ã€ŠA Warm Bed &amp; A Hot Showerã€‹


 Prologue: Wow, Im a Hero at Day One?!

    ¡°In the name of Christ is everybody alright?!¡± A voice shouted.

    "Fuck am I tripping in class?!¡±

    ¡°What happened to my chair?¡±

    ¡°Why is it so dark all of a sudden?¡±

    ---

    Everybody panicked. Just moments ago we were in class, learning our usual Monday Language & Literature. But now, everything was dark. Brandon tried to make sense of everything but found himself lost in a sea of questions.

    The ominous echoes of the cave, the water dripping over his head, and the faint chittering of something small. Probably a rat or something. There¡¯s no doubt about it. He''s in a cave.

    ¡ªBut why the fuck was he in a cave?

    Click!

    ¡°Oh, sorry there Hardey.¡± For a second there, the sun seemed to dawn on his face. That¡¯s before he realized, it was actually Mr.Abe¡¯s Iphone that dawned on his face.

    "Mr.Abe! What happenning? Why is it so dark all of a sudden?" His friend, Garry was the first to ask.

    "Frankly, I don''t know any more than you do, Garry." Mr.Abe looked around, still bewildered.

    "How could you not know?! Our parents paid you to take care of us." Cassimir ranted. But deep down, he probably already knew that his rants weren''t going to get him anywhere.

    "Well, I still don''t know where we are, Cassimir." Mr.Abe said, trying to assess the situation. ¡°Now, can we just do a little class count to see if everyone¡¯s here?¡±

    ¡°One.¡±

    ¡°T¡ªTwo.¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°Four.¡±

    ---

    As soon as the seventeenth student finished her count, Mr.Abe¡¯s brows wrinkled. ¡°Are we missing two students?¡± No one answered. ¡°Did everyone count already?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr.Abe, everybody did their count.¡± Susan, the class president assured Mr.Abe. Even in the dark, she looked pretty.

    ¡°Then, we really are missing two people.¡± Mr.Abe paused before raising his flashlight to make sure.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s Brian.¡± Someone from the back said.

    ¡°Ok, at least we know. What about the other one?¡± Again, no one answered.

    Looking around, he couldn¡¯t see the walls or even the ceiling. The only thing he could see was the mossy, overgrown floor. He also saw that he had stepped on something smelly.

    ¡°Eww, shit...¡± It looks like he stepped on shit. A big one too.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, sir!¡± A high-pitched voice suddenly emerged from the back. Oh, it was Cindy. Damn, clutz. ¡°Eighteen!¡±

    Mr.Abe sighed, ¡°That¡¯s one out of the way.¡±

    Now that he thought about it since Mr.Abe had collected their phones earlier, none of them had anything close to a flashlight. That means, the only source of light they had was Mr.Abe''s iPhone

    Even with Mr.Abe¡¯s flashlight¡ª Wait, what the fuck is that?

    ¡°Uh Mr.Abe, what¡¯s that behind you?¡± Brandon said.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Looking confused, he turned his head around.

    CHOMP!

    Something latched unto Mr.Abe¡¯s face. It had pearly white eyes, and brown skin as dirty as the soil. It looked like a small midget but was far uglier to be called human. The creature¡¯s yellow fangs sunk deeper into his skull¡ª with a crunch¡ª Its hands hugging Mr.Abe''s face.

    His blood began dripping all over his uniform and down to the mossy overgrowns. Ohm, I get it, we''re in this TV show thing, right?

    We could hear him scream¡ª his muffled screams¡ª but we did nothing. All of us were paralyzed in the moment, staring befuddled at what just happened.

    And that¡¯s when another one joined in¡­ and another¡­ and another¡­

    All until what we saw of Mr.Abe, was practically hidden by the sheer number of those brown freaks, just clawing the flesh with their small little hands.

    I gasped for air, trying to tell myself that it''s going to be ok when actually, it''s not.

    ¡°AAAAAAAHHHH!!!¡± Kayl screamed, and suddenly they all stopped eating.

    They looked at her. With a synchronized gasp, we looked at her. For a moment, it was as if we all knew what would happen to her.

    ¡°RUN!!!¡± Someone shouted.

    ¡°I¡ªI DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE!!!¡±

    ¡°SAVE ME!!!¡±

    ---

    Brandon ran as though his life depended on it, and so did the others. They ran in all directions. He could hear Cassimir tripping to the ground, groaning as he fell. He was screaming for help all the way until he stopped. The monsters laughed maniacally in unison. Hooting at their feast.

    Another one even strugg¡ª wait was that Susan?! Shit!

    "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" She screamed.

    No. Fuck. No more. Please don¡¯t. He didn¡¯t want to hear any of that anymore.

    ¡°No more. Please, no more.¡­¡± Brandon whimpered. Thinking that he was a coward for leaving Susan behind.

    Trying to drown all that painful noise before suddenly falling. His body rolled down a slope into a hole until he eventually hit the floor. All of a sudden, his head was forcefully grabbed and his mouth sealed shut.

    Just as he thought that he was going to die, he heard someone''s voice that washed him with relief.

    ¡°Shut up! Shut. Up. If you don''t stop crying, I swear. If those THINGS don''t kill you. I. Fucking. Will.¡± He threatened intensely as his words spat on Brandon¡¯s ear. "I''M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?"

    Brandon¡¯s hands held tightly on the man¡¯s elbow as he choked him. He couldn¡¯t breathe. He nodded as soon as he got what the guy was trying to say.

    ¡°Good. That¡¯s good.¡± He sighed. The strength of his choke weakened, allowing him to breathe.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to let go now, alright?¡±

    Brandon nodded again. After he did so, the man pulled away. Staying a good meter away from him.

    Both of them stayed quiet, allowing the noise from outside takeover the underground. Funny. It''s like they were under the underground. The screams seemed farther away than they were before, but they were still there. His friends were probably still running away from those freaks.

    "..."

    The air around them got awkward. With the whole thing happening, he wasn''t exactly surprised. But then again, Brandon was still worried about his friends. Not that he had many, but they were still his friends, you know?

    They were probably dead now.

    ¡°You¡¯re Brian, aren¡¯t you?¡± He asked.

    For a while, the figure in the darkness didn¡¯t answer. Squinting his eyes, Brandon could vaguely see that he was rummaging through something, but didn¡¯t know what it was. It looked like a box.

    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t talk too loudly.¡± The guy whispered as he stuffed something into¡ª what seemed like¡ª his bag. ¡°And yes, I¡¯m Brian."You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    He was right, it turns out he was Brian after all. ¡°Where¡­ where were you?¡±

    Brian stopped what he was doing, turning his head around to Brandon¡¯s direction, ¡°Where was I?¡±

    ¡°When those th¡ªthings jumped on Mister Abe...¡± He gulped as he remembered the bloody scene, ¡°¡ªWhere were you!?¡±

    He was angry. Angry and confused. Did he seriously have to choke him like that? And, why the hell wasn¡¯t he there with them? How the hell was he safe in here?! Inside this hole? When no one else could fucking see in the dark?!

    ¡°I was on my way back from the toilet.¡± Brian sighed as he explained, ¡°But after I blinked, I was already under this tree.¡±

    ¡°Tree?¡± Brandon furrowed his brow, ¡°What the hell? Aren¡¯t we in a cave?¡±

    ¡°Yes. it also appears that we''re in a cave.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Neither of them said anything after that. Opting for a change in topic, Brandon said, "We¡¯re gonna die, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    He didn¡¯t really want Brian to answer that question, actually.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Brian started taking something out from his bag, ¡°We might.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t the answer Brandon was expecting. If anything, he expected him to say something else.

    ¡°But first, I need to ask you a few questions.¡±

    The two spent some time talking to each other, with Brian asking most of the questions. Contrary to what other people might be thinking, this was the first time that they had spoken to each other. Brian being the loner between them (Brandon was also a loney, but at least he had friends), preferred to stay alone and didn''t really talk often.

    His looks weren¡¯t bad, but they weren¡¯t great either. He had your usual black hair and black eyes, just like any other Chinese you would find. There wasn¡¯t anything remarkable about the guy, just like there wasn''t anything remarkable about him either.

    ¡ªNow that he thought about it, he didn¡¯t exactly know much about Brian besides the obvious ones. So he couldn''t say for sure.

    ¡°What about those monsters?¡± Brian asked, for the second time. ¡°What do they look like? What happened after she screamed? And why weren¡¯t you chased by them?¡±

    Brandon twitched, ¡°They¡¯re like animals. No. Wait, I take it back. They¡¯re just as you said. Monsters. They have bleached white eyes, big yellow teeth, and stringy long hands that make your spine crawl.¡±

    ¡°They may be as tall as a midget, but¡ª they killed Mr.Abe and laughed when they did it. I''m probably alive because I didn''t scream for jack shit.¡± He grinned uneasily, ¡°Heh, we¡¯re probably the only ones left.¡±

    For the second time, light dawned on his face. It was Brian¡¯s flashlight, and he was standing right in front of him.

    ¡°I have a plan, but I need your help.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°This is stupid.¡± Brandon''s thought as his nose wrinkled in agony, ¡°This is so stupid¡­¡±

    Here he was, smeared with monster shit and cave moss.

    After being thoroughly convinced by Brian, Brandon was now out of the hole. Scared shitless. Who knew that loner was actually good at talking. Trying to calm himself down he walked¡ª with Brian¡¯s flash on his left and a rusty sword on his right¡ª for about 5 meters outside the hole before coming to a stop.

    ¡°¡­¡± Standing still, he looked around. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything, just moss everywhere.

    Turning around, Brandon found that the hole he had fallen in, was under a large underground tree. Complete with dead leaves and brown roots. Looks like Brian was right.

    ¡°Anything?¡± With a whisper so impossibly small, it was a miracle that Brandon was able to hear it.

    ¡°¡­¡± He shook his head and gave him a thumbs up.

    After doing so, Brian proceeded to creep towards him with his bag, filled with loot. Apparently, he had found what seemed like an old chest back in the hole. Why that chest was there, however, they had no clue and decided not to question it.

    Besides having plenty of termites running around, however, it also had a few rotten pieces of equipment that might come in handy for what they were about to do.

    ¡°¡­¡± Brian grabbed onto Brandon¡¯s shoulder, and after doing so, their legs began to inch slowly. Really, really slowly.

    The tension was rising. His palms were sweating like crazy. Completely to Brandon¡¯s dismay, it was Brian¡¯s idea that these creatures were blind. He didn¡¯t know what kind of series from Natural Geographic did Brian watch, but deep down he didn''t really care.

    He was just a bit concerned about him being in the front with a sword while Brian was behind him. It was his argument that he needed someone watching his back, and it was actually Brian that was suffering the risks by not having a weapon. But he couldn''t help but feel sketchy and ill-feeling as he said so.

    Unfortunately for him, there was no room for thought other than his fear for death.

    Tap! Tap!

    Feeling like someone had tapped him on his shoulder, he turned around to look at Brian, who was gesturing him something.

    ¡°Keep calm, and DON¡¯T walk on the moss.¡± It seemed to say.

    ¡°¡­¡± Brandon paused before nodding.

    Walking on the stony parts of the ground, he noticed that it was quite slippery.

    No wonder some of his friends had tripped as they ran, he thought. Poor Cassimir, he had always made things fun in class, even if he was a spoiled brat sometimes. Damn monsters.

    "..."

    Now wasn¡¯t the time to be whining though. They had to find the exit. There had to be one. For these complex underground creatures to live, Brian thought that there had to be some cave system big enough to support the inhabitants.

    "..."

    Was Brian always this smart? He wouldn¡¯t say anything about it. Brandon wondered as his thoughts went everywhere, yet nowhere.

    A few minutes of silently inching in, they began seeing dead bodies. Their blood scattered everywhere. One had a large hole on his back, while another had holes all over his body. The one Brandon found most horrifying, though, was his one classmate who was missing his head.

    Blood leaked from their bodies, making puddles. It was deathly quiet. Almost too quiet.

    ¡°Huurgh¡­¡± Brandon vomited on the floor.

    He couldn¡¯t take it anymore. His friends were all dead. And he did nothing to stop it. How could he? How could he leave Garry, and Susan, and Kayl to die? He should¡¯ve been the one who died, not them. Not them. If he were given another chance to risk his life to save his friends, he would probably take it.

    But now, because of him, those freaks¡¯ll kill them both.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve left.¡± The tension on Brian¡¯s fists disappeared. His face was as pale as Brandon¡¯s. ¡°If they hadn¡¯t, I would¡¯ve killed you myself.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you said that twice already.¡± Brandon chuckled dryly.

    ¡°Whatever.¡± Brian shrugged it off, ¡°We should get going. They could¡¯ve heard us¡ª¡°

    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!¡± A scream echoed through the cave.

    "..."

    ¡°NOOOO!!! PLEASE, STOP!!!¡± The scream echoed again.

    ''Why did it sound familiar?'' Brian thought.

    ¡°Is that Susan?! Oh my god. OH MY GOD!!! SUSAAANN!!!¡± Brandon shouted in joy. She was alive. Christ, she¡¯s alive! Fueled by the guilt of leaving his friend behind, he was suddenly determined to bring her back. Alive. Never before had he been so courageous in his life.

    ¡°Brian, we have to save Susan¡ª¡° He turned around to meet Brian.

    ¡ªOnly to find that he was gone.

    ¡°Brian?¡± Looking around, he saw a glimpse of someone running away with another flashlight. It looks like he had another one he kept to himself. Brandon stared at his fleeting figure, ¡°Seriously? You''re running away? Why the fuck are you running away? We need to save her!¡±

    Without stopping nor turning around, the shadowy figure kept running.

    ¡°Fuck...¡± Gripping on his sword tightly, he sprinted towards the direction of her screams. He was wasting time. Never mind making noise, none of it mattered now.

