Thomas watched as some of the groups already started to make their way out. He couldn't help as his eyes kept drifting towards Trinity's group, a silent question in their depths. He wondered how she would do, if they would let her help.
He watched in unobjecting horror as Simon took the opportunity to touch her everywhere. He hoped the Beta would not ask for footage. This footage would be archived, like all of his notes on his classes. He did not want to have to explain himself to the Beta, an overly protective father.
Luckily, the cameras had sound, and it would become painfully clear that Trinity told Simon to scent her. Probably not in this exact way, but Thomas understood unmated males' eagerness to be with a woman, especially at that age when they're young and less stable.
He couldn't deny Trinity was bold and clever. Chuckling, he went back to looking at each team equally.
Ryan was on Team Four, and he was glad they hadn't made him the Prize. Luckily, he could actually participate instead of just staying back at their home base. Toby was the leader of their group. And so far, Ryan didn't see any issues with him. "Myself and Ryan are going to go out and scout. You three will stay behind."
Ryan nodded in approval, glad that he would be used right away. Deciding it was best to take both weapons, Ryan tucked the gun into his waistband while picking up the sword as well. He understood the guns were there to level the field for Defectives, but he didn't need a handicap.
Ryan followed behind Toby silently. Looking at the map, Toby decided that they would aim for Team One. They would have to pass Team Five, but he still thought it was the best idea.
As they made their way through the forest, Toby knew he had to watch every step. Not just for him, but for Ryan too. His senses were dull and practically non-existent. He brought Ryan with him because he knew that he would be an easy target. People would instantly go to take him out for the fun of it, and he didn't care if Ryan was taken out of the game. He wouldn't be much use.
The air in the forest was thick with the scent of damp earth and pine, the canopy above filtering the sunlight into shifting patterns on the forest floor. Ryan moved with an almost silent grace, his senses alert, the weight of the sword in his hand a familiar comfort. Beside him, Toby strode with less caution, his focus primarily on their path. They were skirting Team Five's territory, both poised for an ambush, but Ryan's instincts flared with a different kind of warning.
He stopped, subtly shifting his weight. Something was off. A faint tremor in the ground, a subtle disturbance in the air currents he, as a Defective, was acutely attuned to. He had trained with his family all of his life. His senses weren't dull. In fact, his sense of danger was higher than most wolves. He reached out and tapped Toby's shoulder, pointing into the dense undergrowth ahead. "Something's coming," he murmured, his voice low.
Toby merely grunted, not even turning his head. "Relax, Ryan. We're clear here."
Ryan's eyes narrowed. Toby's dismissal was typical, but Ryan trusted his gut. A sudden flash of movement from the trees to their left confirmed his suspicion. Without a second's hesitation, Ryan lunged, shoving Toby hard. "Down!" he barked.
A wolf, sword glinting, burst from the foliage, its blade whistling through the air precisely where Toby's head had been moments before. The attacker snarled, caught off guard by Ryan's intervention.
Simultaneously, a second wolf erupted from the opposite side, engaging Toby, who was now scrambling to recover, the heavy sound of his own breathing echoing in his ears.
Swords clashed, the metallic ring sharp in the forest quiet. Heavy breathing filled the air as the two pairs fought. Ryan, light on his feet, danced around his opponent, deflecting blows with surprising ease. He moved with a fluidity that belied his human form, his strikes precise and calculated. A smirk tugged at his lips. "Is that all you've got?" he taunted, sidestepping a wild swing. "Come on, I thought Team one was supposed to be a challenge. You swing like a pup."
His opponent's eyes blazed with fury, the wolf's pride clearly stung. He pressed his attack with renewed aggression, but his movements became sloppier, more desperate. Ryan parried, then dodged, circling the infuriated wolf. "Getting tired already? This is barely a warm-up."
The wolf roared in frustration, a guttural sound that spoke of primal rage. With a furious grunt, he dropped his sword, his muscles tensing, ready to shift and rip Ryan apart with tooth and claw. It was exactly what Ryan had wanted.
Faster than the eye could follow, Ryan's hand dipped to his waistband. The gun, tucked securely there, was in his grasp in an instant. As the wolf lunged, mid-transformation, Ryan squeezed the trigger rapidly. Five silver pellets whizzed through the air before slamming into the wolf's chest and shoulder with dull thuds. The wolf stumbled, a high-pitched scream tearing from his throat. He crumpled to the ground, writhing, his skin burning from the silver wounds. The pain was excruciating, searing through him.
The wolf's pride had been damaged severely. Even though his skin was burning and he felt like he would die, he still tried to crawl closer to Ryan, his eyes black with his wolf's fury at being outwitted by someone so beneath him: a defective mongrel. He wanted to kill him.
