The boys moved quickly on the way back, their pace faster than before. Confusion and fear hung heavily over them. The second game was about to begin, and the thought of losing their lives gnawed at their already fragile nerves.
Worse than death itself was the fear of the unknown.
They had no idea what the next game would be, no strategy prepared, no way to anticipate what kind of horror awaited them.
Alexander walked ahead, lips moving faintly though no sound escaped. In his mind, every resource they possessed appeared like pieces on a chessboard. If he positioned them correctly, their chances of survival would rise dramatically.
But one mistake—just one—and they would all be finished.
Jamie, meanwhile, was struggling to keep himself together. Sweat clung to his skin as if he had just run a marathon. For a short time, he had managed to forget where they were. The laughter, the conversations, the strange calm that followed the fight—it had almost felt normal.
Now the truth slammed back into his mind.
This place was hell.
The small happiness he had felt earlier dissolved instantly. Images forced themselves into his mind—twisted corpses, shattered faces, lifeless bodies lying in pools of blood. He tried to push them away, but they clung stubbornly, lingering like shadows he couldn't escape.
"Did we make a mistake? letting that guy go."
Bray walked beside him, hands tucked casually into his pockets. His voice remained calm, strangely unaffected by the looming threat.
"We didn't.It's good to do some good in this world."
Jamie forced himself to focus on the conversation, desperate to drag his thoughts away from the spiral of fear.
The words sounded more like reassurance for himself than a true belief.
Ahead of them, their residence slowly came into view.
"I just hope we don't regret it later."
Bray glanced sideways, a teasing smile creeping onto his face.
"Speaking of things we might regret… how did it go with Lora?"
Jamie's heart skipped abeat—not from fear this time, but from the sudden mention of her name.
At first he hesitated to answer,choosing his words carefully. He knew that bray asked him that on purpose and the worst thing he would do was to fall right into his mocking plans.
"It went well!"
He replied, few words but words that saved him from minutes of jokes.
"Finally! Some positive energy around here."
Bray shouted outloud like an extremist.
Jamie smirked slightly, feeling a bit of the pressure lifted from his chest.
"How do you do it?staying positive like this."
Bray shrugged, resting his arms behind his neck in a relaxed stretch.
"It's just my nature."
For a moment, he stared ahead quietly before his voice lowered slightly.
"Where I come from… trying to be happy was all we had to survive."
The weight behind those words didn't go unnoticed.
Bray's past was clearly heavy. It didn't take much imagination to see that the world had forced him to grow up far too quickly. And if they somehow survived these games, no one could even begin to guess what choice he might make when the time came.
"We're here."
Alexander's voice pulled them back to reality.
The fence surrounding their base loomed in front of them.
"Let's get cleaned up."
Bray stepped through the gate first.
It didn't take him seconds to realize that something was immediately wrong.
The windows of their house were wide open.
At first, they assumed it might be Greg.
But then a rich aroma drifted from Greg's house nearby—the unmistakable smell of soup cooking.
That ruled him out.
Which meant only one thing,someone else was inside their home.
Their expressions hardened instantly.
Weapons flashed into their hands as the system materialized them.
Bray stepped forward first, approaching the door cautiously. He pressed his finger against the fingerprint panel beside it. The lock released with a faint mechanical hiss.
He raised a hand toward the others.
"On three."
The boys tightened their grip on their weapons.
"One."
"Two."
Tension coiled in the air.
Just as Bray prepared to say the final number—
The door swung open, not by them but from the inside.
And inside the house was greg , he stood infront them, his arms were full of groceries.
For several seconds, nobody moved. It was like a staring contest,the boys stared at him and greg stared back.
The silence became painfully heavy.
"I… was… getting more supplies… to make soup for everyone."
His voice shrank with each word, the sentence collapsing awkwardly under their suspicious stares.
No one replied.
Their eyes remained fixed on him.
The grocery bags trembled slightly in his arms, and a few loose items slipped free, tumbling onto the ground.
Greg cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Lemme just… leave these at my house."
He shuffled past them quickly, almost squeezing through the small space between their bodies as he retreated toward his own residence. His voice grew quieter with each step until he disappeared inside.
The boys remained still for another moment.
"Unbelievable."
Bray shook his head as they finally stepped inside their house.
"How did he even get in here?"
Jamie looked around in confusion.
"He's one of us,he can access the houses too."