    He could hear Susan¡¯s screams getting closer and closer. Yet, there was something about the atmosphere that seemed amiss. Now that he realized it, it wasn¡¯t just her that was screaming. Other girls were screaming with her, though not quite as fierce as she was.

    He could hear rhythmic claps, just like ones you would hear in a po...

    ¡°Shit!¡± He feared the worst had happened already. Rushing towards her, he could hear the moans and the struggles of the girls getting louder. He could hear the monsters laughing, delightfully enjoying their meal.

    His baggy pants shook under the rush of his legs. The moss stamped violently below his feet. The wind howled. Storms began swirling inside him. He couldn¡¯t keep the anger brewing inside him. Please. It can¡¯t be.

    <hr>

    Brandon entered a crevice on the far walls of the cave.

    Noises echoed from inside told him of what was already happening.

    He saw it with his own eyes. Those brown midgets were raping the girls. Gangbanging them together. Their clothes, torn to pieces. Weeping and crying as they were forcefully thrashed from behind.

    "HAAAAARGH!!!" Suddenly filled with anger, Brandon rushed towards the nearest midget and viciously slashed the monster''s nape with his sword, and struck another on its chest, and another one...

    Although the sword was rusty, it didn''t disappoint him. A vein was struck, blood began flowing out like a fountain dyeing his clothes red with its blood. Two of the monsters dropped dead on the ground, while the one who was stabbed on its stomach only cried in pain as it crawled backwards.

    Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

    Even the girls stopped crying for help. For it seemed, it has arrived in the form of a kid with baggy pants. It was quiet again. The calm before the storm. He couldn''t help but notice something big in the back, so with his flashlight, he flashed it at the thing.

    "..." Words couldn''t express the regret he was feeling.

    It was like a taller version of the midgets. Its facial features were much sharper than its siblings. With a pointy chin, knife-looking teeth, elf-like ears, and eyes that stared at him like daggers. It exuded an atmosphere far more dangerous than its peers. It was growling at him. Like a wolf that had his meal spoiled by a sheep.

    ¡ªAnd of course, Susan was beneath him. Just perfect.

    It was a wonder that they hadn''t heard him shouting outside before.

    "Bran¡ªBrandon..." Kayl muttered weakly, as she stood from the ground. "Is that you?"

    "..." He dropped his flashlight on the ground and held the sword with both hands. There were too many of them. He was no longer playing Dungeons&Dragons anymore, no longer reading a wuxia web novel, no longer watching a Marvel movie. Wait, that last one might be like that one scene with Quicksilver though.

    At least... at least he wouldn''t be doing it like a boring old guy doing nine-to-five jobs all his life. Yeah, though he would be doing it like an idiot who risked his life for nothing... he''ll do his best to get at least one of them out. Brandon couldn''t fathom saving Susan. Even if she was his crush.

    He may not be able to save Susan, but he wouldn''t be able to get out anyways. Not anymore. Today, Brandon decided that he was going to be a hero.

    "Heck, yeah I am." He said, trying to look as cool as he could be. "Now, this is the part where you run, sweetheart." He always wanted to say something like that.

    She cringed a bit when he said ''sweetheart''. But after turning around to look behind, she looked back at Brandon with hopeful eyes.

    "If you meet Brian, tell him that he''s a fucking coward. And I fucking hate him." Oddly, Brandon was smiling as he said so, "But tell him I said thank you too. If it wasn''t for him I would have¡ª"

    One of the monsters jumped at him. Brandon slashed its stomach open as the corpse flung to the side.

    "If it wasn''t for him," He panted for air and thought of something different to say, "You wouldn''t be alive right now."

    The monsters jumped at him, but Brandon persisted to hack them away. She stared at awe of who was supposed to be a cowardly nerd at class, turn into her savior. All the girls stared at him, similarly shocked in awe. Not wasting her opportunity, she ran towards the exit before stopping in front of it.

    "Thank you." She whispered, before running away.

    The elation from her gratitude was temporary as he was bombarded by the sheer number of those monsters. One got hold of his leg, another ripped apart his elbow. The sword won''t be able to last that long either and was basically dull after his last strike.

    "AAAAARRGGHHH!!!" He yelled in pain. But continued to rage and rage against the odds. He kicked the monster biting his leg and slashed another jumping towards him.

    He hadn''t actually killed any more of those fiends after the first few moments of the fight. The blade was caked with fat and blood. It''s dull. If it wasn''t disappointing him before, it was disappointing him now.

    Wait, is this it? Really? He couldn''t feel his left hand anymore. And could barely stand. Honest to God, he expected more than that from himself. Like, maybe, kill the big boss and save the day. But he guessed that he was asking too much.

    "Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Shit. Fuuuuuuuckkk!!!" He was seriously going to die, huh?! It hurt like hell. It was tough enough to last this long, but he did his best, didn''t he?! Aw, crud. His eyes were starting to get blurry. Man, and here he was wearing glasses too.

    "Huuuuurghh..." His gaze wandered upstairs, while his body was in pain. Not like this, he didn''t actually want to die. He wanted to save Susan, and all the other girls.

    "Hargh!" His slash missed.

    "Die!..." He failed to hit anything again.

    "COME ONN!!!" His grip slipped as he slashed, throwing the sword away from him.

    "..." Everyone stared at his pitiful struggles.

    Brandon began crying under his glasses. He clenched his teeth in frustration. Life was unfair. The world is unfair. No one is treated equally. Just once, he wanted to feel like one of those heroes in Dungeons&Dragons. Just once he wanted to be a Marvel Superhero.

    But he guessed that he went a bit too deep into this mud to pull himself out.

    "Fuck. I''m so dumb. Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. Sorry nasty drake bro. Sorry D&D squad. Guess, Brandy''s gonna meet Jesus n¡ª"

    CHOMP!

    One got to his face, and he fell to the ground. All the monsters began laughing at Brandon. Even without eyes, they could smell the stench of the pathetic fool. One by one, they began to throw him around. Playing with their food. Before eventually eating it.

 Its Your Fault (1)

    "Huuuurrghh..."

    His head was bleeding. His school uniform soiled and dirtied. Walking with the wall as his crutch, he made his way into the light. After searching forever, Brian thought, he had finally made it. Through sheer determination, ability, and a bit of luck, he trumped the odds.

    But most importantly, he survived.

    "Huh?" Contrary to his thoughts, however, it appears that this was not the exit. Let alone, the end.

    No. He was greeted with the sight of a small forest, inside what appeared to be a dome made out of shiny blueish crystals. Even from afar, Brian could see glints of different¡ª yet stunningly beautiful¡ª colors.

    "...HAHAHAHA!!!" From a distance, Brian could hear someone laughing deliriously.

    "Impending death, of course! Danger lurks among you. I can smell it." Its voice was deep and obscure as it spoke. "Especially on the skin."

    Curious, Brian crept closer, standing behind a tree for coverage. Taking a small peek, his eyes went wide open. Everyone from school was here, including the teachers. He thought he was alone when he appeared in that tree, but when he met Brandon, he found that the people in his class appeared as well. But only, when he was here, did he realize the full extent of the ''Blink'' incident.

    Yet everyone seemed scared. Fearful, even. It was obvious that they were circling something, but he couldn''t see it. Although they were standing at a very open space, the crowd was still too dense.

    "Ehehehe," He chuckled at a joke that seemed like only he would understand, "As promised, I shall promptly announce now... a small little prophecy. A divination, if you will."

    Brian started climbing up a tree. Even with a vertigo, he could still manage something as simple as this.

    "All will starve. The search for food will be met with death."

    "My gifts will corrupt only the weak. Men will be consumed by power."

    Reaching just high enough, he was able to see... Oh my god.

    "Factions will form. The innocent will die. Wars will be razed."

    "The flesh will lust. Sex will be free. Women will be mere symbols."

    A creature made of thorns, wearing a crown made out of spikes. Its voice wasn''t loud, but it echoed through everyone just because of how silent everything was. It showed its teeth as it smiled, stretching it into unbelievable proportions. Yet, it hadn''t moved it a single bit as it spoke.

    "And lastly, yet... so excruciatingly important. So important for you to remember..." Everyone tensed as he said so. "Don''t forget your warm beds and your hot showers. They''re really important!"

    No one could tell if he was being serious or not.

    "..."

    "But oh! Remember, children. No matter how much my gifts may seem funny to you." Just when you thought it was impossible, its smile stretched further. "They really. Really. Aren''t."

    "..."

    "Getting quiet already? Well, don''t mull over it just because I sent you here for my own enjoyment."

    "Oh, those who have been chosen by yours truly should attribute their points already. You''re making me tired. Truly. With my gifts, your destinies are surely bright, you''ll make great leaders, I can assure you. " It said with a tone so blatantly sarcastic.

    "W¡ªWhat about us?!" A random boy with freckles said, "We''re not chosen or acknowledged!"

    "If you weren''t chosen nor acknowledged then you''re out of luck. Your quality is simply trash."

    "Enough introductions, my job here is done." Yawning, the mysteriously playful but spiky creature said. "I''ll be watching you all from now on. Don''t disappoint me. Goodbye."

    Exuding a black smoke from its mouth, his whole figure was quickly enshrouded with it. Before anyone knew what happened, it was already gone.

    <hr>

    All the teachers had gloomy faces after listening to the thorny creature and were currently discussing something important. The students, however, all minded their own business. Mostly in maximum chatterbox mode about what had happened.

    Some of the younger guys were crying. Some of them were even discussing conspiracy theories about the whole thing. Some of them were talking about how scary that spiky creature was. Some of them were talking about how beautiful those crystals were Some of them were talking about something else entirely (as though everything wasn''t even concerning enough for them). The list goes on.

    But what was most concerning to Brian right now, was a peculiar discussion happening amongst the nerds. Talking fanatically¡ª almost enthusiastically¡ª about how all of this was like a videogame.

    Now, this piece of information came in quite astonishing to young Brian, so he was very determined on eavesdropping them.

    "Dude, this is totally like Skyrim man! All the stats?! he abilities? The points system?! The quests?! You''re so fucking lucky dude."This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    "No you Deattthh Knoob," A nerdier young man said. He had braces, "It''s more like World of Warcraft. Though, I suppose a bit of it is¡ª"

    "No, you idiots. You are clearly not chosen." Another nerd with a cape on shook his head. "This... this is a lot more like Dungeons&Dragons. The progenitor of WoW. The great ancestor of Skyrim. The father to all future MMO and MMORPG games."

    "Bow to the Dungeon Master." One of them said.

    "No. You''re wrong." He shook his head again with his deep profound look, "Bow to the Red Dragon."

    All the nerds bowed in unison. Brian didn''t know what kind of game Dungeons&Dragons, or WoW, or Skyrim, or World of Warcraft was. Though he had a sneaking suspicion that it all had something to do with their situation here. Squinting his eyes, he paid closer attention.

    "Now, watch." The Dungeon Master went silent. The other nerds followed suit. Growing in anticipation. "Status."

    A holographic yellow screen appeared in front of him. Displaying words, numbers, and other things that Brian couldn''t see from his angle. Everything was flipped from his perspective. If he tried hard enough, he could read it. But if he''d be making himself more suspicious if he stared at them like that.

    All the nerds started clapping at the Dungeon Master.

    "Status." He said under his nose.

    "..."

    Nothing happened.

    It looks like he wasn''t chosen. That''s a shame. Oh, wait. Maybe it''s because he wasn''t there before. When that creep started talking, Brian was still trying to find the exit. So maybe it wasn''t able to choose him. But then again, maybe not. He couldn''t really make any conclusions about it.

    "Uuuhh..." Brian sighed.

    His vertigo was getting better. Tripping in the cave was a mistake on his part (It was slippery!). At least he was able to get a thing or two from this eavesdropping session. One being the system, and the other being the ''Blink'' incident (As Brian would coin it).

    Apparently, most of the people from his school were transported here, in this forest of some kind. While he and his class, however, were transported into their own demise. Brian was still a bit pale from the scene, but feigning ignorance was a wonderous thing.

    He thought Brandon had also been quite good at it. Though, if it weren''t for him panicking back there, he probably wouldn''t have left him.

    Grabbing his bag, he left the crowd and went into the forest. He made¡ª yet another mental note¡ª to count how many people survived. He had a lot of mental notes to cover today.

    Recalling the little prophecy, Brian frowned.

    "I need to find food. That''s a given. But how?" Brian racked his brain for answers as he started writing in his notebook.

    He thought of a few ways of getting food, but he currently had three problems.

    1. Brian didn''t know if the food he was getting was safe to eat.

    2. Brian didn''t have safe means of getting the food.

    3. Brian didn''t have a safe way to store food. Otherwise, he''ll get robbed.

    And these were just a few problems with getting food. He hadn''t thought of the other things he had to think about yet. There were too many variables, and too many of the kind he couldn''t see. Unlike most of his classmates, Brian knew how horrible things could get just without food. Just imagining it made his spine shiver.

    "I should focus on gathering enough people to make a group first, though." Brian nodded, "That''ll increase my chances of finding food and my chances of survival."

    After writing everything in his book, he hid everything else inside the hole of a normal-looking tree. Taking his flip knife out, he wrote a small but inconspicuous little sign on the tree. Just in case he forgot.

    After finishing his third errand of the day, he went back to the crowd. Hopefully, no one had noticed that his bag was suddenly missing. He didn''t want more trouble from something that was meant to keep it away.

    "BRIAN!!!" He heard a high-pitched yell coming from the crowd. "WHERE''S BRIAN!!!"

    "Ugh, great. Someone screaming my nickname in the middle of a crowd. Just the thing I need." Brian hissed in frustration. He made a mental note to deal with this situation with his ''nickname''.

    Walking out of the shadow of the trees, Brian could see her perfectly. Too perfectly, in fact. She was partly naked, her shirt almost completely out of the way. He could even see her ripe youthful nipples and those perfect D-Cups. Her thighs with that blue skirt just barely hanging. Her brown hair was messy. Her skin was grazed and dirty. Yet, her eyes had this certain determined look.

