•..× 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒔 ×,.•

The Hunt

disclaimer // this is kinda like a uhhhhhh incomplete oneshot ?? there's implied dnf but not rlly dsbjhsdhjhds its more of a dream team/manhunt oneshot and i had to edit this so the ending would make sense bc i honestly forgot where this one was going when i wrote it (which was back in june JSHDJHSJKHSD) okay enjoy

George found himself trembling in fear next to a man he met the previous day who he would be paired with in order to kill someone in a cruel game of cat and mouse. He very briefly remembered his name to be Nick who preferred to be called Sapnap. Currently, they were sitting in a waiting area where other pairs awaited their same fate to be the hunters of a prey whom they had yet to meet. The room was white and sleek, almost futuristic, certainly deriving from the bloodshed that would unfold just outside of its thick walls. 

He was picked from one of the many districts in the Northeast, a district that was low in education and training. He was just barely qualified to be a part of the gruesome event that so many higher powers took pleasure in watching. One person in every district across the land would be picked once a year to participate for the duration of the manhunts until victors of however many games they chose to host were settled. All constesters were to be 17 years or older, best qualified in that specific district, and willing to comply with their position in the manhunt, whether it be cat or mouse. Of course though, if you were picked you had no choice but to comply. 

Depending on your skill, experience and education, they would appoint you the hunter or the hunted. If hunters were to kill their assigned prey, whether it be in pairs or individually, they were sent back to their district having been given fortunes and resources to improve it. Those who failed to complete their task would be exiled, put back in their districts without reward, or executed; it was always up to chance which one you got. 

The hunted would be previous hunters who showed true improvement or who were incredibly skilled first comers. The prey that failed to reach their ultimate goal of reaching and killing a dragon would meet the same demise as the hunters. However, if they completed the task of killing the dragon, they were not only given the resources that the hunters would receive, they were also given the option to leave the state. They had to make a decision to go back to improve their district or leave the state for good with all the means necessary to survive. 

It was truly a cruel game and an even crueler outcome on both ends. The government was horrible to say the least, the rich only getting richer and the poor staying poor. The better the contestants, the better the district, and even better of a chance at winning and becoming a greater one. The overseers had been organizing these events since before George was born and he grew up in fear of them. In fear of being chosen on his 16th birthday. In fear of not being skilled enough because of the quality of his district which he learned very quickly wasn’t the best. In fear of, now, possibly never returning home.

The brunette observed the room full of people of all ages. Boys and girls, men and women; some barely looking old enough to see an R rated film and some looking as if they should be using canes to walk. Some of their faces read those of terror and dread while some knew of the horrors that would be created as soon as their names were called to be teleported to their hunting ground. 

No one truly knew how the technology was created, but all they knew was that it was this new form of government that introduced it to the state all those decades ago and no one dared to ask questions. George had learned not to question the government, the guards that were placed in each district to watch over the people, the ways of the overseers and everything in between. He watched a classmate be carried out of his math class by two guards when he was 10 years old after she asked how the government came to power and didn’t return the next day, or the day after and so on. He shut up about any suspicions he had after that.