We ran until our legs ached and our lungs burned like fire, pushing ourselves as far as we could to escape their sight. I couldn't understand how they'd already caught up. This island was massive—there was no way they should've closed the distance so quickly. Either they broke the rules, or they had some kind of superhuman speed.
The ground blurred beneath us as we ran, the grass bending under our feet, branches and trees rushing past. We didn't stop, our breaths coming in sharp gasps, forcing ourselves forward through anything that stood in our way.
We stopped when we found a spot that felt right—a small rise on a hill where the world seemed to hold its breath. From there, we could see the land stretch out before us, an open view to catch anyone approaching before they got too close.
"What the fuck just happened?" Ethan asked, his voice sharp with confusion.
"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Fred added, looking just as rattled.
"I don't know," Hans said, shaking his head. "The enemy's already here. I don't know how, but they're here."
"Why are we running?" Ian snapped. "Let's just turn around and shoot back. We can take them!"
"HELL YEAH! THEY THINK THEY CAN AMBUSH US? WE'LL GIVE 'EM HELL!" Gwen shouted, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade, fiery and defiant.
"Calm it, all of you," Carson said, his tone measured, steady as always. "What we know is this, the enemy's advanced further than we thought possible, and they've ambushed us. It's a tactic, meant to throw us off balance. If we go back now, that's exactly what they'll expect us to do. We can't play into their hands. We'll move in the other direction, watch their every move, and stay sharp. And watch out for Class C—they dropped their positions in the top right. We're at the bottom right."
As always, Carson's voice was a tether, pulling us back from panic. He kept us steady, even if he couldn't erase the worry entirely. How could he? What the enemy had done was so far beyond reason, it clung to our minds like a shadow we couldn't shake.
"I have an idea," Chloe said, her voice cutting through the tension. "We should split up. We can't just stay here all grouped up. If anything goes wrong, we can always use this spot as a meeting place." She gestured to the ground, then pointed toward the mountains. "Three people in formation one, already heading up the mountain we just claimed. The mountain over there, the one diagonally to the left, looks unclaimed. That means, even though we were ambushed, it doesn't necessarily mean they're here. They might've just fired from a distance."
She paused for a moment, eyes scanning the landscape as if she could see everything all at once.
"Formation two will search the area where we were ambushed. Formation three will push ahead. Formation four will move right along the coastline, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be coming. What do you think?"
Her plan wasn't bad. In fact, it was sound. I had almost forgotten she was there. She was quiet in class, barely a whisper between the others. I couldn't say much—wasn't I the same way? Silent, watching the world pass by.
"That sounds good, but what about Ethan and Sylvia? They didn't go. They're still here," Ian said, his voice sharp, like a cold wind that cuts through a crack in the door.
Chloe glanced at the two of them, her eyes hardening as if weighing something unseen. "I've got a plan for them," she replied. "Both of them will move quietly, cross the island, and stalk Class B and A. Class C, we push on already."
Sylvia nodded, her face set. "Alright, I'll go for Class A."
Ethan didn't hesitate. "And I'll go for Class B."
"Alright good thinking Chloe, we will commence your plan, got it everyone?"
"got it!" everyone said.
Everyone scattered in their intended directions. My path led me along the right side of the coastline, the waves murmuring against the shore.
Carson, Brook, Marry, and Jerry stayed with me, our mission clear but uneasy: intercept their plans, and if anyone entered our sights, take the shot.
The coastline stretched open ahead, empty and quiet, but to our left, the thick canopy of leaves and tangled branches cast shadows that unsettled the mind.
The bushes loomed dark and silent, hiding whatever might wait within.
At any moment, someone—or something—could burst through and shoot us down before we could react.
The silence was brittle, broken only by the faint sound of gunfire somewhere in the distance. It was hard to tell how far, but it prickled our nerves, urging us forward.
Then we heard it, rustling in the bushes ahead.
We froze. It could have been anything, a small animal, the wind, or worse. We couldn't risk guessing.
Our formation halted, eyes locked on the trembling leaves, weapons raised.
The air felt heavy, thick with expectation.
Then the bushes erupted, figures charging out with guns raised, their movements sharp and sudden as predators, shots rang out.
