"N- no, sir. Listen to me."
Artemis panicked upon the situation and looked around for the room to escape. He switched his eyes towards the man when the native fished out a pocket knife and aimed at him.
"Who are you?"
The man advanced towards him and lifted Artemis' chin by the pocket knife and stared in his eyes. Artemis was hella scared that he could not grasp himself like he was supposed to, despite being a detective with wits he was now an ordinary vulnerable kid.
[Oh my! I came only to see you struggling with a dire situation. Carry on!]
Axela appeared and mocked Jeremy for being incompetent even with his skills.
"Fuck you, you know we both will die if anything happened to me."
Jeremy growled in his head and did not flinch though he was sweating profusely.
[I don't have a physical body you fool, I will live thousands of years. Only you will die.]
"I...I, sir…"
He gulped and immediately blurted out with eyes closed, Artemis suspected that he might get killed any soon. So, it was better to close the eyes so as not to see the pain coming.
"I was sent here on a mission, and the beast attacked me but in the attempt to save myself...I dropped from the sky and broke your roof and landed here."
Jeremy said his statement and waited for a slash to behead him, but a silence accompanied his sentence. After hearing the behemoth man grunting Jeremy opened his eyes.
"So, you are a soldier sent by that notorious shady organisation."
Jeremy was shocked to see the man had a prior knowledge about that stuff.
"How do you know about them?"
The man turned around to fetch a broom to pick up the shards of glass. While Jeremy sensed the atmosphere had lightened up thus he got the courage to speak.
[Are you really forgetful, uh?]
"Because we have encountered many soldiers before you, young man,"
The man took the shards and disposed them in the bin nearby, when he turned to resume his speech.
"They did not survive here, neither will you."
He squinted and searched Jeremy from head to toe then sighed.
"Were you really not drunk when you entered those deadly games?"
The mocked him and Jeremy's expressions turned cold from fearful, by now it was clear that his life was spared.
"I had my own reasons, sir."
Jeremy sounded serious which snagged the man's attention.
"Barthes, my name is Barthes."
He moved to the other side of the table and washed his hands then picked up the dead bunny. It was dropped along with Jeremy's landing, Barthes sliced it and removed the skin.
[He seemed really professional, only if he was a little handsome or perhaps cleaner.]
Jeremy neglected Axela' gibberish because he was curious about what would happen next.
"How can you be so sure that I won't survive? Did none of the previous players get out of here?"
[That's a good question.]
Barthes was immersed into cutting while talking to Jeremy, who sounded curious and comfortable now.
"No, they did not. Now that you are here do not tell anyone who you are, if you want to stay alive."
[I'm still curious why he didn't kill you? Well, nevermind. Today is not my day I guess.]
"If you want me to keep my identity hidden then why didn't you kill me in the first place? Or the citizens will kill me after forming a jury?"
Jeremy nervously chuckled while biting his own words in heart.
Barthes paused for a moment before putting the oil into the pan and eyed the young man.
"Hoho! That's a great idea you have got there, young boy. And yes, you will be slashed and cut into thousands of pieces, if you went out in this small version."
Artemis felt as if it was a mock at him and Barthes was boasting his strength and size. He was taller than seven feet while Jeremy looked like an elf besides the guy.
[This guy is weird. Beware of him, he sounds suspicious and he knows a lot of stuff.]
"I know, okay. I'm just befriending him so he won't kill me. It would be just one attack and I will be eradicated and gone from history."
Jeremy's concern was valid too as Axela', they both were trying to survive together on some alien planet.
"Here, you must be hungry. We can talk about stuff later, since you brought the bunny with my fish...it is a feast today."
Barthes put the food in front of Jeremy right under the broken roof. Jeremy was reluctant yet starving but was unable to decide instantly.
[I'm telling you cook yourself, don't eat. He can poison you.]
"Don't worry it's edible and I cooked it in front of you. There's no poison in it, and I don't want to dirty my hands."
He sensed Jeremy's hesitation and took a bite from his share, then looked at him straight while chewing.
[O- okay, we were wrong.]
Axela admitted her rushed wrong conclusion and Jeremy began to eat, he was half way done with his food when the unfamiliar sensation occurred.
Artemis glanced at Barthes who was eating calmly even though Jeremy was coughing by now. He felt his head spinning and blood rushing in his veins quite rapidly.
Jeremy fell off the chair and winced in pain by holding his throat, while this time Barthes saw him with a meaningful smirk.
"What did you do to me?"
Artemis coughed blood and spit on the floor during the confrontation. He felt blood rushing through his eyes and body heating up, as if something from inside had been struggling to come out.
"Don't move too much, it will just take a few minutes. After that everything will be alright."
Barthes suggested and resumed his eating leaving the squirming boy on the floor.
"I trusted you and you,"
Jeremy was clutching his throat and was struggling to breathe.
"And you poisoned me!"
His last words were a bare whisper before everything became black.