Fate (DISCONTINUED)

II

Going through matches is and will never be easy.

My fingers trembled as I deciphered the codes, the hope of being able to get out alive lingering inside me.

Into the darkness my mind went, all the sanity being sapped out of me.

But despite all this, there is just something I do not get.

Why..... is all this so familiar?

.
"The match details for tomorrow are up, my friends. Those names of who will partake have been enlisted!"

I stretched my tensed muscles as Emily finishes everything she is saying. I am well aware of the fact that everyone in the manor is and will always be picked for this 'match', but what still gets me is how all the participants are set.

I mean, is there someone behind all the listings?
If there really is, who could it be?

I then felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Feeling anxious are you, Naib?" Eli said as he took a seat next to me, his owl perched on his shoulder, letting out muffled coos.

"I guess I am, Eli..." I said, finally having the courage to call him by his name instead of just awkwardly waiting for him to talk to me. If I were to break the truth, Eli is a good guy to talk to, and I feel like we would be good friends within a short amount of time.

It might not seem like it, but out of everyone in this side of the Manor I have met, Eli is the guy who has been the friendliest, and the one I talk the most to.

Should I say... I finally found my first friend?

"Hahaha. It is normal to feel anxious, for everyone in this side of Oletus is unable to know about the participant selection, we are only given the finished list, so-"

I let out a small laugh, but at the same time, I was not paying attention to Eli's words, as my eyes instantly went to the name list posted on the board.

Survivors
-Helena Adams
-Eli Clark
-Naib Subedar
-Aesop Carl

Feeling baffled, I stared at Eli, in which the Seer was also staring at me, from what I can tell by the direction he is facing, for I cannot actually see his eyes.

"Whoa, Aesop, you're being chosen as well!" Helena the Mind's Eye said, in which the Embalmer only nodded as response.

Now that I look at it again, I have not known this embalmer guy, not to mention the fact that I do not even know the guy, despite me and him living in the same floor.

Let's just hope that I will at least happen to hear him talk by the time this match comes.

"Call it a day and get some rest, you four. You can't afford to not be at your primest in a match... you will be an easy prey!" Said someone in a messy hair and black attire, which he had introduced himself as William Ellis.

I nodded, my whole attention still on the red curtain acting as a partition in the main lobby.

I should find what's behind that on my own.

I decided to dismiss the uneasiness building up inside me.

                              ***
I opened my eyes, only to find myself in a place I have never seen nor known before.

An abandoned shack lies before me, along with the remains of what I assumed had once been production containers.

It was a bleak day, with heavy rain pouring down. Puddles and mud had filled the land, making it slippery for us to move through. Not a single sunlight is found, as if the day is attempting to let us know that the match we are in is not something good nor to be proud of.

I studied my surroundings, feeling all flummoxed and scared.

I was moving around the whole place trying to figure everything out when I happen to pass by Aesop, who is decoding a cipher.

"Hey..." I said, assisting him as he deciphers the machine.
"I think I'd be some help-"

"I'm sorry...." the Embalmer said as he moved away from his position.
"I don't decode well with people surrounding me....."

He then ran, leaving me to all my confusion.

Is he really that insecure among others?

I then stared at the cipher machine, not knowing nor sure what to do.

Based on what I had read on that few papers, and what Emily had told me, these ciphers have codes that will lead you to an exit gate and an escape once everything is deciphered.

But little did they know that-

"Shit!"

Eli's voice. Coming from the factory.

He was running and writhing in pain at the same time, his hands clutching on his back. The hunter had gotten to him first, and I really hope whoever he is would not kill him.

That was when I realized something.

Where is the hunter?

He had got Eli, yes, but why can't I-

Eli's scream then reverberated through the whole place, sending chills down my spine.

He had been downed before me, and I swear I could see the injury where the hunter had made its presence on Eli on.

But... where is the hunter?

As Eli was strapped in a rocket chair, I can't help but have my rescuing instincts on, for I happen to be the closest to him.

I had my eyes on the straps on Eli's chair, my mind recalling through everything I have been told to do on unstrapping someone from a chair.

It is true that I got him rescued, now that he is utilizing his owl's protection for the sake of him not getting another hit.

However, he should not have done that, for the hunter is making his way to me now.

I am still unable to see him, but there is this cold and chilly feeling that is going strong behind me, and it gets even more intense as I made my way back to the shack I was first at.

Sweat had coated my body, and my breathing is now ragged. I am still not feeling good and well enough yet I have to do this?

Just kill me now.

A sharp, stinging pain then surged through my head, as if I had been hit with a fog or something.

Cripes.

The pain had snapped me off my focus, for now I am running straight into a wall with the hunter being hot on my heels.

The hunter then let out a charged attack, incapacitating me in the process.

My eyesight was pretty much a blur after that, but the first few things I can make out is that the hunter is now visible, with him crouching to my level to pick me up.

A really tall figure with a mask, the urge of bloodlust being palpable in his eyes.