by Max Jager
Elliott and Brooke seemed to disagree, but Fate spoke up. "He's not wrong." She started "But at the same time if the only people leading our group are the people in the group that have minor sociopathic traits, that opens the door to a lot of dangerous problems. Sociopaths may be the best types of people for surviving alone and making those difficult decisions, but they are the worst types for surviving with a group. They can't hold a group together. We should move and act as a collective group, if people dislike the choices the group majority makes they can leave." She explained.
George turned to the siblings. "Thoughts?" He asked.
"I think we'll have to side with Fate on that one." Brooke replied and looked to Elliott for confirmation. Elliott nodded in response.
"Alright, we will discuss plans as a group once everyone is awake then." George stood up, "Anyone know where Olivia went?"
Elliott shrugged "Nobody seems to know and everyone is asking."
"Ah, well she will probably show up eventually." George shrugged as he walked off to talk to Dexter and Ronnie.
Once everyone was awake George gathered everyone together. "Alright, there's not enough food for everyone. Four people need to not eat, and I believe Carley already volunteered to skip. Any other volunteers? Some people have already eaten, myself included." Sophia and Dexter both raised their hands to give up their meals for the others.
"Good. Olivia will be the other volunteer since she still isn't here." George handed out the food to everyone else who hadn't already eaten. "It's been decided that we will make decisions as a group, less work I have to do. So we're putting it to a vote, we know the lake is north of us and that mountains are surrounding us on all sides except south east. By now it seems clear that the devs are not coming to get us. We need food and water, so I propose we head south east and see what we can find?"
The majority of the group agreed, so with that plan in mind everyone finished eating and the group began walking through the forest. Carley and Olivia never returned, but it was assumed that at least Carley was following from a distance. After walking for about ten minutes the group stepped into a small clearing and everyone froze.
"Olivia?!" Sophia gasped out.
Olivia was lying face down on the ground, in a pool of blood. She was topless, revealing her back to everyone, and on her back something or someone had carved what looked like the outline of wings into her skin. Presumably with a knife or a sharp claw. There was clear signs of a struggle in the area, whoever or whatever had done this must have overpowered her and carved the wings into her back while she was alive. It seemed like she died from blood loss.
George walked closer to the body to examine it, then turned back to the others. "The blood is old, and the wounds are not fresh, this happened last night. Where was she last night? Who was she with?"
"She wasn't in the camp last night. But I didn't see her leave, did anyone see her leave?" Elliott asked, but nobody answered.
"Who else was missing from the camp?" George questioned.
"The only other person I noticed missing was Carley. But I don't think this is something Carley would do." Elliott answered.
"Keep an eye on Carley then." George instructed.
"That's difficult when she's never around the group. I usually don't know where she is. Do you really think it was done by one of us?" Elliott replied.
"Well watch her as best as you can. And I don't know if it was one of us, an outsider, a monster, or just what normally happens when you die in this game. But i'm going to cover all the bases." George answered. "There really isn't anything left to do here, so let's move on."
"But what about Olivia? We can't just leave her behind." Dexter questioned.
George shook his head "She's dead.I don't think she's coming back. This clearly happened last night, if there was any sort of respawn system she would have already come back to life. But she didn't. Or if she did she isn't coming back to us. If this was done by a monster, we need to get out of here."
"But what if she's trying to find us and is lost?" Dexter insisted.
"We can't afford to wait around and find out. We can't go long without a source of clean water, and we need food." George stated firmly.
Damion walked over to her body. "I will say a prayer for her safety. One that should protect her if she is alive, or protect her spirit if she is not." He offered. He bowed his head and pressed his palms together and said a quiet, quick, prayer. Praying for her safety, if she was alive, or for her spirit to ascend to become an angel if she was not. When he was finished he stepped back and rejoined the group.
"Can we go now? We shouldn't hang around we need to at least find shelter before night." George was getting a little impatient with all the wasted time. "She's gone, dead or not she is gone. We must move on."
Dexter, Ronnie, Sophia, and Jake were reluctant to move on, but begrudgingly followed George's lead with everyone else as he left and resumed heading south.
"You think she's alive? Like she respawned somewhere else or something?" Brooke asked Elliott.
Elliott shrugged "I have no idea, but I have a sinking feeling she's dead. If pain and everything else is this real, and she hasn't come back to rejoin us, I wouldn't be surprised if she really died. Then there's also what Carley said, about these possibly being our real bodies. If that's the case she's definitely dead."
"What if she got out of the game?" Sophia chimed in.
"Then I would hope it would be within her character to come get the rest of us out instead of leaving us behind. Which she did not, so I must assume she didn't escape the game." Elliott replied.
Sophia nodded "True, if I got out I would have immediately gotten everyone else out. Didn't think of that, so she's still trapped in the game. Probably. How do you think she died?"
"I don't know, there really isn't any evidence to point towards any real answer to that yet." Elliott shrugged. Brooke nodded in agreement.
