2025-11-21 11:01:56Kade woke to screaming.Not close. Maybe half a kilometer away. But getting closer.
He grabbed the machete and moved to the bunker door. The red sky had darkened to deep purple. Night was coming. Daniel sat up, eyes wide with fear. "What's happening?" "Quiet." Kade cracked the door open. Outside, chaos. Players running in every direction. Something was chasing them. Something big. The system flickered. [ZONE EVENT ACTIVATED: THE HUNT] [ZONE BOSS RELEASED: WASTELAND REAPER] [SURVIVE UNTIL DAWN OR ELIMINATE THE BOSS] [TIME UNTIL DAWN: 6 HOURS] A roar shook the ground. Deep. Inhuman. Kade saw it then. A creature the size of a truck. Grey skin. Four legs. Claws like swords. Red eyes scanning the desert. It grabbed a running player. The man didn't even scream before he was torn in half. [PLAYERS REMAINING: 98/100] "Oh God," Daniel whispered behind him. "Oh God, oh God, oh God." "Shut up." Kade closed the door slowly. "It hunts by sound and movement. Stay still. Stay quiet." "That thing will find us!" "Not if you stop talking." Daniel clamped his mouth shut. The creature moved across the sand, sniffing the air. It passed the bunker. Stopped. Kade held his breath. His grip tightened on the machete. Seconds felt like hours. Then it moved on, chasing easier prey. Kade exhaled. "We need to move." "Are you insane? That thing is out there!" "It's hunting the open ground. If we stick to cover and move smart, we can reach the exit while it's busy with others." Daniel looked sick. "You want to use them as bait?" "I want to survive. You got a problem with that?" Daniel said nothing. "Good. Grab supplies. Water. Food. One knife. Nothing heavy." Kade checked the system. [EXIT LOCATION: 7.8 KM NORTHWEST] [RECOMMENDED PATH: ROCKY TERRAIN - LESS VISIBILITY] [HOSTILE PLAYERS EN ROUTE: 12] [WASTELAND REAPER: CURRENTLY 1.2 KM SOUTH] They had a window. Small, but enough. "Stay low. Follow my steps exactly. You fall behind, I'm not coming back for you." Daniel nodded, face pale. "Understood." They slipped out into the purple darkness. The desert had transformed. The heat was gone, replaced by cold. Players' bodies dotted the sand. Some are torn apart. Some with knife wounds. The game was turning everyone into animals. Kade moved fast but careful, using rocks and dunes for cover. Daniel kept pace, fear pushing him forward. [HOSTILE PLAYER DETECTED: 50 METERS RIGHT] Kade pulled Daniel behind a boulder. A figure crouched ahead, watching the path and waiting. [PLAYER 67: MARCUS WEBB] [WEAPON: KNIFE] [KILLS: 2] [THREAT LEVEL: MEDIUM] "There's someone ahead," Kade whispered. "How do you—" "Trust me. Go around left. I'll handle it." "Kade, maybe we should just—" "Left. Now. Move when you hear noise." Daniel crawled away into the shadows. Kade picked up a rock. Throw it to the right side. It clattered against the stone. Marcus spun toward the sound. "Who's there?" Kade moved like a ghost. Silent. Fast. His arm wrapped around Marcus's throat before the man could turn back. Marcus thrashed, trying to stab backward with his knife. Kade twisted his wrist until it snapped. The knife fell. The fight left Marcus's body seconds later. [PLAYER 67 ELIMINATED] [+75 EXP] [OBSERVER'S EYE: 48%] Kade let the body drop. He picked up the knife. Good blade. Sharp. "Daniel. Clear." The kid emerged from the shadows, staring at the body. "You killed him." "He would have killed us." "But—" "But nothing." Kade grabbed Daniel's shoulder. "Listen to me. Everyone here signed the same contract. Everyone knew the risks. It's us or them. You understand?" Daniel's jaw tightened. He looked at the body, then at Kade. Something hardened in his eyes. "Yeah. I understand." "Good. Keep moving." They pushed forward. The Reaper's roars echoed in the distance. More screams. More death. [PLAYERS REMAINING: 97/100] Twenty-one dead in hours. The zone was a meat grinder. After an hour of careful movement, Kade spotted it. A massive gate built into a cliff face. Glowing blue lines. The