Surviving Paradise

Chapter 2

ANU'S POV

I watch as the man collapses without warning. One moment, he's standing there, shouting in anger like the rest of us. The next, he crumples to the ground with his body twitching before going completely still.

Dead.

For a moment, everywhere is silent. A heartbeat later, chaos explodes.

Screams tear through the air. People stumble backward, pushing and shoving, eyes wide with horror. Someone drops to their knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Others run around, frantically searching for a way out. The crowd surges like a wild animal, desperate and frenzied.

Everything seems to move in slow motion around me as I look at him.

I barely hear my own thoughts over the deafening noise. My breath comes in short, panicked gasps. What just happened? How did he die so suddenly?

Then, without warning, they enter.

Masked guards, dressed in sleek black from head to toe. They march in with terrifying precision. They move like shadows. Their faces are hidden behind expressionless masks. There's something disturbingly inhuman about them, like they are predators walking into a cage of scared prey.

. People beg, plead, cry out for mercy. But the guards do not hesitate. Two of them step forward and grab the dead man by the arms. His lifeless body drags along the floor and his head lolls to the side..

A woman shrieks, falling to the floor in terror. Another man turns and sprints in the opposite direction—

A sharp c***k fills the air.

The runner collapses mid-step. His body convulses before he goes limp. Dead.

I feel bile rise in my throat. My hands tremble as I press them to my mouth, swallowing down the scream threatening to escape.

A voice booms from the speakers overhead.

"Resistance means death."

The silence that follows is suffocating.

My pulse pounds against my skull. I feel the shift in the air. That's when I realize something. The overseer—the voice—whoever they are, they are in complete control.

"You have all been implanted with neural chips," the voice continues. "Any attempt to disobey will result in immediate termination. There is no escape."

I feel dread in my stomach. I press my fingers to the back of my neck, searching, but I feel nothing. The idea of something inside me, something capable of killing me with a single command—it's paralyzing.

Gasps of horror spread through the group. Whispers of disbelief. Quiet sobs. Ragged breaths. We're all trapped, prisoners in some kind of twisted game. And none of us know the rules.

The ground beneath us trembles.

A low rumble starts. It's small at first but then, it grows into something monstrous. The walls shudder. The air vibrates.

Then, from beyond the glass windows, the ocean shifts.

The water rises unnaturally. A huge wave swells in the distance. It builds, growing taller by the second.

I start to panic. My body goes rigid and my breath catches in my throat. The others see it too. More screams. More desperate, pleading cries.

The wave crashes down.

A loud roar fills the air. The impact is devastating. Water slams against the reinforced glass, sending violent tremors through the entire facility.

I stumble backward, gripping the nearest surface for support. My heart is hammering and my mind is racing with one desperate thought:

What the hell is happening?

The deafening roar of the waves drowns out the screams. Saltwater fills the air. Buildings shatter on impact. Glass explodes into tiny fragments. Bodies are swept away, disappearing into the tide.

But I do not scream. Fear tightens its grip on my throat, but I shove it down. Panicking will not save me. I have to move. I have to think.

The force of the wave sends people tumbling like ragdolls. They scream as they fight against the pull of the sea. Others are paralyzed. Their terror renders them useless. I scan my surroundings, searching for higher ground, for something—anything—that can help me survive. My feet move before my mind catches up. I run as fast as I can across the shifting terrain as water moves behind me.

In the madness, my eyes lock onto a man. He's tall, powerfully built, with broad shoulders and an intensity in his gaze that cuts through the chaos. He's cradling an injured woman in his arms. His expression is filled with concern as he helps her to her feet. Blood stains the sleeve of his shirt, but he doesn't seem to care. Our eyes meet for a brief second. A strange sensation spreads in my chest. I feel a moment of connection in a world collapsing around us.

Time slows.

Then reality crashes back into place. A chunk of debris flies past my head, snapping me out of my trance. I tear my gaze away from him and push forward. I move over a fallen beam. My hands scrape against the rough surface as I climb. Behind me, more screams fade into silence as the water swallows them whole. Only those fast enough, smart enough, or lucky enough survive.

The sea eventually calms, dragging lifeless bodies into its depths. What was once a crowded space of terrified souls is now eerily quiet. Only seventy of us remain.

I stand, drenched and gasping. My lungs burn as I try to make sense of what just happened. My muscles tremble, but I force myself to stay on my feet. I can't afford to show weakness.

Movement in the corner of my eyes catches my attention. The man from earlier approaches. His shirt is soaked and clinging to his body. His dark hair is wet with strands sticking to his forehead. His focus is sharp, assessing everything around us with the same calculating expression I recognize in myself.

"Chris," he says, nodding at me.

"Anu," I reply.

There is no time for pleasantries. The ground beneath us trembles. My breath catches. The place is shifting again.

The ocean vanishes in an instant. The air thickens with heat. One second, we are standing in the aftermath of a flood. The next, an endless desert stretches before us. The horizon shimmers and the hot sun shines down from the sky.

Then, the voice returns.

"Congratulations, survivors," the Overseer announces through the unseen speakers. "You have proven yourselves capable of adapting. But survival is an ongoing test. Now, you must face the next challenge."

The heat rises rapidly. The sun is merciless. Sweat beads on my skin within moments. My drenched clothes already begin to dry in the intense heat.

"The rules are simple," the voice continues. "Find shelter and water before the sun reaches its peak. Fail to do so, and your bodies will be reduced to nothing but dust."

A shudder runs through the remaining contestants. People start to whisper. Some glance at each other. Others, the more ruthless ones, are already looking around.

I swallow hard. There is no way we will all make it. The realization sinks in like a knife to the gut.

I notice a few water sources in the distance, but they are too few. I can already see people forming silent alliances, staking their claim before anyone can protest. The strong will take. The weak will perish.

My stomach twists. I can't trust anyone.

A tap on my shoulder startles me.