Jerry and Brook were out, but me, Carson, and Mary managed to escape, just barely, we knew they wouldn't let us go that easy, they'd be on our tails, we couldn't go back to the meeting spot either, we might mess things up for anyone else who had gone back, so we kept running, then I had an idea
"Mary, Carson, split up on this path, Carson, you go right, Mary, you take left, I'll stay up front, there's two of them, they'll have to pick two of us, once they do, we'll corner them at that spot up ahead where the bushes cross the path, from there I'll take care of them"
"What if they come for you?" Carson asked, his voice tense
"I go first, you two go right after"
"Alright, I trust you"
"Me too!"
Of course, I ran first, disappearing from view, then Mary and Carson took their paths as fast as they could, the attackers had seen two of us split off, and they had no choice but to pick a path to follow.
When Mary and Carson arrived, I knelt down, finding a good spot to take my shot, Carson covered me, hiding in a place where he could shoot if necessary
Mary came up fast, but it was close, the bullet from the attacker nearly grazed her, Carson grabbed her, pulling her to safety.
Things were about to get tense, but then they ran up, right into the line of my shot, I didn't hesitate, I took the shot, hitting the guy chasing Carson, Carson did the same, shooting the one chasing Mary
We barely made it out of that one, it was too close, and then I realized what had happened, there had been two of them hiding in the bushes.
One on our left, making the rustling noise that drew our attention, but that was a diversion, the other had been waiting up ahead, shooting at us while the one in the bush took shots too, we couldn't fight back so we ran.
"FUCK!" one of the students yelled
"SHIT! You got us good!" the other added
"Well played, that bush diversion wasn't bad," Carson said, a smirk in his voice
"We thought we had you guys for sure," one of the students replied
"Eh, at least we took out two of you," the other said, shrugging
"Good game, guys, the name's Carson," Carson said with a nod
"GG, Ivory," I said
"Jesus, you almost got me, Mary," Mary added, looking at him.
"Our names are Christ and Handela," one of the students said, offering a slight grin
That brief encounter was only the beginning of what was to come, my thinking hadn't been bad, but it served as a reminder to never drop our guard again, not for a second.
Losing Brook and Jerry was a blow, the loss of manpower would hurt us more than we realized, it was a setback that would deeply affect our team, and that's why we switched to a defensive stance.
Things weren't looking good, our options were running thin, we didn't know what our next move would be, but we knew one thing—wandering off without a plan would be a fatal mistake, we needed to think carefully about every step
"Carson, what's our objective?" I asked, my voice steady but uncertain
"At this point, running with just three of us isn't safe anymore," Carson replied, his tone serious, "Let's head back to the meeting spot, see if anyone's there, then we figure out what to do from there".
"Alright," Mary and I said in unison, the weight of our situation settling in.
As we arrived at the meeting place, there was no one in sight, the area was quiet and empty, when we scanned the whole place, we saw no sign of anyone, it seemed like everyone was either still on the front line or had been eliminated
"It looks like no one came back," Carson muttered, his voice edged with frustration
"What are we going to do now?" Mary asked, her voice carrying a hint of something more, something dangerous
"We need to aid each formation, we'll split into three, pick a formation to back up, got it?"
"NO!" Mary said, her voice dripping with a seductive edge, "I'm staying with you, baby"
"Jane, this isn't the time for this," Carson stammered, his voice nervous, his eyes darting to the ground
"Please, I have to stay with you," Mary purred, stepping closer to him, "Do you really want me to get hurt?"
Carson hesitated, his voice catching in his throat, "No, I don't, but—"
Before he could finish, Mary leaned in, her voice soft and quiet, "Do you really wanna make me cry, baby?" she whispered, her tone like honey, but sharp
I didn't understand how Carson could withstand it, if I were in his place, I'd have cracked in a second, I had to give him credit, he was stronger than I thought.
Then, without warning, Mary stepped closer to Carson, whispering something in his ear, I couldn't hear what she said, but the way Carson's face turned bright red told me everything I needed to know, I felt like a third wheel, like I wasn't even there.
In that moment, all I could think of was that one Yu-Gi-Oh meme, the one where the guy says, "It should've been me, not him!" because that's exactly what this felt like, a bad joke I wasn't a part of.
