3.WELCOME TO FOREST OF SCRUTINY

"Kick the door!"

Nagendra yelled, laying next to Nix.

Gritting their teeth both the men kicked the glass window and cracked it open. Picking up a broken metal rod they cleared the shards spiking in the sides of the pane and approached to exit.

Crawling out of their compartment both the wounded men scanned their vicinity. The very next moment Nix's pupils dilated witnessing the scene. Nagendra's face contoured akin to Nix after noticing the gruesome scene of the wounded and deceased scattered inside the compartment.

It was only after exiting the compartment did they gain consciousness of their surroundings.One could say it was the survival instinct within them that neglected their environment. Their brain ordered them to exit and solely focused on it.

Some passengers were screaming in pain and agony lying inside the bloodied compartment. While Some of them slowly crawled out of the window. Every survivor in the compartment was injured. Not a single person was at their peak of their physical condition .

Adding Nix and Nagendra, a total of twenty-two seemed to have survived the unprecedented event. 

A general Compartment would contain up to seventy passengers. And among the seventy almost forty-eight others died, and judging from the condition of the other survivors many wouldn't possibly make it alive due to their physical condition.

There were several people who had lost their other limbs. Each injury varied person to person  but, certainly, they all needed immediate treatment.

"Somebody help! Somebody, please help!"

A woman was yelling and crying out for help. She had placed the head of her kid on her lap and the kid looked like he was undergoing his final moment suffering to leave his mortal body.

Nix slowly deviated his eyes from the kid's face and noticed a glass shard which seemed to have pierced inside his throat. Everyone was baffled and frustrated, all they could do was stand there and observe, none was able to volunteer for help.

It was then,

Suddenly a notification popped in front of their eyes. A small game-like window in front of each of them.

{Survivors welcome to the forest of scrutiny}

{Your task is to survive inside the forest for three days to get teleported and gain the right to become an Outsider.}

Nix gaped at the messages and gulped a lump of air. He immediately scanned his surroundings, and stopped his eyes locking on Nagendra.

Nagendra was strangely calm and analysed the situation. Needless to say he was sweating heavily and the sense of fear was evident in his eyes yet, somehow there was a slight hope in his eyes. Perhaps he was trying to suppress his fear and trying to maintain his composure? Nagendra was having many questions running in his mind just like him, so Nix turned his gaze away.

'What's happening?' Nix uttered inwardly.

[No worries man as I am here to assist you]

'I can't understand this but, is this connected to you or perhaps you caused this?'

[Nah, I know you are dumbass but, not to this extent... Why would I return to the past and make myself suffer?]

'You didn't explain anything...' Nix uttered, gritting his teeth out of frustration.

[I already told you, didn't I? That you will get to know at the end of the day.]

'But in this situation I can't fathom anything... Is this a dream or something?'

[This is  reality and all you need to do is survive.]

His complexion darkened as he realized his position. The word survive heavily implied a hidden meaning and a hint.

'Fuck It! Survive in the sense I will face danger?  Alright, I will try to adapt. So what is an Outsider?'

Nix asked. He was not a man of wits or highly intelligent but he was able to grasp what Dark Nix hinted at in the heat of the moment.

[That's my man! analyze the situation first. Firstly look at how many survivors are left, Make them your comrades.]

'Hah… Seems hard'

[You need trustworthy people to have your rear as I don't want to reiterate the same mistakes I made in the past again.]

'I understand.'

[Good.]

Nix turned towards the compartment and analyzed his environment and a building caught his eye in the northern direction. It was at a distance of about eight hundred meters from the compartment. Nix tried to open his mouth and say something to Nagendra.

"Nag...."

Nagendra turned his gaze towards Nix and slowly opened his mouth.

"Nix, I think we should start moving now. I have a bad feeling about this forest. Let's gang up with other passengers."

"Okay, in our opposite direction, there is a building which seems to be a hint, so let's first get there."

Nix said, pointing at the distance.

"Seems like our thoughts are the same." He replied and walked forward.

Nagendra stepped up and started talking towards the other survivors.

"Everybody listen here! I think it will be good to start moving contrarily. I think it will be more dangerous to stay in the same place for a long time as we don't understand why we became teleported? or why a message mentioning 'survive inside the forest' has been transpired to us?"

A Gruff voice came from a middle-aged man.

"Wait! What you said is right but do we need to leave our injured companions here?"

"I am sorry... But, if you all want to survive. We have to start moving now."

Everybody's facial expression turned stiff upon hearing his answer and some people got angry to leave their precious companions. A mother who lost her kid, A man who lost his wife and many more people felt bad to leave them be. People started to become restless thinking about what to do next. So, they began murmuring between themselves further delaying the decision making.

Abruptly, an enticing Female voice came from the crowd.

"I have an opinion, may I speak?"

"Yes, please go on, it will be good for us to share our opinions." Nagendra replied.

"What if we share votes for what to do next?"

"Yes, I think it will be a good idea."

The woman spoke who was transmitting out a cold aura encompassing around her. She had her composure well maintained even in a dire situation such as that. 

Well, she was certainly anxious but she was surely trying her best to hide it. She was a cold beauty with a cold personality. Her pupils resembled that of the calm blue sky. 

"Okay we can share votes, Yes to explore the area, No to stay here and rescue and treat injured people in the compartment and abstain for those who don't have an idea, we can group up according to the votes." Nagendra announced.

"awooo wrrrr! wrr!"

Suddenly a howling sound came from a distance.

Before they could understand what was going on. A pack of wild dogs started running towards the compartment where the survivors were. The dogs signified different appearances from the dogs we see on earth. They had two tails and their teeth were protruding like vampires and the eyes of the dogs were glowing red in color.

"Reach the northern building!"

Nagendra shouted in a loud voice pointing towards a direction and began running.

[Nix, Pick up a glass piece now or a metal rod from the compartment before starting to run.]

'Okay...'

Nix tried to detach a metal rod from the compartment but it slowed him down. So in instinct, he picked up two sharp glass pieces from the ground and wielded the two glass pieces like a dagger. He commenced racing as fast as he could.

Everybody started running without thinking. Humans are the same as animals whose survival instinct kicks in just as they face danger. With the desire to live another day everybody started running. Some people stumbled and lost their balance and fell to the ground. people who started late and people inside the compartment became dog food.

"HAh~Hah, Fuck me!" Uttering inwardly he continued to pursue surviving the damned scenario.

He ran giving his all but as he took off slowly. A dog that was chasing after him started getting closer and closer as he ran. Those who were running behind him were hunted by the dogs. Ten people ran in front of him.

Nix turned behind reflexively the wild dog which sought behind him, pounced on him but, just before it tried to bite his neck. He reflexively took his right hand in which he carried a glass piece to block his neck from getting bitten so it bit his right hand. He instinctively tried to pierce its neck with a glass piece on his other hand and successfully pierced it making the blood splatter on his face. He kicked the body of the wild dog and started running again.

When he thought about what happened a chill ran down his spine.

'Fuck!'

He distanced himself from the dogs a bit and ran to the building as he was just a few meters away from getting attacked.

Finally, he reached inside the building. A message popped up on the air.

{Congratulations on surviving the siege and entering the safe house.}

{All physical conditions have been restored.}