"Stay down," Ryan warned, his voice devoid of emotion, the gun still pointed at the fallen wolf. He noticed the black of the wolf's eyes.
The struggling wolf, glaring up at Ryan, noticed it for a moment. The subtle way that the color drained from Ryan's brown eyes, pitching into the darker, inky black coloring of his wolf. It made him confused. He knew Ryan was a Defective. He could still see the brown in Ryan's eyes, but it was clouded by the black ring becoming thicker, bolder, far more aggressive than it should be for any Defective.
Ryan didn't trust that this wolf wouldn't try to attack him again. With brutal detachment, he kicked him in the head, effectively knocking him unconscious. He didn't worry about the strength he used, knowing that as a wolf, he wouldn't merely heal, but that Ryan didn't have the strength to actually kill him. A simple kick couldn't kill a wolf.
He then spun, his attention shifting to Toby, who was locked in a brutal exchange with the second wolf. Swords continued to clash, the sounds of strained grunts and heavy breathing marking the fierce battle. Toby was holding his own, but the fight was fierce.
Ryan moved like a phantom, slipping through the trees, circling wide around the struggling pair. He crept up behind the unsuspecting wolf, who was entirely focused on Toby. With a final, swift movement, Ryan brought the silver blade of his sword to the wolf's neck, the cold metal a stark warning.
"Game over," Ryan stated, his voice calm, effectively taking both wolves out of the fight.
Toby felt the veins in his neck throb in unrestrained anger. Not only had he been helped by this Defective, he didn't even get to prove himself in a fight against his opponent. He had noticed during the course that Ryan was cocky and arrogant as he challenged Johnny, but he didn't expect him to be so formidable.
The struggling wolf in his arms thought about fighting, unwilling to be taken out by a Defective. With his free hand, Ryan held the gun against the struggling wolf's back.
"Guess it's the hard way," he muttered before stepping back and shooting him in his back four times. The wolf dropped to his knees, screaming, the silver biting into his skin, poisoning his blood quickly.
"Let's go." Ryan said to Toby, taking the lead.
Thomas watched in fascination at Ryan's competency and brutality. He didn't flinch or hold anything back. He was too strong for a Defective. Thomas had noticed before. It didn't make sense. Ryan may be a Defective, but he was an outlier Thomas knew for sure. It seemed that he had all the strength of a wolf without the ability to shift. It was an unexpected delight for Thomas. Ryan would definitely make the others try harder. They wouldn't know that Ryan was an anomaly. They would just think themselves weak.
Jess had been effectively ignored by her group. No one said a word to her. They didn't make her the prize; she was just on the team, kind of. Knowing that no one would give her anything to do or trust her in any way, she grabbed two of the guns, knowing that she'd probably be the only one using them.
She wasn't physically strong, and her stamina was rather low. But Jess had fantastic eyesight. And just like Ryan and Trinity, Grayson had brought them to the shooting range almost every single weekend. She was the best shot out of the three of them.
At the time, she thought it was a waste of time, unsure why he always emphasized that they should know how to protect themselves. He had even brought them on a few hunting trips. At the time, Jess had always complained until she realized she wasn't a bad shot.
"Could I get a hand?" she called out to no one in particular. She was trying to climb a tree just a few steps outside of their home base so she would be able to keep eyes out for any approaching enemies.
Caldera turned to his unwanted teammate, seeing that she wanted to climb a tree. He assumed she wanted to just hide out for the entirety of the game. He didn't think it was a bad option. Nodding to one of his teammates, they went over and helped her up the tree before they went back to creating a plan.
Jess didn't know what her team spoke about. She simply laid down across the thick branch, keeping her eyes peeled for anybody. She was a part of Team Five, but she didn't feel it. They would soon realize they underestimated her.
She watched her entire team leave their home base. Because of her vantage point, she noticed quickly that another team was approaching hers. From the bands they wore on their arm, she could tell it was Team Four.
She thought they would approach her team's section, but they kept walking. She knew that they were too far for her to do anything.
Checking to see if her team would be able to hear her from that distance, "Caldera?" Jess whispered.
Caldera's ears twitched as he heard Jess's soft voice. Looking over his shoulder towards her, he wondered why she was calling his name.
"Up ahead on your right, Team Four is just past. It looks like they're heading towards Team One," she told him.
Caldera's ears picked up the sound of clashing metal and growls easily. A moment after Jess had finished her sentence, he could hear the clash.
Looking to his team, he decided that they would head left instead, making their way to Team Four instead.
