It can always get worse

Everybody rushes in different directions. In a matter of seconds, the middle point is clear and everyone is off into the woods. Kassius looks around as he is running South and sees Arnold running.

Kassius (in head): "That way huh? Guess I'll catch you later."

Kassius sprints into the woods. As he is running, he hears people behind him. He leaps to the side and hides behind a tree.

Random person 1: "You see him?"

Random person 2: "Nope."

Random person 1: "Are you even sure he went this way?"

Random person 2: "Yes I am. Anyways what's our plan?"

Random person 1: "I don't know but we gotta keep quiet. He can probably hear us if we get too loud."

He peaks around the tree and they have passed him.

Kassius (in head): "One of them looked like the guy in my set. Guess I'll follow them for an opportunity. Maybe more people will show up."

Up North, Jinsoku starts a fire.

Jinsoku (in head): "The trees are very tall and close together. Very good for hiding. With this fire, I could probably lure some people out. Gonna be hard to sell the bait since a fire is such an obvious trap."

The fire is lit.

Jinsoku (in head): "Maybe this'll do the trick."

Jinsoku: "WHERE AM I?!!"

His yell echoes through the woods. Jinsoku climbs a tree to the top. He sits at the top of it.

Jinsoku (in head): "Now we wait. The moon looks nice today."

In another side of the north area of the woods, a guy is running.

Random guy: "Gotta go hide and come up with plan. I can't lose ri- huh?"

Marcus appears in front of him.

Marcus: "Why are you in a rush? We just wanted to say hi."

The guy falls to the floor and starts shivering. He stands up and starts running the other way but gets blocked by a person. He tries run another direction but he gets stopped by Marcus. A group closes in and circles the guy.

Marcus: "Just stop there. Let's make this simple. Everyone, stand back. Just me and you. We'll fight one on one. If you win, they'll let you leave. Are you good with that?"

Guy: "And if I refuse?"

Marcus: "Let's just say my victims don't usually get a chance to survive."

Guy: "... Fine. I'll do it."

Marcus: "That's more like it."

Everyone makes space for Marcus and the guy. The guy pulls out a weapon.

Marcus: "Oh, a knife? Guess I gotta even it out a bit."

Marcus attempts to pull out something from his pocket but the guy rushes towards him. Marcus throws his weapon up from out of his pocket, moves to the side, grabs his arm and trips the guy over. He then grabs his own knife which he threw up in the air and points it towards the guy's throat.

Guy: "Hey wait a minute. You said you wouldn't kill me."

Marcus: "Look at the moon. Do you reckon it's a good day to die?"

Guy: "Wha-"

Marcus stabs the guy in the chest. The guy dies and Marcus removes the knife.

Marcus: "It's a perfect night to kill, don't you think so?"

Random person: "Marcus! A fire! I can see the smoke up ahead."

Marcus: "Let's check it out but let's be careful, this is obviously a trap."

They run towards the smoke and Hermes appears next to the corpse of the participant Marcus killed.

Hermes: "..."

Right before the exam started, when everybody ran off, Hermes came out the bus and walked up to Romulus.

Romulus: "Hermes. Keep an eye on everyone. Need a helping hand observing those who get knocked out. I know you have excellent hearing and you are very quick so this should be easy for you."

Hermes: "..."

Romulus: "Don't worry about me. You don't need to spend your time watching me. I'll be watching over the students as well and make sure they don't cross boundaries."

Back in real time, Hermes picks up the body and runs away.

Hermes (in head): "Why can't I trust him?"

Back on the south area of the wood, Kassius is standing over the two guys he was following.

Kassius: "Looks like nobody else came. Glad one of you was apart of my set at least."

Kassius runs ahead and realises a barrier infront of him.

Kassius (in head): "This is that limit the Romulus guy was talking about right? He said I shouldn't go passed this point so I won't take any chances. I'll follow it around."

Kassius starts running around the edge in the direction of the West. In the west area, a group of people have circled Arnold.

Random person 1: "Don't get too confident because we aren't that many. We got weapons so it won't end up like how you did those people in the first test."

Arnold: "What puts you apart?"

Random person 1: "Huh?"

Arnold: "What makes you so different? Your weapons or your resolve?"

Random person 2: "Let me at him!"

The person 2 swings a metal rod from behind him but Arnold jumps to the side avoiding it. Another person shows up where Arnold jumps and hits him with a bat. Arnold blocks but is swung at, sending him back into a tree.

Random person 3: "Looks like you're all talk."

Arnold: "You aren't too bad yourself. Unfortunately you aren't who I'm anticipating to fight. So I'll make light work of you."

Random person 3: "What did you say?"

Arnold: "You are my only target so fighting them is pointless."

Arnold pulls out a knife.

Arnold: "I don't prefer killing, so I'll use the back to make it simpler for me."

Random person 3 runs up at him.

