"I'm not your pet! Go away!"
Axel locked her in his arms, holding her from squirming away. Tears had already formed. She didn't know why, but she couldn't stop them from coming out of her eyes. It was like she wasn't herself anymore like he took control over her mind and body... she hated it.
'He's suffocating me...'
Everette struggled to move, but he held firm. Axel tilted his head and smiled at her cheekily. "I'm not letting you go until I get my answer." He lowered his brows; Everette could feel the heat of his breath on her face.
"Axel," she blurted, her face red and eyes tearing up from the pressure he placed on her chest. He grinned and his grip on Everette loosened; she was finally free of Axel's grasp. She took a step back to catch her breath while avoiding eye contact.
"I can kill you right now and you'll be connected on a different server. You'll never see me again," Axel warned.
Game server: a remote server used by game clients to play multiplayer games. Most games played over the Internet operate by connecting to a game server.
Everette hissed in frustration.
But then, suddenly, footsteps came closer and closer in their direction. Axel immediately focused on the sound while Everette looked on with widened eyes. They both stayed in their places, looking around for someone else... but nothing. Axel sidled closer to Everette and whispered in her ear.
"We're not alone here," he whispered again while resting his hand on his gun's handle. He wrapped his arms around Everette's waist and pulled her closer to him. Axel smiled when he felt Everette's body tense; his fingers tickled the side of her warm skin. She only watched in silence as she stared into his eyes in fear and confusion.
"I can't just leave," Axel whispered in a serious tone, "but I don't want you to die. I'll be back." Axel's eyes moved towards the direction of the sound and then quickly turned his attention back on Everette, "stay here," he said while letting go of her and taking a step forward. She hadn't noticed it yet, but she was trembling in fear while looking at him with wide eyes. "You really are adorable, you know that?" He grinned when Everette blushed in surprise.
Axel gradually took his steps forward, but when the noise became loud enough for him to hear it clearly, he stopped in place and clenched his fist tightly around his gun's handle. Suddenly he heard a man screaming loudly in pain; the voice sounded like it came from behind the trees. Axel sprung into action and ran quickly towards where he heard the sound, but all that was found were just leaves and shrubs laying around on the floor.
Everette peak in and saw two shadows approaching from Axel from behind, she was about to get out of her hiding spot when Axel fought them with a fist. He took a swing at the nearest shadow and hit him in the gut. The man cried out in pain while falling to his knees, Axel didn't stop there he pummeled his fist into the face of another man ruthlessly. He felt nothing when he watched them fall to their deaths with a loud thud. Everette stumbled back from hearing the crash and landed hard on her butt.
Everette has never met Axel in real life, only now does she see how fierce the player could be. She always encounter her as her foe in the virtual game before. She doesn't know what his real motive is, but he's the only player one she knows that can help her survive.
"Everette!" Axel shouted as he turned around. He ran over to her and kneeled down, "are you okay? I'm so sorry." Everette had no idea what was going on; she shook in fear while looking at him with those puppy dog eyes... those same eyes were filled with tears. It was hard for him to see her like that, he instantly felt guilty and wanted to help her get up from the floor.
Axel looked around while holding firm onto his gun's handle, "let's go," he said while Everette stood up from the ground. He pulled out a new clip from a pocket hidden inside his new jacket and secured it in place on the gun. "I want you to stay close," he ordered while leading the way into a clearing with old train tracks that came out from some bushes closely behind Everette, "don't go anywhere else," he added.
She had no idea what she was doing nor where she was going, but she did everything the player told her to do. Everette followed behind him while holding onto Axel's sleeve tightly with both hands. She could see how tense he was without even turning around to look at him once, his body constantly moved side-to-side checking for any signs of danger hiding in the dark trees around her.
"I said don't go anywhere else," he scolded her lightly as she followed closely behind. He could feel Everette holding onto his sleeve tighter, but decided to keep quiet and let it slide this time around... plenty of other things going on in his head made him want to snap at her. Why would a girl like that follow a guy like him?
"Let's team-up, Axel," Everette said.
The system doesn't recognize them as duo players, meaning they can still eliminate each other anytime. Being skeptical, Everette withdraws her gun and points it directly at Axel's head.
"You won't dare-"
Everette smirked, "goodbye."
She pulled the trigger, and the bullet traveled through Axel's forehead. His health points (HP) turned to zero, and his body fell down before her.
Everette quickly retreated to hide before she's caught by another player!
Everette considered what she did to Axel as an act of revenge as well, but she came out of their hiding spot and let a player eliminate her to put her speculation to the test.
[Resurrecting in 60s!]
Everette respawns and landed on the battleground. The first player she saw was Axel, alive and well. He gave her a death glare. Well, what do Everette could say, she wants him gone! She's afraid of Axel and what he can do!
"Wait, why are we on the same server again?!" she asked, confused.
"It's a glitch."
A profitable glitch that they can use as duo players. Every game has a glitch and bug. Some players are lucky enough to take it as an advantage, and some are not, like a player disappearing like a bubble in the game...
"You knew about this!" she accused him. Everette shoots him in the head with her gun, but he quickly blocks it with his arm.
"Of course, I do," he said, arching his eyebrows. "It will be our advantage."
"No! You'll kill me again, and I don't want to play with you," she exclaimed.
"You know how many players kill me on sight? At least we can team up for a while until the glitch fixes itself," he explained. "Look, Everette, it's either that or fighting off other players alone."
"But we can't abuse the glitch!"
Axel looked away and walked towards a bush with his gun raised up. Everette followed closely behind him like a good little girl, her hands shaking from fear. She's anxious that she might get killed by Axel or another player, but what could she do anyway? She's just a little girl in the game.