Alexander walked straight into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water.
.....
The Girls' Residence
Charlotte and Lora stood outside their homes, scanning the surrounding streets.
Their eyes moved constantly, restless. They looked like they where waiting for someone.
"She'll be fine."
Lora spoke gently, trying to calm Charlotte, whose tension was becoming increasingly visible.
"I know she will,she's strong."
Charlotte's voice dropped slightly.
The metal gate of the fence creaked open.
Emily appeared at the entrance.
She wore flexible trousers suited for movement, her breathing heavy and uneven. Sweat ran down the sides of her face, clear evidence that she had been running for along time.
"How did it go?"
"Perfect as planned."
"And no one saw you?"
"No one."
Before Charlotte could press further, Lora stepped in.
"Let's go inside."
Lora gestured toward the shattered remains of their original house.
"We can't stay in a doorless house."
Charlotte followed her gaze.
The broken glass. The splintered doorway. The open exposure to the outside world. Not the greatest you would wish to be in.
"You're right.we don't know what the next game will be and we can't take any chances, so we'll use the second house."
The three of them began walking toward the cleaner residence nearby.
Halfway there, Charlotte glanced toward Lora pulling her aside for a two on two conversation that Emily could still overhear.
"Are you okay?"
Lora looked at her in sadness, somehow she knew what Charlotte was referring to. A Connection between two women.
"Yes. Why?"
"I know you liked him."
Lora thought for a moment before answering.
"I did,,but now I feel… different."
Charlotte grinned in return and casually hooked an arm around her neck.
"That feeling It's called freedom."
Then she reached her other arm out and pulled the exhausted Emily closer as well.
"Trust me, girls.Emotions are the last thing you want to deal with in a place like this."
She nudged them both toward the house.
"Let's clean up and celebrate, now we know the commanders location."
.....
Broken Shields Residence
A few minutes later, the boys had washed themselves and gathered together again. The tension in the room had shifted—less chaotic and more focused.
They sat facing each other, looking like they where prepared and with how calm the room was, their was no doubt that it really was the case.
Bray crossed his arms as he started the conversation.
"What's the plan boys?"
"If it's like the first game… we're toast.Everyone's stronger now, they've upgraded their stats."
Alexander leaned back slightly, perhaps to think.
"He's right. I remember the way they looked at us after the last match ."
Jamie nodded slowly. The memories flickered across his mind, the judging glares, the pointing fingers, nothing really positive.
Suddenly bray noticed something in Alexander's hair, it didn't look like a thread or any piece of cloth so it really peaked his interest to the maximum.
"Why are you looking at my head like that!"
Alexander noticed the weird look Bray was giving him.
"What's that yellow thing in your hair?"Bray stepped even closer to him, then with his fore finger and thumb pinched the thing , then with a somewhat violent force, yanked it out on the first try.
"Ow!,that's my hair imbeciles!"
Alexander jerked back, feeling like he could just ounch Bray on the spot. But the thoughts of their friendship pushed him back.
Bray stared at the strand between his fingers.
"Wow…your hair It's turning gold bro."
Jamie leaned closer immediately, curiosity lighting up his face. He pinched the hair between his fingers too.
"Feels like it's metal ."
Thats when realization struck them quite.
Hair turning gold,the golden symbol.
The pieces floated in their minds, trying to connect.
But no clear answer appeared.
What unsettled them most was something else entirely. If that was the case then why did neither Bray nor Jamie had it.
Before any of them could explore the thought further—
A familiar mechanical voice echoed across the sky, the sound loud enough to enter into their house.
[ATTENTION PLAYERS]
[Two hours are over and the latest count shows there is a total of five teams left]
[To advance to the next stage, a team must completely dominate two team bases]
[Any team that dominates three or more bases will advance alone]
Jamie felt his throat tighten.
[All winners will receive a Golden Point and the event will carry on for four hours]
Two new panels appeared on their system screens.
[4:00]
[Broken Shields > 1 Base]
The voice that foreshadowed the blood that was going to to spilled finally faded.
But the tension it left behind spread through the city like wildfire.
They only knew two teams, the Gun symbols and the girls they had just befriended. But two more where still a mystery to them, from what their symbol would be and how their powers would operate.
As if the gods was answering their prayers, a glowing map suddenly appeared across every player's interface, marking the exact location of every team base in the game.
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
Then the final command appeared.
[BEGIN]