"So, what have we learnt from all this?"
"That the screen thing wants us dead."
"Correct. Anything else?"
"And I have no idea why we haven't felt hungry, tired or pressed since we started the first trial hours ago."
"Really, Max?"
"What? It's concerning!"
Alex sighed, glanced at the items scattered on the ground and the damaged city that looked like the aftermath of a massacre.
Max sniffed the cracked road, sensing a fading scent of motor oil that filled his nostrils. "Yep. Machines were definitely here."
"Could be from vehicles or a truck," Alex stared, adjusting the cloak and belt, placing the sword on his back and the shield on Max's.
"If you say so."
"Now let's go to the tallest building."
"How does it look like?"
"A tall building."
"What if there's more than one?"
"...."
"Then we'll die and finally end this nightmare," Alex shrugged, then went to one of the fallen buildings and climbed with Max following closely behind.
"Y'know, you mind has become more and more dark ever since we passed the tree rat trial."
"Don't you mean squirrels?"
"I know what I said."
They reached the top, standing on the cracked roof that was surprisingly steady and surveyed the city.
They froze as they looked around. They whole place was the size of a small country with a wall built around and majority of the infrastructure destroyed.
The sky was grey and the air was mixed with a mild scent of smoke, blood and decaying flesh as ash drifted in the breeze.
Then, in the center, not too far from where they stood, was a smaller city— a utopia with a clear sky as sunlight reflected off the shiny buildings with greenery growing on the walls and a skyscraper towering at the center.
The two cities were divided— a trench drain in between them that seems to be in a shape of a circle with bridges built, connecting them.
'What the—'
"— hell?! I don't understand this setup."
"Well the cities are divided, so we need to cross that bridge," Alex pointed at the bridge not too far from them then the tall building, "and get to that skyscraper without dying to complete this trial."
"Hmm....." Max looked at the bridge, then the path leading to it that was a slope filled with debris, metal rods, wires and bones like an obstacle course and sighed in frustration. "Then we need to get down slowly. One misstep would severely injure us or kill us."
Alex nodded, walking to the edge, then cautiously taking a stepping on one of the slabs of concrete, avoiding the barred wires, with Max following behind, whimpering everytime the steps wobbled, nearly gazing his paws on the sharp objects.
BZZZZZ
They paused, the sound grew louder as it approaches their location. They exchanged a glance, turning just in time to see a total of fifty drones heading in their direction.
The drones surrounded them from all angles, hovering over their heads, red lights as red dots covered their bodies like targets.
'If these dots are what I think they are, then.....' Alex's heart was beating loudly, echoing in his ears as he slowly took a step down without tearing his gaze away from the flying gadgets in fear, whispering, "Max.... Let's continue getting down slowly."
The canine nodded, quietly following the boy's path. A "fzzt" sound suddenly echoed above them as the red lights grew brighter.
"Oh shi—"
Alex and Max jumped away just as a laser beam aimed for them penetrated the ground while the other melted a rod.
Alex didn't know where he was going at this point, completely allowing his brain to stir his movements, literally running on fear and adrenaline. Recklessly, unexpectedly dodging the lasers and sharp objects with clumsy grace.
Max, however, struggled running with the shield strapped on his back, finding it difficult for him to dodge the beams.
Barely dodging a laser aimed for his head, he tripped on his own paws, stumbling as he tried to balance his footing, tilting sideways until he fell and landed on the shield that grew to the size of a bobsled, sliding down the slope.
Alex jumped on the moment it caught up to him. The shield picked up speed, dodging the obstacles with the duo holding on the edge with their dear lives, their screams echoing across the area as it went up an incline at top speed, launching into the air before crashing the other side into a bush.
The drones hovered above the wreckage of the apocalyptic city, making no move across as their lights flashed ominously before disappearing deeper.
The shield shrunk back to its original size while Max and Alex were catching their breathe as they sat inside the surprisingly spacious bush.
'Damn..... That was so scary... ' Alex thought, hand pressed on his chest, feeling his rapid heart beat as he stared at the ground, traumatized.
Meanwhile, Max stared into space. His thoughts— the treats he wants Alex to buy him if they make it out alive.
Click
[You alive?]
Alex's brown eyes blazed with intense rage as he glared at the screen, "What do you think?!"
[*Shrugs*]
[You only have seventeen hours left. So, hurry up and finish the quest.]
"Answer my questions first. Who or what are you? What the fuck is going on? And what's the reason for all this?!"
[*Annoyed*]
[Just finish the quest!]
"Answer at least one of my questions!"
[No.]
"Ugh— Fine! What's the damn trial again?!"
[*Raised a middle finger*]
"...."
[Trial Three: Enter the biggest building and take the two items without getting killed by robots]
Alex stared at the screen and sighed hard, patting Max's head to snap him out of his daze before crawling out of the bush. Once out, they stood up and stretched their bodies.
"So... What's the plan, bro?"
"...Wing it and hope for the best or die trying."
"Leaving it all to luck, huh? Sounds good," Max straightened up and caught up to the teen, looking around the utopia.
The city was clean, even the roads were shiny, making his eyes squint from the light reflecting off it.
The air was fresh in an artificial way as a hint of disinfectant was barely detected.
The strangest part of the place was that it was quiet. Too quiet to be normal. No cars, flashy billboards, people walking the streets or the chaotic noise kids always cause.
Absolutely nothing but the soft sound of the wind and their heart beat.
"Hey, Alex?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't you find it strange that this place is empty?"
Alex stopped and looked around, the emptiness of the place filled him with unease as goosebumps erupted all over his arms.
'Creepy.'
Suddenly, mechanic stomping echoed across the city, shaking the ground with synchronized steps.
Thinking fast, Max and Alex rushed inside one of the buildings, with its doors conveniently unlocked, then ducked behind the staircase.
They huddled together inside the cloak, covering their mouths just as a group of white androids marched outside, their blue eyes scanning the buildings with the duo held their breath, before marching off.
Once the sound faded of their steps faded from their location, Max and Alex sighed in relief, relaxing their tense muscles and breathed a chuckle.
"That was close...."
"Maybe the cloak does have a skill after all."
"Yeah, mayb—" Max froze, his eyes widened in terror as he stared above them.
"What's wron—" Alex's jaw dropped as he followed his gaze, staring at the bodies that were hanged above them, with some fresh, some decaying and the others skeletons.
And the weirdest part was that the air was floral instead of rotten.
'What the fu—'
[Trial Quest: Survive The Forest
-Escape the forest in 24 hours
-Collect the ten items
-Stay alive
•Duration: 16 hours 25 minutes
•Reward: ???
•Failure: Erasure from existence]