CHAPTER 8: Level1: Land Game over!!!!!!!
"Congratulations to all Survived Players, Land Game Completed!" an AI voice, its cold, clear tone announced the result, shattering the horror of the situation as the timer hologram vanished into the air.
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating. Then, a scream broke it, and a dull ache clenched their chests. Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they tried to process what had just happened, dust covering every surface around them. The place looked like a huge hole had been drilled straight through the Earth.
A collective sense of disappointment seemed to wash over the players. "He tried everything to save us," a man murmured, breaking the silence, his voice filled with Dejection.
"I didn't expect him to die...." a braided girl murmured, speaking in a flat, as she bit her nails in losing hope.
At a corner, a relieved, cruel smirk appeared on Dane's lips. He deserves it, but one thing hurts me, I can't have my revenge.... shit! I lost my chance, he thought, as he let out a deep, satisfied breath, peacefully spread his hand out towards the green grass, and his gaze fixed on the beautiful blue sky.
"Danny..." Yumiko whispered, her breath hitched, tears catching in her throat, and feeling dizzy and completely broken inside. Thinking of Danny as she collapsed onto the grass. Her eyes fluttered without any hope. Suddenly, a hand touched the solid ground in front of her, revealing Danny's ring on his middle finger. A gasp tore from her throat, raw and disbelieving. "He is alive!!!!" she shouted, a sudden energetic voice got attention towards the hand. "Hand.... Danny is alive!!!!!!" She crawled over to him like a baby.
All the surviving players' eyes widened in shock as they watched the hand, and immediately, a few men helped drag Danny towards them. "Yeah....." they screamed in a hopeful voice, their jaws clenched, and muscles tightened, using their whole strength to lift Danny safely.
Danny was entirely covered in soil. As he shook his hair to clear it, he winced from a sharp pain shooting through his arm, revealing a deep gash beneath the dirt. Weakly, he stood, trying to regain his composure. Then, he let out a deep breath after a long struggle and coughed loudly, clearing soil from his mouth and nostrils. He tries to open his eyes to watch, but that warm hand wrapped around his shoulder is tight, and a choked sob comes out from her mouth. "I'm scared...." A tear fell like rain from her cheeks to his shoulder.
A knowing smile appeared on his lips. "It's okay, Yumiko... I know I scared you... But I'm sorry...." he whispered in a concerned voice, trying to make her comfortable.
She refused to take her hands off him, keeping her head buried in his chest.
"Luck on your side, man...." Xavier tapped his shoulder with a smile, encouraging him before walking into the forest.
A wave of collective relief washed over the survivors, replacing the earlier despair with a tentative sense of triumph. "Congratulations..." Everyone admired Danny for his last-second survival, and a Laughter, happy smile finally spread across all faces as people exchanged relieved glances.
"Yumiko... you're suffocating me," Danny whispered, feigning his tongue lolling out and slurring his words.
"You okay?" Yumiko frowned, checking him from top to bottom with concern.
"Just kidding...." Danny winked, and a playful smirk appeared on the corner of his lips.
"I am going to kill you...." Yumiko slapped him gently and played with him.
Danny spread his body over the grass. "Finally, I saved her mom," he thought as A genuine smile appeared on his lips, and a relaxed breath came out as he hugged Yumiko's hand, who leaned behind him. He closed his eyes, watching a beautiful cloudy sky, and his mind imagined his mom's beautiful smile and hug.
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A's eyes fluttered into sunlight rays, slightly opened brown eyes, watching the tall, towering dead dried trees, and with no gap in between the trees, aligned perfect line. A woman's voice behind him, "Zade, are you okay? She shook his shoulder to wake him up.
"Where I am, I still feel dizzy," Zade whispered to himself as he tried to sit up, his face fixed in front of her, "Anna.... " He called out, his brows furrowed in confusion.
Anna let out a deep, relieved breath when Zade regained consciousness. She placed her hands on his shoulder and gently helped him lean against the wooden wall.
"Anna. Where are we? Why does everything seem different?" Zade asked, glancing at the other people, still wondering about the trees and roaming here and there. "What about others, Danny, Kendell, and Kim?"
"Zade... I also have no idea. I was really scared you didn't wake up. You are the one who wakes up last. " Anna explained with concern in his tone.