"Do you even want to survive?"
She bit her lower lip, thinking through how hard it is to play solo. As much as Everette wants to say no, she's left with no choice. She wants to survive.
"I do," she said, "but I don't want to play with you." She checked her belongings and equipment just after respawning. Everette quickly grabbed a bag nearby and inspected its contents, throwing away unnecessary items one by one until she's sure that what's left is all she needed.
Axel sighed and walked away, he didn't say anything as Everette was still new at the game. He's played it for several months now... ever since WIC first announced this program to their system. Axel knew every possible glitch and secret on the island like the back of his hand.
"Hey, wait!" she shouted after him as he disappeared from her sight.
Everette continued to explore the area around her, looking for any possible resources and items she might need throughout the game. She's prepared for another fight with a player or monsters by sharpening her knives and swords that were found in a nearby house. The sound of screech and howls filled the air as night drew near.
"Oh no... I'm going to die tonight," she muttered, looking up at the darkening sky as a rain drop fell on her nose. Everette checked her food supplies and water amount and it's only enough for another day if she didn't find any sources of food or water from now on. She must find a farm nearby or another source of food.
"You're alone, Everette," she reminded herself so she wouldn't panic in the game. "You need to find a way out."
Everette decided that staying in one spot is not an option if she wants to stay alive. She walked towards the far end of the town where not a single sign of human life was seen. There's only a stench of death as if monsters already ate the inhabitants away. She shivered as she passed through the area, through the graveyard where tombstones stood high and dark with vines growing all over them. The gate suddenly collapsed on her back and scared Everette half to death.
As Everette looked around the graveyard, she saw a familiar face from afar. It was Axel, walking towards her with his bow and arrow ready as if he's going to shoot her.
"Don't shoot me!" Everette exclaimed as she ran away from him. She can see arrows fly past her head and behind, so she quickly hid under an old tree nearby.
"Everette, you're alone again," he said, his words echoing through the graveyard. "You know how much it sucks to play alone?" He laughed coldly and Everette could see him pull back the string of the arrow with ease.
"Stay away from me!" she screamed at him. She could see him slowly walking towards her hiding spot. Everette took a deep breath and calmed herself down as she ducked under the tree, waiting for his arrival. The footsteps stopped just before it reaches her, but she can hear something breathing right behind her.
The ground below them suddenly collapsed into another pitfall that brought Everette to another part of the graveyard. Her eyes were wide as she saw Axel standing on a tombstone, his hand reaching out to her and pulling her up herself.
"I've been waiting for you," he said with a grin. "Now we can play together." He brought Everette up and held her tightly to his chest, leaving no way of escape.
"Let go of me!" Everette struggled to break free from Axel's grip. Suddenly, she noticed something about his body that wasn't there before. It was a sliver metal poking out from under the fabric on his right shoulder. He grinned at her as he saw her looking at it, tightening his grip even more so she won't try to leave.
"You know, it's not that hard to trust me."
"I don't trust anyone!" she shouted at him. Axel chuckled as he let go of her and Everette couldn't help but feel a bit relieved to be away from him.
"Why?" he asked as he looked around them for signs of life, or death. "We need to find shelter before it rains."
"I don't have any reason to!" she exclaimed, watching him closely. Axel turned to look at her with a childish grin on his face.
"I guess I can't blame you for that," he shrugged. "No one trusts me anyways, but if it's just sheltered then what can you lose?" Everette contemplated his offer and looked at the gloomy sky that's turning darker than usual.
"Fine," she said, sighing at how much trouble it took. "Let's go before I change my mind." Axel looked surprised but shrugged it off and led Everette to a nearby cave nearby.
"There's food in here," he said as they entered the dark cave.
"I bet it's still fresh to eat, too." He lit a torchlight and looked around the cave. The walls were covered with animal bones and what used to be their skin and fur to make their own safe haven.
Everette felt like she would rather starve than eat some of that meat laying there, but he didn't feel hungry at all and only stared at the many meats and vegetables lying in front of her.
"You're not hungry?" he asked, taking a couple pieces of meat with him. Everette shook her head no and sat on one of the rocks that surrounded them. "I guess you can just starve then," he said as ate, chewing each piece of meat slowly. He just watched her sitting there, looking sad and lonely with no food to eat.
"How do you survive in here?" she asked after watching him eat for a while. Axel smirked at that question and handed Everette some of the meat he offered it to her again, this time with an extra piece of bread on it. She looked at it for a while, glaring at the bread and the meat below it.
"You won't last if you keep starving yourself, you need to regain stamina," he said as she took the bread off of the meat piece to take a bite out of it. "Besides, there are plenty of monsters in here so roaming around alone can get pretty dangerous."
"I'd rather die than eat this," she said, throwing the bread at his face. Axel shrugged and took the bread off of his face, eating it again while Everette just sulked into her own corner.
Everette felt tired after what seemed like hours in that cave with nothing to do but blaming herself for bringing up her recent death. She couldn't help but be mad at herself for always getting into situations that were out of her control, not to mention how far she had fallen on the graveyard.
She thought about what would've happened if she fell down next to Axel instead of somewhere else in the pitfall, but before she destroys more thoughts like those she decided to go out to look for Axel.
He was on the edge of the cliff near the cave and Everette couldn't be more frightened. "Can you trust me?" Axel asked.
"Y-yes."
Axel grinned, satisfied with the player's answer.
"Then hold on tight, and let's fly." Axel jumped off the cliff together with her. Everette set her eyes at the battleground as they soar high. No other players fount them. They're flying high, higher, and even higher...
'I WILL SURVIVE.'