Chapter 17: Team 2

  The forest was far too quiet for anyone's liking.

  Kate Locke crouched behind a rotted log, her fingers splayed in the underbrush and her eyes scanning the glade ahead. A soft rustle to her left caught her attention, and she turned to find that it was Lance. At the same time on her right, Peter crept forward, his spear held low, movements subdued and controlled.

  Above them, the thick canopy choked off most of the morning light, casting everything in muted green and brown. Damp air clung to their gear, and every footstep sunk slightly into moss or mulch below. The only sound Kate heard was the rising and falling of her team’s breathing, slow and anxious.

  They were close. Kate steadied her own breathing, and adjusted the grip on her make-shift spear before she glanced back. Zach stood ten paces behind her, his posture was relaxed but alert, his hands resting lightly on the hilt of his knife on his belt. He didn’t speak at all, he never did during hunts, but he was watching nonetheless. He was always watching. Not the terrain and not the threat.

  Her, he was watching her. Just a silent sentinel.

  Kate signaled with the curl of two fingers, giving the sign for a forward sweep. Holly and Cole moved up the left flank, each of them staying low. Peter mirrored on the right. Lance stayed closer this time, his club drawn and his eyes roving about.

  Then they could all hear it. The low, huffing grunt of something big and close.

  The badger-beast crashed through the underbrush like a freight train. Mud sprayed and bark exploded from a nearby tree as it passed. Two more badgers followed in its wake, their teeth clacking, and yellow eyes flashing in the gloom of the low light.

  Kate didn’t give herself any time to hesitate, her order was immediate. “Engage!”

  Peter was first to react. He charged forward, driving his spear into one of the smaller beast’s shoulder. Only to be slammed back a second later as the creature twisted with unnatural speed, flinging him into a tree.

  He hit hard. He groaned and managed to roll away just in time to avoid the snapping jaws of the second beast which attempted to gain its revenge with its sharp teeth.

  Lance charged in club first, shouting a war cry. He rammed the second badger with enough force to stagger it, then pivoted to catch a retaliatory swipe on the edge of the thick wooden branch. The blow knocked him two steps back, and he winced as the impact jolted through his arm.

  Cole flanked the biggest of the three beasts, a sharpened stone-head spear in hand slashing deep into the beast’s side. The beast roared and spun, clipping him across the hip with its dirtied claw. Cole went down hard, blood staining the dirt beneath him. He rebounded quickly enough, springing back to his feet and deftly dodging the creatures follow up strikes.

  “Hold formation!” Kate shouted as she took her own turn to lung into the fray.

  She met the badger attacking Cole, her blade flashing in tight lines, aiming for its eyes. It was fast, too fast for something that big. It was down right ferocious, actually. The beast weaved under her strike and jolted upward. She barely ducked the blow, but one of its claws scraped across her shoulder, tearing through fabric and flesh.

  She staggered, then rolled beside it in a fluid motion, before coming up behind the beast. She was about to strike out again when she heard it. On the left, Holly screamed a warning. Kate turned just in time to see the second small badger leap at her.

  Zach took that moment of opportunity and rushed forward.

  He was a blur of motion, then a flash of steel. The creature was midair when he intercepted it with a short, almost perfect lunge. The knife blade in his hand punched through its chest. It shrieked, crashed to the ground, then twitched and stilled. Blood pooled beneath the beast, soaking into the dirt below.

  Zach didn’t look at her. He simply moved on, his eyes scanning for the next threat.

  Holly, meanwhile, had pinned the last smaller badger with her spear but it was still alive, its mouth snarling and limbs flailing. Peter, now bruised and limping, ran forward and stomped down on the creature’s neck with his boot. Holly pushed down further, burying the spear deeper until the creature shuddered and stopped moving.

  The last one roared in seeming defiance and then it charged again.

  Kate turned to meet it, raising her weapon at the ready. She prepared to give orders once again and almost didn’t make it in time.

  The thing was bleeding from three wounds now, its hide torn and matted, but it was enraged, and barreled through Lance like he wasn’t even there, smashing him aside and nearly knocking Peter over yet again.

