By: Eric Xu
“Drop down!” I yelled as bullets rained down on us. I dove underneath a bush, William right on my heels. We heard footsteps rapidly approaching, and I took out my knife.
I don’t want to die! I risked a glance through the bushes, seeing a group of 4 people approaching. One was carrying a gun, others using flashlights. A full squad. How did they all survive the previous nights? I motioned for William to go left as I started to brace myself for impact.
BOOOM!!! A shockwave radiated throughout the jungle, somewhere far away. The opponents looked back, momentarily confused. I slipped away through the trees, staying low to the ground. I heard shouting behind me, but didn’t look around. I kept running through the forest, hoping they would eventually lose me. Suddenly, I spotted a badger’s den. I dove toward it, scraping my knife against the rock. Immediately, I heard rustling inside of the den. A huge badger lumbered out, teeth sharp and blood staining them.
“There he is!” Someone shouted as the group entered the clearing. The badger looked at them, anger flaring in his eyes. He leapt at them, slashing at the one with the gun’s neck, while biting another's arm. The remaining two tried to retreat, but the badger wouldn’t let them. He ran at them, chasing them through the forest. I took the opportunity to get away, hearing only the distant sounds of two people screaming to know what fate laid for them.
I lay underneath a huge mangrove tree, wrapping bandages around my arm. Why would the creators put us here? I checked myself again to see if I had missed any wounds, then put the remaining bandages into my backpack. I wonder how many people are left. It should be announced around now…
“Attention contestants! This is the tenth night, and there are three groups left. There will be a supply crate dropping into the middle of the wargrounds.” A voice boomed from the top of the dome. I immediately perked up. Supplies were good, except it was not worth it to risk myself to try to get it. Everyone else will die fighting over them. I start to walk toward the middle, hoping to see how many people came to the crates.
“Go, go, go!” I heard someone whisper to my left. I ducked under the rocks around me, while unsheathing my knife. Footsteps approached the battlegrounds while guns started firing. I glanced up from the rock, seeing two groups facing off. One had three people, one had two.
“Perfect.” The groups started firing at each other, managing to finish each other off. Eventually, only one man remained, running toward the crates. As he lifted the top, I prepared to throw my knife. It was a tough throw, around a hundred feet away. As the man turned around, I threw my knife, which embedded itself into his leg. He crumpled down, rolling off the path into the river full of crocodiles.
“Well done!” A gruff voice said as a huge, burly man stepped out of the shadows of the crates. “You won. Now, we must escort you to the boss.” I cautiously stepped out of my hiding spot, wary. Who’s the boss? My brain yelled as I walked toward the battlefield. Why did he trap all of us in here? I extended my arm to shake the man’s hand, but he just turned away. Suddenly, the ground underneath us started to shake, and it started to lower into a huge passageway. There stood a man, who was wearing a mask.
“Good job surviving the battle! It was very entertaining for the guests.” He said, removing the mask. He smiled, a broad grin that stretched across his face.
“But alas. Nothing ever ends with a happy ending. Guards, kill him.” Guards surged forward, taking my arms and legs. Suddenly, shooting ran out around the area as the guards fell to the ground, blood streaming through their necks. As I turned around, I saw the face of Will, carrying a huge machine gun.
“No. Sometimes there are happy endings.” He pointed the gun at the boss, firing one single bullet into his face. I looked at Will in shock, confusion clouding my brain.
“I will explain everything later.” He started walking through the hallway, and I followed him, unaware of what was to come.