Understanding the next sequence, without wasting another second, Devin hugged August's hand, and he dragged her hands to run. "We are leaving as much as we can!" he ordered.
While running a few meters in front of them, a new player safely landed on the game Arena with safe blue emitting light. "They will arrive here soon!" He warned.
"We need to warn them. They don't know!" August suggested it as he ran towards the new player's direction.
"August, stop!" Devin hissed and ran back.
August raises her hands and waves towards them. "Hello, everyone!!! You guys need to run and find a safe place to hide. This is not a safe place to stand here..." August was trying to explain the consequences, but before that, one of the players stepped forward and interrupted. "Are you nuts? Look at this girl—she's already losing it." A young college man teased and mocked her dialogue.
"Is this part of the show? Is there a bar nearby?" Other players laughed in a humiliated way.
Watching their mock and laugh, Devin stepped in, his face dark with terror. He grabbed August's arm. "Forget them. They're already dead. We have to hide!"
"Devin, stop! You're hurting me!" she pleaded as she tried to get her hand out of his strong grip.
Devin loosened his grip and paused for a moment. "You're not serious about our situation. You think I don't want to help?" he questioned, his voice a sharp roar. " I spent my life in a white coat, August! But in here, every person you carry is a weight that pulls you underwater." His fingers swiped back his messy curls and exhaled to calm him. "If you don't want to find your friends' means, just stay here and keep helping everyone daily, okay! But just leave me; I want to save my sister. She is my world."
"B-But I want to save some of them," she replied.
Devin shook his head, refusing to accept her sudden kindness. "No, no. I don't think this is going to work out," he said, his voice filled with urgency. "You can do whatever you want, but my priority is saving my sister. I don't want to die today!" With determination, he took her hand and headed to the settings to pair the devices.
"Beep"
"Okay, our devices get paired; we both know each other's locations," Devin said, pressing a small smile and letting out a deep breath before leaving her. "Be safe, okay! I can't die here anymore. I am sorry, August!" he turned and kept running without turning back.
Then, Devin kept running for ten minutes, but he couldn't shake his inner feelings to leave her alone. He slowed down his running speed and, turning back, he switched on the paired connection to see where August was located, but it still showed the signal of where he had left. "Why is she still there?"
Again, he refreshed to check the internet connection, but still, she is there.
"Ahh! Fuck! "She's so stubborn!" he shouted and returned towards her.
A few minutes ago, a disappointed smile appeared on August's lips, but she wasn't shattered by Devin's words; instead, she stood alone and eagerly waited to save people. "It's okay, Devin. I know how to save myself and my friend without you!" She vowed, and looking at the distance, people were running and being chased by the flesh-eating monster.
She immediately went to the door, which looked like a normal house, but looked a bit older and cheaper. She scanned the watch to check the entry fees.
The display showed "3,000 Points".
"Thank God, I have 15,000 points, which means I can save at least 4 people." She thought as she instantly returned to the road.
"Hey, hurry up!" She raised her hand and waved towards the distant crowd.
At the corner, a pregnant woman and her husband emerged from a nearby alley, struggling to walk in a small space. She gasped, "Honey, I can't... Just go without me."
"Come on, hurry! we almost reached," he urged, glancing at her in concern.
From a distance, August's voice called out, "Hurry up!"
The husband pointed to August, who was waving and jumping to get their attention. "Someone survived over there," he said.
A pregnant woman got a sudden hope by hearing a voice, and she suggested, "We should ask that girl for help."
With a determined nod, they both moved forward, seeking assistance.
When both stepped onto the road, watching an upcoming crowd, they thought they had made the wrong decision.
A woman softly pleaded, "Could you please help me?"
Hearing a voice, August turned to see them and asked, "Oh! I'm sorry... How long have you been here?"
"Not long, we run out of points. Can you help us to stay today with your points?" the husband requested in a lower, humble, begging tone and knelt, clasping his hands together in a gesture as he continued, "Please, at least save my wife and daughter!" His voice broke with emotion as he cried out.
August couldn't respond quickly in shock at his begging manner, and she breathed, stepped back and helped him to his feet. "Oh, please, brother, don't do this. It makes me feel bad. I am willing to help four people; I have only enough points. Don't worry, I'll make sure you both are safe, alright?" She confidently said, and three of them went forward to the door; she scanned her watch.
[Entry fee = 3000 points]
[Willing to pay]
[Yes] [Cancel]
August entered the double times, and both entered the house. "You also come here," the pregnant woman suggested.
"No, I can save another two people; wait, I will be back," August said and took her feet towards the road.
Devin arrived at the August location, his eyes widening when he saw a crowd of zombies chasing new people, all heading in his direction. "Has she lost her mind?" he thought, feeling a surge of urgency as he rushed toward the house.
At that moment, a zombie crowd and people were engaged in a fierce struggle close to August. In a split second, Devin assessed the situation, quickly paid the entry fee, and with a swift motion, opened the door and pulled August inside, just as the door slammed shut.
In that force, August fell into the wooden floor with a slight scrape on her hand. "What's wrong with you?" She yelled as she looked above to scold, but she paused, her jaw clenched, and she rose herself and walked out like nothing.
"Are you crazy? You're acting like a child, and we can't save everyone, August." Devin roared; his voice echoed in the whole hall.
With a soft click, the door opened, and the pregnant couple came out of the room. "Is everything okay?" They asked in a confused tone.
"Yeah! Please, you guys, take a rest!" August responded, masking her inner anger with a wide smile.
"Beep"
August looked at her watch. A golden light erupted from the screen. She clicked the notification,
[REWARD CREDITED: 50,000 POINTS]
[NEW BADGE UNLOCKED: SAVIOUR]
[TOTAL BALANCE: 56,000 POINTS]
[TOTAL POINTS OBTAINED: 76,000 POINTS]
August's gaze widened in shock as her hand closed her mouth automatically in disbelief. "What the hell?" She hissed.
Noticing her shock, "Is everything okay?" Devin asked, grabbed her wrist and stared at her screen, the gold light reflecting in his eyes. He couldn't believe that even helping in a bad situation could pay the life.
"What? Saving the people also gets rewarded?" he said, in disbelief. "It's so interesting... Which means if we can save more, we can get more!"
Again, a sharp, piercing, jagged alarm wailed from every skyscraper.