Zephyr, clearly shaken up, moved his hand for a glass of water by his bed, then suddenly— a piercing, metallic screech tore through the compound, vibrating throughout the building.
Zephyr let go of the glass and bolted upright, covering his ears in agony.
Zephyr: "What the—?!"
The sound intensified, drilling into his skull causing him a great deal of pain. He rushed towards his door and swung it open, stepping into the hallway just as other doors burst open around him.
Students poured out, some shouting, some cursing, others panicking.
"What is that damn noise?!"
"Turn it off!"
"Are they insane?!"
At the far end of the hall stood several servants, unmoving. One of them held a strange black music box pulsing with light—the source of the noise.
The shouting grew louder and then—
Click.
The noise stopped. A servant then stepped forward and raised her voice.
"Good, you are all awake."
Groans rippled through the crowd.
"What sort of wake up call is that? Are you all crazy?!"
The servant ignored the shouting, "Please follow us," she continued calmly. "We will be heading to the first event."
A wave of complaints erupted instantly.
"What about food?!"
"Breakfast? Anything?!"
"You wake us up like this so early and refuse us food?!"
The servant didn't flinch and calmly replied, "You will have the opportunity to hunt for your own food in this event. If you desire prepared meals, prove your worth and pass this round."
Murmurs spread. Uneasy, angry, afraid.
"Now move." Said the servant.
They started following the servants, guiding them out of the compound and into nature. They walked for a long time, before reaching a massive stone platform, on top stood a servant, her hands clasped behind her back. The students gathered below, tension thick in the air.
She smiled.
"Good morning, dear participants!"
Silence.
"Today marks your first real day on this island. The first event will begin in one hour!"
She gestured to the forest behind her.
"You will be split into groups of twenty-five to seventy-five participants. Twenty-five of you will be designated as hunters. The rest will be assigned as prey."
A ripple of confusion and uneasiness moved through the crowd.
"The hunter's task is simple, hunt the prey. Each confirmed kill grants one point. A minimum of two points is required to pass."
Her smile sharpened.
"A target is only confirmed once they are lifeless."
Gasps and whispers spread.
"As for the prey, your task is to survive. You will all be spread throughout the forest behind me and remain there for the next twenty-four hours."
She paused.
"If a hunter fails to reach the required points… they will be executed."
Her words echoed.
"Hunters and Prey may form groups. Do whatever you must to survive."
She raised her hand.
"Let us begin assigning the roles."
Names were called rapidly, faces blurring together, fear growing with each announcement.
Then—
"Lazarus Vermillion. Prey."
Lazarus exhaled slowly.
"Zephyr. Prey."
Zephyr clenched his jaw.
"Aron Leven. Prey."
"Well," Aron muttered, "At least now I don't have to kill."
"Lya Belrose. Prey."
Lya's shoulders tightened, "We better stick close guys."
Then the tone shifted.
"Toa Mundo. Hunter."
Toa's expression hardened instantly. "A hunter is a hunter Afterall. I will collect all their heads."
"Ashur Graves. Hunter."
Ashur's face twisted and turned the moment he heard those words, "Ooh Darva, the feeling of the hunt is exhilarating!"
And finally came the last participant.
"Arneb Lucile. Hunter."
Arneb tilted his head, practically drooling from the mouth. "Ooh the sweet smell of blood mixed with soil. I can't wait…" he said while licking his hand.
Zephyr swallowed, "What the hell is wrong with him?! This is gonna be really bad."
The servant raised her voice once more, "The hunters will remain here, and the prey will enter the forest." She paused for a moment before continuing, "The prey will have a grace period of 15 minutes to hide. Your timer starts now." She blew a horn simultaneously.
The participants exploded with motion.
Zephyr and his group ran, the tree's swallowed them almost immediately.
Zephyr: "We shouldn't split up guys."
Aron: "I agree, we should all stay close."
Fifteen minutes later—
Another horn blasted.
"The hunters have been released. Good luck!"
Explosions echoed. And soon after so did screams.
Aron: "What the hell?!" he shouted.
Lazarus: "Ignore it we can't afford to help them." he said while trying to ignore the cries.
They didn't stop running, however it was all futile in the end.
Sand particles started to fill the air, soon it turned into a full sandstorm. The air was thick, and nearly impossible to see through.
Zephyr: "Agh! What the hell?!"
A roaring wall of sand rose through the ground barely missing them.
A figure then appeared before them.
Arneb: "Hohoho, you're going to be my next targets." He sized all of them up before releasing an attack focused on separating them.
Arneb: "SAND CORE: WAILING SAND VORTEX!"
A massive tornado of sand quickly formed and was rapidly sucking them in.
Aron: "THIS LOOKS BAD GUYS!" he yelled to the others.
Lazarus: "DAMNIT WE'RE GONNA BE SEPERATED!"
Lya: "WE CAN MEET UP LATER!"
The group was flung to all corners of the forest, leaving Zephyr behind in the vortex.
Zephyr, who now had been raised over 80 meters in the sky, tried to locate Arneb amidst the vortex, and in a matter of milliseconds he did.
Zephyr wasted no time, "LIGHTNING CORE: FLASHSTEP!", his body deformed into pure lightning and in only 0.001 seconds he struck the ground behind Arneb, who hadn't even perceived what had happened yet.
Moments after Arneb had perceived things, he turned back in utter shock to see Zephyr standing five meters behind him, smoking all over from the impact.
Arneb: "What the hell?! How did you even—", before he could finish his sentence, his face was already in the palm of Zephyr's and was slammed into the ground, creating a crater 10 meters wide and 3 meters deep.
Arneb bled badly from the mouth and head, and stood up in the midst of the crater, visibly infuriated.
Arneb: "Why you little brat!" he flailed his arms around randomly, "SAND CORE: DESERT BLADES"
Multiple spiked columns of sand began to rise from the ground in the direction of Zephyr, however due to his enhanced perception, he managed to dodge them all but one which grazed his side.
Zephyr groaned in pain but held on as he flashed towards Arneb once more, grabbing him by the throat.
Arneb, who was now at the mercy of Zephyr, was held by the throat with an immense force. He started gasping for air, pleading Zephyr to spare him.
Arneb: "P-please h-have merc-cy…" he said while trying to claw at Zephyr as an act of defiance.
Zephyr's voice was quiet, "Tell me, how many have you eliminated?" He said while loosening his grip so Arneb could speak.
Arneb, albeit barely, spoke up, "T-Two."
Zephyr's eyes hardened in fury, tightening his grip even more.
Zephyr: "Tell me did you have mercy on them?! Did you stop when they were begging for their lives?! Monsters like you don't deserve mercy."
Arneb's eyes filled with tears, "P-please im b-begging you, I p-promise I wont h-harm a-anyone else—"
Zephyr, who had had enough of Arneb, crushed his neck instantly, Arneb's lifeless body fell to the ground the moment Zephyr released his grip.
Zephyr, solemnly looking at Arneb's body, "You will harm anyone no more, may your soul find peace and incarnate into something better."
Zephyr then started to get a move on and started walking around the forest in order to find his friends.