Two hulking gates are cranked open, releasing sounds as if they came from the mounds of hell itself, while slowly pushing the piles of dust and sand that gathered in front of them. When the gap was wide enough, 8 black blurs passed by the metal doors in a second, with their destination being the Playground.
Most denizens of the County only knew of the gray walls and rooftops inside the city, the colored smoke, the never-ending sounds of machines, and the blinding artificial light. Now, everything was vast, empty, and silent. Only the wind sang songs around here, carrying in its path whirlwinds of dust, sand, and pieces of trash.
This was Savan's first outing, and for once, they had only one question on their mind:
-" Hey Vivar, how does it look to you?", to which the robot took a peek before answering.
- "Dead, as always". Then, the rest of the transport was spent in silence, as C.T.Ds stayed in a meditative state to conserve energy and most of the participants tried to do the same.
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At some point, the convoy split into two groups which reflected the current positions on the leaderboard. Angie and the rest of the top three all chose the west side for their starting point, and Savan's group marched on until they also split in four random directions.
During the ride, Savan just eyed the barren landscape but didn't say anything. It was the first time that stomach jitters made them unable to speak.
-" This is much duller than I expected", remarked the clopy at some point. All the vans had the same streak of blacked out windows and similar designs for the vehicles, which made Savan's plan to at least guess where Marco might drop off failed. Vivar woke in the meantime, making a weirdly sleepy gruff sound while doing so.
-" That was just my rebooting ringtone, please ignore it.", the robot quickly added, while he flustered to act more robotically. "Also, you do know that he is the enemy now, right?"
-" But should he be? I don't remember any rules banning forming groups".
-" Forming some sort of party early on could be quite beneficial". The robot considered that possibility many times in the past, but he learned that unless the patient brings it up, he shouldn't put it on the table.
The gnawing sensation in Savan's stomach got worse when the edges of a great chasm grew closer and closer, like the fringes of an alien maw. From afar, it appeared desolate, as piles of trash and sand gathered on top of the glass roof above it. Seeing the Playground so up close made Savan quickly realize something: Death was more real than ever before, finally realizing what caused the irk.
-" Vivar, I…I am sorry buddy. I just…just feel so scared now", they whispered under their breath, trembling a bit in their seat. The C.T.D feigned ignorance for a moment, before thinking of a way to alleviate the fear for a bit.
-" Savan, did you like the virtual trees from the facility?"
Surprised by the seemingly random question, they just tilted their head to the left while pondering, and slowly nodded.
-" Good. Because those objects, as you called them, were...are real and much more interesting than the virtual ones. Just keep looking out the window while we descend. It will be worth it".
Unsure of what else to do, Savan followed the advice, but fear glued their eyes shut when the van entered another elevator. The van bumped and shook, before slowly sinking to the bottom. Only when it stopped shaking around did Savan dare to open their eyes, and they were stunned by the promised view.
Even though they were still at the top, the other side of the chasm was out of sight. Seas of green patches made the Playground seem like it was covered by the County's smoke, but these were thicker, solid. The valley also had towers, made from stones, and wider than any Savan had seen in the city. Windowless and clockless as well. And their clouds were either white or darkened, with liquid pouring down from them while thundering as loudly as possible. Savan stayed speechless for the entire descent, blanking at the panorama, trying to take in everything.
-" Oh, and yes", intervened at some point Vivar, "It looks, hears, and....smells different for me".
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It took the duo a few hours to find a safe spot, in a cave, away from the prying eyes of the competition and the public. Savan didn't notice at first, but ever since they left the van they were followed around by tiny flying cameras, which blended in with the surroundings. Instead of being dazed by the dinky spies, something else bothered the clopy about this
-" I don't remember this being a 24-live coverage".
-" Not for the public", answered Vivar. "My comment just now, for example, will only be heard by us, the upper management, and the live editing team. The latter removes, on the spot or not, dead moments, comments, and anything unfit for mass broadcast".
-" Oh, I get it now. They have the same surveillance system in the city, right? To be fair, that is a smart solution. Oh, I should say something then." The clopy put their hands behind their back, and raised her toes up and down trying to think of a speech."...Thank you for all the hard work, editing team", Savan said, waving their bony hands, turning around to give a wide smile to as many cameras as possible.
Far away, in a dimly lit industrial room, a few of the workers were caught off-guard by the genuine praise they just received. "You're…welcome?" responded some of them randomly to it. Others wept, now that someone lauded them for their work.
-" You realize that they are tasked to spy on us 24-7?"
-" Sure, but that's their job, it's not like they have the option to change it or whatnot."
The two explored the cavern for a bit, while Vivar explained to Savan about the ecosystem there. His movements were less stiff than before, especially when he noticed some rare plant or luminescent insect. The clopy used their wrist device to note down the wisdom the robot imparted, and their comments about the C.T.D's eccentricities.
While mapping the place out, luck or misfortune fell upon them, depending on which of them you asked. As they followed a stream of fresh water to a portion filled with glowing lichens and moss, they found plants that surrounded a capsule-like device, as big as Savan's palm. The two concluded that it was one of the gadgets used to start a challenge. For the time being, Vivar decided to keep it deactivated and spring it into action on another occasion. Dud or not, he calculated that it is safer to use the first day to gather information instead of rushing into things.
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Near the cave was another of the elevators, but because of the foliage, Savan and Vivar never noticed it before entering the cavern. And they didn't notice that something was tailing them, keeping an eye on the competition from the second they touched the fresh soil.
The two figures came running from behind bushes in front of the cave just as they heard the duo approaching the pit to venture outside. The enemy's observation of team 8 made them fairly certain of their abilities and swiftly approached their perimeter, blocking their presence from the C.T.D sensors until they were in view.
The ambush worked as envisioned, leaving their targets without much wiggle room. "Get back", yelled Vivar while lifting his shield up and quickly pointing his right arm toward the tunnel's opening. Savan's eyesight was still adjusting to the light coming in from the outside. The two never managed to catch sight of their attackers, and before the robot could even threaten them, his sensor and internal devices were scrambled by a stronger signal now, making him unable to properly aim now.
Savan was wailing in pain, instinctively trying to cover their ears with their hands, but it was of no use, the piercing screech was easily penetrating the flimsy defense. Soon, their bones felt as if cracked teeth were grating one another, making them pop even further. Their organs felt as if someone grabbed them from each side and twirled them around and back. Even when the C.T.D. moved in front of Savan to protect them from the waves of grim echoes, it wasn't enough to ameliorate the pain, and it became clear what the purpose of the assailant was.
The targets could move and dodge, and he still couldn't get a proper lock on them, so as a last desperate attempt to flee, Vivar pointed his right arm towards the ceiling of the cave and shot it. The collapse took the attackers by surprise, and they quickly retreated to not get caught under it. A few of the boulders also reached the duo, but the robot successfully shielded Savan this time, only getting a few new scratches on his armor.
-" See", said Savan after vomiting profusely, "I told you that luck was what saved me so far. Well, that an..", they barfed again- "And you". After a few more minutes of gut-drenching, Savan collapsed unconscious, and unresponsive to any of Vivar's attempts to wake them up. His biometric scanner was a basic model, which only made him aware that the clopy wasn't in any life-threatening danger for now, but it couldn't tell him if the attack left internal wounds or any other type of damage. All he could do is to carry them further into the cave.