CHAPTER 5: Sacrifice for stranger

"If we identify each correct and wrong square checking step. For every row, there are two possibilities, so it is multiplied by two, making the 2666 checking square step possible to reach the end." Xavier explained his perspective and his calculation.

"Wait…. This is insane… "Danny was stunned by Xavier's explanation.

"Then, how can we reach the end?" The braided girl pushed, biting her nail in curiosity, her eyes still it's remained on Xavier's calculation drawn in the sand.

 "Do you have a solution?" a young boy hesitated and asked in a low, trembling voice.

Xavier nodded in answer, "Yes.... I do. If we go straight by Dean's method, by checking 1333 steps." He noticed everyone's shocked reaction in disbelief and continued, " If a person took 30 seconds for each step to guess the square, whether correct or wrong? 30 x 1333 is equal to 11 hrs. 11 minutes to reach the end point. Thus, we are already dead by this time.

"Shit! 11 hours…. It's crazy, "a ragged sound caught in Danny's throat, and his mind was still figuring out the possibilities.

Clara eyes moving randomly watching and noticed everyone's discouraged expression on their face as she interrupted, "What? You should have told us this before! Now… Now time is 33:55, we left half an hour…. We all going to die… there is no fucking change escapes here…." she roared her leg shaking in fear of death.

"I know, it was late, but we left half an hour ago. I have found out the riddle, how it works. Without knowing, entering into the field, we are done....." Xavier explained his reason. "We just ran as much as we could. Is that the only way to reach the endpoint? "Xavier conceded with confidence and motivated them by raising his hand. "We can do it!"

"Yeah... We can! "Everyone screamed louder in agreement by raising their hands.

"How can we proceed without knowing if the square is the right choice?" the braided girl asked, a note of hesitation in her voice. "What if your idea fails?" She waved her hand through the heat waves, her eyes revealing doubt about his plan.

Xavier noticing everyone face etching with same doubt, he negated with a shake of his head. "The only option we left.... I'm just hoping my gut feeling was right!" His voice, though strained, carried a confident ring.

 He half sat to execute his plan as he emptied his bottle by drinking all the water. His movements were confident, trusting his process. Then, he removed the cap, scooped sand until the bottle was full, closed it tightly, and extracted a hoodie, not from a nearby person. Tying a knot tightly, he threw the bottle at Danny's marked place.

A crowd of players' eyes remained on the bottle with a mixture of confusion and excitement. The bottle reached and remained still. Then, he threw it near the square, and it also remains same place.

Again, he jumped to the marked safe place, threw a bottle towards the second circle, and threw near the place, again nearby, it's repeated. "I got it," he asserted as he glanced at the crowd with pride and hope in his calculation.

After noticing a Xavier confirmation nod, a collective relieved gasp from the group. Everyone shouted and clapped each other in excitement.

Then, He returned inside the circle. His gaze returned timer, which displayed 31:34 on the hologram. 

"He's a genius!!!!!!!" Clara shrieked with full excitement as she danced in the joyous, and she hugged nearby Yumiko to make her comfortable. A small, forced smile appeared on her face, and hope in her eyes was clearly visible.

"I am good at running..." a man wearing a gray shirt, a brown tone with towering height murmured with a casual shrug.

"Yeah, me too...." the girl beside him chimed in, a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Nearby, a small group of elderly people, peacefully watching the endpoint direction, a knowing smile appeared on their expressions.

"I think… we can't walk as youngers. "The old, wrinkled woman whispered, watching an old man beside her.

"Yes…. We are destined to die here…. Marina," the old man whispered back, understanding the fate.

"I've lived my life to the fullest. I'm happy with my daughter and son," Marina murmured, a satisfaction with her fate on her eyes visible. She smiled, a profound peace settling over her features.

The old man returned her smile, his sagged fingers had a trembling grip on a woman's hand, warm, giving a desire. Their gazes fixed on the endpoint as if it were the final vista of their lives, and they were chillingly drinking their water peacefully.

Xavier, overhearing their conversation from behind, walked over. "No…. Don't lose hope, if we cross this desert within the time limit, we'll make it." He offered them a small, encouraging smile by giving them some hope.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Dean roared, his voice cutting through the rising excitement. He pointed at the timer, now displaying 30:00. "We have 30 minutes! you guys' chilling in this fucking hot!!!" He kicked the sand in disappointment over the other player.

The sharp metallic sound interrupted their frustrated conversation, causing their feet to vibrate gently and shifting the sand beneath them once more.

"Why is it moving again?" Danny wondered while watching the shifting pattern.

Xavier narrowed his eyes in doubt about his idea. He noticed the time was 30. 00 His mind reeled to the previous timeline. Wait… When the time was 45:00, the shifting also happened…. Which means shifting takes place every fifteen minutes. How do I miss this important point? A real cold dread etched on his face. What if my plan doesn't work out? I can't tell them this was a failure, but I have no time to figure out another Xavier! A surge of doubt ran over his mind, and an unsettling feeling washed over him.

Everyone's excitement smile faded when the shifting stopped, their eyes filled with sorrow now and confusion.

Xavier scanned everyone's expressions carefully. He wondered: if the alignment shifts every 15 minutes, what will happen if it shifts? I have no idea... he's struggling with inner guilt. 

 One square is correct and another is wrong; the second row has two correct and two wrong. If it goes, the final row would be especially large numbers, squares are correct. This was my algorithm, but does it work? A flood of questions raced through his mind. With some hesitation, he explained his idea to them.

"What do you mean difficult?" Danny pressed a question nervously.

"It's confusing…." Someone murmured in the crowd.

"We are standing in the center, all sides were equal and same breadth and length. The inner circle must be Zero... we are standing on having tight base." Xavier pointed a Danny, who was carefully listening to his explanation as biting his nails.

"Look, Danny found that the First row has one right square and one wrong square, the probability of the first row must be 1:1. Next row has 2:2, 3:3..... it goes up to the last row. My assumption it must be a 666 chance of right square and 666 chances of being the wrong square. "Xavier glanced all, " If my calculation is correct! We will reach the endpoint," he assured.

"What about timing? We already lag in time?" Carla asked.

"Yes..... We are already 7 minutes late.... But staring must take too time to guess, but when we get closer, we have a high possibility to reach the end point." Xavier finished his explanation and paused, looking at Clara in uncertainty. " Now, our real problem was time. They ran between death and life, you guys must have run like cheetahs to that point," he pointed to an endpoint.

A group nodded in agreement, without leaving any option.

Different kinds of reactions were elicited on all the faces by his explanation, but Xavier's inner intention was to worry about something that would happen in the future, as he managed to force a smile.

"Wow…You are an excellent professor," the braided girl exclaimed in admiring his idea as she squeezed Yumiko's small body tightly.

Yumiko looked at her back innocently, now confidently smiled back at her.

At the corner of the crowd, an office-dressed woman, her gaze fixed on Xavier's expression, noticed his hand trembling more than before. His lips tried to speak, but he forcibly kept silent. His confidence waned as he sweated profusely. He forced a laugh to hide something and pretended to be normal. Something is fishy.....This jerk was hiding something, she wondered as she sighed and stepped towards him.

"Excellent, my ass… but these amateurs don't care about timing." The black woman with blue eyes at the corner whispered in disappointment.