"You think George was behind it? He seemed to be in a hurry to leave." Sophia whispered.
Elliott shook his head "If he did it, why would he lead us past the body? I doubt whoever did it would want us to know what happened. If anyone did it. Those wing-like cuts on her back could just be what happens when you die. I doubt it, and suspect it was a human who did that to her, but it's possible."
"I think Carley did it." Snipes butted in. "She's always hiding and being sneaky, it's obvious."
Brooke shook her head "I don't think Carley could do it, she's pretty small and fragile. Olivia probably would have overpowered her. If it was one of us, it would have to be one of the guys. Or Chloe, she was a firefighter so she probably would have the strength to overpower someone."
"But what if Carley secretly was an assassin? She is pretty agile for a normal person. OR what if she had some special power? She's obviously hiding something." Snipes insisted.
"I'm more concerned about Matthew." Jake spoke up as he limped along beside them.
"Why Matthew? He hasn't even said anything." Sophia questioned.
"That's exactly why. He doesn't talk much, he doesn't get involved much, he doesn't do much. He just lurks in the background. That sounds like a serial killer to me." Jake pointed out.
On the other side of the group Damion walked over to the sub-group of Chloe, Dexter and Ronnie. "You okay Chloe? You look sick."
Chloe nodded "Thanks for the concern Damion, but I'm alright. I've seen a lot of things working as a firefighter for all those years, but that… I'm sure that was one of us, and knowing someone that sadistic is within our group is… Beyond scary. I feel sick."
Damion nodded "I agree, but do not worry I am praying for our safety. God will protect us. Dexter what about you? You seem especially upset. It's like this really hit home for you, did you know her? Or have you lost someone you love before?"
Dexter nodded "I didn't know her, but I just lost my mother two years ago to cancer. I still haven't gotten over that I guess. It's just, I guess I'm a bit soft. I'll be fine."
"I'm sorry for your loss. When we get to the next campsite I will work with you to help you speak with her, I can give you a chance to say goodbye and see that she's better now. I do this for a lot of people and it makes them feel better." Damion replied.
Dexter smiled and nodded "Thank you Damion, I think that might help."
Ronnie butted in to speak "Yo Dexter, you seem smart, who do you think did this?"
"I don't know. George maybe? He's a bit weird, pushy, and seems antsy to get out of here."
"What about Carley?" Evelyn joined the conversation. "She's never here and Elliott said she went missing last night."
"But she brought us food, doesn't that prove she's good?" Dexter argued.
"Could be just trying to gain our trust. Or what if one of the eggs were poisoned and that's how she'll pick her next target? What if, tonight, one person passes out from the poison and that's the next target." Evelyn countered.
"Shit, didn't think of that. Glad I didn't eat." Dexter thought out loud.
"Matthew is my suspect." Chloe stepped back into the conversation. "He's being too quiet, and isn't really participating with the group."
"Well." Matthew spoke up, he had moved right behind Chloe as she spoke "I'm in my thirties. You and Jake seem to be the only people around my age. It's weird hanging around with a bunch of kids. I'm usually much more social."
"Hey, most of us aren't kids we're in our twenties." Ronnie countered. "Snipes, Elliott, and Brook are the teens here."
"Just because you're over eighteen doesn't mean you're an adult. You're still a kid to me." Matthew shrugged.
Chloe sighed, "True, I hadn't thought of that. I honestly feel the same, everyone here is so young. This is all just making me really nervous."
Matthew handed Chloe a cigarette "This will calm you down."
Chloe shook her head "I don't smoke, it's unhealthy."
"Normally I'd agree. But we just got dropped into a new world, where monsters are waiting around the corner to kill us and a murderer is hidden somewhere in our group. Most of us are probably going to die, and we could die at any moment. Now's not the time to be concerned about your health."
"Good point. Thanks." Chloe took the cigarette and Matthew lit it for her.
"Can I have one too?" Ronnie asked.
"No." Matthew answered. "I feel bad enough giving one to a non-smoker. Not going to give one to a kid."
"But I'm twenty one." Ronnie argued.
"Still a kid." Matthew answered as he lit his own cigarette and put the pack away. "I know, it makes me a hypocrite, but don't follow my example. Take care of yourself. You might survive this, us older folks probably won't. We're not in as good shape as we used to be." He stopped and moved a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as they stepped out of the forest and into a big, open, grassy field. The field had hills and tall grass as far as the eye could see. They could also see various monsters roaming the field in the distance, all of them going somewhere or doing something, seemingly with a purpose. They didn't appear to be acting like AI from a game, but instead looked like real creatures living their own lives.
Almost immediately after they stepped out of the forest a group of three little green creatures spotted them. These creatures carried empty bags over their shoulders, they stood at varying heights between five feet and five and a half feet tall, they looked dirty and wore barely any clothing. The three of them carried crude clubs, and as soon as the goblins spotted the humans they sprinted after them.
"Incoming! Sophia!" George called out.