Jess waited patiently, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement. She heard the sound of rushing feet before she saw them. Some of her teammates were rushing back to base, as others were locked in decisive battles.
High above the forest floor, Jess lay stretched out on her stomach along a thick, sturdy branch, her gun nestled against her shoulder. Below, chaos erupted. Her team, having engaged Teams Two and Four, was in a fierce melee. The sounds of heavy breathing and frantic shouts carried on the wind. She watched as Caldera, their leader, battled two wolves simultaneously, his sword a blur against the steel of his opponents. Swords clanged, metallic echoes piercing the air. He was good, but the odds were against him, and he was clearly being overpowered. Their "Prize" teammate, seeing an opening, was already making a dash back towards their base, their own breath ragged as they pushed for safety.
Jess's eyes, sharp and calculating, tracked the two wolves who immediately broke off from the fight to pursue their Prize. These two would be the first to fall. With practiced ease, she sighted the lead pursuer. With a deep, steadying breath, two quick, decisive silver pellets whizzed through the air before slamming into the wolf's chest, eliciting a choked cry and sending him stumbling backwards. His companion barely had time to register what happened before two more shots found their mark, hitting him squarely in the chest. Both wolves went down in pain, their shouts of agony echoing through the trees. One of them, screaming on the ground, tried to crawl, but the silver burned, forcing them out of the game.
With the immediate threat to their Prize neutralized, Jess shifted her aim. Caldera was still struggling. She scanned the frantic sword fight, identifying key targets. "Bam! Bam!" Two more shots, precise and impactful, struck one of Caldera's attackers. He roared in pain, dropping his sword and clutching his chest, the burning sensation of the silver rounds forcing him to his knees. He, too, was out, crawling away with desperate whimpers.
Jess quickly aimed at the other wolf engaging Caldera, but she couldn't get a clean shot before the wolf took off back into the forest, unwilling to be her next takedown.
With the odds suddenly tipped in their favor, Caldera and the rest of Team Five pressed their advantage. The remaining wolves, disoriented and without a clear counter to the invisible sniper in the trees, began to disperse. The silver pellets were a game-changer; without a similar ranged weapon, they couldn't risk continued engagement.
Team Five regrouped, making their way back to base, now one player short but having eliminated three of their opponents.
Caldera and the rest of Team Five all stood at the base of the tree, looking up at Jess in a bit of astonishment. They didn't know she was such a good shot. "Why didn't you tell us?" Caldera asked in his rough voice, devoid of any understanding.
"You didn't ask," Jess responded in the same clipped manner.
Caldera knew he had to reform his plan. Jess would be their hidden weapon.
Taking a deep, meditative breath, Mona tried to remind herself that she wasn't supposed to turn on her own teammates. She had been left at their home base with Devin, who she hadn't had much interaction with.
And now that they were alone, she found her need for violence rising. He was treating her as if she was some sort of idiotic bimbo, thinking that she would actually fall into his arms.
She hated 90% of the wolves in the Warrior House. She hadn't found herself attracted to any of them. They were all arrogant, annoying, handsy.
"Do you want me to protect you, I would lose the attitude," Devin told her in his oppressive tone. She was acting as if she hadn't been touched before. He found it insufferable.
Mona decided to throw caution to the wind. As Devin tried to pull her in by her waist, this time she didn't fight him. A satisfied smile graced his lips. Just as he closed the distance, she pulled the trigger on her gun, accidentally shooting him in the leg.
With her meager acting experience, Mona tried to look shocked and remorseful, but there was no hiding the glint of satisfaction in her eyes. "Oh my God, I had no idea that gun was so sensitive." Her words dripping with insincerity.
Devin growled in pain as the stupid bitch actually had the audacity to shoot him. His body shook, wanting to give in to his rage, wanting to rip her to pieces.
"Time!" Thomas yelled, knowing that every wolf in the forest would hear him. He watched Devin and Mona's exchange. It looked like she wasn't as passive as she seemed.
"Choose a new leader. Previous leaders, you are not allowed to speak. If you speak to your team, you will be disqualified. New team leaders, define your strategy to win."
Growling in irritation, Devin walked off the course, heading to the other wolves who would be treated.
Mona hid behind a tree as she heard footsteps coming in her direction. When she noticed the armbands displaying Team Two, she relaxed.
Instead of three of her team coming back, it was only one person. "Where's Devin?" he demanded to know.
"He got shot, he's out of the game." Mona felt her heart rate increase, wondering if he would ask her how Devin got shot. But instead, he was just angry.
She did her best to hide her smile. In truth, she didn't care if she won. At this rate, it seemed like her team would lose.