Backstory 3

Did you see that! Someone suddenly shouted, waking everyone from their daze. What they had just witnessed was something they had not anticipated. Originally, they thought Five and Eight would just run, and while they did flee, they didn't expect Five to take on all four Sonic Howlers by himself after Eight had been incapacitated.

The Chairman was stunned at first but then burst into laughter. "Good, good!" he said, clapping loudly. "It seems I still underestimate these kids."

"Chairman, all groups have defeated the Sonic Howlers," another man reported after glancing at the screen. "What should we do now? Should we send in more?" another asked, looking uncertain.

"No, I think they have dealt with enough for tonight. I will give them a little while to relax," the Chairman replied. To be honest, he was truly amazed by everyone's performance, but the most shocking result came from Five. With that thought in mind, he left the control room.

"Ouch, my head," Eight moaned as he got up from the ground, the morning sun shining on his face. "What happened?" He struggled to remember the events of the previous night. That's when he noticed all four Wolves lying motionless on the ground. As he looked closer, he could see mechanical parts falling out of some of them, while others had been torn apart.

"Five," he thought, scanning the area to find his friend. Worry crept in as he feared something horrible had happened to him.

"Don't worry, I'm not dead!" A voice called from behind a nearby tree. Eight turned to see Five, who had a few bruises on his hands and scratches on his face, but he otherwise looked fine.

"What happened?" Eight asked, eager for answers.

"Oh, you know, just a simple brawl between a man and four deadly Robot Wolves," Five replied with a smile.

"I can't believe you managed to take out all four of these robots at the same time," Eight exclaimed, pointing at the fallen Wolves.

"Yep, I did just as we were taught after you went down. It's do or die," Five said.

Eight chuckled at his words; the rule had always been "do or die."

"I'm just glad to see that you're all right," Eight said, looking at Five with relief.

"Same here," Five replied. Then he frowned slightly. "How's your ear?" He recalled the blood from earlier.

"It's fine, nothing to worry about," Eight assured him, giving a dismissive wave.

"So, what now?" Eight asked, looking around.

"I don't know. It's the second day, so things will get a lot harder from here on out. I think our best plan is to search for weapons and other useful items lying around the forest."

"Sounds good, but let me eat something first," Eight said, reaching into his backpack and taking out an energy bar.

Five chuckled and did the same. He also took out the map and drew a little wolf in each corner. Unable to contain himself, he remarked, "I wonder how the others dealt with the wolves."

Eight paused his eating before replying, "I'm sure they're fine. They're just as strong as we are. Not to mention, Two and Three are out there; I doubt they would put those two together. Who knows, maybe the others have found weapons and other useful supplies. You know as well as I do how deadly Six and Seven can be with a weapon." As for one and four, they will be just as good as us or better.

"Anyway, we shouldn't focus on them. Let's get going," Eight said, finishing his energy bar and standing up. Five put away the map and followed.

**In Another part of the Forest**

The sound of heavy explosions echoed as One and Seven dashed through the trees.

"Dammit, what are these things?" One muttered as a flying bug shot past his head, crashing into a tree before exploding.

"I have no idea, but we better deal with them fast," Seven replied, keeping her pace steady. "If one of those hits us, we're in for serious damage—maybe worse."

Before One could answer, three bugs buzzed toward him, homing in with alarming speed. "Shit!" he hissed, weaving between trees as the bugs exploded against them one by one.

He'd barely caught his breath when a fourth bug came from above, diving straight for him. He pulled his pistol, ready to fire, but before he could, a shot rang out from a nearby tree, and the bug exploded mid-air. One turned, spotting a teenage girl with long black hair and black eyes crouched on a branch, her AR pointed precisely where the bug had been.

"Thanks, Seven," he called.

"No problem, One," she replied coolly, already shifting her focus to the next wave of incoming bugs.

"How many bullets do you have left?" One asked, glancing at the bugs closing in.

"Not many. I only have three shots left," Seven replied, shaking her head with regret.

"Well, we could do this," she said, her eyes gleaming with determination as she looked at him.

One took a moment to scan the sky, mentally counting the flying bugs. "Nine," he declared, nodding at Seven. In a sudden burst of speed, he drew his pistol and fired a shot right into the swarm.

The bullet zipped through the air, causing the bugs to swerve before all of them turned their focus on One. A faint but menacing buzzing filled the air as they charged.

"GO!" One shouted, quickly nodding at Seven before sprinting into the tree line. He darted through the dense foliage, his heart racing as he waited for the perfect moment to turn back.

The low hum of the bugs grew louder, and One could feel the rush of adrenaline pumping through him. As he reached a specific spot, he took aim and fired twice. The sharp sounds of metal striking metal echoed as four bugs plummeted to the ground, exploding on impact.

"Four down, five to go!" Seven called out, vaulting down from her perch in the trees.

She leaped from branch to branch, quickly catching up to One. She landed on a solid branch, steadied herself, and aimed her rifle at the remaining five bugs. "Bang, bang!" Two shots fired from her rifle, ricocheting off two bugs before striking two others, sending them crashing down.

"And that's eight!" she shouted, pride swelling within her as she took a deep breath.

But her moment of triumph was cut short by a distant gunshot echoing through the forest.

"And that's nine!" One yelled back, letting out a long breath. Before walking back over to Seven.

"It's a good thing we found that stash with the AR and ammo," Seven said, inspecting the rifle in her hands.

"Absolutely. Who knows how long it would have taken us to deal with those bugs if we hadn't come across that stash?" One replied, nodding in agreement.

They both recalled the chaotic night before, where they had fought off the mechanical wolves. "At first, I thought we had hit the jackpot," One continued. "But then we realized every AR was destroyed except for this one. And all the mags were empty except for that one with eight bullets left."

Seven frowned, looking at the rifle thoughtfully. "And now I'm down to just one shot," she said, her expression momentarily dimming. "You don't have any left in your pistol, either, do you?"

One shook his head, his smile unwavering despite the dire situation. "Nope, but we can't let that get us down. We should look for a safe place to rest for now," he suggested, determination in his voice.

"Okay," Seven replied, putting the rifle on her back. There was a spark of resolve in her eyes as she fell in step behind him. "Lead the way, One."

One couldn't help but smile as he began to move deeper into the forest.