exit. "There," he said. Daniel's face lit up. "We made it?" "Not yet. Look." A group had gathered near the gate. Six players. Armed. They weren't fighting. They were guarding. "Toll booth," Kade muttered. "They're charging people to pass." "Charging what? We don't have anything." "Not money. Lives." Kade watched. A lone player approached the group. Words were exchanged. Then the group attacked. The player went down in seconds. [PLAYERS REMAINING: 97/100] "Animals," Daniel spat. "Smart animals. Control the exit, control everything." "So what do we do?" Kade studied the group. Six was too many for a direct fight. But they were cocky. Relaxed. Not expecting real trouble. The system pinged. [OBSERVER'S EYE: 50%] [NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: WEAK POINT ANALYSIS] [ACTIVATING...] Suddenly, Kade could see it. Glowing spots on each player. Knees. Throats. Temples. Every vulnerable point lit up like a target. He smiled. "We wait for the Reaper." Daniel blinked. "What?" "It's still hunting. Still moving." Kade pointed south. "And it's heading this way." As if on cue, a roar split the night,Closer now. The group at the gate heard it too. Their confidence cracked. They started arguing. "When the Reaper hits them, we run for the exit gate." Daniel stared at him. "You're crazy." "Maybe." Kade gripped his machete. "But I'm alive. And I plan to stay that way." The ground shook.The Reaper appeared in front of the gate attacking toward the guards. The guards scattered like roaches. "Now!" Kade sprinted. Daniel followed. The gate loomed ahead,Blue light surrounded them. [ZONE 1 COMPLETE] [PLAYERS REMAINING: 95/100] [WELCOME TO ZONE 2: THE FACILITY] Kade let out a breath. One zone down. Nine to go. Maya's face filled his mind. Hang on, little sister. I'm coming.
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THE DEFECTOR
"You're not going alone," Elena said.Kade strapped on his vest, checking the clips. "Mei's coming with me.""That's not what I meant.""I know what you meant." He looked up at her. "But if it's a trap, I need you here. Someone has to protect Tyler and Daniel."Elena's jaw tightened. "He tried to kill us, Kade. Multiple times.""And the Council tried to kill him." Kade stood. "The enemy of my enemy—""Is still an enemy.""Maybe. But right now, he's the only one who knows how to get to Victor."Mei appeared from the shadows, a knife already strapped to her thigh. "We need to leave. Coordinates put the meet in Zone 5. That's an hour on foot."Elena grabbed Kade's arm. "If you don't come back—""I will.""Promise me."Kade met her eyes. "I promise."She didn't look convinced.The warehouse sat at the edge of Zone 5, half-collapsed and covered in ice. Broken windows stared down like hollow eyes.Kade and Mei approached slowly, weapons ready."There could be twenty guys in there," Mei whis
GHOST PROTOCOL
Tyler's blood looked black in the dim light.Elena pressed torn fabric against his leg, trying to stop the bleeding. Tyler's face had gone pale, lips trembling."I'm fine," he whispered. "I'm fine."He wasn't fine.Kade stood by the window, staring out at the frozen street. His hands hung at his sides. Empty. Still.Jax was gone.The words kept circling in his head, but they wouldn't land. Wouldn't become real.Daniel paced near the door, rifle gripped tight. "We need to move. That thing is still out there.""His name was Jax," Kade said quietly.Daniel stopped. "What?""Not 'thing.' Jax. His name was Jax."Elena looked up from Tyler's wound. "Kade—""He had a name."Silence filled the room.Then, from somewhere outside, a sound drifted through the walls.Mechanical breathing.Distant. Patient. Searching.Daniel's face went white. "It's close.""We can't stay here," Mei said. She stood near the back wall, device in hand. "The Reaper triangulates heat signatures. Body warmth. He'll fin
THE REAPER