    Even though she wasn''t in the middle, everyone was staring at her with gaping eyes.

    Most of the girls stared at her with disgust. Talking about how she was such an exhibitionist. The boys and even some of the men, however, were a different case. Some were stoic about it, trying to get her to calm down (She threatened to kick his balls if he didn''t stay back). But most of them, though, were just enjoying the arousal from the view.

    "God, she''s such a slut. Look, she''s not even ashamed."

    "I mean, a dirty slut is always a dirty slut you know?"

    "I always knew Kayl was an exhibitionist. In class, I saw her..."

    ---

    "Ooooh, shit man. Look at her tits!!! Now that''s fukin quality."

    "I wonder what happened with her back though..."

    "Who cares? Check out her skirt hanging on her ass like that. You don''t see that every day!"

    "Even though she''s dirty dude? Sorry, no."

    ---

    "Damn, cockroaches," Brian muttered in contempt.

    ¡ªBut that wasn''t even the issue. If those slash scars on her back were really from those monsters earlier, then that means she was among the girls that got captured by them earlier (Maybe). And that in turn, also means Brandon had partially succeeded in his part. Even if he didn''t get to save Susan, that idiot was still a hero.

    "I should get him to join my group when I see him." Brian nodded to himself, "Courage is good. A bit too sudden with his righteous, but that has its benefits as well."

    With a plan in mind, it was time to execute it.

    "Hi, sorry." He yelled at her with apologetic eyes. Everyone looked at him. "You''re Kayl, right? My name''s Sam! Are you looking for Brian?"

    Granted, blurting out his name immediately like that was a mistake. He made more mental notes in his head to practice acting in different modes.

    Kayl turned to him with beaming eyes.

    "YOU KNOW BRIAN?!?" She asked, her face going through many different emotions. It was hard to say what they were.

    "Yes, we''ve been friends for a long time." Brian decided to keep it as vague as possible, "What is it you wanted to tell him?"

    She suddenly started crying, not knowing what to say first, she blurted out what came into mind.

    "Brandon saved me from those monsters..." She clenched both her fists and her teeth as she said so. Her tears flowing. "Those monsters... after they killed Mr.Abe, they started killing everyone... they laughed after Cassimir died... they laughed when they got Susan... and after they got me, they were laughing when they... they..."

    "..." She paused. Collecting herself, before continuing,

    "...they raped me."

    "...they raped Susan."

    "...they fucked and screwed and banged everyone on the floor until we could hardly fucking move."

    "...we kept screaming for help. For someone to come. Even going as low as begging for them to stop."

    Everyone was speechless.

    The weight of everything when she said that. It couldn''t be described with words. She looked awful. The bloodstain on her ripped uniform. The pain and struggle she had to go through to get here. Suddenly, everyone could see it. Suddenly, everyone could see that her tears weren''t that simple.

    To the boys, she didn''t look so arousing anymore. They were even feeling guilty of themselves. Even rubbing some of her hatred towards the things that attacked her. To the girls, they stopped gossiping about her as she shared her heartfelt emotions.

    "Then Brandon came." She smiled as she said his name, "He came in to save us. He came in with only a flashlight and a sword, and... he saved me." Her eyes sparkled with more indescribable emotion.

    Right, as he expected. Brandon was still alive. He had some gut to jump into danger like that and survive like that. But that experience would definitely benefit him if he wasn''t crippled already.

    "But after I left, I heard him struggling. Screaming and yelling... Then I heard them laughing again." Her face wrinkled in sadness and frustration, "Brandon''s dead."

 Its Your Fault (2)

    After the teachers had finally coaxed Kayl into coming with them, Brian was left alone again. Sitting on a rock, he sighed.

    "Guess that''s one idiot out of the list." He said to himself.

    More (partially) naked girls came after Kayl. All of them looking like they''d gone through hell. Their clothes torn in different places. Shivering as though it was cold. But he knew it wasn''t cold.

    Still, their arrivals gave him hope. In front of the dark tunnels, he waited for Brandon to come. All until the crystals turned orange did he realize that his stomach was growling. It looked as if the sun had set above them.

    "I''m wasting time here. I have to focus." Brian reminded himself.

    He stood up and walked towards the teacher''s area where Kayl was being kept.

    <hr>

    "There''s just too many of us." The man with square glasses and a tie said, "The only thing we have is that pond over there. I checked, there''re no fishes in it. Even if we find something, how long will that be?! We can''t eat leaves forever."

    "We have to go into the tunnels," A fat old man said grimly, "Gather all the teachers that''re chosen and some from the senior students if it''s not enough. Whatever''s inside there killed Abe. Smith, Rachel, Jorge, Stevenson, & Gregarius''s class are also missing.

    "That''s already around 100 students..." Another teacher said.

    "Can''t we just call someone¡ª"

    "In case you haven''t noticed yet, we''re in a God. Damn. Cave!" The fat old man yelled, "There is no reception here!"

    The teachers argued among one another. It was becoming obvious what they had to do, but some still hesitated. No one knew what dangers were inside, after all. And they couldn''t just ask those girls either.

    Taking note of the teacher''s condition, Brian kept walking until he saw Kayl and the other girls being treated by the old nurse.

    Kayl looked like she was doing much better than before. A large cloth covered her back. Brian wondered where she''d gotten that, but after seeing the nurse''s torn skirt, he brushed the thought.

    Her eyes though. There was something different about them, but Brian couldn''t tell what it was. It was as if for a split-second, they were dead.

    "You, doing ok?" Brian asked as he gently smiled at her. But then, he saw the old nurse''s scowl as she looked at him.

    "She''s restin'' rite noew, luv. Why don''t ya keep ya stick to ya self. Go on." She said with an accent that seemed to be a mix between British and Norwegian. At least, that was what Brian thought.

    "It''s ok, he''s a friend." She said. It was a weird thing being called a friend, Brian thought.

    "Alright, luv. Doen''t push ya self too hard noew." The nurse smiled at her with loving warmth.

    "Yes, Ms.Ida."

    The nurse stopped tending to Kayl''s bandages for now, giving the two some privacy. He sat beside her.

    "So where''s¡ª" Kayl''s nose suddenly wrinkled. "Auughhh! You smell like shit, Sam! What the fuck?!"

    "Yeah, don''t mind it." Right. He had almost forgotten about that.

    Holding her nose, Kayl sighed, "Anyway, where''s Brian?"

    Then again, she never quite remembered what Brian looked like. She knew that he was from her class, but they never really spoke to each other.

    "I''m Brian." His face turned expressionless, "Surprised? And don''t just scream my name in front of everyone while you''re fucking naked. Even if no one knows me, I''d leave a fucking great impression if a naked girl decides to scream my name out in public."

    Hearing the words ''fuck'' and ''naked'' twice, the nurse turned her head around. Only to find a friendly smiling Brian. Thinking that she was getting old, the nurse dutifully went back to her work.

    "..." Kayl''s mouth was agape. Surely, she was shocked by everything.

    She was about to say something but held it back. Then she was clearly gonna get angry, but couldn''t say anything. In the end, Kayl pursed her lips and pointed her finger at Brian as if to show him that she was mad.

    "Look, I know you''re an exhibitionist. So I''m just going to go straight to the point." He continued, "Everyone will starve. Those who don''t will get robbed. And even if they don''t get robbed, they''ll get killed. Eventually."

    "B¡ªbut that''s... No! Look I''m not an exhibitionist! Besides, that''ll never happen. The teachers will find a way. For sure. We''re teenagers, not animals. We don''t kill each other for food."

    "You''re right. We are teenagers. But that''s what makes it so dangerous." Brian''s face dimmed as he explained the reasoning to her, "The teachers won''t find anything. They won''t help us. They know there''s too many of us. It''ll be too much work."

    "So I''m taking a few people with me." Brian said, "With your close experience with those monsters, we could¡ª"

    "JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!!" She yelled. All the other girls looked at them. Kayl curled herself up into a ball. "Just leave me alone..."

    "No, you still don''t get¡ª"

    The old nurse suddenly gripped on Brian''s shoulder. Tightly. "No luv, ya the one who doesn''t get it yet."

    "But¡ª"

    "Ya should leave. Noew."

    "..." Turning quiet, Brian stood up and walked past the nurse''s glare. Her nose twitched as he did so.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    "Brandon said that you were a fucking coward. And that he fucking hates you..." He could her weeping as she said so. "Those were his last words. I hope you''re happy."

    Brian paused, but he said nothing as he left them.

    <hr>

    If only he had spoken to her more gently¡ª more patiently¡ª then maybe she''d agree to join him.

    But it looks like the tension was getting into his head. He couldn''t blame her. He could only blame himself.

    After deciding what to do next, Brian went to the pond that the teachers had mentioned earlier. Though, it was more like a small lake. He saw a few couples enjoying the beautiful scenery. The orange crystals'' shine reflected on the pond, giving it a warm feeling.

    "Fucking idiots." Maybe it was because he was still angry and bitter, but his pessimism seemed to grow. Brian knew better. These idiots hadn''t seen the horrors yet.

    Taking a sip from it, he found the water to be reasonably drinkable. He made a note to boil the water if he wanted to drink it later and checked to see if it has any fishes. Better safe than sorry.

    Oh, he should probably shower later too.

    And so he went back to the open space. Since his last partner died, and his last recruiting failed, Brian was still alone. He came here to find a partner.

    Slowly, Brian approached a group of people that looked sociable. They downright declined. Then he went and asked a few strays. They awkwardly rejected his offer. After that, he went looking for other loners. When he finally found one, that guy gave him a sneer.

    "Fuck, can''t they see that I''m trying to help them?!" Brian swore in frustration. "What? Can''t take a little shit on your fucking nose?!"

    Slowly, he calmed himself down. He should''ve thought about this more carefully.

    "Ok. Calm down. What should I do?"

    "Hmm, those dogs might help me if I give them some dice..."

    "Fuck, but I don''t know if I brought enough..."

    "I knew I should''ve brought more..."

    "..."

    "...Or maybe I can also give them that hentai¡ª"

    "Did you just say hentai?!"

    The freckled girl beside him interrupted his thoughts. Just as Brian was about to fuck her up with cold roasts and swear words, he saw that sparkle in her eyes. That twinkle. That interest.

    Bingo.

    <hr>

    "The name''s Nancy." She shook his hand while holding her nose. "I''m no man-killer, but I can proudly say that I have a boyfriend."

    "Well, aren''t you straightforward." At least she was better than those idiots.

    "I''m Sam by the way. Here''s the book. Remember, I''m only lending it to you. After you''re done reading, give it back to me. You can only read it when I''m around. In return, I also need your help." Brian explained as he gave her the book.

    They were standing under the shades. Somewhere near the crowded open space. After she agreed to wait, Brian went back to the tree (with his bag) to take the book.

    Nancy wasn''t quite as tall as him (Brian was about 172cm). On top of her uniform, Nancy drabbed a creme colored wool sweater. Her black and wavy hair, only reached her shoulders. Unlike anyone he''d seen so far, Nancy had brown freckles around her nose and cheekbones. Oh, and she also had dimples whenever she smiled.

    "Ok ok, I get it." Nancy beamed as she received the book from his hands.

    "Hmm, not bad. A hentai doujinshi of the famed Sailor Moon series. An alternative rendition of episode 173 from the TV-series where Sailor Moon hooks up with Black Moon instead of T¡ª"

    Wait. Something was wrong. Squinting her eyes at the book, she couldn''t find a single crease on the book. Let alone any dog ears.

    "What the hell?!" She turned the book around. "It''s in mint condition?!? Are you that careful when you read this?! Like, how do you even¡ª"

    She gestured with her fist going back and forth.

    "I never read them." Brian shrugged. It wasn''t his anyway. He was trying to find a good stick. "I just keep it inside the plastic."

    ''Whaaaat,'' She thought. Her mouth gaping. ''This guy''s crazy!''

    "So you''re saying you''ve never read this. Like, ever?!"

    "No."

    "Not even a little?"

    "No."

    "Just a tiny peek?"

    "For the fourth time, No. I''ve never opened it."

    Brian could tell that she was trying to joke around with him, even if they had just met. This wasn''t the first time he met people like her (Though, it was still a first to meet the ''bubbly'' kind). But joking around? That was the last thing he needed.

    At the same time, however, Nancy was utterly confused. A guy who brings hentai to school was definitely a pervert. If it was anyone else who told her otherwise, she would''ve scoffed at them. But looking at this mint-condition doujinshi, and that expressionless face he was giving her, she was having doubts.

    "Then why''d you bring it to school?!¡ª Well, before everything happened anyway." She asked, curious to know.

    "..." Brian ignored her. After finally finding a good straight branch, hanging on one of the trees, he smiled. He took his flip knife out.

    Climbing the tree, he made sure that he had a good hold of it before continuing. Using the serrated part of the flip knife, he began cutting the branch. This was gonna take a while.

    "Oh, don''t tell anyone I have this."

    "You''re not answering my question, why''d you bring it to school?" After being ignored once, Nancy''s interest in knowing only grew.

    "It''s not your business," Brian told her.

    "Oh come on, Sam. Pleaaaseeee..."

    "No."

    "I''m not going until you tell me why."

    "You''re here because I need your help."

    "Then I''m not helping until you tell me why."

    "Give me back the book."

    Her face was terrified, "Ok, ok! Fine. Geez."

    Time quickly passed and the two were quiet. Brian was too occupied in cutting the branch while Nancy was just busy reading the book. She hummed softly as she flipped another page.

    The talk among the crowd was softer than before. Everyone was getting anxious. No one knew what was happening, and it looks like it was starting to get to them. The pressure. Or more specifically, the hunger.

    No one could ignore that thing''s prophecy. Even if some of them thought it was ridiculous.

    Hours had passed since they came here. From the looks of things, the teachers were finally catching unto something. A solution. Seeing ten of them coming out to the open-space (along with some students) with primitive swords and wooden shields. Others were using makeshift torches and flashlights instead of shields too.