  Kate screamed, “Now! All in!”

  The entire team surrounded it. Peter and Cole slashed at its flanks. Lance pulled himself to his feet and took position to block its retreat, bringing down his hefty club whenever he had an opening. Holly jabbed for its underbelly, trying to avoid the thrashing limbs. Kate, though, climbed onto its back.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The beast bucked and shrieked, spinning in circles, throwing dirt and foliage. She held tight with one arm, the other driving her blade again and again into its spine. Finally, with a sound like tearing tree bark and a full-body shudder, the badger’s spine gave way and it collapsed.

  Kate tumbled off its back, hitting the ground in a sprawl.

  She lay there for a moment, her heart pounding and chest heaving. She blinked up at the green, canopy covered sky. The others stood around the fallen monster. All of them were bloody, panting, and bruised. Cole sported a limp of his own. Peter now held his side were he bled slightly. Lance's arm was visibly shaking.

  Holly wiped blood from her jaw. Not her own blood, but she was close to losing a piece of her face during that fight regardless.

  The System pinged.

  No one cheered. There were no exchanges of fist bumps, hugs, or high-fives. Just the silence of pain and exhausted breath. Everyone’s eyes remained unfocused as they stared into the void in front of them.

  Kate sat up slowly, swiped the gore off her blade with a trembling hand, and stared at her stat screen as well. Still, there was no class reward. Still, no titles, no unlocks and no guidance. She stared at her status window, her jaw clenched in anger.

  Just numbers. It was too slow, still not enough, not even close.

  “This isn’t enough,” she muttered.

  Holly looked up. “What?”

  Kate turned her eyes toward the others. “We killed three of them. One of them was the size of a damn Saint Bernard. And what did we get? A few points of experience. No titles. No skill unlocks. No system quests.”

  Peter shrugged. “It’s progress, isn’t it?”

  “Not enough progress,” Kate shot back. “We’ve been out here for days. You’ve all seen how The System rewards effort. But it’s inconsistent. It’s... vague.”

  “We don’t know what it’s measuring. Maybe survival is the test. Just staying alive.” Lance said carefully.

  Kate shook her head. “No. No, it’s more than that. You remember what it said in the beginning, right? ‘Prove yourselves.’ That was the wording. Prove ourselves. But against what?”

  Nobody answered.

  Zach stepped up beside her, silent, and calm.

  “I think it’s them,” Kate continued, her eyes burning with emotion now. “The News’ers team. The others. Maybe this AI or whatever wants to see who deserves to move forward. Maybe... maybe it only lets one group survive. That’s the trial determining who is exceptional. Worthy.”

  Holly’s brow furrowed. “That’s a big assumption.”

  “It fits,” Kate snapped. “What else would you expect from a game-style system? Rival factions. Competitive quests. We’ve seen how it tailors experience rewards. What if this whole world is a filter? A crucible?”

  Lance looked uncomfortable. “We don’t even know if they’re pushing to get stronger. Or if they even got the same quest that we did. Alex said they didn’t believe him. He left.”

  Kate’s voice dropped. “Exactly. And we don’t know if the system gave them better starting conditions. A better quest. Less dead weight. We don’t even know if they’re still us .”

  A long silence followed after that. Each member of the team looking about to the others. Lance and Holly shared a guarded look. Zach continued to stand by Kate’s side.

  Holly shifted on her feet. “Kate... you’re talking about hurting people.”

  “I’m talking about surviving,” she said. “And if you can’t see the difference, maybe you’re the one slowing us down.”

  That landed among the team like a stone cast in still water. Peter looked away. Cole exhaled hard. Lance bit his lip and grimaced, but said nothing. Zach nodded.

  Kate crouched beside the badger, sliced free a length of hide, and marked something on her parchment map with its blood. Varying other marks were already present in the red ink-like substance. A known fight location. A point of interest. A path she’d seen through the trees where smoke had curled faintly two days ago, where they might be.

  “If we wait too long,” she said softly, “we might not get the chance to prove anything at all.”