The Hunt

The day of the team building finally arrives. All employees are very excited as they head to their meeting place, which is the airport. News of the team building blows up, making it the most grand company team building ever. From the airport, they start filming everything, from the gathering down to the arrival of the bosses. Famous actress Elizabeth joins the company's team building. All the happenings of the outing will be filmed, making the other employees conscious.

"Why are there cameras? Are they filming us?"

"This wouldn't be fun at all. I thought we're gonna enjoy ourselves there."

"The company still needs to earn, you know. Let's just pretend the cameras aren't rolling and enjoy ourselves there."

"How I wish that's gonna be that easy."

The employees converse with each other, some understand the company's perspective while others seem to know it but are just too self-conscious. The bosses finally arrive and the cameras start filming their arrival, from the arriving cars to them getting down from it.

"They're here!" The employees are very excited to see their bosses.

"I wonder how they will dress up in casual?"

"I bet President Demonfire will be so handsome. I don't mind his frowning face. He's handsome either way."

"Miss Li would probably look great."

The men start daydreaming about her, imagining how she'll look in her casual attire. Tyler steps out first, lending Ara a hand. Both of them are inseparable; showing affection in public seems normal to them. The camera follows them, and both wave to it. They're followed by Diego, who also lends a hand to Li. Finally, Slacovich steps out of the car and removes his sunglasses, smiling at all his employees.

"Wow! Wow! They're all dazzling even in casual."

"It's the first time seeing President smiling."

"He looks so masculine. I wanna be buried in his arms."

"You wish. I'm just content with staring at them, especially Manager Diego."

"I wanna have a boyfriend like Tyler. He's such a gentleman and always makes Ara feel so important."

"Hey hey, check it out guys. Secretary Li looks gorgeous. I don't care if she always scolds me for my mistakes. It's my way of getting her attention."

"You'll get fired if you keep doing that. But how I wish I had a body like hers. Perfect body with not-too-big boobies. Mine's too big, it's annoying."

"You'll make men go crazy just with that."

"Shut up! Idiot."

They all stop talking when their bosses walk towards them. They all wear smiles like they're totally different people.

"Good day, everyone!" Diego smiles warmly, waving a hand at them. The girls go gaga over him and wave back, screaming.

"It's a very sunny day. Finally, we can all relax and enjoy the sun." Ara's charm reaches everyone, and they all smile back at her.

"Not to mention the beach. We'll enjoy our time there," Tyler whispers in her ear, and Ara blushes.

"Excuse us, dear lovebirds. Go get a room. We will enjoy our stay there, but only after we finish our activities that I personally prepared." Li steps forward, handing out the schedule of their activities on the island.

"Li, don't be too serious about it. I want to relax and cool down from work. Just chill, okay?" Slacovich pats her head. The girls go out of control and start screaming. They all want a pat from him too.

"Sorry to break it to you girls, but if Sofie's here you won't even be able to glance at this guy." Diego puts an arm around his shoulder, teasingly punching his side.

"That's true. Manager Sofie and President really are a match," the girls murmur.

"Diego, stop teasing Slacovich. You don't want to be glared at, do you?" Ara giggles as she holds Tyler's hand.

"Oh, how I hate the glare. Only he can kill you with one glare." Diego removes his hand and steps away a bit, grinning.

"By the way guys, President----" Li is interrupted by Slacovich.

"Slacovich is preferred at this moment. We're here to unite as a family, working hand in hand for our company's future and ours. So drop the formalities, because as the team building progresses, we are equals."

Every employee feels his sincerity and is touched by his words.

"Okay, you heard the man. Drop the formalities, that includes us all. No status, no authorities, just fellow workers enjoying the team building activities," Diego seconded.

"If everyone's ready, let's head to the company's private plane. It can accommodate all of us. Don't worry about any expenses, from here onwards, the company will shoulder everything, from basic necessities to all your family presents. This is our way of showing how thankful we are for your hard work. We are looking forward to working with you all. Loyalty as a family is all we need. Any questions, kindly speak up before we enter the plane."

Li picks up her bag, but a male employee snatches it from her with a smile. She knows what he wants to do and just lets him carry it for her.