"I am thirsty," Zade murmured as he swallowed hard to wet his dried throat. His gaze shifted behind the player, checking the wall with the same confused state, and roaming here and there for an answer.
Anna's eyes widened slightly, realizing the last night's chat. "Hey, wait... I got..... The card, there was a Fire symbol," she said, pulling out her card and his from her pocket.
"Fire... symbol," Zade murmured, looking at the card.
"Your card is also Fire, which means... "She glanced at the towering trees as an uncracked puzzle. " We are really in the Game." A small nod of understanding, and he scanned the towering trees. " We have to play Fire Game." Her tone was deep and challenging.
"Game? "Before Zade finishes his sentence, a sharp resonant sound, the 3D animated letters are displayed on a hologram display above them. "Welcome to Level 1, gamers." The AI voice announced.
All players, eyes scanning back and forth, tilting their heads to the side in confusion. "Where the hell did the sound come from?" he asked, listening to the sound direction carefully.
A man's brow furrowed deeply, a crow's wrinkle appearing corner of her eyes. "Level 1? "He muttered, his voice incredulous.
"Huh? Gamers, what does it mean?" the Asian girl inquired, glancing at the remaining crowd innocently, and flipped her card repeatedly.
Again, a familiar AI voice rang out, calm and mechanical, breaking the uneasy silence. "Welcome to the Fire Game, Gamers. "
The group froze, the voice cutting through the Trees like a knife. Their ears and minds focused and followed the AI's voice.
AI continued. "You are in the Fire Arena Game. Your target is to reach the midpoint of this Maze square.
Rules:
- Gamers can start wherever they want in this square.
- Each person is provided with one bottle of water.
- The Maze is 1 kilometer wide. Gamers must reach the midpoint within forty-five minutes.
Your game starts in two minutes.
If Gamers reach the Safe Zone, the Game is clear. " The voice announced the rules, then suddenly a digital timer displaying "45:00" appeared, floating in the clear blue sky.
"What the fuck? I just heard...." a blond girl blurted out, laughing without knowing any seriousness.
"Bella...." she called out the blond girl, "Do you believe everything?" she raised her brows as she walked toward her, "I think someone is pranking us. Hey!!!!! Stop this fucking prank.... You fucking bastard...." she shouted, glancing at both sides of the wall.
"Fire Game?" a huge man murmured as he pulled out his card from his pocket. "There's a fire symbol on my card...."
"What about others?" a girl with shots questioned.
As everyone checked their pockets, watching the symbol. "Fire?" the murmurs started.
"Maze, what does that mean?" the pinkish-haired haired with piercing eyes came from a crowd asked asking them with a casual shrug.
"Hey, Pink head." A voice from the crowd called out, using a silly nickname.
"Hey, Motherfucker.... I am Lara." Lara yelled, watching the crowd. An attitude smile replaced her lips, "Who that fucking black sheep called me like that? You fucking bastard, you didn't have a gut to call me straightly," she roared, casually damaging that person.
He came outside with a huge, muscular body and towering height, and tattooed arms as his jaw tightened, nostrils flaring slightly, and warm air came out. His fists clenching and unclenching like a challenge. "Shut your fucking mouth bitch...." he roared as he walked towards her side and grabbed her neck. "Don't ever raise your voice on me?"
"Hey.... You can't treat a lady like that...." Other women shouted and yelled at him to remove his hand, throwing rocks and sand at him, and other guys tried to loosen his grip on Bella's neck, but with one hand, he handled the other players.
He didn't even flex a single muscle. Bella's eye veins were popping out, her face turned purple with pink, and her nails cracked his hand. "You bastard..." She was slurring, completely broken. At the same time, the AI voice announced, "Game start." Its mechanical voice sliced through the tension, making Enzo's head snap up, his grip loosening in surprise. The time displayed, "44:50."
"Just stop it... Enzo!!!!!! You are going to kill her just for her bad mouth.... This is not a fucking time for your play," a woman in her 30s yelled, making him come back to reality.
Then, he lost his grip after hearing a word from Enzo's best friend, Rachel, his knuckles slamming a wooden tree, which was cut into two halves. Then, without speaking another word, he walked away from the group in the opposite direction, not in guilt, just for his best friend's words.