As I make my way through the eerie silence, I can't help but wonder what other secrets this school is hiding. The Principal's cryptic words about the Destitutes and the sudden change in camouflage leave me with more questions than answers.I pause, my breath catching in my throat as I hear a faint rustling from around the corner. Pressing myself against the wall, I peer cautiously into the darkness. Nothing. Just the creaking of the building, the shadows playing tricks on my eyes.Exhaling slowly, I continue, my senses heightened, every creak and groan setting my nerves on edge. I can't afford to let my guard down, not for a second. The lives of my fellow students depend on it.Finally, I reached the relative safety of the closet I had claimed, locking the door behind me. Sinking onto the floor, I stare at the blinking device, my mind racing. What does the Principal have planned? And how much more blood will be spilled before this nightmare ends?I shudder, the weight of my actions
I can barely process what's happening. One moment, we were settling into our familiar routine of scavenging and guarding the old facility that had become our safe zone from any roaming destitute. The next, we were forcibly relocated to a sterile room by a massive amount of guards. As we're herded into the room, I glance around at the other students, their faces etched with confusion and unease. Ethan reaches for my hand, his grip tight. "What's going on?" he whispers. I shrug helplessly, my mind racing.The room falls silent as the facility's management scurries about, barking orders and making adjustments. The cacophony of power tools, squeaking wheels, and clanging metal is overwhelming. I wince at the piercing whine of a circular saw, feeling the ground groan under our feet. Swallowing, I clear my throat, gaining the attention of my peers, " let's…… sit tight for now and wait them out," I suggest quietly.The students quickly nod, settling in the dusty ground and huddling togethe
Ethan, seemingly dissatisfied with my silence, suddenly steps forward, his voice trembling with barely contained anger. "Hey! And what exactly are we being prepared for? What kind of challenges are you talking about?"Mrs. Baker's gaze shifts, and for a moment, I swear I see a flicker of…. something in her eyes. "That's...a discussion for another time," she says, her tone clipped. "For now, I suggest you all get some rest. Your first training session begins bright and early tomorrow morning."As she leaves, the room erupts in a flurry of whispers and hushed conversations. As we all file out of the mess hall, Zane leans in close. "Did you see that?" he whispers. "She's hiding something. Something big."I nod, my mind racing. "We have to find out what's going on here. This isn't just about combat training - there's something else at play."Ethan's hand finds my shoulder, his grip tight. "Whatever it is, we're not going down without a fight," he murmurs. "We'll get to the bottom of thi
The day starts with news of our performance yesterday.The air is thick with tension as our group gathers to see the results of our training exercise.I can feel the eyes of the other students lingering on me, sizing me up, waiting to see how I performed. I stare at the floating scoreboard, my eyes narrowing as I take in the numbers next to my name. A sixty-nine. It's just slightly above average. My frown deepens.I can't help but think it isn't good enough.And I'm not the only one who thinks so."Hey, Ande!"I turn at the call of my name, eyes narrowing at the teenagers suddenly approaching me, their expressions a mix of scepticism and disdain.My mouth curls when I realise it was the group that had knocked me over during the run."Yes?" I reply briefly. The boy in the middle, clearly the leader of his rag-tag group, steps forward, eyes dark"So, you think you're gonna lead us to victory with those mediocre scores?" he sneers, gaze sweeping over my form. "Guess you didn't get the
The air is tense as our group surrounds Everett and her team. We've got them cornered, guns that were taken from the training room trained on them, and I can see the panic in their eyes. This is it - we've finally caught the enemy."Alright, spies," I growl, stepping forward. "Time to fess up. What are you doing here? How much do you know? Tell me."Everett clenches her jaw and remains stubbornly silent.At that, the group erupts into heated debate. Some are calling for us to throw Everett and her crew out to the Destitutes now that we know their true allegiance. "They're traitors! We can't trust them!" one teen shouts, pointing at them, "they deserve to be killed."But some are more cautious. "Hold on, we need to figure out how to get off this planet first," a small girl argues. "We can't just abandon them - they might be our only way out of this hellhole."The debate rages on, with voices rising and tempers flaring. I stand back, overseeing the exchange. These people are scared,
The Night Before...When the dust finally settles, I lift my head, coughing and choking. Valarie and Miguel are at my side, their faces etched with fear and concern."Ande, are you okay?" Valarie asks, her voice trembling.I nod, my gaze fixed on the girl's neck. Where the device had been, there is now nothing but a gaping, ragged wound. "I'm fine," I murmur, my mind racing. "But what the hell was that?"Miguel shakes his head, his expression grim. "I don't know, man, but these things are rigged to explode. We're lucky to be alive."I glance down at the collar on the boy's own neck, a chill running down my spine. "We have to figure out what's going on, Miguel. And we need to do it fast."The young engineer nods, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Okay, let me take a look at that chip. Maybe I can figure out how to disable it without blowing us all up."The girl's neck is a mangled, gaping mess. Steeling his nerves, he slipped on a glove and gently parted the skin, revealing somethi
Adrenaline surges through my veins as I sprint through the dark, twisting maze, my boots pounding against the hard ground. "Everyone, stay behind me!" I shout, my voice desperate and commanding. I can hear the others scrambling to keep up as I forge ahead, determined to outrun the horrifying sounds of the destitute The eerie snarls and grunts of the twisted, inhuman creatures send shivers down my spine."Come on! We can make it!" I yell.Glancing back over my shoulder, I catch sight of their shambling, contorted forms lurching towards us. Without hesitation, I raise my weapon and start firing, squeezing the trigger in rapid bursts. I need to clear a path to get my friends to safety. "Keep moving, everyone!"The maze is a labyrinth of shadows and dead ends, making gaining ground impossible. I push myself harder, my lungs burning, praying we can outrun the destitute. But they seem to be everywhere, their numbers endless. Panic starts to claw at the edges of my mind, but I force it
I feel like an absolute fool. How could I have let my guard down, even for a moment?I knew we were in the heart of enemy territory, with danger lurking around every corner, yet I still managed to doze off. But I was just so exhausted from everything that's been happening. I didn't mean to fall asleep, Everett had refused to tell us anything, no matter how many times we asked her what her plans were. The girl barely paid us any mind, absolutely infuriating.Thankfully, I was only out for a few minutes. I slowly make my way to the room where Zane is being held. I need answers from him - why did he betray us? Was he ever really on our side, or was he playing us the whole time?I need to stay alert and focused. There's too much at stake. As I walk back towards the room, a tiny part of me can't help but feel embarrassed and ashamed. Ethan and Valerie had seen me in that vulnerable state, and I was not too fond of them thinking I was weak or incapable. We're all under immense stress,
"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.