Caleb, eyes glued to the monitor, was shaking in fear. Had he heard her right? He couldn't tell. She sounded WAY to cheerful. But it sounded like they had to kill each other in three days or else everyone died. He also saw that there was more to this game, including danger zones that change and some other things that were special that came along with the 3000th Battle Royal they didn't specifically tell them. That only made Caleb fret more.
There was, at least, a little good news going into this...they weren't going without equipment. Each person got food and water, so there was no chance of dehydrating to death, a flashlight for the dark, a compass and a map of the island so he could track his location and keep out of danger zones, and a random weapon. An army man stepped forward, calling out names and handing out packs. He was nearly shaking out of his seat. This was it, there was no way out of this. Everyone was tense in the room as they knew only one of them would walk out of here or none of them.
Kayla and Charity were called on first as they, fearfully took their packs and left the building, entering the survival arena. He didn't know if he was ever going to see them again. Then, the next two names were called. "Nikolai Resnov and Caleb Davenport. You two are next. Caleb, shakily, stood up. Looking around the room, he spotted one of the two people who weren't in the class, the boy to be exact, standing up. Like before, something cold, evil, and sinister layed behind Nikolai and it was something he didn't want to find out.
He ran up there first, nearly falling over from the pack that was thrusted at him, then ran outside into the tropic air. There were two paths, one leading down to the ocean, the other went into the jungle on an incline. He knew cover was a valuable thing, so he ran into the forest, climbing up the train for the first hundred feet, then making a sharp right, leaving the trail and entering the jungle. He ran right for a few hundred more feet into pure dark before looking back, turning on the flashlight to see if he could see the trail. He couldn't. Sighing in relief, he sat down and opened his pack. There was the food and water and the compass and map. He had already found the flashlight, so what was his weapon? He felt his hand into the bag until something cold brushed past his fingers. He picked it up and pulled it out. There, in his hands, lay a hatchet, a relatively simple weapon. It was okay, he figured as he got up on his feet, tossing the hatchet into his bag. There was a clang of metal and he froze. Was there something else there? He Searched through the bag and found another hatchet. He had two? he wondered. He decided not to question it further, pulling them out as he gave a few practice swings. He felt a little better, a little more secure. But what he wanted to make him feel invincible was a bow with multiple arrows. It was the only weapon that would feel comfort entering his hand. He hoped that one of the packs contained such an item. He looked at his axes and realized that they had a couple more uses besides hacking and slashing his classmates.
He walkeed up to a nearby tree and brought one of the axes forward, hearing a thunk as it buried itself into the tree trunk. He then aimed his other axe a little higher up the tree, the same sound resulting. With great effort, he pulled out the other axe, now hanging from the second one, and buried the sharp edge into the tree, a little higher than the second one. He could climb with these! Smiling at his success, he repeated the process, over and over again, until he was at the top of the tree. He climbed up the branches and reached the point where he could see over the trees. He looked out at the scenery around him.
It was an island, as the perky lady had said. He could see the moon glistening off of the water in the distance. He saw that the edge of the island was surrounded by cliffs. It was a death wish to jump off and try to land in the water. But some people will probably try it anyway, not necesarily to escape, but to commit suicide. All of this was a little too much to take in.
Around the island, he saw the school building, the jungle trees around him, and the field to the right of him. He made a mental note to not go into the field unless he wanted to die. Looking at the top of the hill, he saw a cabin that appeared to be abandoned. He also chose not to go there, for a lot of people might be heading there. He also saw a lighthouse and a warehouse and another normal farm house as he gazed across the island, all of them were mentally marked as no-nos. He took his axes and began to climb down.
He had reached the bottom and he heard guns in a certain direction. There were guns in the packs? He looked at his axes, less confidently. He needed a bow and arrow soon, or at least some long range weapon. Suddenly, a rustling sound emerged to the right of him. He thought of Nikolai as he dove behind a tree.
"Wait!" a girl spoke. Caleb peeked around the corner to find Kayla, standing there, her pack slung around her back. "Caleb?" she spoke again, softly, fearfully.
"Hold your hands in the air," Caleb finally found his voice, speaking quietly. He wanted to make sure this girl wasn't trying to kill him by luring his in. Kayla gave him a questionable look before raising her hands. Caleb came from behind the tree, his axes poised, as he backed off a few more feet before speaking again. "What do you want?" he whispered. He studied her body, making sure she had no weapon of any kind within her reach. "I-I just want to find Charity," she replied. Caleb relaxed a bit, but just a bit. Everyone knew Kayla and Charity were best friends, so it would make sense that they would team up for now. "Well, I haven't seen her," Caleb whispered back,"Have you tried the cabin at the top of the hill? She might be there."
Kayla nodded, muttering a "Thank you," before rushing off in that direction. Caleb sighed as she left, slumping behind a tree and taking a sip of water. He was tired, his muscles sore from climbing the tree. He climbed a smaller tree, one that had branches, and climbed as far as the leaves, but stopped just under them. Sighing, he curled on a wide branch and went to sleep. The last thing he heard before entering the dream state was another gun. The sound of death right before going to sleep is so reassuring, he thought, still surprised that he was thrusted into this. Tomorrow, he was going to find a bow and arrows...
RPG