    After giving a reassuring speech to everyone to tell them to calm down (Brian didn''t really listen to it), they went towards the tunnel. He could hear the crowd cheering for them. Wishing them good luck. Dispelling some of their worries.

    "They must be chosen," Brian muttered on the tree, "¡ªOr acknowledged. Whatever that is." He made a note to find out.

    He was startled to see them with weapons. But at this point, he thought that he shouldn''t.

    DOOSH!

    When the branch finally fell, Brian sighed. He hadn''t expected the tree to be so dense. But dense was good. A time well spent. He ignored the looks of other students and climbed down.

    "Here, make it sharp. I''m going to take a break." Brian said as he grabbed another two sticks. He wanted to make something else.

    "What?" She stopped reading and looked at him. Puzzled. "You want me to sharpen that? Wait, were you trying to make a spear this whole time?! What do you even want to do with it?"

    "I''m going to find food." He replied.

    "Oh, right. Makes sense." Her stomach rumbled as though it was listening. She was getting hungrier by the minute. It made sense if Sam also wanted to find food. But she wondered where was he gonna get it.

    "Can¡ª Can I just get my boyfriend here? I''m sure he''s also interested in getting food." She asked. Her expression becoming more serious as she said so.

    "Sure. More company is appreciated. So long as my stick is sharpened." He said, brushing the sweat off his forehead. "Oh, and leave the book here."

    She left. Brian was left alone again. With his knife, he continued to make a hole in the middle of one of the sticks.

    "They might just be able to do it. Maybe they''ll find some food. But I still doubt it''ll be enough for all of us."

    After making a big enough hole on the stick, he stuck the other stick in. Making a cross. He took the book with him and walked to a place not far away.

    "..."

    "It''s not entirely impossible that we''re in another world. It might be like Re:Zero all over again." He sighed. He used to watch anime a few years back. Even though there were a lot of trash Isekais nowadays, Re:Zero was one of the few treasures in the sea of mud. It really helped with his depression.

    "Or maybe Sword Art Online..."

    Using his hands, he made a small mound on the ground before writing the name ''Brandon'' on the cross. He stabbed the cross on the mound. He took a few steps back and sighed again.

    "Sorry, Brandon. I know shouldn''t have left you behind." He apologized, but no one answered. "But it was your fault for puking. And it was your fault for screaming. And it was your fucking fault for being an idiot."

    "..." The stick stood firm.

    "I''m sorry." Brian awkwardly scratched his head. He''d never done this before, "I hope you can rest in peace. You saved many people. You died a hero. I know I''m a coward for leaving you behind, and I don''t expect you to forgive me but..."

    "I''m sorry..."

 Festival of The Boars (1)

    "Sam, this is Jasper. He''s my boyfriend." Nancy pointed at her boyfriend.

    "Jasper, this is Sam. My new friend." Nancy pointed at Brian.

    "Nice to meet you." Jasper held his hand to Brian.

    "Likewise." He shook his hand.

    ''Who would''ve known.'' He thought.

    Jasper was a grade above him. The Junior who''d almost won last year''s national competition for basketball. After having acompletelyeven score with the enemy for almost the entire match, Jasper broke his ankle, failing the last dunk. He was quite infamous for it.

    Jasper had a curly coffee-colored hair, almond eyes, and was unsurprisingly taller than Brian by a few inches. He was the kind of guy that would strike anyone as companionable with that smile of his.

    Wearing a Chicago Bulls varsity jacket, he rolled an arm over Nancy''s shoulder.

    "So you''re the guy who gave her that hentai thing, huh?"

    "Lent. I lent her the book."

    "Yeah, whatever." He shrugged.

    Although Brian didn''t like being talked to that way, he didn''t need to like it right now. He turned to Nancy, "So he''ll be the one sharpening it, right?"

    "Yeah..." Nancy slowly turned to Jasper.

    "Wait, you really brought me here to sharpen someone''s stick? I thought you were joking." Jasper looked at Nancy befuddled.

    "Nope, sorryyy. I wasn''t joking."

    "Huh..." He stared at Brian. Expecting answers.

    "I need to find food," Brian said.

    Jasper glanced at his empty stomach. He''d been looking for food inside the dome with his hungry friends. Though they hadn''t found anything besides leaves (and grass). He''d considered going outside, but after seeing the scar on that naked girl, he thought otherwise.

    "Alright, sure. I''ll grind that thing for you." Jasper rubbed his chin, "But we want in."

    "I was planning on inviting you two anyway," Brian replied. At first, nonchalantly. Though, after he remembered what happened to Brandon and the rest of his class, "But it''ll be dangerous."

    Jasper''s face became serious, "Are you going outside?"

    "Yes."

    "Just like those other guys then, huh? I thought you might be lookin for fishes in that pond. Guess not." Jasper sized him up. Head to toe.

    "You chosen?"

    "No."

    "Acknowledged?"

    "No."

    He smirked. "Heh, then why even bother? You saw what happened to Kayl, right? You''ll never survive outside. Even now, the otheracknowledgedare planning on going outside. And they''re not taking abandoned losers like you."

    "Status," Jasper said and a screen appeared in front of him. Displaying his stats.

    "I changed my mind. I was planning on joining those guys, you see? I thought you might give me something else, but I guess not. If you got nothing to offer, me and my girl will be going now."

    "But¡ª" Nancy said.

    "No, Nance. Food is more important than your damn book." Jasper sighed as he stroked her head.

    Just as they were about to leave, Brian clenched his teeth. He didn''t have another choice, did he?

    "I have dice!"

    "...What?" Jasper thought he might''ve misheard him.

    "If you''re willing to help me, I''ll give you some dic¡ª" Brian was punched in the face. It felt like someone had swung a baseball bat straight at him. His mind went blank as he saw stars. His face smashed into the dirty soil.

    "Did you just try to give me drugs?" Brian took a glimpse at him with his blurry vision. Jasper was furious. Although he couldn''t see his face quite clearly, he could still feel it. The anger.

    "Jasper!!! Oh my god, what are you doing! You can''t just hit him like that!"

    "What do you mean?! He was trying to give us drugs! Drugs Nancy! Cocaine! You know what happened to your uncle, right?! I did this for you!"This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Y¡ªYeah, but you can''t just¡ª He was just trying to..."

    It didn''t take long before his vision went black and he couldn''t hear anything anymore.

    <hr>

    "Aww... my head," Brian awoke from the dirt groggily. Having trouble seeing everything, he massaged his shaky head. Everything around him was dark. The only thing he could see was the faint blueish purple from the crystal.

    It looks like everything was the same. Only, it was a bit darker now and he was alone. Brian picked himself up from the ground. Except, he found that his book was missing.

    "Fucking bastard. You gotta be shitting me. That bitch too..." Brian groaned as he tripped again. There was something about that bastard''s punch. It wasn''t normal.

    Brian crawled unto a tree close to him. As he leaned his body on the tree, Brian chuckled.

    "Ughh... Fucking unbelievable. And here I thought everything would be fucking simple..." Unexpected things happen. It''s just life. Even if you thought you were right, even you were completely sure that you were, life kicks you in the knee and tells you to fuck off. Failure, yet again.

    "...Guess there''s no escaping it, huh?" Brian grew silent. If he couldn''t get a group together, fine. He''ll just have to survive alone. He had enough of people''s stupidity anyway.

    Once the dizziness had settled to the point it was bearable, Brian got up. Grabbing the branch he had cut before, Brian began slowly shaving the tip with his knife. Yes, he was groggy. Yes, he was fucking pissed. But none of that mattered. He needed to fucking survive.

    One shave at a time.

    <hr>

    "A wooden spear, five staves, and a dozen rocks."

    The crystals were orange again and the dome was no longer dark. It very much looked like sunrise. The dawn of a new day.

    Brian wore a worn battered chest plate that was part leather and part metal. The old thing smelled like old fungus. The pitiful thing was, the armor only covered his chest and back. Other than a few leather strings, the sides were empty and exposed.

    Although it made room for movement, Brian didn''t feel comfortable leaving it open.

    It also had furry frills on the neck (that was more ornamental than useful). It did make him feel a bit cooler, but he didn''t need cool right now. What a pain. Unfortunately, it was the only thing he had right now

    "..." Brian stood in front of the open tunnels. There were more than just one.

    He remembered the tunnel that led to his classroom''s demise and decided to go with that one. He feared picking the wrong one would lead to his ultimate demise.

    "Fucking hell, here goes nothing..." Brian gulped. The shine from the orange crystals cast shade in front of him. With his bag strapped behind him, his staves stacked on his bag''s water bottle pocket, and his spear ready he took a step forward. There was no going back, it was this or starving.

    He turned his flashlight on as he went in.

    Time passed. After walking in the tunnel for a while¡ª with his spear in front of him¡ª Brian was greeted with more darkness at the end of the way.

    ''It''s quiet...'' Brian thought. The ominous echoes and the atmosphere reminded him of the grueling sight of his dead classmates.

    As he inched to the edge of the tunnel, his nose scrunched in agony. It smelled like shit and rot. He walked in silence.

    His best bet right now would be to gather the moss around the cave and hope they weren''t poisonous. If he could kill one of those freaks, good. If he can''t, then it''s ok.

    ''There it is.'' Brian said in his head.

    The moss was green. It was overgrown to the point where it looked like grass. But it didn''t matter to Brian, he was just fucking hungry at this point.

    Making sure there was nothing around him, he took a plastic bag out and started filling it with moss. He had to hurry. The plastic was making too much noise. He''ll leave once the damn thing was full.

    Scrunch! Scrunch! Scrunch!

    The plastic made a lot more noise than he''d expected. But it didn''t matter. He was almost don¡ª

    He saw something move at the edge of his vision. He turned with panic. Nothing.

    ''Was it just my imagination?'' Brian''s heart thumped with anxiety. He had to hurry! He didn''t want to die.

    Once he was finished, he slung his bag in front and dropped the whole plastic in. He did everything as quietly as he could. With everything done, he strapped the bag and¡ª

    "RAAAARRRGGHHH!!!" A midget jumped at him out of the blue.

    "SHIT!!!" He dropped the flashlight, and as quickly as he could, stabbed the thing before it could get to him. The midget twitched and gagged as its neck was stabbed. Blood leaked as it held on the spear. Struggling with its last remaining life.

    "This is for my class, you piece of shit!" Brian whispered to the monster. He glared at the monster until its hands fell back to its side. It was finally dead.

    ''Fuck, I got carried away.'' Brian swore inside. He picked up the flashlight and ran back with the midget. He didn''t want to attract more of those things. The only thing he needed was foo¡ª

    "HUAAAARRRGGHHH!!!" A second one came jumping at him, and Brian was caught unprepared. He dropped both his spear and flash this time, and guarded his face as the two came tumbling into the ground.

    "Fucking hell!!!" Brian swore out loud. The monster was trying to bite his face, angry and ferocious. Fortunately, his hands managed to grapple the midgets. Without his spear, the two were evenly matched.

    "I will kill you, you son of a bitch!!" Brian threw the midget off of him. But it managed to claw his face. Brian groaned. The monster, more agile than he had expected, landing on all fours.

    The two glared at one another. The other one was blind, but he could feel its ferocity. The monster''s mouth was salivating with hunger. Yet, it''s white eyes were beaming with hatred. It wanted to kill him.

    The spear was too far away for him to reach. Brian grabbed the staves he had made earlier and armed himself with it.

    "You wanna piece of me? Huh? Do you?" He tightened his grip on the staves. The adrenaline practically bombed on his senses, "I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!?"

    As though it was provoked, the monster rushed at him first. The midget sprinted on all its fours, closing the distance quickly.

    Just as Brian thought the midget was about to jump at him again, it didn''t. The monster jumped on the wall and bounced off of it to his side. Brian was caught off-guard.

    "AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" Brian swung his stave to his side.

    Just as it was about to bite his leg, the midget''s head was pierced by the stick. Its efforts were naught. The midget''s body convulsed as seconds later, it died. Blood was shed.

    "Huuuaarrghh!!!" Brian felt something growing inside him. He pulled away and vomited on the ground. Undigested water spilled the floor. It all happened so fast.

    "¡ªNo, not now, Brian! You have to get up right now!" He had made too much noise already. The rest might be coming for him. If he didn''t stop fucking around now, he''ll get himself killed! While drips of the water drooled on his armor, Brian picked up his things and left the tunnels with both their corpses.

    <hr>

    "Arrghh!! Harrghh!!! Hmmmppphhh!!!" Brian downed the cooked midget meat like a mad man.

    After cooking it quietly, far away from the reaches of other hands, Brian cried. He thought that he was going to die.

    ¡ªBut it looks like he''ll live another day.

    Eating the cooked moss on his other hand, Brian was full. He''ll have to smoke the meat so that they won''t rot, but he worries that it''ll attract too much attention. Brian plans on making a small camp outside of the crowd, at the edges of the dome.

    Although he wasn''t sure if the food was safe to eat or not, Brian had neither the tools or the knowledge to do anything about it. Instead of stressing it, he might as well just take the risk. They were meant to be taken anyway.

    "AAAAAAAGGHHH!!!"

    Brian''s body twitched as he heard someone scream. It was a girl. Something was happening in the crowd. Brian took his his armor off and put the fire out. He hid his things in a bush and doubled back to the crowd.

 Festival of The Boars (2)

    Brian stood with the other students. Compared to him, they were all in a wreck. Smelly, hungry, and scared. It''s not a fun sight to look at, especially what they were staring at right now.

    "N¡ªNo way..."

    "They''re all... dead?"

    "Jorge..."

    For an entire night, there were no signs of them. People thought they were dead. Contrary to what Brian thought, the ones who left were only acknowledged. Not chosen. Not a single one of them.

    You see, the group that went into the tunnels yesterday¡ª only one survived.

    He was sitting in front of everyone. His entire body, dripping with blood. Small pieces of meat stuck everywhere around his body. His eyes, dull and empty as everyone watched at him.

