The sun rose on a scene of grim carnage. Boxcutter had collapsed from exhaustion shortly after using her skill and was now sleeping soundly near the dwindling bonfire, oblivious to the world. I had spent the entire night by Blaze's side.
"Heal… Heal…" I chanted mentally, my hand glowing green as I poured every ounce of my meager MP into her ruined leg. It was a slow, agonizing process. The flesh was knitting back together, but the bone was shattered beyond my Level 1 skill's ability to mend quickly. Her leg would be saved, but she wouldn't be walking on it for a while. She had passed out from the pain hours ago, her face pale and drawn.
The other survivors huddled together on the far side of the clearing, whispering in hushed, fearful tones. The three deaths had terrified them. The atmosphere was thick with despair.
Suddenly, the sound of someone crashing through the undergrowth startled everyone. A guy stumbled into the clearing, his clothes torn, his body covered in deep cuts and a strange, slimy residue. He collapsed near our fire, gasping for breath. I recognized him as one of the five players who hadn't been in the clearing last night. He had only one hand now; the other was a mangled, bleeding stump.
"Help… please…" he rasped.
I rushed to his side, my own MP completely drained. "What happened? Where are the others?"
He coughed, a thin trickle of blood dribbling from his lips. "Gone… all of them, gone…" His eyes were wide with a terror I had only seen on Blaze's face last night. "We found a pond… thought it was a good spot to camp for the night. We were wrong."
He took a shuddering breath. "A python… it was massive. As thick as a tree trunk. It came out of the water after dark. It… it swallowed Marionette whole. Didn't even chew." His voice broke. "The rest of us… we tried to fight it. But it was too fast. It constricted Dexter until we heard his bones snap. The others… eaten. I only got away because I stabbed its eye. It thrashed around in pain, and I just… I ran."
A cold dread washed over the clearing. The Bear wasn't a random event. It seemed that night was when the truly lethal monsters came out to hunt.
It also meant that Boxcutter must have gotten a lot of points for killing the bear. And Blaze should have gotten some points for the assist as well.
The remaining player count was thirteen. With a squad limit of five, only two full squads could advance.
The dynamic in the clearing shifted instantly. Fear was replaced by a desperate, calculating greed. Everyone's eyes were now on the two unconscious women and, by extension, the kids and me. We were the gatekeepers to survival.
A short guy with dark circles under his eyes was the first to approach. "Hey, uh, Bandage, is that your name?" he started, trying for a friendly tone that didn't suit him. "Look, we're all in this together, right? That Boxcutter girl… your girlfriend... Put in a good word for me, huh? I'm a good shot. I can be useful. You still have some spots for squad mates."
Before I could answer, another player, a timid-looking girl, stepped forward. "No, pick me! I'm a Scout! I can find safe paths!"
Soon, I was surrounded. Everyone was pleading their case, offering their skills, promising their loyalty. They saw two paths to survival, and they were desperate to get on one of them. The tension was suffocating. This game wasn't just about fighting monsters. It was about to become a brutal contest of politics and alliances, and I was stuck right in the middle.
"I'm sorry, but..." I side-eyed Boxcutter to make sure she was indeed out cold. Then I resumed my healing. "Actually, I have no say in what that girl does. You'll have to ask her yourself."
"Nah, dude, don't say no to me... I'm sure you can do something. After all, without five people, you lot can't pass either."
"Yes, it has to be someone, so why not us?"
These two were desperate; maybe the three who died last night were their teammates. It was indeed troublesome. It's clear that three of the thirteen wouldn't be able to pass, no matter what, and those who can't find a squad would have nothing to lose.
Meaning they could get dangerous.
"That's not important right now. We can't stay here," Blaze rasped, finally regaining consciousness late in the morning. She tried to sit up, then winced, clutching her heavily bandaged leg. "The clearing is a death trap. We need shelter. Something defensible."
She was right. The open space that had seemed like a safe camping point was now nothing more than a feeding ground for nocturnal horrors.
Boxcutter woke up shortly after, groaning and clutching her head. She looked drained, but the moment she saw me tending to Blaze, a familiar, possessive glint returned to her eyes.
"What are you all staring at?" she snapped at the other players who were still lingering hopefully. "Get lost and find your own points. Or become monster food. I don't care."
Her threat worked. The players scattered, though they didn't go far, still hoping for a change of heart.
The decision was made. We needed to find a new base. We left the python survivor, whose name was apparently JungleJoe, to watch over the camp while the rest of us began to search the surrounding forest. I left Blaze there as she couldn't walk, while Boxcutter scouted ahead, her energy seemingly boundless despite her earlier exhaustion. Some of the other players tried to follow us, but Boxcutter glared at them until they stopped.
"It's annoying. What do these idiots need from me?" she scoffed, picking up her pace.
"They want to join your squad. They're also hoping that you'd lend them some points," I explained. "By the way... how much did you get for that bear?"
Boxcutter stopped dead in her tracks. Shit, did I sound too interested?
"Oh, what do we have here? Are you perhaps hoping I'd share them with you?" Her eyes shone with menace, and a smile formed on her face. It wasn't a good smile.
I hesitated. What should I tell her? Of course I wanted her points. Why would I get myself in trouble for points if she had a surplus? As a healer, I wasn't sure I would be able to kill enough monsters in the remaining two days.
"I mean, since we are in a squad, me having enough points is necessary for us..." I tried to play it cool.
"Oh, is that right? Sure, I got a lot of points from the bear murder. I also got a night-kill bonus, so the total is over 1000. But you see..." She pushed me against a tree and put a hand on my chest, her nose touching mine. "You won't get them for free, you know. You'll have to trade something."
Fuck. She's too close. Wait, that's not important. Did she just say she has over 1000 points? Those are enough points for all thirteen of us, considering we all together have only earned around 300 points.
"What..." I put my hand on hers, trying to push it off my chest. "What do you want?"
A moment later, she pushed me away and resumed walking.
"I'll tell you when the time comes. For now, let's find a place for the night."
Phew. I survived this time.
After an hour of searching, she suddenly stopped. "Over there," she said, pointing toward a rocky outcrop overgrown with vines. "I see something."
We pushed through the thick vegetation and found it: a narrow opening in the rock face, barely large enough for one person to squeeze through at a time. It was a cave.
It was perfect. The entrance was a natural chokepoint. No bear or giant python could get through it. We spent the next few hours cleaning it out. It wasn't deep, just a single chamber, but it was dry and, most importantly, defensible.