Game Of Survival

Chapter 26

MIRA

"….for today's contest, our contestants are Contestant one hundred and sixty three and Contestant two hundred and ninety nine!" Mr. E declared. I frowned immediately. Somehow this match didn't sit well with me. This week hadn't ended yet, there were still plenty of exciting matches to be held. I knew this because I was only an exclusive guest.

"Daniel Hendrix…" I muttered as I stared at his picture displaying on the large TV in my room. If I wasn't wrong, this guy was definitely related to James Hendrix perhaps as a brother or cousin or whatever, I couldn't say precisely. The same person Mr. E made me fight for. I still remember that day, it was the day in the second Arena.

I was running stealthily, finding my first prey. Although killing these people took its toll on me, I had no choice either. If I was willing to survive, I'd have to kill my way through. I didn't even care about the hundred million dollars prize tag. All I just wanted was my freedom. I paused immediately and I heard footsteps. I briskly looked around and then I hid by the tree close to me. Whoever this person was, he or she was going to be my first kill. I heard the sound again and I could tell this person was trying to be as careful as possible but no matter what antics he or she may pull. I was going to end it. I placed my left index finger on the trigger, calming my breaths as silent as possible, I looked in the direction the sound came from and I pointed my gun. The moment I saw any human on sight, I was going to rain that person with a bullet straight up.

The person finally came out and it was Miguel Garrison. I froze immediately. This was the number one killer amongst the contestants. He single handedly killed over thirty contestants. Even though I was the number two, I was scared to the core. I remained petrified in my stance and to press the trigger suddenly felt like a taboo for me. I didn't know why I was holding back, perhaps the fear of facing the number one caused it or perhaps, I didn't want to be famous for ending the number one rank. It would only draw further attention to me and I didn't want that. I didn't want to be the target of the majority of the contestants, although some of them feared me but maniacs like Gabriel would certainly chase after me. And so, I made my decision. I was just going to let him go. I couldn't risk facing him.

"I know you're there." He muttered and I gasped. I was sure I hid myself well yet he noticed me.

"And it looks like you're going to shoot me." He commented and I gulped down my saliva. My heart started pounding like crazy and I was beginning to become sweaty. I haven't felt like this since the beginning of the show. Was he going to shoot me? Or should I just run? Either way, both conditions didn't look too favorable for me. Whatever move I was going to take was solely going to depend on him.

"I'm not going to shoot you either." He said. "I've already eliminated the required number." He added and my eyes widened more. Sure, several minutes had passed but how could he have killed ten so quickly. This guy was a serious monster and I could only count myself lucky I didn't have to die in his hands. Regardless, I couldn't trust him. For all I know, he could be saying that to make me lower my guard. So I remained as quiet as possible.

He didn't say anything and I could hear his footsteps going further and further away from me. I exhaled deeply, I could finally breathe back. If I hadn't been so careful perhaps I would have been a goner by now. My breaths came out heavy as if I was suffering from a panic attack. I couldn't just his presence alone ground so much fear in my heart.

After a while, I was finally back to my stable self.

"Mira Henshaw." A voice called as I almost took a step forward. I briskly took a fierce stance, looking around my surroundings. I was sure it wasn't Miguel but the voice was strangely overly familiar.

"Looks like you can hear me." The voice pitched again.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" I raised my voice, trying to ascertain the position this voice was coming from.

"You should relax, nobody is within your surroundings." His deep baritone chattered.

"I said show yourself!"

"How can I show myself when I'm not even around you." He chuckled and my anger spiked on a greater level.

"Are you toying with me or something? The moment I find you, I swear I'll end you!" I retorted and he laughed.

"Anyways, Playtime is over." He said. "Like I said before you should relax, nobody is within your surroundings."

I pointed my gun aimlessly, I was the vulnerable one here. This person knows my position and could simply gun me down. Maybe I should just run.

"And stop pointing your gun aimlessly, you're only going to waste your bullets." He uttered.

"Shut up!"

"I'll advise you to compose yourself and listen. I want you to face the camera, I'd prefer speaking with you face to face." He said and realization struck me.

"Mr. E?" I quoted as I turned to the camera fixed on one of the branches of the tree.

"That's right." He answered and I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Wait…" I said with a sharp frown. "This is the first time something like this is happening. Why are you contacting me personally?" I asked.

"That's because I personally have a job for you." He answered and my frown deepened more. Apart from the fact I found this weird, whatever this job entailed, It might certainly cost my life.

"What job?" I asked.

"About a kilometer from your positions there are five contestants on the run. Four of them are banding together and the last one is after them. The last one we're talking about here is Gabriel."

I gasped.

"Gabriel, you mean the number three ranker?" I finally found the tongue to ask.