"On it!" Sophia grabbed her bow and took a shot at the incoming goblins. She shot the first one in the head killing it on the spot, but the other two continued the charge.
"Brooke, Jake, and Sophia, fall back and keep your distance. Elliott and Snipes, guard them. Fate, Matthew, Damion, you three are with me! Everyone else tackle the other one!" George ordered as he moved in on the goblin on the left.
Fate, Matthew, and Damion followed George's orders. They moved in on the goblin as a group and without needing to be asked they quickly surrounded it. Forcing the goblin to stop its charge and take a more defensive stance. Nobody attacked immediately, they waited for everyone to surround the goblin first.
Carley jumped down from the treeline, and ran to join Dexter's group since George's group looked like they didn't need help. But Carley was far away and would take a few seconds to reach them.
That left Evelyn, Dexter, Ronnie, and Chloe to face the other goblin. Ronnie and Chloe ran side by side at the goblin from the front while Dexter and Evelyn tried to keep up, but they were falling a little behind. As they moved in Ronnie pulled out a small knife that had been concealed behind his shirt from his belt. Ronnie moved around the side of the goblin while Chloe charged it head on.
The goblin took a swing at Chloe with its club, forcing her to back off and get out of the way. As it swung at her, Ronnie moved in on its side and quickly tried to stab the goblin in the neck. But the goblin knew he was there. The goblin's free hand shot up and grabbed Ronnie's wrist stopping all momentum from the man's attack.
The goblin let out a growl of irritation and with one quick twist of its wrist it snapped Ronnie's arm like a twig. Ronnie screamed out in pain, and in an instant the goblin flung him by his arm at Carley, who it perceived to be a bigger threat due to Carley moving faster than the others. With the goblin's superhuman strength it effortlessly threw the young man over thirty feet. Carley dove to the ground to narrowly evade being struck, and Ronnie slammed into a tree behind Carley. Ronnie's motionless body fell to the ground.
"Ron!" Dexter shouted. Everyone else froze for a moment in shock.
Carley got back up and turned to look back at Ronnie's body. The body was twisted and mangled, and was bleeding severely now. He was dead, there was no way someone could have survived that. Carley's face went pale and they looked very sick after seeing that, but turned and resumed running towards the goblin. More determined now than ever to stop it from grabbing someone else. This was just too real.
The goblin rushed past Chloe at Dexter and Evelyn, targeting what it saw as the weakest targets first. After what everyone had just seen Evelyn and Dexter began running away from the goblin and Chloe was keeping her distance, unsure of what to do now.
The goblin suddenly ducked as an arrow flew right over its head. It growled and turned to Sophia, who was in the back with Elliott and Snipes protecting her while Brooke and Jake tried to stay out of the way. The goblin growled at her and ran after Sophia.
But Carley was quick to run in between the goblin and Sophia, blocking the goblin's path. The goblin tried to move left to go around Carley and rush at the archer, but Carley moved left and stayed in its way. It then tried to move right, but Carley moved right and continued mirroring the goblin's movements, not letting it get any closer.
Out of frustration the goblin swung its club at Carley, who swiftly ducked under the attack and punched the goblin as hard as they could in the stomach. The goblin didn't even flinch. Carley was too skinny and fragile, they couldn't pack enough of a punch to harm the creature. The goblin quickly went to grab Carley with its free hand, but with Carley being agile and shorter than even the goblin they were easily able to slip under the creature's legs, and punched the goblin as hard as they could in the back of the head. It still wasn't enough, the goblin stumbled but wasn't harmed by the attack.
With Carley no longer in front of the goblin, it saw an opening and ran for Sophia. But before it could take more than a single step Carley jumped and threw their entire body weight at its back, tackling it to the ground. Carley quickly got back up and moved out of the goblin's reach just in time to avoid being grabbed. The goblin was fuming, it sprung to its feet and spun around as it began wildly swinging at Carley, as quickly and as many times as it could. Trying everything it could to hit or grab them.
"Carley, get back before it gets you!" Elliott called out.
But Carley didn't move away from the creature and inste
ad kept narrowly evading and avoiding the attacks, staying within the creature's reach. Carley didn't bother trying to hit the goblin again, they knew it was pointless, but Carley was purposely staying close to it to distract the goblin, to ensure it didn't attack anyone else.
Sophia was trying to shoot the goblin, but with Carley so close to it she couldn't get a clear shot without risking hitting Carley too.
"Guys, we need to help her." Chloe called out to Dexter and Evelyn.
But after what the two of them just saw, neither of them were moving in to help. They both kept their distance.
"Guys?" Chloe questioned, but when she realized they weren't going to help she sighed and ran over to help Carley herself. As she got close enough to assist she hesitated, Carley was circling around the goblin so quickly and the two of them were moving nearly nonstop as the goblin attacked and Carley evaded. She was having a hard time finding an opening to get in and assist without either getting in Carley's way or getting grabbed by the goblin herself.