Who are they?

As we were about to reach our hotspot I heard a few voices in the same direction as that of the hotspot.

I guess it was plausible that sooner or later we would encounter someone.

"Hey, why are you still holding my hand?"

"!?" suddenly I heard a girl's voice.

"Let go." It looks like she is back to her senses.

"Don't make too much sound. Look over there." I let go of her hand and pointed out in the direction of our hotspot.

"Hey, it looks like no one is coming." a blonde guy said. Who is he talking to?

"Ryan, register our names." a girl said who miraculously appeared out of nowhere.

"Alright." oh boy, I am not surprised that they are going to remove our names but instead, the girl was small.

I mean, like her size was small as compared to a normal high school student and if I am correct she is the one who came to my previous base. The size of her shoe and the size I saw that day are most probably the same.

"Hey, Allen, what are we waiting for? Shouldn't we step in now?" Alice asked me.

"Wait a minute, will you? I want to know whether removing someone's name and then registering your name is possible or not." I wanted to know this earlier but the machine said it was a 200 point question so I don't have the answer yet and if the answer is lying in front of me I would take it.

"So, how do we do that? the blonde guy asked, his name was Ryan if I heard it right.

"I don't know. Look at the information icon." the girl said. They both moved towards the machine so I couldn't hear them correctly.

I looked around the ground to find something big and then I noticed a big rock lying near Alice's leg.

"Alice, pick up that rock," I whispered in her ear.

"Eek!" I don't know why she got started but as soon as her facial expression changed I put my hand in front of her mouth.

"I don't know why you got startled but don't make any noise." instead I picked up the rock and threw it in the opposite direction as ours.

"What was that?" Yes, they took the bait.

"Let's go check it out." they both hurried towards the direction I threw the rock.

"Let's go," I said to Alice.

"Hmm..." we slowly walked towards the machine hiding behind the bushes and taking cover behind the trees.

Cautiously and slowly we moved.

"What was that I wonder?"

"I don't know. Something must have fallen from the tree. Forget it." they came in a minute or two.

"So, about that, removing the names." Ryan looked into the machine. Also now I can hear them more clearly.

"Yes." the small girl said. It's wrong to say she is small since she is one year older than me but no matter how I look at her she looks like a kid.

"It says that it's still registered to them. I mean who acquired this hotspot." oh, it looks like we are still registered.

"So, remove it then."

"I mean we can remove their names but..."

"So what's the problem?"

"It's written that to remove someone's name from the registered machine we are required to pay 400 points." That's surprising. I thought it was a paid question then why did they get it for free? Was this question changed into a zero-point question when task 2 started?

"Hmm... So what do you say? Should we do it?" the (small) girl said.

"Don't ask me. If we carelessly use points he will most likely abandon us or maybe even worse." the blond guy, I keep forgetting his name. Ryan said something that piqued my interest.

They are afraid of someone.

A big group must have formed and the leader of that group must be monopolizing the points from all of them.

"So shall we leave it?"

"I guess..." they are just gonna leave?

"..." we both stayed hidden till their backs vanished behind the leaves and bushes.

"It looks like we can take someone's hotspot but a price has to be paid," I said as I walked out of the bushes.

"Yeah..." she seemed to be troubled to get out of the bushes. Her clothes got stuck so I helped her.

"Thank you." This might be the first time she said thank you to me. But yeah I didn't do anything worth appreciating.

...

We both sat there silently looking at the sky as it was getting dimmer and dimmer.

I lighted up the wood I had collected earlier.

Soon it was dark and quiet.

The only sound I could hear was the clicking sound of burning wood.

I just wanted to live a normal life but what has happened to it? Really what happened? Suddenly put inside a death game.

I wish we could turn back time. If that was possible I would never go to school on that specific day. If only I had not come to school I would have been lying on the couch watching television.

*sigh*

No point in thinking of something impossible.

Slowly and gradually my eyes felt heavy, maybe because of the cold wind passing through the forest. But what can I do about it? Also, it felt a little bit chilly than usual.

But who cares, I put my back against the tree hoping some cold breeze would get blocked and I fell asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...