"Yes. Now your job is to go after them and kill him." He said.

"What?!" I blurted. "And you think I'll just head straight to my death like that. We're talking about five people here. Even if I kill Gabriel successfully, which is going to be strenuous by the way, the remaining four are going to attack me!"

"I assure you Mira, the four of them aren't going to attack you. I just need you to eliminate Gabriel."

"Why?" I asked. "Why him, that guy was the number three ranker. Why would you want me to terminate him."

"Two reasons." He answered. "First, our guest is going to find it intriguing seeing the number two ranker eliminate the number three."

My palms curled into a fist while my teeth gritted.

"And the second?"

"James Hendrix, Contestant three hundred. The viewers are particularly interested in him and his group. It would be a shame and a loss for us if they die by Gabriel's hands."

"James Hendrix…" I mumbled trying to see if I've met him somewhere or not. No matter how hard I tried, I didn't seem to have a memory of him.

"Even if you say it's completely safe, walking a kilometer is going to take at least twenty minutes considering the other contestants that might be lurking around."

He chuckled.

"You don't get it Mira." He said. "You're not in any position to reject my proposal. If I wanted, I could have your head blown up instantly." He muttered and I gulped down my saliva.

"But you shouldn't worry much. If you're successful in this task, I'm going to automatically make you among the top three liable for the special offers. So what do you say, Mira?" He asked and I could tell how imposing that tone was. Of course I had to agree. It wasn't like he gave me a choice in any way.

"I accept." I answered.

"Very good. Stick closely to the trees. You'll be receiving guidance from one of our workers."

"Alright." I nodded.

"One more thing, failure is not acceptable." He quoted in a somewhat deadly tone.

"I won't." I answered and he went mute.

"Take East." Another voice quoted, it wasn't as deep as Mr. E but I quickly followed instructions.

And after I had successfully come to their rescue, I took my leave as instructed.

"You can stop here." Mr. E's voice protruded again. "You did well Mira. As expected of the number two ranker."

"I was just lucky, if I had been a second late one of them would have died." I answered while staring at the camera.

"But none of them didn't so you get to keep your life and receive the special offer I prepared for you." He answered and I frowned slightly. There was this burning curiosity in me. I didn't want to believe Mr. E would personally talk to me just to save the four of them. There was something suspicious in play here but I held back. I'd rather not have my head blown up because of my curiosity.

"Good." I simply answered.

"You can choose to stay here till this stage is over or go to another safe place of your choice. Either way you don't need to terminate anybody." He said and I nodded. "One more thing, I hope you know whatever transpired between you and I should be tight lipped. The moment you say anything about this, consider your life over." He added and his voice went mute. I nodded before walking away. The fact that this man had eyes virtually everywhere made the fact even ground more. There was no escape from this show. The only way out was to kill. Kill and don't be killed.

I took a sip of my juice as I stared at the Large TV in my room once again.

"….Welcome to the stage!" Mr. E muttered in a grand manner. "Today's episode is going to be special. Rather than fight each other with your bare hands, the two of you will be allowed to use weapons against each other."

My eyes squinted at the screen. This was the first time something like this was implemented.

"Just what are you up to Mr. E?" I asked myself in a whisper. First he asked me to protect James and his group but all of a sudden, he changed the match fixtures today and put Daniel Hendrix in the match instead. Looking clearly at his details, he hasn't even killed anyone and I doubt anyone else in that group had done so too. There was something in play here. My instincts were never wrong. But all I could do for now was watch quietly.

**

MR E.

"Mr. E, the match has already been set just like you requested." Grace muttered as she came to join my side in front of the screen. I grinned.

"Very good, now then let's see how James is going to take the news." I said, focusing on the footage of his room. I smiled seeing the devastated look he had on his face. He looked like he was going crazy. He was constantly yelling at the camera.

"I want to hear what he's saying." I said and she nodded.

"Let my brother go, you bastards!! Let him go!!" He yelled like a blood crazed man, tears were gracing his eyes, and he was hopelessly banging his door. I chuckled, this was what I wanted, seeing him break down.

"You're right Mr. E, seeing him like this is quite entertaining." Grace said and I glanced at her.

"Didn't I tell you." I replied but she frowned at the screen. My gaze darted to the screen back.

"He's destroying the cameras Mr. E." She said and indeed that was what he was doing.

"This is the third time he's done this." She added and I frowned. The first two times he had done something like this, his TV, bulbs and cameras were destroyed by his hands. Although he sustained injuries, I didn't get why he did it the first time, nor the second time. But this time, he was doing it again and I felt suspicious. He should be worried about his brother, whether he was going to survive it or not. Something was definitely amiss with his actions.

"Send some officials to fix his room. They should be armed. I suspect he's up to something."