It didn't take long for Carson to break, his voice barely above a whisper, "Alright, alright, fine, you can go with me, Jane, hey Ivory, sorry about that, you can pick which formation you wanna go to... or not, yeah? Ok!, see you!"
"Ok?" I said, still confused by everything that just happened.
As they walked away, Mary shot me a glance over her shoulder, her eyes glinting with that same seductive look, like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.
After that moment passed, I stood there, torn, unsure of which path I should take, time was slipping away, and I knew I needed to move fast, my classmates were out there, counting on backup, but deciding which formation to follow weighed heavily on me, every second felt like a decision too long.
In the end, I chose to head toward Formation 2, they had gone to investigate the site of an ambush, a dangerous but crucial task, the thought of them needing reinforcements pushed me forward, without hesitation I sprinted along the large dirt trail.
The earth crunching beneath my feet with every step, my focus sharpened as the trees on either side closed in, shadows dancing across the ground like fleeting phantoms, the weight of the encounter earlier still lingered, but I pushed it to the back of my mind, my thoughts now set on reaching my classmates in time.
When I arrived, there was no one in sight, maybe they had gone further than I expected, so I decided to move a little deeper into the area, but I wasn't about to drop my guard again. As I advanced, I heard a rustling in the leaves, I froze, instinct kicking in, I fired quickly and sprinted away, making sure I wasn't leaving myself open to an ambush.
But it was only a bird, it fluttered into the air and disappeared into the trees. I couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't going well, the longer I ran, the more I wondered if the enemy had already eliminated them.
I ran for what felt like hours, growing more exhausted with every step, my stomach aching from the constant motion, sweat soaking my shirt. All I could hear was the sound of my feet pounding the dirt and the distant song of birds, nothing else, until I finally reached the other side of the island. It had taken me at least an hour and a half.
I stopped to catch my breath, trying to steady myself. Where had they gone? I should've crossed paths with them by now, after running across the island at top speed—an hour and a half, about 15 kilometers per hour, pretty impressive for me.
But this wasn't the time to think about my sprinting speed. If I couldn't find them, I'd have to head back to Formation 3, the one Carson and Mary were advancing with, and hope they hadn't run into trouble.
Meanwhile, Class A was huddled together on the left side of the island, quietly discussing their strategies.
"Everyone plays fortress on the mountains we claim," Luther's voice was cold, calculating, "Jina, Leo, Uran, Faye, head to Mountain A, Kon, Liam, Miri, Ten, to Mountain B, Gared, Lisa, Norman, Ken, take Mountain C, Miya, Ran, Mori, Peach, secure Mountain D. You will hold these mountains as if your lives depend on it, because they do. Snipers, Jay, find a position near Mountain A - B, take your shots, ambush anyone who dares approach both, Joe, do the same near Mountain C - D.
The team scattered quickly, each heading to their assigned positions, the strategy unfolding like clockwork. The plan was ruthless—use Class B and C's brute force to overpower anyone they came across, to eliminate the enemy, but in doing so, they'd extend the game's duration, ultimately securing their victory.
"Quite impressive, Luther, what's your prediction?" Vardia asked, her voice laced with intrigue, though it held a cold edge.
Luther smirked, his gaze focused as he considered the possibilities, his voice low and calculated, "There are two ways to win this game. The first is to claim the most mountains by the end of the 7-day timer, and when that clock runs out, the team with the most mountains takes the prize. The second is to be the last team standing, if all others are eliminated and one team survives, they win automatically. Classes B and C, with their aggressive nature, will likely go for option two, aiming to eliminate everyone. D, being the weakest, will be shaken by their lack of confidence, so they'll most likely go with option two as well. No class will back down easily, but if B and C want to dominate, they'll have to face us or each other. If they come for us, we win. If they don't, we still win."
Luther smirked as he watched them move, his eyes cold and sharp. "Do you think it'll work?" he asked, his voice low, filled with dark amusement.
Vardia's lips curled into a sinister grin. "Oh, it will. He won't be able to resist, not for a second."
Luther chuckled darkly, his gaze flickering with a twisted satisfaction. "Heh, you're absolutely right. He won't be able to resist... not at all."