Gathered at the foot of the mountain were a total of forty groups who were able to successfully complete the challenge, bringing a flaglet of their own that they had fished from the peak.
Minerva eyed the other surviving groups, some of them she had toyed with before giving them the flag. It was amazing just how almost half of the teams were eliminated after she employed the little game of hers.
Svetlana looked lost, still thinking about how Ahri
The first thing Andrik, Blaize and Zayden notice when they woke up the next morning is Ahrio’s disappearance. His bed is not made up yet and he’s nowhere inside the room. “Have you seen him?” Andrik asked, looking at Ahrio’s still ruffled bed. “Nope. He must be with Svetlana?” Zayden replied, unsure of what he just said.
“Greetings, players. Today, you will be playing the last elimination round games before moving on to the next games which will be team vs team where the real competition begins. After this game, each of you will be given a chance to choose and join another team of your choice provided the leader of your chosen team accepts you as a team member.” Hearing the announcement from a robotic sounding voice, the players looked at each other, processing the information that had just been disseminated. The previous several games were just elimination games to screen out the weak players and prepare the strongest ones for the next competition games.
People might think that being smart hands you an easier way of living but for Minerva, it was never the case. She’s constantly bullied in school for being a “know-it-all" as they had labelled her even when she’s not shaming others for being stupid. She gets hate and gets bullied because she’s a nerd and she look like one. She kicked the stone off the pavements to release some of her pent-up frustration. She did it again after a few steps when she saw another stone but this time it hit someone’s black shoe. Her eyes traced the person’s body from his shoe up his leg, his upper body and his face. Minerva’s blood run cold and her face paled when she saw five men in front of her.
“Great!” Zayden high-fived Blaize when he stepped on a two-minute increase booster. Yekaterina showed a thumbs up sign as well. It was nerve-wracking hearing sudden explosions and even seeing one right behind them. Seeing players fighting over their team mate’s mistake over stepping the zone of negative boosters creates tension and everyone is scared shitless about it. They’ve heard the announcement of the first group to complete the challenge so early. None other than Minerva’s group. Yekaterina glances at her
Someone had once said that the thing that’s worse than death is betrayal. Yekaterina and the rest of Ahrio’s team felt the heavy truth of that as they know each passing second sends them closer to their own demise. Each jolt of electricity weakens them, blurring their vision, fainting their heartbeats and slowly losing their consciousness. For them his betrayal is more painful than his death. But for Svetlana, his death was because of her, as well as the lives of his team. And that fact is harder to accept more than anything else. She’s weak, she’s fully reliant on others to save her every time. She had no right being the leader of the team when she can’t save them, she had never done so. Instead, she endange
Andrik and Blaize was about to lift Ahrio’s body and take it to give him a proper burial when two robots came and shot them with a taser gun causing them to fall back and letting go of their hold on Ahrio. The two groaned and uttered curses in both pain and surprise. “We will take the dead bodies.” One of the robots said in its all-robotic voice. “Just let us bury him ourselves.” Yekaterina demanded firmly. The robots glanced at her and their eyes lit up a red colour then shot her with the taser gun as well. She
Minerva’s statement earned different reactions from them. The first time she demanded it, Blaize and Zayden thought she wasn’t that serious about it, deduced it to be just a spur of the moment kind of thought. Yekaterina on the other hand knew very well that Minerva’s words weren’t just a weightless demand. She meant every word and she’s here to claim it. Glancing at Zayden’s surprised expression, Yekaterina stared straight at Minerva’s impatient frown. “How about you get Tradd instead? Wouldn’t it be better to join forces with someone you know beforehand?” She tried negotiating with her.