    Just thinking about what might''ve happened to him gave shivers down Brian''s spine.

    "It''s not my fault..." The senior mumbled as he stared at the ground. "It''s not my fault... They just... Pop..."

    [ Congratulations on completing the Quest: Don''t Get Poked! ]

    [ Issuing rewards... ]

    [ Congratulations on leveling up to Lvl.2! ]

    [ You have 3 Attribute Points! ]

    A white text projected itself above the young man, and a man''s voice came¡ª out of nowhere¡ª to read the lines.

    It was like being spilled with cold water. People finally realized what they''d gone into. To those who thought that this was a game, this was not a game. Don''t Get Poked?! What kind of a quest was that?!

    Many didn''t have the stomach to look at him. It was horrifying, to say the least.

    A girl fainted as her grim friends rushed to take care of her. Students started moaning in hunger. The situation was getting worse.

    Brian stared at the senior as a few startled teachers¡ª and janitors¡ª went and asked him questions.

    Are you okay? What happened to the teachers? What did you find out there? The senior, however, ignored them.

    A thought suddenly appeared in his mind, ''If all those people had died outside, then how many teachers were left?''

    It sounded stupid to hear himself ask that question since it didn''t matter, but it sort of did.

    "Including 5 teachers that are missing, 8 that are dead... then, these five in front of me... and that old crone..." Brian gasped, "...Are really the only ones left"

    Six. There were only six adults left.

    "Shit, fuck. I nearly died and now this?! If I don''t do anything about this, I''m doomed..." Brian mumbled to himself. He''s starting to lose his composure. Christ, he was really not in the mood for¡ª

    A corpse of a burnt boar with sharp tusks fell in front of him. Brian''s shoulders jolted. He turned to see who did it. Everyone turned to see who did it.

    "..."

    A redhead walked out from the trees behind the senior. He looked skinny and flimsy. Yet with his green eyes, he looked straight back at everyone and showed no fear.

    We watched him with bewilderment and confusion. The redhead didn''t say anything as he called up his status¡ª which was surprisingly glowing red¡ª and pressed a few buttons. More boar bodies poured out of the screen, seemingly out of nowhere, making a heap in front of everyone.

    Even though they were sort of burnt, both students¡ª and the few remaining adults¡ª stared at the pile with hunger.

    "Listen to me!" The redhead yelled sternly, "There were 358 students before we entered. Now, 6 classes are missing and about 120 students are now either dead or missing."

    "All of you are starving, aren''t you? But none of you are doing anything about it." Fetter pointed his fingers to everyone, "You think this''ll be solved by crying?"

    "Those brave people died. For all of you. And no one even looked for them." Fetter said.

    "I¡ªIt''s not our fault! Don''t you see that it''s dangerous!" Someone in the crowd cried.

    "It''s suicide!!!" Someone else cried.

    "I''d rather starve here than go in there!!!" Another yelled.

    "Cowards! That doesn''t make it any less different!" Fetter scowled at them, "If we want to survive, then we have to stand up! Think about your families!!!"

    "Don''t you want to see them again?!?" The redhead screamed.

    Everyone was touched by his words. Family was a strong word. The moment he mentioned it, the hungry children remembered that someone was waiting for them at home.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    "I don''t know about you. But I want to see them again."

    "If you were acknowledged by that... thing. Then I''m going back inside to get more food for everyone. all the help I can get" The redhead cried.

    "No one will starve when I''m around. Everyone will go home. I promise you that."

    "Tch, Fetter! Don''s coming with you!"

    "I want to see my family again!"

    "I''ll help you, Fet!"

    Touched by his words, dozens of students volunteered to help him. Their eyes exuded spirit and determination. They walked towards him with confidence that they will make it back alive.

    "We''re acknowledged!"

    Another person stepped in with a large group of people behind his back. They were all armed. Beside him, he could see Jasper and Nancy. Those bastards.

    Except for Nancy though, they were all grinning for some reason. But Brian saw her just staring at the ground. Mumbling something.

    ''Augh, shit.'' Brian gulped as he noticed the blonde leading the group, ''It''s James..."

    ''Bastards of a feather, flock together...''

    "What do you think you''re doing with that sword, young man?!" Feeling that something was wrong, a bearded teacher stepped in front of them.

    "And what do you think you''re doing in front of a sword, old man?" James bashed the teacher on the head with his wooden shield, causing him to fling sideways like a body bag.

    "No! Mr.Tarikkk!!!"

    A kid with glasses screamed. With his other friends, he ran to support the teacher.

    "You seem like you have a lot of baggage... Uh, whatsername? Fetter? Like that hamster?" James smirked, "Alright then hamster. Why don''t we help you with that? Give us all your food."

    "The fuck is wrong with you?! In a time like this?!!"

    "This food is for everyone. You can''t just take it for yourselves, dummy!!!"

    "You''re asking for trouble, Fucker!!!"

    "I''ll cut to the chase. I''m hungry. And I want your fucking food."

    As though they understood each other, Fetter''s followers all summoned their swords and shields. With Fetter and the pile of boars behind them, there were 16 students who defended their ground.

    ''Well, this''s getting awkward.'' Brian looked expressionless on the outside, but secretly, he was sweating on the inside.

    Fetter''s group of volunteers were outnumbered 24-to-18. Everyone else was surprisingly neutral¡ª if not somewhat leaning towards Fetter''s group¡ª so they backed away. These people were about to start a fight.

    "ALL OF YOU, STOP!!!"

    Someone stepped in front of them. This time, however, it was a fat old teacher¡ª and the glasses kid behind him.

    "We can''t start fighting! Don''t you remember what that thing said? People might die if you start fighting!" The fat teacher shouted.

    "If you don''t want people to die, then give us the food." Someone from James'' group yelled, "We''re hungry too ya know!"

    "Don''t you get it?! Everyone''s hungry!" The glasses kid yelled back at him. He then turned to James with bloodshot eyes, "HE''S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!!! MR.TARIK''S DEAD!!! BECAUSE OF YOU!!!"

    Everyone was taken aback. Even James himself was shocked. His face changed a few times before he stared at the ground.

    "J¡ªJames!" One of his lackeys looked at him with worry, "You okay?"

    He stood in silence, "...Let them have it."

    "W¡ªWhat''d you say?"

    "Fucking let them have it!!!" James clicked his tongue in frustration before mumbling to himself, "For now..."

    "We''ll go get our own food. Fuck these people." James turned his back on Fetter''s group and walked away. His gaze kept looking down on the ground.

    His lackeys looked at each other in confusion. Shameful, even. Jasper was still confused about what had just happened. Nancy was crying on Jasper''s chest. It took them a while to realize what had just happened. But they followed him as though nothing had happened.

    Meanwhile, Brian was already biting on his fingers again (It happens occasionally when he''s stressed). Fuck. And now there were five.

    Students gathered on Mr.Tarik''s body in silence. His neck was broken. He guessed that no one had noticed the power that the status had given them yet. But maybe they did. However the truth was, we all stared at Mr.Tarik. Even the senior who was covered with blood watched him.

    "..." Fetter was quiet as he looked at him.

    "Mr.Tarik... No...." The glasses kid and several other students wept in front of him. He muttered something into Mr.Tarik''s ears as he clenched his fists.

    Brian sighed. The atmosphere was infectious, "...We should make a grave for him, Mr.Dozzer"

    A few people looked at him, including the fat old teacher, Mr.Dozzer. He nodded in agreement, "Look, everyone. I don''t want to make it an argument, but what happened today... was an accident."

    The kid with glasses turned and glared at Mr.Dozzer. He just sighed, "We can''t have any more dying. I''ve... We''ve lost too many friends today."

    Many voiced their disagreement. They wanted justice. It wasn''t right to leave Mr.Tarik like this. Mr.Dozzer shook his head. What could they do about it? Not only does James'' group were armed but he was still worried about what that thing said. He was probably not alone in thinking this too.

    The janitor beside Mr.Dozzer agreed with his decision.

    Mr.Dozzer held his tears back as he said so. "I''m going to dig a grave for him and the others. You can come with me if you want to help."

    Along with a few other people¡ª including the janitors¡ª left the crowd.

    <hr>

    Brian sat down by a tree. From here, you could see pretty much everything that was happening around the other students. Some were cutting and cooking the boar with grateful delight. Others were watching impatiently.

    James'' group were nowhere to be seen. While Fetter and his followers were still helping Mr.Dozzer dig graves for the fallen.

    He didn''t know whether it was an effect of being inside a crowd full of crying people, but he was starting to get the feels too.

    ¡ªHe didn''t like it by the way.

    "Should I join Fetter?" But other important matters needed to be settled first, "If I do, food is a guarantee. I''ll be risking my life, sure. But it''ll be much safer to do it with other people..."

    He thought about it some more. He''ll obviously be lead by Fetter. If he ran from the group again because of some danger, then he''ll definitely be branded a coward if they survive. Hmm, this was quite difficult.

    "If I join Fetter''s group, then there''s a chance I''d get into some trouble with James'' group. No doubt." And he couldn''t join James'' group since Jasper and Nancy are there. They''ll snitch on him.

    "..."

    ¡ªThen again, he was still curious how that Fetter managed to get those hogs. Brian could barely kill 2 mad midgets on his own. The only clue he could get from the corpses was how oddly burnt up they were (Are they still edible?).

    Surely, he wouldn''t be swinging his torches around, right?

    "...Hmm"

    "Alright, let''s do this."

    Little did he know what a bad decision this might turn out to be.

    <hr>

    "Hey, uh Fetter." Someone tapped his back.

    "Yeah, what is it?" He asked as he dug with his hands. The dirt was getting into his nails, but he didn''t mind it. Mr.Dozzer and the other janitors were working harder than him.

    "There''s somebody asking if he could join us later. But he says he''s not even acknowledged. And he... uhm... he just looks suspicious if you ask me."

    Fetter stopped digging. He turned back and looked at him, perplexed.

    "Just tell him he can''t come. We had others that weren''t acknowledged coming as well, right? It''s too dangerous for anyone who''s doesn''t have a weapon." Fetter went back to digging. He was still thinking about his classes with Mr.Tarik. He was a good teach¡ª

    "Yeah, that''s the thing, Fet." He scratched his head, not knowing what to say, "He''s wearing this... this armor that smells and looks like my grandpa''s sock. It''s from around here, I''m sure of it. And he''s got this really long spear too and..." He scratched his neck.

    "And it''s got... it''s got blood in it too."

    Fet stopped digging again and looked at Donny, "That... means he''s also been in there, right?"

    "Yeah, pretty sure."

    "Well, this is a different case then..." Fetter rubbed his chin together, "Did you get his name, Don?"

    "I did, I think his name was... Charlie"

 Festival of The Boars (3)

    "So Charlie, you''ve been into one of these tunnels before?" Fetter asked.

    "Yeah." Charlie pointed at a tunnel next to a few distinct-looking bushes, "That one."

    Fetter was thinking as he rubbed his chin, "What''d you find if you don''t mind me asking?"

    "Midgets. Small filthy-looking people but more... savage"

    After finishing graves for the dead, they were now sitting down in front of a tunnel. All seventeen of the group were here.

    Someone named Donny explained to everyone that this was a strategical meeting, but really we were just chatting.

    There were many tunnels to choose from. The tunnels encircled the entire dome. Appearing as random holes on the dome. There were even tunnels you couldn''t reach because they were so high up. Just one of them, Charlie or rather¡ª Brian thought¡ª could lead to his death.

    ¡ªBrian wasn''t fond of dying just yet.

    "Oh, like goblins then?" Crocker asked.

    ''What''s a goblin?'' Brian''s mind went back from the clouds. Before remembering that one episode in Sword Art Online.

    "Yeah, something like that. They weren''t green though." Charlie finally responded.

    "Interesting," Donny remarked.

    He had yet to see the horrors, Brian thought.

    "Did you also find that while you were inside?" Crocker casually pointed at his frilly old armor. He was unusually thin for his age.

    "Yeah, I did," Charlie said.

    "Status," Fetter said and a screen showed up.

    Although he flipped the screen quickly, Brian was able to see that this Fetter was already Lvl.4 (He somewhat these things when other people were playing with it, they found him a bit creepy). Now that, was interesting.

    "I also got something like that when I completed a quest." Fetter pulled a hood made out of the mouth of a boar. It had a cape on it too "Gives me extra stats for strength. Who knows. Might be useful."

    Fetter clicked on a few other things on his screen, before swiping it out of existence. Then, he looked at Brian with a more serious-looking face, "You went there to find food, right? Did you go in with anyone else?"

    "No, I went in alone," Brian said.

    "Why?"

    "Because people are stupid." It was his genuine thoughts.

    "Heh, well you''re pretty straightforward, aren'' you? Charlie." Fetter chuckled. He nodded at him, "That''s not a bad thing though."

    When Brian said stupid, other students glanced at him with weird looks. He was already standing out with that spunky old armor of his. Oh, well.

    "Could you tell me more about the system?" Brian asked. He''d always been curious about it but never got the chance to ask.

    "Why don''t you give Brian a crash course, Donny," Fetter said as he gazed at the tunnel''s darkness. Thinking about something.

    "Sure," Donny answered, "So there'' basically three windows you can choose from the status screen. The Status, The Quests, and Personal Belongings."

    "Why is it called The Quests?" Brian asked.

    "Dunno, Charlie. I''m not one who made it." Donny shrugged, "But anyway, everything'' pretty simple and explanatory. You can put things in your Personal Belongings, just like how Fet did it just now." He pointed at the redhead.

    "The Quests is basically where you get these random missions¡ª or quests really¡ª and you get rewards as well as these Attribute Points."

    "And, believe us when we say it, but¡ª" A student with beard stubbles said, "You get pretty strong from this stuff."

    He smacked Brian''s shoulder while he was at it, "The name''s Denver, fella. You have guts coming here and all, but I''ve never seen you around before."