Random person 3: "Are you mocking me?!"

Arnold: "..."

Just as person 3 swings, Arnold leans back. He comes back up and hits his head with the back of the knife, knocking him out.

Random person 1: "Wha-"

Arnold: "Hmm. Could've tried something else."

A group from the distance spots Arnold and the other two people.

Group: "Over there!"

Arnold: "That's my queue. I'm out. See ya later."

Arnold starts running and laughing. The other two guys start running away in a different direction too.

Arnold (in head): "Hopefully he's still up. I wanna fight him."

At the end of the west side, two people have reached the barrier.

Person 1: "Should we leave?"

Person 2: "Yes. I'm not trying to die."

Person 1: "Yeah, but what if we get caught?"

Person 2: "We are all alone right now. We won't be caught. I'm leaving. You can stay if you want to."

Romulus: "Where are you headed to?"

Person 1: "Wha-"

Romulus: "You know. I made it very clear that you shouldn't go out there because I cannot ensure your safety. I really don't like it when people don't listen. Are you sure you still wanna go?"

Person 2: "I'd rather be safe out there than risk my life in here."

Person 2 hops over the fence. He turns around to person 1.

Person 2: "You see? Nothing. Now come over."

Person 1: "Be... Be... Behi-"

Romulus: "Ooooh. A confident one I see."

Person 2 looks around to see Romulus towering over them.

Person 2: "Are you some sort of freak? If you want a fight, bring it."

Person 2 pulls out a gun.

Romulus: "Look at the moon."

Person 2: "Huh?"

Romulus: "Did you ever hear about the story of the kid in the forest under the moonlight? An innocent little boy used to wonder about the woods all by himself. But there were limits to where he could go. A wall blocked him from leaving the forest. Once he discovered it, he went to his people but they forbade him from going back. They had told him it was dangerous on the other side. To prove them wrong, he went back and climbed over it at a late hour, when the full moon was glimmering in the night sky. He went over the wall and landed poorly, hurting his leg. Even though he couldn't move properly, he thought it was worth it and didn't think anything else would happen to him. But he severely underestimated his situation. Can you guess what was on the other side of that wall?"

Person 2 starts shivering and loads the pistol.

Romulus: "A pack of wolves! Can you believe it? Hahahahaa. The boy thought it was all safe but he didn't know the half of it. They ripped him apart and he was never heard from since. Do you know why I like this story? Or why I told you it? It's simple - you are that naive little boy in this story. So tell me, what do you think is the moral of that story?"

Person 2 fires a bullet at Romulus' stomach. He blocked the shot with his arm so the bullet penetrated his palm mainly. Romulus licks the blood off of his hands. Person 2 closes his eyes and fires more bullets. When person 2 stops firing, he opens his eyes. Romulus is standing before him, holding his stomach.

Romulus: "Arghhh..."

He lifts his hands and there are no bullet wounds. As person 2 tries to run Romulus kicks his leg and it dislocates. He then punches him in the face and follows through until they reach the ground. He repeatedly punches him.

Romulus: "Aha! Ahahahahaha!"

He stops and lifts his fist off of the person's face who is now unconscious.

Romulus: "You see, the moral of the story was that 'it could always get worse'."

Romulus licks the blood off of his hands and looks towards person 1. Person 1 starts running away.

Person 1 (in head): "This guy... But that's not possible. How would he be here? And why is he hosting our second test? He isn't even a thief. I gotta get away. If he really is the 'Bloodhound', it's not safe around him."

Romulus: "Run! Run like the wind! Ahahahahaha!"

Romulus looks up at the moon.

Romulus: "What a beautiful night, right?"

Romulus steps on person 2's face. Over on the east side of the woods, Bonnie is running.

Bonnie (in head): "Dammit, I'm lost. I've been very lucky so far. Already knocked out two guys in my set. But I gotta keep moving. There is only one person I'm aiming to beat today."

Bonnie walks into an open space.

Bonnie (in head): "I'm back at the start? It's pretty quiet. I could wait here for someone.

Bonnie looks up towards the north side.

Bonnie (in head): "Hey what's that? Smoke? Someone started a fire. I should probably head that way. Could find more people over there. Maybe she is over there too."

Bonnie starts running towards that direction. She runs passed the bus but as she does, coming from the other side of the bus is Sarah and two other people following her.

Sarah (I'm head): "Smoke? Maybe Marcus and the others are there. I'll go there for now. I might even find that monkey girl and put her in her place."

Bonnie (in head): "The moment I see her..."

Sarah (in head): "The moment I see her...

Bonnie and Sarah: "I'm gonna kick her a-"

Bonnie and Sarah bump into each other and fall flat on their backs.

Sarah: "Ugh... who the hell did that?"

Bonnie: "Dammit my head! I should be asking the sa-"

Bonnie and Sarah both see each other.

Bonnie and Sarah: "Huh?"