I cursed. To have a cramp all of a sudden while in the midst of an attempt to run toward the house with a sniper rifle pointed at me was unlucky.
Struggling to survive, I crawled screaming at the top of my lungs. The lady in blue has her eyes on me. "Only a few meters more", the cramping of my legs seems to have decided to stay for a while.
Others who have been watching were entertained like how they were when they saw those pathetic attempts of the previous players who ran towards their deaths. Most of them were ecstatic. Like they were part of the viewers of these death games.
"Six... five... four... three"
Seems like they also kept track of my time and were counting aloud the timer for my doom.
Lying down with my chest in contact with the ground, I pulled myself. As I reached forward, I felt something stick to my palm. Realizing what it was, I grabbed it and placed it in my pocket in an instant.
"two... one!"
It's sad that I didn't manage to see everyone's disappointed faces as the lady in blue didn't shoot me after their countdown. Thanks to the copper coin dropped by the first person to try, I am still alive. And now that the pain in my leg has already subsided. I sprinted to the house as if a huge dog was behind me trying to bite my ass off.
I was still chasing my breath when a holographic screen popped up right in front of me.
"Congratulations."
"Your Diligence has been recognized."
"Acquire three(3) more heavenly virtues to complete this stage."
"Challenge another gate within two(2) minutes or you will be disqualified and your life will be forfeited."
"Click the next gate you want to challenge."
Below the text are buttons labeled with the remaining heavenly virtues. Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Humility, Kindness, and Forgiveness.
Now that I think about it I should've realized that the gates pertained to the seven virtues and asked Amelka which one she would challenge next so that I could follow.
I was going in blind when it comes to what were the tasks inside of each remaining virtue. Still tired, yet I have to choose before the timer runs out. So, as the logical person that I am, I chose randomly.
"Eenie, meenie, minie mo. Catch a tiger..."
"Humility it is."
Clicking the button labeled with humility. I was transported to another location. Again, it felt like being pulled somewhere in a swift. This time though, I was not as dizzy as the first time. And the fatigue that I have built up from the last task was gone.
The first task was such a nightmare but I felt like I just woke up from a good sleep. As if the exhaustion I have felt from earlier was only in my imagination.
When I finally managed my thoughts, I realized I was in a starting area again with a few others who have also just arrived. The location this time is more like a huge stadium.
It's a circular stadium and the field is similar to the ones used in soccer, with the short grass but the floor is clear of markings. We started at a small part of the stadium.
Looking up at the sky, I saw nothing but darkness. Even though it's a roofless stadium, not a single star could be seen in the boundless sky.
Tons of lamps that emit white light lit up the stadium from above.
My clothes also changed. I now wear a sleeveless shirt and running shorts. Other male players also wore the same attire that I have. While the female participants wore leggings and a sports bra for running. Again, our attire fits the theme. It's one of the things that viewers enjoy, the environment, theme, and of course the outfits.
One of the male players stood out. I've noticed him before in the cafeteria. His face which is full of piercings would easily catch anyone's attention. From his lips to his nose, in the eyebrows and ears, he even has two of those that looked like a devil's horn. He's one of those people that I tried hard not to exchange looks with.
"There is Humility in helping and expressing gratitude."
"Objective:"
"The mad dog hates arrogance and the exalted. In each round, half of the participating players will receive a ball. Mad dog sees these balls as the embodiment of the things it hates. Survive ten(10) rounds that last 10 minutes each to be cleared of your arrogance and be allowed to choose another gate to challenge."
"A round is still ongoing. Please wait for 2 minutes."
"Agh! Help!"
A man was running towards us. Carrying a ball in his right hand. Screaming at the top of his lungs and his face appeared to have been of someone trying to escape something terrifying.
When I saw what was chasing him, my hair stood on end. It was huge. Seems almost four times bigger than the man running for his life. A beast whose face appeared to be like a bulldog.
But it was more wrinkled and its canine on the lower jaw is huge comparable to a walrus'. What's more, the beast was running only using its hind legs. Its muscles are bulk, like those people who have lived most of their lives at the gym.
If you're not chomped by those huge canines, I'm pretty sure that it is capable of smashing you flat to the ground.
The man running for his life was getting close to us. He tried to go to the starting area but was bounced off to the playing field. Now that I think of it, I haven't noticed in the first task that once you are considered "playing", an invisible wall will prevent you from going back to the starting area.
As he bounced off the invisible wall, he decided to run toward another player on his left.
"Please! Help!"
He said while he throws the ball to the other player soon as he caught the player's attention. It was a woman. She is quite visible from where I stood. Brownish skin, wavy black hair up to her shoulders, and a slim muscular body. Aside from that, I did not see her entire face.
She looks familiar but it was the first time I have properly seen her. Well, I have been trying to avoid other prisoners as much as I could and Hell's Oasis is enormous.
As the ball was passed to the woman, she dodged it and walked away. The moment the ball hits the ground it disappeared and then reappeared on the original holder's hand within seconds.
