Fine, fine. Tell them I'll be there momentarily." As the guard scurries off, I mutter a string of curses under my breath.
There is a dismembered hand lying on the floor, partially obscured by the doorway. My stomach lurches at the gruesome sight, bile rising in my throat.The skin is pale, the fingers contorted, and there's still fresh blood pooling around it. I freeze, my eyes fixed on the grisly scene.Ethan and the others hadn't noticed it by the looks of things, their focus probably only on getting into the school undetected. But I can't tear my gaze away. Something about the hand catches my eye - it appears to be clutching a small electronic device, a tablet of some kind. Swallowing hard, I slowly approach the severed limb. I need to get a closer look. Crouching down, I carefully pry the fingers open and retrieve the tablet, wincing at the sticky, warm sensation of the blood on my skin. My heart is pounding as I examine the device, realizing it's emitting some kind of frequency. An idea struck. Quickly, I pull out my jammer and connect it to the tablet, grinning as I gain access to the video.