Backstory 1

**Three and a half months earlier**

 

"Get down!" a teenager yelled, diving behind a large boulder just as a grenade hit the spot where he'd been standing. A deafening explosion rocked the forest, sending shards of metal flying, some embedding themselves into the boulder with a sharp ping. Dust filled the air, and for a moment, the world was silent save for the faint rustle of leaves. Eight, crouched behind the rock, felt the cold sweat on his brow as he took a deep breath, his heart racing.

That was too close, he thought, wiping his forehead.

"Get up, Eight!" came a shout from above.

Eight glanced up to see a familiar face peeking down from the branches of a nearby tree. It was Five, his dark hair windswept, and his sharp, black eyes shining with alertness. Five looked down at him with a hint of impatience.

"Five! I—"

"No time, just get moving!" Five interrupted, motioning for him to follow.

Nodding, Eight got to his feet, adrenaline still coursing through him, and started trailing Five through the dense forest. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy above, casting dappled shadows across the forest floor, where the two maneuvered past roots and ducked under low branches. The quiet crackle of dried leaves underfoot and the occasional snap of twigs were the only sounds around them.

"At what point do you think they're just trying to kill us?" Eight asked, twirling a small pistol in his hand with a casual ease that contrasted with the intensity of the exercise.

Five smirked, glancing over his shoulder. "What, you think this is too tough for you?"

"No, it's not that," Eight replied, shaking his head. "It's just… we've been training our whole lives for this, right? Waiting for the chance to actually do something. When do you think they're going to let us go on a real mission?"

Five sighed as they continued through the trees. "Our time will come, trust me. For now, let's just keep mov—"

A voice crackled through a hidden speaker, echoing eerily through the trees. It had the unmistakable tone of their trainer.

"Your new objective is to survive for ten days with nothing but the pistols you have and the items in your backpack," the voice announced. "Some extra supplies are scattered around the forest, and you're free to use them—if you can reach them. We've scattered all eight of you across different points. Find each other, work together to survive. And a word of caution: the obstacles you'll face will test every skill you've developed. Good luck."

With that, the voice faded, leaving an eerie silence.

"And my statement stands," Eight said with a grin, breaking the tension.

Five shook his head, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. "Alright, alright. Maybe you're right—they are trying to kill us."

"That's more like it." Eight laughed, nudging him as they trudged forward, alert for any traps that might be hidden in the undergrowth.

"Alright," Five said, his tone serious as he went over their priorities. "First, we need to find the others. Next, we locate any supplies scattered in this forest. And finally, we need to get a sense of the territory, map it out, and identify what's waiting for us out there."

"Sounds good," Eight replied, looking up at the faint sunlight trickling down. "But something tells me they weren't kind enough to give us a map."

 

"Of course not," Five replied, pulling a folded map from his bag and spreading it out over a tree stump. "But before I found you, I'd started mapping a section of the forest." He tapped a blank area on the map.

 

Eight squinted, then raised an eyebrow. "That's... helpful," he muttered, eyeing the blank sheet in front of him. Of all times, Five, their best scout, only had an unfinished map.

 

Five shot him a look. "I haven't even started. I was still scouting when I heard an explosion and saw you cowering behind a rock." His voice dripped with dry humor. "Nice move, by the way. Pretty sure all the forest creatures appreciated your shout-out."

 

Eight chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright, you got me. Just tell me what you found," he said, trying to play off his embarrassment. After all their years of training, it was mortifying to have triggered a basic trap.

 

"Back with me, Eight?" Five asked, catching him drifting off in thought.

 

"Yeah, yeah, what were you saying?"

 

"I was saying it's been about an hour since they dropped us here. Judging by the sun, it's around 11 a.m. I don't remember anything before we landed in this forest. Do you?"

 

Eight thought for a moment, shaking his head. "Nothing. Just woke up, wandered around, and then, well…" He trailed off, sharing a rueful grin.

 

Five stifled a laugh. "Alright then, first things first—let's get our bearings." With an excited glint in his eye, he began climbing a nearby tree. "Keep watch while I figure out where we are!"

 

"Some things never change," Eight chuckled, watching him. "You and your mapping obsession."

 

Five glanced down with a grin. "Hey, it's my thing!"

 

As Five climbed higher, Eight fidgeted with his pistol, his mind wandering until he noticed something troubling. Popping out the magazine, he stared, feeling his stomach drop—it was empty. "What the—?"

 

He quickly rummaged through his backpack, dumping its contents onto the ground. A water bottle, two energy bars, and a coil of rope tumbled out. "Great. Just what I don't need."

 

"You say something?" Five called from above.

 

Eight looked up, annoyance flashing across his face. "Yeah, we might have a problem. My magazine's empty."

 

"Check your pack," Five suggested. "There might be ammo in there."

 

"Already did. Nothing."

 

Five peered down from the tree. "Well, unless…"

 

Cocking back the pistol chamber, Eight hoped there would be one in the chamber. To his surprise and joy, a bullet fell out. "Well, would you look at that!" he said, letting out a deep breath as he held the small bullet in his hand.

 

"Did you find anything?" Five called back, still sitting on top of the tree.

