Chapter 3: Passed Day 1 and into Day 2

I can't believe it, he really killed her. I moved closer to Christine's body and poked her head with a stick.

"Now aren't you being a little rude?"

Huh? Who's being rude? Me?

"You just fucking killed her and you're calling me rude?"

He stared at me, no rather he glared at me and then took steps forward... 1..2 exactly 3 steps towards me before the sound of a canon being fired enveloped the whole forest. If I remember correctly, that was the cue, that was our signal that someone died.

"Just be grateful that you're not dead"

He then walked past me, I looked back and saw that he was entering the forest just on the opposite side from where I saw Iavan and Miisa are. I shook my head, I could've never got what that guy was thinking. I threw another glance at Christine's body and decided to recon her bag and tools. Who knows they might come in handy.

After securing the perimeter I rushed to the left side of the forest to search for Iavan and Miisa, and luckily it wasn't that hard to find them. They were sitting under a tree that has its big roots spread across the ground.

"So what.. is this like Thalia's tree in Percy Jackson and the Olympians?"

"You just have to correlate every single thing with a book description do you?"

I smiled at them, as I sat beside them and placed the things I brought down.

"You really did took a lot tho"

"Wait till you see what the other kids got"

"What did they get?"

"Oh nothing fancy just some high-class killing gears"

Upon making that retort, I think I stepped on a landmine because they eventually went quiet.

"You think we should split up?"

I looked at Miisa and stepped closer to her, I hugged her and ran my fingers through her hair.

"There will be 10 winners and we're only three, we can make it through this"

"But if you think about it, the moment you win here it doesn't end does it?"

They were right, what lies beyond us is another arena waiting to be entered, more people waiting to be killed, and more killers whose bloodlust is even stronger than the present because they were honed through the roughest time.

"At the very least we can enjoy the present, what will come in the future is something we'll soon see. So tell us Miisa about this place a little intel won't hurt right?"

She smiled sadly at me before drawing a map using twigs on the ground. She drew three lines one slightly bigger than the other.

"The main buildings are all located in the middle part of the city and so are the houses, around it lies the forest and beyond the forest is a river that separates this city from another city"

"So it only has a basic structure, that makes it less complex as it may seem"

"All of our classmates are sure to enter the city since that's what we can consider as a safe zone"

"You're right, after all, none of us were raised in the woods"

"Hey, Maia are we.. going to kill too?"

I looked at Miisa who was staring at the knife, either she asked that subconsciously or not the answer is still as vague as before.

"If they attack first then we will, it will always be one-sided"

"Yeah but the others, aren't they the same as us? They're also fighting if they see a threat, it's also one-sided"

Not everyone.

I wanna tell them but I don't have the guts. How can I just tell them right off the bat that someone wanted to kill me just a minute ago and that someone just saved me from near-death? I couldn't possibly tell them that.

"I think it depends on the situation we are in, it's either be the prey or be the predator"

"I think we'll be good in here for a mean time but just to be sure, do you know any high places here in the woods?"

I asked Miisa while scanning the entire area.

"The only place that comes to mind is the trees, I don't think they'll come handy though"

She was right, none of us can climb in trees and it's worst on my part because of my Acrophobia.

"Guess we're stuck in here"

I was about to say something when multiple canon shots were heard. 1..2..3..4..8..14..20. Does that mean 20 persons died already? Almost half of us? No, if we try to add up Christine she'll be the 21st.

"There will be a recap later at night right?"

"You mean this night"

And as if they were playing a trick on us, the night shifted in swiftly.

"Means they really can see us right?"

"That's already a given fact"

I clenched my fist, I really hate them. Finding entertainment while kids kill each other, they just don't have any conscience. A little while later, the first picture began to flash up in the sky. One after the other, all of those that we saw around the classroom are now dead.

"28? This is worst than a blood bath"

"It's like a massacre"

"And as expected, all of the guys are still alive"

I'm glad that I didn't kill Simon, although I doubt a shot in the leg would kill him. I scanned through my bag and found crackers in it. I opened it and handed them to Iavan after taking two crackers.

"Good thing, we ate the croissant earlier"

"Yeah"

We ate in silence as we watched the stars above which I bet were holograms also. After eating I offered to be the first watch for the night, a good thing they didn't argue. I sat near them and looked up at the sky, the cold wind blew making my skin twitch. Once again, I was reminded that we were no longer in our safe place.

No longer at the comfort of our home, or at the warmth of our beds. No longer able to sleep soundly and safely. No, we were already one foot deep in hell.

Come to think of it, Damian could've killed me earlier too, I wonder why he didn't. What if, I shook my head, no that's not even possible. The only time that we actually had a conversation was back in 9th grade during chemistry class and earlier when he found me rude for poking Christine's head with a twig.

I stared at Iavan and Miisa and sighed. What am I even thinking right now, for nothing else matters besides these two. I want them to survive this even if their chances of living a happy life are at 10%. I want to bet on that 10 percent rather than seeing them die.

I don't know if hours passed or it was just minutes but when the sun rose, I got up on my feet and woke both of them up.

"What's the big deal?"

"We're moving"

"Eh? But this place is pretty good to hide isn't it?"

"Not for long, pretty sure those guys would go hunting for their preys right now that's why we're moving"

"But move where?"

"To the heart of the forest"