Nova's Blade

Chapter 2

Nova bolts upright, gasping for air. She finds herself in a stark white room, disoriented. The walls appear identical, and she wears a tight-fitting white jumpsuit. Panic rising, she pounds on each wall, her voice echoing through the space.

"Hello?! Help!"

A wall slides open with a hiss, revealing a dim hallway filled with similarly dressed individuals, their faces etched with confusion and fear. Some bear bruises, while others exchange hushed words. Drawn to a distant light, they file into a vast, seatless auditorium, the stage and microphone the only furnishings.

Nova and Fable lock eyes, their expressions questioning. "What is this?" Fable murmurs.

"I don't know," Nova responds, scanning the room. "It's just women here."

A door near the stage swings open, and a stern woman with cropped black hair marches onto the stage, trailed by armed guards wielding assault rifles. She clears her throat.

"Excuse me," the woman calls out, her voice barely audible above the murmurs and whispers filling the room.

Everyone continues talking, either ignoring her or not hearing her in the cacophony of voices.

"I said, excuse me!" she bellows, her voice cutting through the noise like a knife.

The room falls silent, every eye now fixed on her, as she commands their undivided attention.

"My name is Irma. You have been brought here to perform a series of tests. There are 150 of you. By the end, only 32 will remain. The rest of you will simply... vanish. Any questions?"

A woman scoffs her voice dripping with contempt. "What is this, a joke? A twisted game show? You'll be hearing from my lawyer, you–"

Before she can finish, Irma's gun rings out, and the woman crumples lifelessly to the floor. A collective gasp fills the room as the other women recoil in horror, some even stifling screams.

"Now it's 149. Anyone else?"

The women remain silent, their faces pale, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. The atmosphere is thick with tension and unspoken terror.

The stage suddenly extends, stretching out into a vast expanse reminiscent of a football field. The enormity of the space only adds to the women's growing unease, as they begin to understand the gravity of their situation.

"All you have to do is make it across, and you pass. Begin." Irma instructs, now on the other side.

No one moves. A brave soul takes a step, only to be struck by an arrow in the throat. Arrows fly from the walls, striking down women as they sprint towards the stage. Blood and bodies litter the floor.

As Nova races across the blood-soaked floor, her heart pounds in her chest. Each leap and dodge feels like a ballet of death, her movements instinctive and desperate. A terrified woman nearby calls out for help, her plea cut short by an arrow that burrows into her skull. The sound of flesh and bone tearing haunts Nova's ears.

Fable, ruthless in her determination to survive, shields herself with the bodies of others as she advances. She reaches the stage and stretches her hand out for Nova, her face a mix of determination and concern.

"Come on!" Fable yells, her voice cutting through the cacophony of screams and arrows.

Adrenaline surging through her veins, Nova leaps towards Fable's outstretched hand, their fingers interlocking just in time. Together, they pull each other onto the stage, joining the remaining survivors who have managed to defy the lethal storm of arrows. The air is thick with fear, and the survivors share trembling breaths, their eyes reflecting the horror they've just endured.