The station felt smaller with Mei inside it.Elena kept her rifle trained on the woman even as Kade explained everything. Tyler listened with wide eyes. Daniel stood near the stairs, silent and tense."She was Sienna's sister," Kade said. "She's here to help.""Or she's here to finish what the Council started," Elena shot back.Mei didn't flinch. She pulled a small device from her pack and set it on the ground. Her fingers moved across the cracked screen."This is the Council's tracking system," she said. "They know general locations. Not exact positions. We show up as heat signatures in zones."She sketched quickly on a torn piece of paper. Lines. Circles. Numbers."The Reaper hunts in patterns. Methodical. He'll sweep the area in grids until he finds his targets.""The Reaper?" Tyler asked.Mei pulled up a grainy photo on the device. A tall figure in dark armor. Face hidden behind a mask. No skin visible. Twin blades strapped to his back. Military rifle in hand.Kade's system flicke
MEI CHEN
Two days had passed since the last fight, but the station still felt uneasy. Like it was holding its breath.Kade sat on a broken bench near the wall, rolling his shoulder slowly. The deep gash Marcus had left was closing faster than it should. The system worked silently inside him, repairing muscle, sealing skin. It didn’t erase the ache. Or the memories.Jax paced back and forth near the platform edge, boots scraping against concrete. “We’re low on food,” he said for the third time. “Another day, maybe two. Then we’re screwed.”Elena stood near the stairs with Daniel and Tyler, rifles ready, eyes sharp. Ever since Sienna’s upload, none of them could relax. It felt like the world had shifted, like something big was moving toward them.“We can’t just sit here,” Tyler said. “Someone needs to go out.”“I’ll go,” Jax said instantly.Kade stood. “Me too.”Elena frowned. “You’re still healing.”“Fast enough,” Kade replied. “Besides, you need someone watching the system alerts. That’s me.”
The Draw
Three days passed in Zone 6.Three days of bitter cold. Of hunting for shelter. Of avoiding wildcards and Marcus's team. Three days of Kade's wounds slowly healing.But not fully healed. Not even close.He moved stiffly. Every breath hurt where Yuki's boot had connected. His arm was wrapped tight where her katana had cut him. The makeshift bandages were already stained red.They'd found a better shelter. An abandoned research station buried in ice. Old. Forgotten. But it had walls. A roof. Protection from the wind.Kade stood watch at the entrance. Scanning the endless white landscape. Looking for threats.He saw her before anyone else.A figure moving through the snow. Alone. Deliberate. Coming straight toward them.Yuki."We've got company," he called back.Jax appeared beside him immediately. Gun raised. "How many?""One.""The katana woman?""Yeah.""You can't fight her. You're still hurt.""I know." Kade gripped his knife anyway. "But she's here for me. Not you. Stay inside.""Ka
First Injury
Yuki's katana gleamed in the white light of Zone 6.Kade tightened his grip on his knife. The blade felt small. Inadequate. Like bringing a toy to a war.Behind him, his group watched from the cave entrance. Unable to help. Unable to look away.Around them, fourteen wildcards formed a loose circle. Watching. Waiting to see the outcome.Mason stood off to the side. Arms crossed. Annoyed that his duel had been stolen."Begin," Yuki said. Not a question. A command.She moved first. Fast. Katana cutting horizontally at chest height.Kade ducked. The blade whistled overhead. He rolled left. Came up. Slashed at her exposed side.She twisted. His knife caught only air. Her boot came up. Caught his ribs. He flew backward. Hit snow hard. Pain exploded through his chest."Too slow," Yuki said. Already closing distance.Kade scrambled up. Barely blocked her next strike. Metal screamed. The impact jarred his arm. She was strong. Stronger than she looked.She pressed forward. Three quick strikes.
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Reader Comments
That's good Kade keep moving! Daniel, you are too young for this sigh
poor Daniel. I hope they both survive 🥹