2 Chapter 2: INTO THE WOODS

Joshua is certain: His last day on earth has come. Only that he's not certain whether he's on earth upon seeing that the sky is light green. Memories of his parents and two brothers axe their way through the core of his brain, flickering lights of mixed scenes grappling for attention. He knows that he's never been a good runner, but he finds himself accelerating like a torpedo toward the only trail ahead leading to a thick forest. It turns out that the square room stands in a small treeless part of a forest, which extends in all directions. Joshua reaches his maximum speed, but he remains tailing everybody else.

     Joshua feels the chill morning air upon entering the woods. Sunshine is still too weak to slant through the small holes of the canopy, so every step ahead leads to colder and darker areas. Screams and cries disturb the misty air, intensifying Joshua's terror of being consumed alive. Joshua is certain that although he saw four wolves rushing through the red door, he will see more than ten wolves growling and craving for their breakfast if he looks behind. He suddenly remembers that the average speed of a typical wolf is about 40 miles per hour and that of a human being is a little above 20. This fact forces him to shout "HELP ME!" but everybody else is too terrified to care.

"VINCE! VINCE… HELP ME! VINCE!" Joshua's voice cracks in terror. His heart pounds harder than ever. "VIIIIINCE!"

Fortunately, Vince glances back, sees Joshua's plight and immediately dashes toward his friend, though he notices that the leading wolf is only several meters behind.

"Five kilograms," says Vincent upon touching Joshua's shoulder. He then lifts his friend and carries him in his arms. "One kilogram."

"Hey!" Joshua says, surprised and a little embarrassed.

"Hold tight. We don't have time," Vincent says as he darts forward.

"How did you—VINCE!" Joshua shouts as he sees the leading wolf about three meters behind. Worse, the forest gets even darker, camouflaging the black wolves. "Faster!"

"Which one?" Vincent asks, panting loudly.

"W-What?"

"Which way?!"

Joshua looks forward and sees that the trail divides into two. "I-I don't know. Just run!"

Vincent chooses the left one, together with five others. Eight go right. This immediately divides the wolves into two packs—good news—but Joshua feels that Vincent approaches his limit, slowly tearing down his slim hope to survive.

"Vince…. They'll get us!" Joshua shouts. "NO!"

"Aaargh!" A wolf bites Vincent's right leg, giving him indescribable pain. "I'm sorry," Vincent says in his mind as he rolls onto the ground with Joshua who's still wrapped tight in his arms. The wolves waste no time and jump toward them, sharp teeth exposed and ready to tear some more flesh. Joshua closes his eyes and wishes for a quick death….

"Wait, what?" Joshua asks himself when his doom gets delayed. He opens his eyes and sees that several wolves surround them. A wolf rushes for a bite but something blocks it with a thud. Another one looks confused as it claws something hard and transparent blocking its way. "What's happening?"

_______________

"That was close," Ryan says. He's a tall, lean guy who looks like an Indian in late twenties. He's wearing white polo and white slacks. "I wish I'd tried this earlier."

"What's happening?" Shaira asks, almost breathless. She's a short lady with unblemished white skin, pinkish lips and long black hair. She's wearing red shirt, black shorts and pink slippers. One glance is enough to make a guy look at her twenty times more. If height is not a requirement in beauty contests, she will bag the prize at once with a single smile. Despite her appearance, she can be seen running around the oval of Greenwood University. A member of the running team? No.

"Glass. I can create and manipulate glass…. We're inside this glass cube…. I'm sorry for those who bumped their heads. This is strong enough… I guess. Good thing, I covered those two before it's too late…." Ryan says as he looks at Vincent and Joshua several meters away. He then faces the group. "Hey, no, no, no. Stop. Stop crying." Ryan walks toward Mabel, a tall 18-year old girl in pink shirt and blue maong pants. "Hey, look at me. I know this is scary…. But you have to be strong…. Okay? The more you cry, the faster you die…. Maybe we can all survive this. Trust me, okay?"

"I-I-I want to go home," Mabel whimpers, both hands covering her eyes. "I-I don't want to die."

