Kill Or Get Killed!

Kael felt a surge of energy flow through his body making him feel lighter. His moves were graceful as if he was born for the task, inflicting injuries on the wolves at any available opportunity. This was way too easy than he had thought.

Effortlessly dodging an incoming attack from a brown one, he slid across the opposite side cutting it to two halves. Now only two were left! They snarled at him as if contemplating on whether to attack or not. Either way, Kael was going to kill them.

Lin had her eyes closed tightly wishing everything could come to a halt. All this was a dream, right? She wanted to go back and save her ailing mother. But why… why was it not coming to an end when she so much wanted to? All she could see was a ticking digital clock. Only two minutes were remaining!

Kael pointed the tip of his sword at the last wolf. It was panting heavily, looking him in the eye as if demanding for mercy; mercy that it wasn't willing to show when attacking. How ironic! Kael smirked.

'Congratulations player 01! You've earned 10XP within the survival scope and an extra 20XP! You can go to the store to purchase items or exchange points,' a feminine voice sounded.

A smile curved on Kael's face. It was not that bad as he had thought. At least some parts of the game worked smoothly. His gaze shifted to a shaking Lin and the wolf. She needed these points more than him. Time was ticking!

"Lin?"

He called startling her. She shot her eyes open to only be welcomed by a gruesome scene that she suddenly felt the urge to throw up. Unable to hold it anymore, she leaned on a tree and emptied the contents. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she asked,

"Are you the one that killed them?"

"Yes," Kael answered simply as if killing was a hobby. And handing the sword to her, he said, "You need to kill one as well."

Lin stared at the sword blankly. "I'll never do that and you know it. I've never killed a cockroach let alone a wolf!"

Kael raked his fingers through his hair nearly uprooting it. How was he going to explain this to her in a way that she'd understand.

"Look here woman. You see the countdown on your retina, it's not there for display. If you don't gain 10 XP before that time is over, you'll die. And the only way to gain XP is by killing these beings." He let out a sigh, probably tired of explaining. He was never good at it anyways.

"Take it. We don't have the entire decade here," he said handing the sword to her. It was 50 seconds and counting and she was acting damn slow. The fact that he was the one caring for her own life here didn't settle well with him. She had to care! She had to know that this was not a damn dream!

Lin took the sword with shaking hands. The runtime code was now fourty seconds and counting. She had to act swift. With wobbling legs, she moved to the still wolf. Her eyes locked with its casting a whirl of emotions within her. She should be helping it and not killing it!

"Just put the damn sword through its belly Lin. We don't have the whole day here, unless you want to die. Unless you don't want to see your mother again!"

That statement stirred something within her. Yes, she wanted to see her mother! And if this was the only way, so be it! With shaky hands, she lifted the sword after casting a final glance at the pitiful wolf. She drew a sharp breath before stabbing it with all her might. The wolf let out a shrieked growl that faded slowly before staring at the world with a blank stare!

"I did it! I killed it!" She said taking a few steps back. The sword dropped on the ground as she held her chest, disbelief written all over her face.

'Congratulations Player 02! You've earned 11 XP within the survival scope. You can go to the store to purchase items or exchange points!'

Surprised, Lin jumped back from a voice that was within her in the first place.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Kael asked straining his ears.

"A woman's voice close by. It was so close that I felt like it was in my own head!"

Kael caught wind of what she was trying to say, a smirk forming on his face. Why was she acting so naive as if she had never played this game before? Or maybe she was yet to come in terms with the fact that she was in a game?

"It's the notifications Lin."

And picking the sword on the ground, "By now you should know that we are not in some kind of dream Lin, this is real! It's either you kill or get killed. Survival is our primary goal now! Do you understand?"

She nodded her head faintly.

"Good."

"When are we going back in our real world. My mum needs me." Lin couldn't even imagine how her mum could survive without her. She could do almost nothing without someone's help.

When she finally got a job to beta test a game for a big company, her dream of getting the medical bills for her mom seemed possible. She had spent the end eve playing the game while Kael was trying to code something to only end up being frustrated every time. He didn't allow room for mistakes so he overworked them almost the entire night to test each programme he'd execute.

"I don't know. Soon maybe," Kael said it as if the idea of leaving didn't cross his mind once.

Perturbed, Lin turned to face and asked, "Don't you have something precious you have in the real world, or someone you care for?"

Kael threw a furtive glance at her. "That world has brought nothing to me but pain." Sigh. He wasn't comfortable talking about his past.

"We should keep going." Without waiting for a reply from her, he started walking in the opposite direction.