    "I''m not exactly the most active person out there," Brian said as he looked at a black-haired girl sitting beside Crocker in surprise. Why is she here?

    "Alright, pipe down Denver." Donny coughed, "Anyway, we use Attribute Points to up our stats. You know? Just like games. I''m sure you''ve played a few, right?"

    "Not really," Brian shook his head.

    "Well, you basically get attributes, right?" Crocker held his hands up, "You got eight on the screen. And that''s Strength, Endurance, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    "And that''s you''re basic crash course in status." Donny sighed, "I''d say it''s pretty good that they only have eight attributes. It''s not too much, but not too little either."

    "You play games, Donny?" Brian asked. He didn''t look like the kind of person to play games. Wait, right. Everyone played games these days.

    "Uhuh, I used to play MMO while I was a kid," Donny smiled.

    "Alright, everyone!" Fetter yelled as he stood up, "We''ll be entering tunnels now!"

    Fetter''s squad of volunteers began rising from the ground. They were a bit nervous and maybe a little too excited. Except for that one girl, everyone else were boys.

    ''That''s Cindy, right?'' Brian squinted his eyes a little as he looked at her, ''She''s still alive? I don''t remember seeing her with Kayl and other girls.''

    "When you see those things coming at you, don''t panic! They''re fast, and they can shoot lasers out of their eyes." Everyone looked at him with troubled looks, "I''m kidding. Loosen up a bit."

    "Remember, this is not a game. No matter how much you feel like this is a game, keep telling yourself that it isn''. If your Red Bar goes to zero." Fetter pointed at something to his left, "You can die in there."

    ''Holy shit, this is like Sword Art Online!'' Brian''s eyes sparkled for a moment when he caught unto what Fetter was talking about, ''No, Brian. Don''t do that. You know better than anyone not to fuck around.''

    He calmed his mind down, his face had that empty look again.

    "Alright, any questions before we head in?"

    Someone raised their hand, "Is there anything we need to know about boars?"

    "They''re fierce. If they so much as see you, they''ll charge at you with their horns. So far, it hasn'' been hard for me. Just use your shields." Fetter said as he summoned his shield (As though it was a que, everyone started summoning their weapons).

    "Are there any lights in there?" Brian asked. For good measure.

    "They seem to turn on by themselves. It''s like magic, really." Fetter said. Odd, that goblin area didn''t seem to have any, "Anyone else?"

    Another raised his hand, "Why aren'' we eating first before we head out? Aren'' you all..." His stomach rumbled like drums, "Starving?"

    "Because there are other people that need that food," Fetter spoke with a gentle smile, "It''s also not enough for everyone. That''s why we''re getting more for them."

    The group was moved by his words. Now, they were more resolved to help Fetter. Even with their empty bellies, no one complained.

    "Everyone''s all good now right?" Fetter asked. Since everyone was quiet, he just nodded.

    "Alright, follow me." Fetter turned around and stepped into the tunnel. His boar cape swirling as he did.

    The moment he walked into the entrance, dim torches began the brightening the dark shaft. It wasn''t much, but Brian thought it was better than complete darkness.

    The group stared at them with awe and wonder.

    Magic, we all seemed to think. Without saying anything, we followed Fetter into the tunnel.

    <hr>

    Tap! Tap! Tap!

    Space suddenly distorted around them as the light from the tunnels disappeared. Yellow light had replaced everything. We were more than alarmed, to say the least.

    But luckily, we had a guide with us.

    "Don''t worry, it''s just some weird magic blocking the light from the dome. Remember how everything looked dark in here?" Fetter said, "It''s all... out of this world really."

    We arrived at the lair of the boars. The place alight with magical torches stuck around the chamber. Burning yellow fire made the place feel warm, if not a bit too cozy.

    What was weird about this part of the cave, however, was how there was a flying island in the middle of everything. And circling around it were floating stairs made out of rocks. The chamber was like a dome.

    Roots came out of the small island. A small crimson lake surrounded the plot of land, just below the flying island. Like the forest, this chamber was filled with grasses. But strangely, they were red instead of green.

    Even stranger, there didn''t seem to be any boars and it was all quiet.

    "That''s weird..." Fetter''s brows furrowed, "...last time I was here, the grasses weren''t red..."

    "Fellas, I have a bad feeling about this," Denver said as he got serious.

    Donny whispered to Fetter''s ear, "Rule Number One in horror films, we leave if someone says that they have a bad feeling." But Fetter kept mumbling to himself.

    "Hey, Fetter. You ok?" Crocker asked. Seeing their leader just mumbling to himself, the other students grew anxious.

    "...but why aren''t there anything pigs here? This doesn''t make any sense, they were just here..." Slowly, Fetter was getting lost in his thoughts. His face becoming more and more confused.

    "...and was that red lake always there?" Fetter glanced at the lake and gasped.

    "EVERYONE GET BACK!" Fetter screamed with all his voice, "SOMETHING''S WRONG!!!"

    "Huh? what''s wrong, Fett¡ª"

    "JUST GET BACK!!!" He shouted.

    "W¡ªWe can''t!!!" Someone from the back shouted at him, "It¡ªIt''s not letting us pass through! It won''t budge!"

    The young man pushed and kicked, but nothing happened. It was like an invisible wall barred their exit, "No! Fuck!"

    "EVERYONE MOVE AWAY!!!"

    The air felt hot on our skin. The grasses around us started burning fire. Every breath became harder to take. As soon as we saw what was happening to him, we no longer delayed.

    Something emerged on Fetter''s forehead. It was a small bulge but too big of a deal for us to not notice. We watched with dread. The bulge unfolded, revealing an eye.

    "Fireball!"

    A ball of blazing flames appeared on Fetter''s hands and was shot out. It was as quick as an arrow. Brian could barely even see it dart through.

    ¡ªBut the flame was suddenly eaten. Eaten.

    No one knew what it was. We were all as stiff as stone.

    Black as night, It had the face of a twisted man. Only its long, furry neck emerged from the darkness, yet we felt fear. The monster gulped the fire as an arm appeared from the darkness.

    "Ssssshhh..." It hushed with its finger.

    The monster continued to stare at us as it returned to the darkness. Nothing happened after that.

    "..." We were all speechless.

    Maybe it was way back from seeing his dead classmates or killing those midgets, but something inside Brian''s head wanted to explode. He didn''t know what it was, but he was losing his calm.

    Wasn''t he just going to kill a few pigs? What the fuck was that?!

    Brian''s breathing was ragged. This is madness! If it hadn''t before, then all sense of logic was now thrown out of the window.

    "Oink! Oink!" Huh?

    The noise didn''t escape our ears. We turned around to see what it was.

    A boar''s head was staring at us from the flying island. It looked just like any other boar. Except for the fact that it was red. There wasn''t really anything different about¡ª

    "HWWEEEEEEIIIIIRRRGGGHHH!!!"

    A bellowing cry reverberated through the chambers. It shook everyone''s bodies and rattled our bones. Even the grass trembled in fright.

    The boar stood up. Like a man. Its body was crammed with wiry muscles. The pig was humongous. Three meters tall. With six arms, all stuffed with brawn. It was looked just like a minotaur, but worse.

    "I¡ªI shouldn''t have come..." A student stammered.

    "We''re gonna die..." Another student sank to the ground

    "No, I don''t wanna die..." Donny muttered as he pissed his pants.

    "FIREBALL!!!"

    Fetter ignored them and launched a fireball at the creature. It missed. Only causing it to infuriate the monster even more. Our faces sank.

 Festival of The Boars (4)

    Suddenly, the beast jumped. Plunging down like a falling anvil. Our hearts shook with terror.

    "EVERYONE SPREAD!!!" Brian heard someone shout. Oh, it''s Fetter.

    "DON''T LET HIM CATCH YOU!!!"

    The beast smashed unto the ground. The dirt thumped. But the abomination was completely fine. As the others began running for their lives, Brian just stared.

    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHARLIE?!?" Crocker screamed, "RUUUUNNNN!!!"

    "HWEEIIIIIIIIGGGHHH!!!"

    Brian''s face was as white as snow. The beast was glaring at him with streaked red eyes. Hot steam rushing out of his nostrils as it tensed all it''s fists.

    "FIREBALL!!!"

    Something yellow hit the back of it''s face and exploded. The beast shrieked in pain. Its head, searing with fire. The beast spun around in rage. Appearing like it was bout to rip someone to shreds.

    "YOUR OPPONENT IS ME!!!" Making thumps against the shield with his sword, flimsy-looking redhead wearing a boar hood challenged the best, "NO ONE INTERFERE!!!"

    "HWEEEOOOOORRRGGHHH!!!" The boar shrieked in fury upon looking at Fetter.

    [ Issueing Quest: Festival of The Boars! ]

    [ Dun. Dun. Dun! You have butchered families in their sleep! Slaughtered their young! And burned their old! You sick psychopath! You have angered The Boarmaster. In frustration, it has been stress-eating on the survivors for quite some time. Now, it sees you wearing the cape of his youngling, and it will not stop until it tears you to pieces! ]

    [ Survive his rage! ]

    The white screen of text floated above Fetter. It spoke with a strange theatric-like accent and articulated the situation strangely. As if it was mocking them but speaking the truth at the same time.

    The Boarmaster seethed in rage as it ran towards the human. Disregarding the other one.

    Brian dropped down to his knees, gagging for air. His whole body was covered in cold sweat. If Fetter hadn''t done anything, he could have been ripped apart by that thing.

    In spite of that, he finally understood why that Boarmaster was so angry. It''s because Fetter had killed his family!

    "B¡ªBut this makes no absolute sense though!!!"

    Wobbly, Brian looked up. He saw Fetter taking The Boarmaster alone. But running. And casting fireballs while he was at it. Everyone watched in dismay. Even Donny¡ª Fetter''s closest aide¡ª wouldn''t do anything about it.

    Say what you want. They weren''t here to fight a three-meter high bodybuilder with six arms called The Boarmaster. This was a fight no sound 16-year old would gamble with.

    Brian shook his head frantically as he pulled himself together. Those two were running around the dome, playing cat and mouse.

    Horrified, the students scrambled. Not the lest desiring to get in the way. Brian was also determined not to get trampled.

    "HWEEEEEEIIIIIII!!!"

    The Boarmaster was only chasing after Fetter. Fuming and frustrated. As Brian was bout to get back up, he saw his spear rolling down the ground. It fell into the red lake.

    "Shit!" He swore. It didn''t matter anyway, everybody was screaming.

    He scampered towards the red lake, aiming to get his spear back. Once he was there, he saw bits of flesh swimming round. Staring agape, a scorched pig''s ear floated innocently into view.

    Suddenly, he knew where the other pigs who had been stress-eaten had gone (He still didn''t know why they were here though...).

    Brian looked at Fetter and The Boarmaster. He knew there wasn''t much time left before they came here. He reached his hand into the lake but found that it was actually deeper than it seemed.

    "Oh! For Christ''s sake!" He pulled his arm out and ran for his life.

    "AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" Someone screamed as he was swatted away by the beast.

    "BIBIII!!! NOOOO!!!" Fetter''s face was grave, "FIREBAAALL!!!!!!"

    The flame shot towards the best and missed.

    The brute''s body had burnt spots all over its gargantuan chest. A part of its mouth was even missing, and you could see its tongue dangling round.

    And that was the only thing worth mentioning. None of Fetter''s other shots had caught the best. Even if they did, it wasn''t slowing it down either.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    As he glanced at Fetter, Brian saw that he was growing exhausted. If this was a battle of attrition, then it looked like Fetter wasn''t going to last much longer.

    "...Huh?" Brian''s eyes opened in surprise as he saw Donny, quietly leading several students up the floating stairs. He took what little he could.

    Just as Brian was about to run to them, the stairs retracted, ascending along with Donny and the others. A student managed to catch the steps before it was too high enough to reach. Donny caught glimpse of Brian, and for a moment, the two stared at each other.

    He looked regretful¡ª yet relieved¡ª as he looked at Brian.

    "FUCK!!!" Brian''s mind was going haywire all over the place. Struggling to find a solution to his miserable situation.

    Although he did feel bad for leaving Fetter like that, it was no time to play knight (in shining armor). Everybody should be worried about their own lives first.

    "NO!!! COME ON YOU HAVE TO FOCUS!!!" He ran like a mad man. Some

    The memories of today shuffled towards him. How he put staves and rocks inside his bag. How there were red grasses everywhere. How that long-necked monster appeared and ate one of Fetter''s Fireballs. How his spear fell into the red lake and...

    "WAIT, THAT''S IT!!!" Brian''s eyes shone. There was hope after all. He quickly ran to the corner of the exit, just next to the lake. Then, he waited for the beast to turn his back and¡ª

    He quietly slumped into the lake. It was only leg-deep, but he pulled himself deeper. All until was left of him was just his nose. He closed his eyes and prayed to whatever higher being that could hear his prayers.

    Except for the screams, he couldn''t hear anything anymore.

    "..." Thus Brian waited.

    "..." The lake stank.

    "..." He could feel something touching his cheek.

    "..." He was standing on something mushy. "Blbupubupbup..."

    Whatever it was, Brian gave it his all to resist the urge to jump.

    And slowly, the screams died down. He could hear people being battered, smashed, and swatted. But some people were still alive. It wasn''t over yet.

    Brian kept waiting.

    <hr>

    An eternity had passed. He didn''t know how long he''d been there, but he knew he was in there for a long time. His body was aching, and especially his neck. He''d been in the same awkward posture for¡ª possibly¡ª hours.

    A lot of things happened. Too long for him to explain in detail, but everything was quiet now. And it''d been like that for some time.

    But just in case, he waited for another 5 minutes. Well, what felt like 5 minutes anyway. He didn''t have a watch with him, after all.

    "..." He inhaled one last time¡ª afraid that this was his last breath¡ª and slowly poke his head out. Only a small portion of his face could be seen over the grass. They were both red.

    "..."

