Chapter 9 – The Clock is Ticking
The metallic corridors stretched endlessly, cold steel echoing every footstep. Mist from outside had crept in through broken vents, clinging to riveted beams. Each clang, each distant cling of shifting debris, made Kai flinch. This wasn't the forest — it was unnatural, a construct of steel and shadow, every corner a potential ambush.
Kai moved with measured steps, rifle in hand, hatchet strapped at his waist, crossbow slung across his back. Clara mirrored him, scanning overhead catwalks and shadows between crates with precise efficiency. The forest fight still burned in his memory — the scuffle had revealed cracks in Clara's facade, and now her presence was both a comfort and a risk.
A sudden ping on his HUD froze him mid-step. Ducking behind a steel beam, he read the message scrolling across the screen:
[ADMIN MESSAGE – ELARA]
Kai, listen carefully… there are exit points on the map. Only you can get everyone left out of there…
The message garbled before finishing:
…use your admin privileges…
Kai's pulse quickened. Elara had managed to send instructions, but the window was closing. She had been captured again — taken to higher security — and only he had the authority to guide the remaining participants to the exit points.
Clara glanced at him. "What is it?" she asked.
Kai's jaw tightened. "Elara got out… for a moment. She says there are exit points, and only I can get everyone out. She… didn't finish. Something about my admin privileges."
Clara's smirk was faint, calculating. "So we move. Quickly. No distractions."
They advanced cautiously through the industrial maze, mist clinging to the floors and masking dangers. Every clang, every scraping echo could hide infected or panicked players, each step a test of timing and patience.
Finally, the maze opened onto the streets of Havenbrook, the small town eerily silent. Streetlights were dead, the fog curling along collapsed roadways and shattered storefronts. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the pavement, hiding both panicked participants and lurking infected.
As they stepped into the open, a sudden noise made Kai freeze — a scraping metal sound, deliberate and controlled. From the shadowed alley across the street, three figures emerged, rifles raised, eyes wild. Participants — clearly intent on PvP, thinking they could take survivors' gear.
Kai muttered under his breath, "Here we go…"
Clara's rifle rose instinctively. "Engage or run?" she asked, tone low.
Kai exhaled, crossbow ready. "We fight. Or we don't survive."
The three participants opened fire. Kai ducked behind a toppled signpost, firing controlled bursts from his rifle while keeping Clara covered. She responded in kind, her shots precise, suppressing one attacker before he could get closer.
Kai slung his crossbow, knocking down another as the third charged forward. He yanked his hatchet from inventory, swinging in a brutal arc, forcing the charging participant to stumble back. Clara pivoted, taking down the final attacker with a clean rifle shot.
Silence fell again, save for the distant hum of fog and groaning of somewhere in the town — the infected, still lurking. Both breathed hard, adrenaline sharp.
Kai's eyes swept the streets. "Everyone here is dangerous. Not just the infected," he muttered.
Clara nodded, reloading her rifle. "This isn't the forest anymore. Havenbrook isn't safe."
Kai checked his surroundings, scanning for movement. "We keep moving. Every second counts."
Through the darkened streets, they advanced, moving like shadows. The fog thinned slightly, revealing collapsed vehicles, crumbling facades, and faint manipulated light sources — all carefully designed by the Director to disorient them, to slow their progress.
Every step brought them closer to the city center, to survivors, and, hopefully, to the exit points Elara had hinted at. But the ambush reminded them: they weren't just racing the clock — they were racing everyone else, every panicked participant, and the unseen manipulations of the Director himself.
Twenty-one days left. The clock was ticking.
End of Chapter 9