When the ball reappeared in his hand, the mad dog growled. It was loud. The veins on the mad dog's head and body bulged and the beast has become much faster than earlier as if it has gone berserk.
It caught him in an instant.
He was smashed. Like a squash that has gotten rolled over by a tractor. It was quite a sight.
The beast pounded him a couple of times before returning to its normal form and running off to chase another player. The man fighting for his life a second ago is now flattened to the ground.
Since the time I first arrived in this place, I've had a fair share of seeing people die in gruesome ways. But this time, it felt heavier.
I saw his body twitch. His eyeballs fell out of their socket and were mixed with the hair on his head as well as his mashed brain. Blood came out of every hole in his body.
He looked like a jellyfish when each and every bone of his was shattered by that huge beast. It was sickening. My heart was pounding and my sweat was pouring a bit more. But not a single thought of throwing up lingered in my mind.
After a couple of seconds, his body disappeared.
When the round was over, a timer for the next round began. It was only a minute and we were told to move to the playing area. The mad dog seems to have been asleep within the minute.
"Next round starting in 25 seconds."
Everyone tried to move as far away from the sleeping beast. I was confused. Based on the instruction I thought that the people who received a ball in the previous round must not have one this time.
"Round start!"
Soon as the timer hits zero. A ball appeared in the hands of some players. It was a bit bigger than a tennis ball and enough size to be gripped with a single hand. Then, a deafening siren noise that lasted for a few seconds woke up the mad dog.
This round I happen to be one of those who didn't have a ball in my hand.
Those who received a ball scattered and watched the mad dog's movements. They were looking at those who didn't receive one and were trying to find new players who would be fooled to receive theirs or others they could beg.
One by one, they were slaughtered by the mad dog. The beast's speed differs with each player. I was thinking what were the factors for that difference in the mad dog's running speed when someone approached me.
"Gray!"
I know this voice, I thought. When I looked behind to see the person calling my name I saw Aran approaching me with a big smile. He's also freed from the ball.
"How are you?"
The first thing that came out of Aran's mouth are questions about my well-being.
"I'm good. I met Amelka earlier in my first task."
Aran was relieved. He must've also been worried about Amelka.
"I was with Finnley in my first task."
He said that when they finished the task in the gate of Kindness, like us they forgot to discuss which virtue to challenge next so they were separated.
We have the leisure to have a conversation while the unfortunate ones are running for their lives as they were chased by the mad dog.
"Take the ball! Please!"
He was running to our location. Chased by the mad dog. The man begged everyone that doesn't have a ball to let him pass his' for a minute to have a breather.
I recognized him in a flash. A friend or even a part of the crew of the sickening, crazy old man. Laughing his entire lungs out when the old man toyed with the severed head.
The same person is now begging others to save his life. Most just laughed at him while a few acted as if they saw nothing. I wanted to help him, and the thought of doing it keeps knocking on my mind.
But, I know that I will be the one running away from that beast the moment I took his ball. And for sure that man will not bat an eye if I was the one who has the ball.
Aran was in a gesture of catching. I held his hand to stop him.
"Don't. You're just going to kill yourself, he won't take it back from you."
Aran looked down and placed both of his hands on his back. The friend of the psychotic old man passed by us. The mad dog ignored everyone and was still chasing after him. He begged another player, but he ignored him and looked away. It was the black guy from earlier.
He must've chosen the same gate as I did and must be in his third or fourth round.
The mad dog pounced and caught the man it was chasing. It caught him with its mouth. Biting through him. One of the mad dog's huge canines pierced through the man's body.
The man's chest and above were inside the mad dog's mouth. I could see some of the man's intestine and a shower of blood came out with the canine. His lower body was dangling out like a keychain.
The beast shook its head to remove the dead man's body. It flew off to the ground and disappeared after a couple of seconds.
Aran was sickened. He was in the process of retching after seeing the gruesome death of that man. Aside from that, he must've been disappointed in himself. I patted him on the back.
"Don't think about it, it's not our fault. He would do the same, I bet he would even laugh at us."
Although I said it to Aran, I guess I was also telling it to myself.
I told Aran that he was part of the old man's group who laughed while he defiled the severed head. But, seems like Aran also remembered him. He just looked at me, wiped his mouth, and has a forced smile.
"You're right," he said.
Luck was by my side in the first round of the gate of Humility's task. As the round ends the mad dog fell asleep on the spot he was last at. The balls we had disappeared.
"Next round starting in 60 seconds."
This time, only a few new players entered the gate of Humility. Both Aran and I moved far away from the mad dog.
"Next round starting in 2 seconds."
Seems like I was again favored by lady luck. Now I get what the instructions meant. The fifty percent chance of getting a ball resets every round. So it is possible to get a ball for ten rounds straight or vice versa.
Happy about not having a ball and securing my safety in this round as well. I checked on Aran.
"Aran did you-"
I had a foolish smile on my face when I noticed that Aran is holding a ball in his hand.