"Ahmm, Secreta---I mean, Li, we were just wondering why there are cameras. Some of us feel conscious having them around all the time."

"Don't worry about the cameras. They will focus on me and Ara for a reality show. We'll only capture some moments with you guys that involve us during the activities. Slacovich thought of it as a way to show how the company treats their employees. More than that, the actors and actresses from our entertainment company will be covered most of the time. Filming won't be 24/7, just important scenes that are worth filming," Tyler explained carefully.

"That's a relief."

"If there's no further concern, let's all get on board."

Slacovich leads the way and is the first one to enter the plane. Greeted by the captain and flight attendants, they all board the company's private airplane. It's a 6-hour flight before they reach the island. Some of them sleep during the flight, while others play games, some converse the whole time, and others try to get close to their bosses.

They reach their destination, and all of the employees excitedly step out of the plane. The island has an airport just a few kilometres away from the hotel. They're all picked up in groups until everyone reaches the hotel where they'll be staying. It's already 4:30 in the afternoon. They know the employees are exhausted from traveling and just want to rest for the day to have energy for tomorrow.

"Everyone, please go to your respective rooms. The hotel can accommodate us all. Proceed to the front desk and find your name on the list, then put your signature beside it. I'll check the list after everyone's done signing. If there's no signature, it means that certain employee wasn't able to join the team building. There are 236 employees in total, including DFE employees. This will confirm the number of attendees. After signing, head to your rooms and rest. Be sure to come down before dinner. I'll ask them to prepare the food at 7:00, so you can all take your time to rest or check out the hotel."

Li heads to the front desk first and signs the list, followed by Slacovich and the others. After Ara finishes signing, she grabs her hand and giggles, teasing Tyler.

"Sorry, Tyler, but she's my roommate for now."

"I don't mind. She'll just be separated from me at night." He winks at Ara.

"Geez! I can't even take the sweetness. It's gross!" She chuckles, leaving the boys behind.

"Seems like the three of us share the same room." Diego shows the key to their room and heads toward it. The other employees start grouping according to their rooms.

As Slacovich and the others enter their respective rooms, he calls the girls over the phone.

"Li, verify the restricted area for wild animals lurking at the moment."

"Okay, I'm on it."

Li sets out a drone to survey the restricted area behind the metal fences all over the island. There are deer, bunnies, squirrels, and other wild animals. She even spots a tiger roaming around like it's hunting for prey.

"Any visuals?"

"Got many. A tiger's on the move to hunt. I wanna get to it first."

"Not if I make it before you."

Li immediately hangs up the phone and jumps out the window, turning into a bat. As soon as Slacovich hears her hang up, he immediately goes out the window, jumping through the trees. They're followed by Tyler, Diego, and Ara, excitedly flashing all the way to the restricted area. No one even notices them going out the windows, they're gone in just the blink of an eye.

Li changes back into her human form and runs fast. She has the advantage of knowing the tiger's location. Suddenly, she sees Slacovich running beside her, chuckling, followed by the others not far behind. They all head toward the tiger's location, all of them chuckling and excited.

When they spot the tiger, Slacovich jumps in first. The tiger is alert and fights back. Slacovich struggles a bit not to be bitten. He grabs it by the mouth, forcing it closed, then tilts its head sideways as he pops out his fangs, ready to bury them in the tiger's neck. The tiger struggles but fails. Slacovich successfully buries his fangs in his prey.

"Oh man, this is unfair." Diego moves out and searches the forest for some prey, as do the others. Ara and Tyler search together and bump into a deer. Tyler gives it to Ara as he spots another one not far away. Li spots a fox in the opposite direction and rushes toward it. As for Diego, he makes use of the little mammals in the trees.

There will be no dead bodies of the animals, for every time they suck every bit of blood from their prey, the bodies turn into ashes and are carried by the wind.

When all of them are satisfied, they return to their hotel rooms like nothing happened. They take a bath and get ready for dinner. This day marks the start of their hunting season. They agree that every month, on the same day, they will make time to hunt for blood, making them more capable of fighting back whatever Volton has prepared for them.