Chapter 6

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"Techno!" The winged man exclaimed, running over to us, "Will and I heard the two cannon shots. What happened?" Another person in a dark red beanie and yellow sweater jogged over as well. His appearance striked... differently. Everything about this person felt so familiar?

"Hey, Techno," he said, "Oh, who are you?" He looked over at me curiously.

"Will, this is Kayla," Techno said, gesturing to me, "She's a new contestant in the Games and my new ally." The winged man let out a short laugh.

"An ally?" He repeated, "I didn't think you were one to have a close ally, Techno. We don't even know where your base is."

"Well, Phil, sometimes I can change my mind," Techno replied in a monotone voice, "And plus, I trust Kayla."

"It's nice to meet you, Kayla," Wilbur greeted, holding out his hand to me, "As Techno said, I'm Wilbur, or Will for short. And the winged man is Phil."

"Can you fly?" Kayla asked, pointing at Phil's wings.

"No, though I wish," Phil replied, "The wings are there, but they don't do much. My guess is that I could fly before, but they did something to my wings before putting me in the arena."

"That's sad," Kayla commented with a frown, "That would be amazing if you could just fly around the arena."

"Wouldn't it? I guess the people who made the game thought it would be overpowered," Wilbur added with a shrug.

"But back to the cannon shots," Phil said, "What happened, Techno?"

"We were there when it happened," Techno explained, "Dream, George, Sapnap, and even Punz. Niki and Jack are dead now."

"For fuck's sake," Wilbur sighed, shaking his head, "There goes another two. What are we at now? Twenty?"

"Twenty-one, since Kayla joined," Techno corrected. Kayla glanced over at Wilbur to see him staring at her before quickly looking away.

"Uh, so is there anything else important?" Wilbur said quickly.

"One more thing. I want you to try to remember anything about the people who died before Niki and Jack," Techno stated. Phil opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything.

"You're fucking kidding," Will said quietly, "Please tell me this is some kind of shit joke, Techno."

"Can't remember a single thing, can you?" Techno questioned. Phil and Wilbur both shook their heads.

"They... made us forget, didn't they?" Phil asked, "Somehow, some way, they made us forget. Does that mean— does that mean we'll forget Niki and Jack, too?"

"Theoretically, yes," Techno responded, "In fact, I would be shocked if we can still recall their name tomorrow morning." Wilbur turned around and punched the trunk of a nearby tree hard enough that the branches shook.

"Fuck this arena!" He shouted in frustration, "Fuck this arena, fuck those bitches who put us in here, and fuck the whole world while we're at it!" He held his right hand in his left.

"Done now?" Kayla questioned quietly, "Because that's not going to help, you know. Look at your hand." Wilbur frowned and glanced down at the split knuckles on the back of his right hand.

"I know, but it makes me feel a bit better about it," Will muttered. Techno cleared his throat and crossed his arms.

"It's late. Kayla and I should get going," he said.

"As should we," Phil replied, "Come on, Will, let's go get your hand bandaged. Bye, Techno. It was nice meeting you, Kayla."

"Yeah, nice meeting you, Kayla," Will added, "I'll see you around, I guess."

"Bye," Kayla said, giving them a small wave. Then, Techno guided back through the forest and towards their base. The sky was growing darker, casting eerie shadows on the forest floor.

Back at camp, Kayla sat by the fire while Techno worked to make a small living area for her, separate from his own. The result was a small overhang with a mat for sleeping and a small roughly-made table.

Once the moon was high in the sky, Techno and Kayla each retired for the night. Kayla lay down on the mat, staring up at the cloth ceiling. She could still see the silhouettes of branches through the thin fabric, but at least she would be protected from most of the elements.

In the dead silence, it was almost as if every sound was magnified. The crickets' chirps seemed to be right against her ear and the occasional rustling of leaves in the breeze sounded like a hurricane.

Eventually, though, Kayla drifted to sleep. At first, everything was black. Everything was silent. She subconsciously focused on the sound of her gentle breath flowing in and out.

But then, a different world bloomed around her. She blinked, sitting up from what was a hard, cold floor. The floor was white and perfectly clean, with not a drop of dust to be anywhere.

Surrounding her was a variety of tables and different gadgets that felt so strangely familiar. It felt like Kayla had seen them before, but she couldn't think of a single memory of them.

Then a person walked in from around the corner. He had dark brown hair that fell to just above his eyes and wore a purple hoodie with a green swirl in the center.

"Who are you?" Kayla whispered. There was a strong familiarity about this person, and she felt a close connection with him. He only smiled, though, and didn't speak a single word.

Then the scene changed, and she found herself standing in an office of sorts. Scarlet red curtains lined the windows, pulled back to let the natural light in. Except, glancing out the window, Kayla saw nothing but a white void.

The desk was elegant and made from dark wood, with intricate designs along the edges. On the desk were an assortment of papers, organized into neat piles, along with a few pens and a white mug.

The final thing Kayla noticed was the person sitting behind the desk. She couldn't make out any of his features, for her vision of him was nothing but a black silhouette of a human being.

The only thing she could make out were

the

large

horns

on

his

head




Kayla's eyes snapped open and she sat upright, breathing heavily. The sky was still pitch black and she could hear Techno's quiet breathing from inside his tent.

She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, wiping her sweaty palms on her mat. Two images stuck in her mind from the dream.

One, the boy in the purple sweatshirt.

And two, the horned man.

But who were they? And what did they have to do with her?

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A/n - I'm pretty sure I've made it obvious enough now :D
Bit of a shorter chapter, but it gets the job done yk
Any thoughts?
Love you guys <3

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