2025-11-21 11:19:19Cold metal floor. Fluorescent lights buzzing overhead.
Kade opened his eyes. The desert was gone. He was lying in a corridor. White walls. Steel doors. The smell of chemicals and something rotten underneath. Daniel groaned beside him. "Where are we?" "Zone 2." Kade stood, checking his weapons. Machete. Two knives. Still there. The system flickered. [ZONE 2: THE FACILITY] [OBJECTIVE: FIND THE EXIT KEY AND ESCAPE] [WARNING: ZONE HAZARDS ACTIVE] [PLAYERS REMAINING: 95/100] A voice echoed through hidden speakers. "WELCOME TO THE FACILITY. THIS ZONE REQUIRES INTELLIGENCE, NOT JUST STRENGTH. FIND THE EXIT KEY. ESCAPE BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT." "TIME LIMIT: 48 HOURS." "GOOD LUCK." The speakers went dead. Daniel looked around nervously. "Exit key? What does that mean?" "Means we search." Kade started walking. "Stay close." The corridor stretched endlessly. Identical doors on both sides. Some are open. Some are locked. The lights flickered every few seconds, shadows that played tricks on the eyes. Kade checked the first open door. A laboratory. Broken equipment. Shattered glass. Old bloodstains on the floor. "Someone died here," Daniel whispered. "Probably more than one." The system pinged. [SCANNING ROOM...] [ITEM DETECTED: MEDICAL KIT] [LOCATION: CABINET, LEFT WALL] Kade moved to the cabinet Inside there was a small medical kit. Bandages. Painkillers. Basic but useful. "How did you know that was there?" Daniel asked. "Instinct." Daniel didn't believe him. But he didn't push either. Smart kid. They continued down the corridor. More rooms. More death. Old computers with cracked screens. Files scattered everywhere. Kade grabbed a few pages. Research notes. "PROJECT CULLING - PHASE 3" "Subject survival rate: 12%" "Recommendation: Increase psychological pressure. Weak candidates eliminate themselves." Daniel read over his shoulder. "They've done this before." "Many times." Kade dropped the papers. "We're not the first. Won't be the last." "That's sick." "That's reality. Keep moving." A sound ahead. Footsteps. Multiple. Kade raised his hand. Stop. [HOSTILE PLAYERS DETECTED: 4] [DISTANCE: 30 METERS] [WEAPONS: PIPES, KNIVES] Voices echoed down the corridor. "I'm telling you, I saw two come this way." "Good. We need their supplies." "The big guy said there were no witnesses. Kill them quick." Kade pulled Daniel into a side room. Dark. Empty. They pressed against the wall. The footsteps grew closer. Passed their door. Keep going. Daniel exhaled shakily. "That was close." "Too close." Kade checked the system. "There's a group hunting players. Organized. We need to avoid them." "Or?" "Or we kill them first." Daniel swallowed. "I was afraid you'd say that." They waited until the footsteps faded completely. Then I moved again. Deeper into the facility. The layout was a maze. Corridors splitting into more corridors. Stairs leading up and down. The system helped, marking paths and threats, but even it couldn't predict everything. [ANOMALY DETECTED] [UNKNOWN SIGNAL AHEAD] [PROCEED WITH CAUTION] Kade slowed. A large door ahead. Different from the others. Reinforced steel. A keypad beside it. "What's in there?" Daniel asked. "Only one way to find out." Kade examined the keypad. The system scanned it. [ACCESS CODE REQUIRED] [HINT: CHECK ADMINISTRATION OFFICE - FLOOR 3] "We need a code." Kade memorized the location. "Floor 3. Let's go." They found stairs and climbed. The higher floors were worse. More bodies. Players who didn't make it. Some were killed by others. Claw marks on the walls. "What made those?" Daniel's voice trembled. Kade didn't answer. He didn't want to know. Floor 3. Administration. The sign was barely readable, covered in dried blood. The office was trashed. Desks overturned. Papers everywhere. But in the corner, a safe. Small. Electronic lock. [SAFE DETECTED] [CONTENTS: EXIT KEY + ACCESS CODE] [LOCK: FINGERPRINT REQUIRED] "Fingerprint?" Daniel groaned. "Whose fingerprint?" Kade scanned the room. A body slumped in the corner. Lab coat. ID badge. "DR. HELENA VOSS - FACILITY ADMINISTRATOR" He walked to the body. He grabbed the cold hand and pressed the thumb to the scanner. The safe clicked open. Inside, a keycard and a slip of paper. The code: “ 7749 “. "Got it." Kade pocketed both. A scream echoed from downstairs. Then gunfire ,then silence. [PLAYERS REMAINING: 93/100] "We need to move. Now." They ran back down the stairs. The facility had become a warzone. Players fighting everywhere. Alliances forming and breaking. Trust was poison here. Kade avoided every conflict. Slipped through shadows. Used the system to track enemies before they appeared. They reached the reinforced door. Kade punched in the code. “7749”. The light turned green. The door slid open. Inside was an elevator. One button. Down. "This is it?" Daniel asked. They stepped inside. The doors closed. The elevator hummed.. [EXIT KEY VALIDATED] [ZONE 2 COMPLETE] [PROCEEDING TO ZONE 3] [PLAYERS REMAINING: 93/100] Daniel leaned against the wall, exhausted. "Six dead just while we were moving." "It'll get worse." "How do you know?" "Because that's how these things work." Kade stared at the descending numbers. "Each zone is harder than the last. Fewer players. Higher stakes." "And you think we can make it? All ten zones?" Kade thought of Maya. Her smile. Her weak voice saying he always saved her. "I don't think so. I know." The elevator stopped. The doors opened. The smell of wet stone. [WELCOME TO ZONE 3: THE UNDERGROUND] Kade gripped his machete and stepped forward. Eight zones left. Ninety -three players to outlast. He wasn't stopping now.
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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
I am rooting for the both of you! Although I want only Kadr to win he has earned it
I'm glad they finish zone 2 together. Daniel and Kade have become friends without even realizing it.