‘She’s weird’. Zayden couldn’t help but think that as he watches Minerva placing and removing foods from their table. “No, not that. Remove that. Zayden doesn’t like that.” Minerva instructed to BGN1, referring to the vegetable dish and the fish on the table. She looks up at him and smiled sweetly. “I got all your favorites.” She said. Zayden’s eyebrow rose and his lips pursed as he stared at Minerva. How does she know all his favorite foods and the foods that he doesn’t like? He glances back at the buffet table and then back to
Big explosions from fireworks one after another are heard from the outside, visible in the glass wall. Everyone wore splendid dresses. From a first glance and by its blinking, shiny beads on it that’s probably worth an average worker’s yearly salary, it's not just an affordable dress that a middle class could easily afford. Everyone has glass wine on their hand, cheers reverberated throughout the area when the fireworks were done. "Good evening, everyone." A host on the stage began his introductory speech. He wore a tuxedo, a gloomy g
The silence that ensued between them was enough to express the despair and misery they’re all feeling. Yekaterina and Andrik won, but it’s like they lost gravely. They don’t feel like they had won at all. In a game where you have to kill your friends and family just to win and survive, no one really wins at all. “Use it, Zayden. Save yourself.” Yekaterina said, when Zayden just stayed rooted where he is sitting. He looks lost in a trance, unable to move. He had laid down Blaize’s body on the ground beside Minerva and he sat down there leaning against the wall, staring into nothing.
The sound of his nose breaking echoed in his ears when BGN1’s fist connected with his face. Tradd’s head reared back as his eyes shut in pain. He staggers back a few steps but kept himself standing up, even when he can feel how much strength it takes to get himself together after having his world almost turn around in a dizzying axis. He re-enforces his stance, lifting the arnis in front of him higher and readying for BGN1’s next attack. BGN1 snickered, thinking just how useless his choice of weapon was against his extremely, bulky muscular form. He flexes his biceps and his
Blaize cocks the gun and approached where Zayden is hiding but he wasn’t there anymore. From behind, Zayden strangles him with his arms wrapped around his neck. He dropped the gun and grasp his arms to try and remove it around his neck. But Zayden held on to him tightly, not letting his hold on him loose. Blaize struggles to get free, he kicks his knee and elbowed him, hitting his neck and causing him to let go of him as he groaned in pain. “How dare you lie through your teeth and claim you’re my brother!”
Bringing each of their weapons, they went out of the room and decided to ride the elevator down to see what’s going on in the other floors. They paused and froze in their steps when the elevator door opened. The elevator walls and floors had been painted with blood. It won’t take a genius to be able to tell what transpired here. “The hunt has begun.” Yekaterina muttered in a low, breathy voice. The stench of blood is so strong as they stepped inside the elevator. Yekaterina pressed the ground floor and in just a matter of minutes, the elevator stopped and the doors ope
The sudden change was unprecedented, putting them all in a state of vulnerability. Yekaterina and her team had always played fair, not knowing the game beforehand except the previous game. Knowing beforehand is cheating and it’s like a drug that enabled them to relax and put their guard down. But just like a drug, once its effect wears off, you’re left with an anxiety you’re unable to handle. Your fears come back stronger and this time, you crave the relief and fake bliss that the drug has offered. That’s exactly wha
Tossing and groaning from the searing pain on his shoulder, Blaize woke up. He sat up in bed and looked down at his wounded arm, noticing that it looks like it’s getting an infection. He’s also coming down with a fever. He dreamt about the past again, just like every single time when he’s sick. It started when his grandfather passed away, leaving him with an information and a mission. To find and protect his twin brother. Yes, you got that right. Zayden Jaxen Flynn is Blaize’s twin brother. Gripping the folded picture
Blaize woke up from the aches of his body. Just like his normal day, he trained without any breaks. "You woke up already?" He saw his grandfather at the door of his room. "Come on, let's jog before the sun's up." "Grandpa, can I skip today?"
Instead of analysing what the game is all about, Yekaterina's group is amazed by the setting of the game, how prepared and detailed it is. If Jade didn’t tell them ahead of what this game is, they'll be all so busy finding and understanding the clues and the worst is there's chance that they will be eliminated. Contrary to their competitor for this game, the other group sealed their eyes on the balls. Examining what will be the best ball that they will choose to survive.