"No, no, no. No one is going to die, okay? We will help one another, and we can all go home…. See? The wolves can't reach us…. They can't hurt you. Everything is fine…." Ryan says. His words work on Mabel like powerful soothing spells. Mabel calms down and stops crying. "That's it. Be strong. We will see our families soon enough."

"But they're not leaving," Shaira says. She counts seven wolves surrounding Joshua and Vincent and eight wolves surrounding them, baffled by the barrier. "We can't stay here forever."

"I know. I know," Ryan says. "That's easy. I'll trap them and then we run."

"Is your glass permanent?"

"Hmm. No."

"Meaning?"

"Fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes my glass will self-destruct. But it's okay. I can produce a lot more anytime I want. But I pay time for every use, so… I have to limit myself."

"Okay."

      Ryan and the others look at Joshua and Vincent. The glass prevents them to hear any sound coming from the outside the glass cube, but they can easily discern Vincent's pain. Joshua is now lying on the ground, while Vincent is sitting and pressing his wounded leg. Suddenly, flashes of red light illuminate a part of the forest. Ryan thinks that Aeron has used his fireballs again. "Yes, burn them all. Roast them for all I care!" Ryan says to himself.

"Let me handle this," John Paul says. He's a tall, 22-year old man wearing gray polo, black pants and red rubber shoes. He is simply the male counterpart of Shaira. His looks will easily land on any magazine featuring models of perfect physique. His bluish eyes and pointed nose are so perfect that one may think that he has stolen all the good things the world can offer.

     "Huh?" asks Ryan.

     "I can finish them. Without paying time."

     "You think so?"

     "Yes. I think." John Paul concentrates on the wolves. Suddenly, lots of glowing green ropes emerge from the ground and wrap John Paul's feet. Then, more glowing ropes emerge from the ground outside the glass cube and quickly strangle all the wolves in sight. The ropes squeeze them tight and break their necks within seconds. The wolves don't even have the chance to realize that they're already checkmated. "Not a chance against me."

     Everybody else freezes in awe. "Oh my," Ryan says. "That… was—"

     "Cool?" John Paul cuts in. "No…. Your glass is still better. See these ropes wrapping my feet? I can't move anywhere. So, not cool." Then, the ropes slither back under the ground like snakes, freeing John Paul and leaving the wolves lying still on the ground. "Anyway, that was a piece of cake. Now what's next?"

     "Let's help them. Those two," says Kriz. She's a tall, 26-year old lady wearing black shirt, yellow pants and red slippers. She has long, curly black hair, red lips and fair skin. Her brown eyes strongly reflect her mildness. "Please remove the glass."

     "Okay," Ryan says. Immediately, the glass turns into white dust. Ryan also frees Joshua and Vincent.

     Everybody walks near Joshua and Vincent. Kriz squats near Vincent and checks his wound. "Just relax. I think I can fix this."

     "Aaargh!" Vincent groans. His right leg is drenched with his own blood. 

     "Vince… I don't feel good. There's something wrong with my body," Joshua says while still lying on the ground. "I don't know what's happening to me."

     "Hang on, buddy…. Fifty kilograms," Vincent says upon touching Joshua's right arm. "You should be fine right now." At once, Joshua thinks that his friend can manipulate mass. Slowly, Joshua rises up, squats, and looks at Vincent's wound.

     "Just relax, okay. I'll try my power on you," Kriz says.

     "W-w-wait. What power?" Vincent asks.

     "I can heal wounds… and remove any sickness."

     "R-Really?"

     "Yes. So, just relax, okay? Are you ready?"

     "Okay."

     Kriz places her palms near Vincent's wound. Then, a surge of blinding bluish-white light emerges from her palms and directly hits Vincent. Slowly, Vincent's wounds close until his right leg turns spotless. Even the blood is cleaned up as if nothing happened. After a minute, everything turns back to normal, leaving everyone, including Kriz, amazed and relieved. "How do you feel?" Kriz asks Vincent.

     "Great…. Wow! I feel good. Really good. Nice!" Vincent says as he slowly stands up. "In fact, I feel stronger….. Thanks!"