    The whole place was a mess. Blood was splattered everywhere. Bodies were twisted and contorted in ill ways. People were ripped into two, spreading intestines every¡ª

    "Hahh..." Brian wheezed as he looked away from the sight. The Boarmaster had killed them all. It was too disgusting. Shame crept into his heart. But it was for the best.

    He lived.

    It was a strange sight seeing people you just met die in this fashion, just like what happened with his class. He definitely had enough for today.

    After vomiting the remains of his breakfast, he looked back up again. He didn''t notice it before, but there was definitely a corpse with six appendages there. Eerily, it was missing its head. Brian didn''t even want to know how it went missing.

    Though what he saw in its arms shook him even more.

    "FETTEEER!!" Brian got out of the lake and ran towards him. Blood still dripping from his clothes.

    "CHARLIE IS THAT YOU?!?" He heard someone screaming from above, "IS HE ALIVE?!? IS FETTER ALIVE???"

    Brian ignored him and kept running.

    Fetter was clasped between the beast''s arms. But he was still breathing. Brian tugged restlessly on its hands. The beast''s muscles were as stiff as stone. Fuck! What kind of a monster would you be to not let go of someone after you''re dead?!

    Brian snapped its fingers open. He did that with all of its limbs until it could finally let go. Fetter fell to the ground with a thud.

    He was in a sorry state. His face was covered in dirt. But no matter how much he felt this was wrong, Fetter''s twisted left arm seemed better to look at.

    "Shit!" He panicked, "I''m so sorry! I''m sorry! Oh my god!!!"

    "Fetter! A¡ªAre you, alright?!" Brian collapsed into his knees beside Fetter. He held his head up.

    "C¡ªCharlie..." Fetter coughed weakly, "Is that... really you?..."

    "Yes! It''s me! I''m here for you, man!" He did his best to ignore the bloody scene.

    "..." Tears fell out of Fetter''s eyes, including the third one on his forehead, "Thank... God... You''re alive..."

    "Donny''s alive too! He''s¡ªHe''s up there with the others!" Brian stammered as he felt tears down his own cheek.

    "I''m so... tired... Charlie..." He could barely keep his eyes open any longer, "I think... I... have to... sleep..."

    "No no no no! Don''t!!! Stay awake Fetter!!! You can''t sleep!!! Not right now, ok?!" Brian shook his Fetter''s body.

    "I''m... so... tired..." His voice began to diminish.

    "Oh! T¡ªThink about your family, man!" Brian started crying, "T¡ªThey''re waiting for you, right? You have someone waiting for you at home Fetter!"

    "Colette..." Fetter smiled faintly.

    "R¡ªRight! That''s right! You have Colette waiting for you! She''d be sad if you don''t go home, right?"

    "It''s... my brother..." Fetter snickered as he coughed again, "Uughh..."

    "Don''t move too much now, Fetter." Brian hurriedly took his bag out. Searching for whatever could save Fetter''s life.

    "This..." He found a vial filled with red liquid.

    Brian didn''t know what it was, but it might just be one of those... potions they had in SAO. As for where he got it, it came with the armor (It was from the chest under the tree).

    It was a gamble. But he was going to die anyway, might as well take the chance.

    "Here, Fetter." Brian opened the red vial, "Drink."

    He slowly poured the vial to Fetter''s mouth. The redhead didn''t hesitate to drink it.

    "Aaaah..." The small cuts on Fetter''s body started healing on its own. Looks like it was¡ª

    "AAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!" Fetter started screaming in torture. He jumped up and hugged his twisted left arm. Something was wrong.

    "FETTER!!! ARE YOU OK?!?" The voice from above shouted in panic, "BASTARD!!! WHAT''RE YOU DOING TO HIM!!!"

    Brian held him with worry. It didn''t take long for Fetter to faint. Maybe the pain was too much. The others above were still screaming down at us. Who could blame them though, they think I killed him.

    "Thank god..."

    He was still breathing.

    <hr>

    [ Congratulations on completing the Quest: Festival of The Boars! ]

    [ Issuing rewards... ]

    [ You have 3 Attribute Points! ]

    Fetter opened his eyes groggily as his vision adjusted.

    ''Where am I?'' He thought. But quickly his mind was flooded by the scenes of his companions being killed. He remembered everything. All the details. Those memories would definitely haunt him.

    That Boarmaster was Lvl.5. Just a level higher. If only he had picked a different tunnel, maybe he could''ve avoided all this. It was unsettling, to say the least.

    The part that shook him the most, however, was when that voice said that he killed the children and the elderly. So that''s why those boars were furious at the first look of me...

    He couldn''t save them. They''re dead because of him.

    ¡ªHis stomach growled in hunger.

    "Fet, You''re finally awake!" Donny cried in relief, "Goddamnit! Do you know how fucking stubborn you can be?! Why the fuck would you mess with those pigs in the first place..."

    Donny kept ranting and complaining. Though Fetter was just glad that he''s ok.

    "Where''s Charlie..." He stood up and sat only to suddenly gawk at his left arm that was still bent the wrong way. It didn''t hurt that much but he couldn''t move it.

    Fetter''s eyes dimmed as he stared at his still crippled arm.

    "You''re arm''s uh... we couldn''t do anything about it."

    "Charlie says that he needs some time alone," Now that he''d noticed, Donny seemed paler, "He didn''t look so well..."

    "How long have I been out?" Fetter asked.

    "Uhm... A few hours," Donny said as his face turned serious, "But there''s something I gotta tell you."

 A Little Nuts (1)

    Once upon a time, there was a boy.

    He was a good boy. A kind, innocent¡ª and a bit spoiled¡ª little boy. He lived in a cozy house with his parents. The boy loved seeking their attention. They would always cheer him up whenever he didn''t get candy.

    ¡ªOr toys, or pastimes, and etc.

    But one day¡ª when the boy was still at school¡ª his house mysteriously went on fire. And coincidentally, his parents happened to be inside that house.

    They died in the fire.

    The end.

    <hr>

    Brian stared at the crystals as they slowly changed from blue to orange. After washing the putrid blood off his body (He took a plastic bag to the pond, people were scared of him, but it was inevitable) and eating the leftovers from this morning, Brian sat alone. In a place where he wouldn''t be disturbed.

    Sniff! Sniff!

    The smell stuck to his skin. Really, he couldn''t get it off no matter how much he scrubbed. As far as Brian could tell, he smelled like dirt, blood, and iron.

    His clothes (and armor) were also beyond hope. Not only was it more stubborn, but it was fucking red! and It stuck like a bitch!

    Now he''ll fucking stand out!

    "..." The trees rustled. The wind, coming from the tunnels.

    He hadn''t done much after that and Brian felt powerless. Maybe it was because he wasn''t able to do anything, but seeing people get slaughtered while you hide didn''t feel good.

    He came to them seeking safety in numbers and food. But what happened instead was a massacre. He nearly died.

    "..." So Brian didn''t feel so good right now. His head was filled with pictures of blood and gore. The screams of those people. He''ll never forget about it.

    Brian sighed. Worrying shouldn''t be on his priority list right now, but he was still worried. Everything he''s seen... everything he''d felt...

    "Psst..." Ugh, what was it now?!

    He scowled. Brian turned to the noise and found a gasping teenager wearing a beanie.

    "S¡ªSorry there, b¡ªbut uhm..." The teenager looked at him rigidly, "Are you S¡ªSam?"

    "What''s it to you?" Brian glared at the teen. He was not up for anyone''s shit, right now.

    "I¡ªI''m uhh... l¡ªlooking for uhh..." The teen closed one of his nostrils and snorted, "I¡ªIf you know w¡ªwhat I mean..."

    Brian sized him up, glaring at him. He''d seen him once. The teen was a Freshman.

    "How do you know I sell them?" Brian squinted at him. He''s not exactly public about it. People who bought from him go through a proxy. Unfortunately, that person was missing now.

    The only time he''s ever done it without a proxy was probably with...

    "I heard it fr¡ªfrom J¡ªJasper!" The teen stammered. Though Brian guessed that he wasn''t doing it because he was nervous, "H¡ªHe was r¡ªranting about it o¡ªout loud!"

    ''Fuck. That bastard!'' Brian clicked his tongue.

    "How''d you find me?" Brian asked.

    "I¡ªI asked around." The teen seemed to smile, "I¡ªIt took me a w¡ªwhile, but I f¡ªf¡ªfound you."

    He was really not in the mood for this. Looking at him, he sighed, "Look, kid, I''m not really Sam."

    "What?"

    (Okay, there were many reasons for this; Brian has average looks, people often mistook him for someone else, he has (almost) zero presence in school, he never wears bright colors, has 4 similar hoodies but with different colors, and et cetera.)

    He doesn''t stand out, and Brian counted on that. Even though it doesn''t always work, he always gets a laugh when it does.

    Unfortunately, these were tough times.

    "Y¡ªYou think I¡ªI''m an i¡ªidiot?!" The teenager blasted in anger, "I s¡ªsaw you earlier talking to t¡ªthat naked b¡ªbitch!"

    ''Shit! And then there was that...'' Things kept getting worse and worse for Brian. He should''ve just stayed quiet.

    "Alright, you caught me." Brian sighed, it was better to not escalate things. He didn''t know if the teen was stronger than him. He learned from his mistakes.

    "I''m not planning to sell right now." He rose up from the ground. Although he never uses them himself, they were still valuable. Looking at him in the eye, he continued, "Beat it or else..."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    "Or w¡ªwhat?!" The teen snapped at him. A sudden mood swing, "S¡ªStatus!"

    A screen popped up. Brian''s eyes widened. Before he could do anything, the teen pulled out a sword and a shield.

    "I''ll f¡ªfucking k¡ªkill you! If you d¡ªdon''t givvvveee me the coke!!!" The teen pointed his sword at him.

    This is what drugs do to people. It makes you crazy when you stop for too long. That''s why he never uses them. Drugs will hurt you (But an extra buck wouldn''t).

    Instead of begging for his life, however, Brian groaned. The teen didn''t know why he was doing that and was confused, "G¡ªGive me the c¡ªcoke right n¡ªnow! Or I¡ª''ll fucking ki¡ªkill you!"

    Brian lamented on his luck. If he tried to run, this guy''ll definitely scream coke. And then everyone would know...

    "Now, here''s the deal, motherfucker! When I fucking say I''m not selling. That fucking means, I''m not fucking selling..." He shoved his hand down his pants.

    "T¡ªThe ffffuck a¡ªare you?!"

    Suddenly, he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the teen, "I am so not in the fucking mood, right now..."

    The teen was stiff. Speechless.

    "IF YOU TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS, I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU MYSELF!!!" Brian barked at the teen, "SO BEAT IT!!! OR ELSE I''LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT!!!"

    He didn''t think that a kid like him was carrying a gun! The teen quickly dropped his weapons as he held his hands up. "Ah¡ªah! A¡ªAlright! Alright! J¡ªJust calm down now¡ª"

    "BEAT IT!!!"

    Brian''s forehead was packed with veins and his eyes were streaked as he glared daggers at the teen. He shouldn''t have used his gun...

    "I''ll l¡ªleave!!! I''ll leave!!! Ok?!" The teen scampered away. Things weren''t looking good for everyone.

    He panted for air as he lowered his pistol down and glanced at it. It was the mouse pistol he bought with his drug savings.

    The side read L.W.SEECAMP CO. with it''s serial number sanded off.

    The gun was matte-black and could fit 6 .32 bullets. It was so small, you could literally fit it inside your pocket (and no one would know).

    He bought the gun off for $863 Dollars. Overkill (since you couldn''t buy a gun at 16), but it was worth the price. The old coot who sold it to him didn''t really care. It''d saved him from trouble quite a few times.

    "Hah..." Brian sighed out loud. It was back to being alone again. Finally.

    <hr>

    "Look who''s back..." Donny mumbled as he prepared the fire with one hand, he looked at Brian, who''s uniform was dyed red.

    The remains of Fetter''s band sat around the campfire. They were all miserable, looking like they''d seen the worst. There was something about their eyes that couldn''t be ignored.

    Everyone was silent as they gazed at the fire. Brian remembered something he shouldn''t have when he glanced at it. His mood got sourer.

    "Is Fetter awake?" Brian looked a bit relieved. He sat on the corner of the fireplace, where were was no one. He put his bag down.

    "Yeah..." Donny sighed, "He says that he''s getting something."

    There were only seven of them left.

    (Three had gone upstairs with Donny. One was swimming in the red lake. Another one was found collapsed in the corner. And the last one was dying.)

    Eleven had died during the incident. No one was happy about it. After informing the rest about it, no one seemed content about going into the tunnels anymore. No one did.

    A couple of hours ago Mr.Dozzer was arguing with us about going back to give them a proper burial. Though, none of us had the stomach to do it.

    "..." A brown-haired fellow sitting beside Donny stared, "...What''s your name again?"

    As soon as Brian noticed that the question was directed towards him, he answered, "It''s... Charlie."

    "So Charlie... uhm... what happened to your..." He pointed at his clothes.

    "I was hiding..." Brian gestured a sort-of circle, "you know..."

    "Oh..." The brown-haired sighed. His eyes were dull, "My name''s Sully by the way. You can just call me Mouse."

    Just as his nickname implied, Mouse was smaller than him. His eyes were black, and his clothes were as dirty as the earth. He looked like the brown rat you would find under the kitchen table, eating leftover cheese.

    Mouse was the one we found fainted on the ground.

    "..." Brian glanced at the girl at the other corner, who was curled up like a ball. It was Cindy. She was still alive.

    "You don''t talk a lot, do you?" Another person¡ª who looked a lot more cynical than he does¡ª frowned at him, "You were the only one who stayed silent before that hamster decided to talk to you."

    "So what?" Brian glared at the guy.

    "So what? I just don''t fucking like you." The guy said as he scoffed at him.

    "But Fran¡ª" Mouse sa¡ª

    "Look, it doesn''t matter anymore!" Donny interrupted him, "We''re all fucking traumatized right now, right?! So Fran, shut the fuck up!"