"Yes, I did. Throw me down your pistol. I want to check something," said Eight.

"Why do you want it?" Five questioned, not wanting to give up his pistol.

"There is no time to explain. Just do it, Five."

Reluctantly, Five took his pistol from his waist and dropped it into Eight's waiting hands. After catching Five's pistol, Eight wasted no time before checking the magazine and chamber for bullets. He didn't expect it to be any different from his, but he just had to make sure. A few moments later, His worries were confirmed. The pistol only had one bullet in the chamber.

 

During most training sessions, each person usually had different items. However, this time, he and Five seemed to have the same equipment, except for the map. However, he would have to wait until Five came down to confirm that theory. "Looks like I will just have to wait for now," he thought, leaning against the tree and closing his eyes. As the sun started to set, Five jumped down from the tree, landing right next to Eight, who was sleeping against the tree.

"Done," Five muttered, looking down at Eight, who was peacefully dozing against a tree. Feeling exasperated, Five gritted his teeth before kicking Eight in the side. "Wake up!"

Eight stirred, blinking groggily. "Oh, hey, are you done?" he mumbled, barely opening his eyes.

Five clenched his fists, fighting the urge to slap him for falling asleep instead of keeping watch. Instead, he took a deep breath and pointed to the map.

Eight rubbed his eyes and looked at the map, noticing that only small sections in the corners were filled in. He shot Five a confused look.

Five sighed and shook his head. "We've been in similar training sessions before, right? They always kept us completely separated, and we never found each other. So why did we find each other so fast this time? That's what I was thinking the whole time I was up in the tree. When you were... sleeping," he added with a glare.

"Oops," Eight muttered, raising his hands in mock defense.

 

Five continued speaking, not looking at Eight. "I started to think: Why would they place such a simple trap in the heart of the forest or even in the outer regions? The trap you stumbled upon—more accurately, the one you walked over—was a basic grenade trap. It was designed to sense your movement before activating."

"I decided to retrace your steps from the point where you found the trap," Five said, pointing away from the large hole created by the grenade.

"That's when I found this," he continued, motioning for Eight to follow him.

Eight complied, and they had only been walking for a few minutes when—Smack! Eight walked right into a solid energy barrier. Rubbing his forehead to clear his thoughts, Eight looked up at the energy barrier before him.

 

"Well, this is new," Eight said, placing his hand on the energy barrier. Unlike the previous test, which had clear energy barriers, this one blended seamlessly with the surrounding forest, making it appear as if one could simply walk through. Moreover, this energy barrier had a rubbery texture rather than a solid one.

 

Considering this, Eight picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the energy barrier. When the rock made contact, there was no sound, and it seemed as if the barrier had dissolved it. "Well, at least that's the same..." Eight began to say, but then the seemingly disappeared rock suddenly shot back out of the barrier, traveling twice as fast and aiming directly at him.

 

Eight rolled his eyes and caught the rock, which could have easily shattered a small tree, right in the palm of his hand. "Are you done playing yet?" Five called out from the side, clearly annoyed.

 

Eight nodded in response. "Good. Now, watch this," Five said, stepping a few feet away from Eight and pressing his hands against two walls that formed a V-shape.

 

"A corner," Eight muttered. "You know what this means, right?"

 

"Yes, I do," Eight replied, frustration evident in his voice. "It means we're still inside one of these stupid training facilities!"

 

"True, but that's not the answer I was looking for," Five said. "It means we're at one of the corners, and my guess is that there are four corners, with two of us dropped at each corner." Five said, glancing at Eight.

 

"Great, so what now?" Eight asked, glancing at Five. Five paused for a moment before responding. "Since we're at the very edge of the forest, I think our best option is to explore both the inner and outer regions before proceeding further. If luck is on our side, we might find the others. As the Chairman mentioned, this is likely to be the most challenging training session we've ever had, especially since we only get one round each. But I don't think that will pose a significant issue for us," Five said with a smile. Eight couldn't help but chuckle; it was true: even without weapons, they could handle whatever challenges came their way. They had been trained in every fighting style and survival technique imaginable, so they should be ready for anything. However, they couldn't shake the feeling that this training session would be different. They weren't sure why, but the Chairman's tone suggested that this session would be unique."For now, let's head back and set up camp for the night. Tomorrow, we'll start looking for the others. Along the way, I can map out more of this place," Five said, turning to head back.

Eight took one last look at the glowing energy barrier before following him.

Once they returned to where they'd left their gear, Eight gathered sticks and logs to start a fire, sparking it to life with two sticks. The soft crackling of wood echoed as they both sat around the growing flames.

As they relaxed, Five rummaged through his backpack, eventually pulling out a water bottle and a few energy bars, the same as Eight had.

Looking up at the sky, Five muttered, "So it begins."

Eight glanced over. "You really think anything's going to happen tonight?"

"I don't know, but I'm not taking any chances," Five replied. "You sleep first. I'll wake you in four hours when it's your turn to keep watch."

Eight nodded, finding a spot on the grass, and quickly closed his eyes.

 

Five sighed, clearing his mind as he looked up at the stars.