     "No problem. Glad to help. Just… be more careful. I can use my power again after an hour. And don't worry about me. If I get wounded, I'll be okay within seconds. And I won't get sick. Ever."

     "That's… very nice! Thanks again. And… the wolves…."

     "It turned out we're the predators, not them," John Paul cuts in. "Did you see what I did to them?"

     "Yes. Thanks, dude. It was scary… I mean… your power…." Vincent answers.

     "Yes. I think so…. I'm John Paul, by the way."

     "Okay. I'm Vincent. And… this is my best friend, Joshua. Thanks for the help."

     "About the glass…. This guy saved us," John Paul says while pointing at Ryan. "What's your name, sir?"

     "Just call me Ryan."

     "Thanks, man," Vincent says to Ryan.

     "No problem."

     Shaira, Kriz and Mabel also introduce themselves to the rest of the group.

     "What should we do now?" Shaira asks.

     "Let's move forward," Ryan answers.

     "Are we not going to find the others?" Kriz asks.

     "What for?" John Paul retorts.

     "It's better if we all help one another," Kriz says.

     "They're out of sight. We'll just get into trouble. Let's move," John Paul insists.

     "But—"

     "Are you forgetting something? The faster we move forward, the lesser the chance to rank last. Remember what the guy said? Rank 15, you're out."

     "Guys… I think there are wolves over there…." Mabel says, pointing at two shadowy figures near a very large tree.

"Oh, I hate them," says Ryan. Suddenly, two large pointed glass tubes emerge from the ground and impale the wolves like marshmallows on barbecue sticks. "Don't mess with me."

______________

Several minutes earlier…

     Aeron is utterly confused. He is confident that he outruns everybody else, but he suddenly finds himself tailing the group. He thinks that he's being targeted by the forest's mischief, but he has no time to throw curses. He faces the wolves and positions his hands.

     "STAY AWAY!" Several fireballs rush out of Aeron's hands and hit a number of wolves, illuminating the place as the victims explode and burn. "DIE!!!" Aeron shoots several more fireballs, knocking down four more wolves. He then runs again to catch up with others while the wolves are being decimated by flames. He then notices that those ahead stop running. Then, they start running back, screaming in terror.

     "Hey, what's happening?" Aeron shouts.

     "WOLVES!!!" someone shouts.

     A while ago, Moises was the leading runner. Now, he's on the verge of despair. He's a thin 17-year old boy in yellow shirt and checkered blue shorts. He has brown skin and short, curly hair. Moises dashes back, but two wolves jump right onto him.

     Jennifer, a tall, 19-year old lady in white school uniform positions her hands and then several small spherical red lights immediately emerge from her hands, hitting two wolves like bullets from .45 caliber gun. Those hit suddenly stop moving. Not satisfied, Jennifer fires a lot more, as if her hands were machine guns. Those hit stop moving like mannequins. Two wolves stay hovering in the air after they catch light bullets while jumping. Moises and the wolves attacking him from behind also get hit. Moises looks at the rest of the group, motionless.

     "We have to do something! After three minutes they will move again!" Jennifer shouts. The rest of the group gathers around her, cautious and terrified. Aeron fears of hitting Moises, so he decides not to attack.

     "If only I could touch them! I can make them smaller than moles," Zaldy says to Jennifer. He is a tall, chubby man in blue long sleeves and black slacks. "So, thanks to you. You got one hell of a power right there."

     "Thanks. But I'm a bit poor at shooting," Jennifer says. Upon seeing Moises, Jennifer hits him with spherical yellow light. Moises falls onto the ground and coughs several times. "Run!"

     Moises stands up and starts running, his body trembles in terror. Out of thin air, a large black wolf leaps toward him, knocking him off his feet.

     Meanwhile…

     "So what now?" says John Paul.

     "We move forward. Let's go," Ryan says.

     "Guys…" Joshua cuts in.

     "What?" Ryan asks.

     "Check your watch." Everybody looks at his watch.

                          DEAD: 1 (ZALDY)