    "No, fuck this shit!!! I nearly died because of that three-eyed hamster!!!" Fran stood up and gave the redhead that was walking back here with a plastic bag, a middle finger.

    He looked at Donny seriously, "Donny, you''re a good guy. But I''m seriously not up for this kind of shit."

    "The others were right. This is fucking suicide..." Fran left the campfire in a rocky fashion. He was as stressed as all of us.

    "Fran..." Mouse mumbled.

    ¡ªAnd now there were six.

    "..." Fetter sat down quietly. He neither did or said anything else. His eyes were back to normal.

    "You''re Brian, aren''t you?" The curled ball muttered.

    Brian''s facepalmed. This day couldn''t get any worse, "Yeah, I am."

    "Wait, you''re saying he''s that guy who was in a class with Kayl?" The guy next to Mouse said, "T¡ªThen aren''t you also that guy who said he was... Sam?"

    Well, shit. Things were not looking good for Brian.

    "So what if I am? It doesn''t matter anymore does it?!" Brian yelled. Ever since he came here, he had spoken more words than he did in a week. It was exhausting.

    "Wait, you''re Brian?!" Mouse''s eyes were wide open.

    "Th¡ª Why''d you have to lie, then!? Like, no cares if you''re Brian!" The guy cried back at him. He stood up.

    "Exactly! No cares if I''m Brian, or Sam, or Charlie, or all the other stupid names I give you!!!" Brian shouted at him, "It''s just another name, isn''t it!!! To all of you!!!"

    "Oi oi oi!!! Just stop it you two! What''s the matter with you!? We''re all tired, right now!!!" Donny yelled at both of them. "Just lay it off, Nate! He just lost his entire class!!!"

    Nate looked at Donny, then Brian, before he sat down again and sighed.

    Brian glared at Cindy and she glanced back at him. She was startled to see his expression, and her eyes seemed to say, ''I didn''t mean to offend you''. Though Brian kept scowling at her until she glooped back into a ball. He could hear her crying.

    It was time to deal with her. All the boys in his class were killed. The girls, captured. The only ones who escaped were Brian, Kayl and a few other girls. But he didn''t see Cindy with them.

    "You weren''t captured by those goblins, weren''t you?" Brian asked her, "You escaped alone, didn''t you?"

    Cindy curled even further. She didn''t answer his question.

    "Did you? Hey, I''m asking you a questio¡ª

    "Just leave her alone, would you?!" Nate glared at him, "She''s fucking scared!!!"

    "WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!!!" Fetter shouted all of a sudden. His whole body was tensed. He glared us all down until no one dared to speak. Fetter was a bit scary when he was angry.

    Eventually, the fire was ready. Fetter took a huge forearm out of the plastic bag (It was Brian''s). It was from the Boarmaster. It looks like he went back in there to get it...

    "Isn''t it... cannibalism?" Mouse spoke for us as he looked disgusted.

    "That thing deserved it..." Fetter grumbled as he cut the forearm in half, "...Also, I hope you don''t mind that I gave the other parts away."

    There were all sorts of wrong when we saw that forearm (Wasn''t Fetter the one who killed its family?). We gulped in unison as we thought that Fetter had lost it. But he seemed like he wasn''t willing to let the others die in vain.

    After he cooked it, we ate the arm without further questions. Cindy, Nate, & Mouse were crying when they did.

    "Huh, It tastes like bacon."

 A Little Nuts (2)

    The shining orange light shone after the darkness. Sunrise. It was now their second day here.

    Brian couldn''t sleep last night. The ground was cold and by all means uncomfortable. The nightmares kept him awake. He''d seen too much. The slaughter was embedded in his eyelids. Meaning he couldn''t sleep.

    "Fuck..."

    Sniff! Sniff!

    The smell of blood stuck to his clothes. It was better than shit, but it still annoyed him.

    The campfire was but ash now. Most of the others were still sleeping. Mouse was snuggling on Nate''s warm feet, while Nate was having trouble sleeping. Seeing as how his eyes were dark. Nate was just staring at the ceiling.

    Donny was sleeptalking on his own again. Talking about how he was sorry that he left everyone behind. He was having nightmares. Cindy looked like she was also having them, she was crying in her sleep.

    ¡ªAnd Fetter... looks like he''d gone off on his own again. He was nowhere to be seen.

    Brian stood up. He opened his bag to make sure that everything was there, before carrying it by his side. It was a bit heavy, but he didn''t want anyone stealing from him. Who knows what they''ll take.

    So he left for the pond. His throat was dry. Nate couldn''t care less where he went.

    "Hah..." Brian sighed. Just tired is all. Pushing out of a bush, he arrived at the pond. Looks like nobody was here at this hour.

    "..." The waters were still.

    There was a wooden sign now that said: "No one is allowed to shower, dip, piss, or shit in the pond! ¡ªMr.Dozzer". Looks like someone must''ve done something to make this appear here.

    Next to it, Brian saw another wooden sign that said: "There''re no fishes in here! Everyone can stop swimming in the lake now! ¡ªMr.Dozzer".

    And yet another one beside it that wrote: "IT TASTES A BIT FUNNY WHEN YOU DRINK IT, BUT DON''T WORRY! AS LONG AS NO ONE SCREWS WITH IT, IT''S DRINKABLE! ¡ªBRIAN RYANN, THE SCHOOL JANITOR!"

    It was written in caps. Right, there was someone like that wasn''t there? Brian thought as he read the sign. He was impressed. It had nails and all. Whoever made this must''ve brought tools with them. As tired as he was, Brian made a mental note of it.

    Brian stepped closer and crouched. He couldn''t boil it anyway (He realized yesterday that he didn''t have anything to hold the water). So might as well, you know?

    He gazed at the pond''s reflection. Looks like he had dark circles too.

    "Here on a morning drink?" Someone asked beside him, "You seem tired."

    Brian turned to the person beside him and found a rather¡ª familiar face, "What''re you doing here!?"

    "Well, it''s not like I came here to drink, you know?" Nancy said sarcastically as she drank next to him. That was a stupid question.

    "..." There was an awkward silence between them.

    "So... you sell drugs, huh?" Nancy asked as she looked at him.

    "So what?" Brian glared.

    "No, I mean, I was just curious." Nancy justified herself. The trees rustled around them as the wind whistled, "Why do you sell drugs then?"

    That was... actually a good question. He didn''t expect that. Brian never quite asked himself that either. He studied the ceilings seemingly pondering for the answer.

    "I needed the money."

    "For what?" Nancy asked with a furrowed brow. Brian stopped drinking and peered at her with a puzzled face. Why would she want to know? Wasn''t she the one who stole his book?

    "Why do you want to know?" Brian voiced his thoughts.

    "It''s fine if you don''t want to say anything about it," Nancy replied as she drank her last fill. Then, she took something out of her hoodie.

    "Here''s your book by the way. Sorry. Jasper took it before I could do anything. Again, Sorry. I''ve been meaning to give it to you but¡ª"

    Sniff! Sniff!

    She closed her nose before she continued, "¡ªBut I couldn''t find you. Sorry."If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Brian received the book from Nancy and just looked at it. He did not, whatsoever, expected them to give it back to him. Although the book was far from mint-condition now.

    As Nancy was about to leave, Brian caught himself sighing again, "Rent."

    "Hmm?" Nancy looked at him.

    "I did it for rent," Brian said a second time. It was a half-ass answer, but it was sort-of right.

    "Wait, so you were living alone?" Her eyes were wide as she sat back down. She looked like she was quite meddlesome.

    "Yeah." He replied casually. The grass swayed around him.

    "What about your family then?" Nancy asked him another question. Was she genuinely curious about him?

    "Don''t have one." He said.

    She looked at him with concern. Brian found it weird, "What... happened to them?"

    "..." Brian stayed silent as he gazed at the pond.

    "..." There was an awkward silence between them, "Right! Why do you have a Sailor Moon doujinshi anyway?"

    "Seriously?" Brian looked at her with confusion, "Do you want to know about it that badly?"

    Slowly, the two began to ramble. It was mostly Nancy that babbled though. She asked more and more questions about him, none of which he was too comfortable answering.

    "Why''s your uniform all red anyway?"

    "..." Yeah, not this one either.

    So, being the babbler that she is, she ended up telling him the goofiest moments throughout her seventeen years. And that also included how she met Jasper, which left Brian in the puzzled state he is now.

    "You... what?"

    "You... uhhh weren''t listening?" Nancy answered sarcastically. She chuckled, "I''m gonna say it again, so you better listen ok?"

    "It was a hot day in September. I was reading another hentai doujinshi, as usual. The week''s new addition just happened to be Nana X Kouta from Elven Lied. A truly horrific anime. Though it will be missed."

    "Then, all of a sudden, I saw a car came speeding into the lane! And there I saw my highschool crush! I yelled at him, but he was wearing earphones! So I ran and ran and ran, and I pushed him off the road! In doing so, sacrificing myself!" She spoke overdramatically.

    "And then?" Brian asked.

    "I wasn''t dead. Turns out that car was actually a lawnmower. It wasn''t speeding at all. The grandpaw riding it was just lost." Nancy shrugged, "It''s really amazing how summer does that to you sometimes."

    "Anyway, Jasper was screaming ''What''s ur problem, dud?!''. But I couldn''t think, you know? Like, he was right in front of me."

    "Then?"

    "I confessed. Jasper blushed." Nancy sighed, "He ran away though. Wouldn''t talk to me for the rest of the week. But that''s how we first met."

    The crystals were now sky-blue. Time had passed quickly without him realizing it. Weird.

    "I should get going now," Brian told her as he stood up. He stared at his feet for some time, "Here, you should keep this."

    "Huh?" Nancy was surprised when Brian held the book back to her.

    "It''s not like I use it for anything," Brian casually shrugged, "It''s not even mine anyway."

    "Well, only if you say so." She took the book back from him. She looked quite happy that he''d given her the book. Nancy hugged it and gave him a big grin, "Thanks, Sam!"

    He felt something tugging at him, but he quickly shrugged it off.

    ''God, she''s such a child.''

    "You''re welcome." Brian didn''t want to admit it himself, but he felt elated. Brian didn''t know where it came from though. He just felt that his shoulders were a bit lighter, is all.

    "Yessir." She saluted.

    "I''ll be going now." And so he left her.

    He walked and walked through the greens and around the open space, where most of the students were sleeping at. He figured a change of pace would be nice.

    Most of everyone were in groups already. If they didn''t have one, then they joined one. If they couldn''t join one, they made one. It wasn''t hard since you have friends and all, so everyone bunched up together after the massacre (The teacher''s group & Fetter''s band).

    They should realize by now that it was dangerous to go alone.

    "Hey give back my food!" A freshman growled at a junior.

    "Screw you!" The junior scowled back at him, "It''s your fault that you didn''t eat it yesterday! Fetter and his friends got this through blood and sweat, and you''re practically wasting it!"

    "I''m saving it for later, you shit!" The freshman yelled.

    "Back off, ya two." Just as they were about to go at it, a messy-looking janitor with a brit accent stepped in between them, "Ya already ate your fill, ya bloody wanker! So stop whining before I butcher ya ass!!!"

    Brian kept walking. Quietly. He didn''t want anyone to notice him, especially with this bloody uniform of his. Now that he thought about it, he really should have stolen that freshman''s clothes from yesterday.

    He arrived at the graveyard. There were 38 mounds. Half of them came from his class and the other half was yesterday''s casualties. A few of the mounds weren''t even finished yet.

    "Hmm?" Brian noticed Kayl was sitting beside a mound, with a cross that was bigger than the rest.

    Hesitatingly, he walked towards Kayl. She heard footsteps and turned to look. Only for her face to end up in a frown.

    "Ugh, it''s you." Kayl scoffed at him. Her skin looked sickly and her eyes were dull. She seemed repulsed when she smelled his odor, "What do you want?!"

    Brian looked at the mound she was sitting beside. It was Brandon''s. Looks like they made another one for him.

    The sign read, "Rest In Peace, Brandon. You will always be in our hearts."

    "Just looking around," Brian said as he stared at the sign and started thinking about how he left him behind. And the splattered blood that he saw from his dead classm¡ª

    ''Calm down, Brian'' He heaved a breath of air.

    "Well, don''t get near me! You reek!" She snapped at him.

    So he left her alone. He walked around the graveyard, looking at all the mounds. Which was calming in a way, but disturbing in the other. There were footprints were left here. They probably had a funeral yesterday.

    "..." Brian heard something from a distance. It sounded like grunts. Which made him curious. Was someone fighting?

    He glanced at Kayl, who was weeping by herself. She didn''t seem to hear it. So he walked closer to the noise. To some shrubs. Through a thicket. Where he found Fetter being mercilessly beaten to the ground.

    "Holy shit!" Brian watched from a bush. This didn''t make any sense. Fetter was obviously chosen, why would he let himself get beat up like this?

    "This'' for my brother, ya piece of shit!" A guy said as he kicked his stomach. Fetter groaned in pain. There were two other students who joined in beating him down.

    "Denvy''s dead now cause a'' you!" A flurry of kicks came hurtling down Fetter. His head was kicked, his groin was stomped, and his face was bashed.

    "Ptui!" The guy spat at him, "If it weren''t for the food, I would a'' killed you already."

    "Let''s go." He kicked him one last time, before walking away with his two buddies.

    Once Brian was sure that they were away, he emerged from the bushes. Getting into more trouble was the last thing he needed, he told himself, "You alright, Fetter?"

    He didn''t respond. Shit, he wasn''t moving. Brian went closer to him and put a finger under his nose. He was still breathing. Just out cold, that''s all. He pulled Fetter''s hand and picked him up. With a big oomph, Brian was carrying him on his back.

    "Argh!" He groaned. This redhead was fucking heavy. Shouldn''t have carried him. It''d be more convenient to just leave him here, but something changed in him ever since he left Brandon for dead. And that only continued to grow stronger, he thought.