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Chapter 6

6: Wolves and Rabbits

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"Are they gone?" Ana looked around fearfully as she approached Trevor and Fei.

"Where have you run off to?" The two of them watched her carefully. Ana let out a sigh of relief before pointing at the hut nearby. Well Fei knows that the beast are really scary, but shouldn't Ana have helped them instead of chickening out?

"Let's just go back inside the hut and wait for the rest of the group."

Fei hid the rolling pin inside the inventory before walking back. They didn't wait long because after a few minutes a wounded Steven and Dein returned.

"What happened to Ryan?" Ana asked when she didn't find the guy. Steven shooked his head then glanced at Dein who is now taking care of her wounds.

"While waiting for the wolves appearance, Ryan suddenly attacked Dein intending to kill him for no reason--"

"Then I killed him." Dein cutt of Steven and told us what happened on their ends instead.

"Why did he do that? Is Ryan pretending to be a player somehow?" Trevor said, while touching his beard.

"No, Ryan is a player...but he may have a different mission. Perhaps, a mission of helping the wolves." When Fei said that, she secretly observed everyone's reaction even the slightest tremble of Ana's fingers didn't escaped her eyes.

"?!"

She let out a sigh when she didn't noticed anything unordinary. Dein was having a hard time putting medicine on her wound so Fei went to where she is sitting and offered to help her clean her wound. Dein raised her eyebrows at her for a moment but didn't try to push her away. When Fei saw the huge gash in her back she couldn't help but to grimaced. Those wolves are really agressive. Dein handed Fei a small bottle.

"What's this?"

"That's a healing potion I've got somewhere, pour it in the wound. Thanks."

She did what Dein told her to do and then after the potion touched the wound, it miraculously mend on its own. The skin, tissues and other blood vessels fused back together. That's sick.

--

The morning came by in a flash and Fei didn't even got to have a proper sleep. Everyone in the room refused to, so she have to stay awake and guard herself from any possible dangers. After the news of Ryan's doing she's starting to doubt everyone in this room except for one. They might not know if the one who took Yvonne is inside this room but surely--Ryan is an accomplice so it's better to be safer than sorry.

None of the village people invited them for breakfast so maybe it's only a dinner thing. Fei took out some crackers and enjoyed the silence in her own little world but it soon got shattered when Ana came.

"I forgot to stuck my own supplies and only brought candies with me. Can you trade?"

She simply nod at her, Ana pulled out two pieces of candies in her sweater's pocket and then handed it to her. Fei noticed a few cuts? or scratches maybe? on the back of her palm, some on her fingers. She didn't seemed to noticed it so Fei pointed it out.

"I think you have a wound."

"Huh? oh...right, I forgot." After receiving the crackers she went back to her spot quickly. Dein stood up and glanced at Fei sideways. She hurriedly drank her water and ran after Dein who disappeared outside the door. The others didn't care.

"Are we going to find some hint?"

While walking, Fei asked her as she noticed that they're moving far away from village and arrived at the forest's threshold where the dead man from the beginning of the game was thrown over. There isn't any remnants of the corpse, even blood.

"That Ana girl is suspicious, watch out from her."

Dein warned her and she couldn't help but to nod as an answer. Of course Fei also noticed that, since the first day Ana had been acting strange. Before Fei joined the other players in the beginning Ana was keen on stopping the man from going into the forest because it's dangerous. But why did she seemed not to care nor disappointed when the man's dead body returned...?

"The soil here has been turned over." Fei noticed that the soil here resembled a newly cultivated garden. Did the man got burried here? Who burried him? The system?

"What are you doing?" Fei was surprised when Dein pulled out a hand shovel.

"digging."

Then without even a warning she started digging the moist ground. There's a lot of bushes where they are so the people won't see what they're doing behind it. Fei forced herself not to panic after her Dein's stunt. She has been digging the soil at half a knee level when a familiar corpse greeted them.

"Just as I thought."

Dein mumbled before continued unearthing Yvonne's body as Fei watched on the sides. If Fei's in the real world and someone do this in front of her she would really freak out. But since this is a world of scenario, every thing is possible and she have to accept that. Anything can be done, in order to find clues--she can't say that it's normal though.

"She's missing a finger nail."

Fei's expression turned dark. She tried to connect that dots. Yvonne was missing a finger nail, and she seemed to have seen nail scratches on Ana's hand. She quickly squat down near the corpse and brushed away the soil from the corpse neck--a black handprint came into her view.

"How come she could burry her body here that quick?" If Fei try to remember it correctly, while they are being punished by the system--Ana was nowhere to be seen. She said that she hid somewhere, but she could be burrying Yvonne's corpse that time. But she is such a small girl?! Yvonne is much bigger than her when it comes to size, if Ana really did dragged her body in this distance while the wolves are attacking...she wouldn't be able to come back that fast. The wolves appearance were only during midnight but they only lingered for 10 minutes last night. Is that time enough to drag Yvonne's body here and burry her?

"An accomplice."

"But Ryan is with you the whole time right? and you even killed him."

Fei asked her, confused. Then Dein answered, "But you do realize that there could be another one right? Someone who we won't be able to guess."

Before Fei could react, Dein suddenly pushed her down forcely. Three sharp nails deeply embedded in the tree behind where Fei was previously squatting, and one on the ground.

Who did that?!

"I really want to stay hidden as much as possible and only appear when the game is nearing end but you two are too smart to stay alive for a little bit longer."

The man in his 30s who appeared to be killed by the system seemed to have been faking his death. He stood behind the trees, tall and proud holding a hammer on his right hand while a bunch of nails on his left. There is an evil glint in his eyes.

"Go back and wait for me inside the hut. If I didn't come, back don't wait for me."

There is no urgency in Dein's voice. It sounded so cold and laid back, but her arms gripping Fei's shoulders felt like it would break. The man didn't even wait for them to finish talking when another batched of nails came into their way. If Dein didn't pushed her again, the nails would be burried deeply in her skull.

"Go!"

She didn't insisted on staying and just run away gripping the small piece of paper Dein secretly handed her. Looking at the two figures of people fighting, Fei realized that she would only burden Dein. She gritted her teeth hard and secretly prayed in her heart that Dein survive. She ran for a while before resting when the hut came into her view--heart beating faster and faster. The hut's door went wide open and Trevor stood out greeting her.

"Where have you been? Everyone's waiting inside. Steven finally found the way to leave this scenario. Where's the other woman with you?"

*Crack

She was about to enter when she stepped on something. Fei glanced down and saw a broken glasses lying under her combat boots. The owner is nowhere to be found.

"Did he?"

Fei smiled and pretended to have seen nothing but her brain is screaming --bad news! in her head.

"Can you tell him to come out? I have to tell him something."

Trevor seemed to realized that she doesn't want to enter the hut. Instead of answering, he let out a scheming grin and then savagely slammed his chains towards Fei. Fei jumped sideways, avoiding the chains then quickly ran away from the hut at a fast speed. She don't think that she have ran this far before!

Fei occasionally glanced back and saw that Trevor is running after her with a terrifying look. The village people who saw them screamed in horror and then quickly hid inside their huts for safety.

For 15 minutes, all Fei did was running around the village. Trevor seems so determined in catching her. She feel like she may die soon enough if she keeps on running. She have no other life saving skills with her, aside from the metal rolling pin and the shrimp costume She have nothing. Wait...the shrimp costume!

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"Did you saw her?!"

"Ah! Ah!"

The old village woman crouch down in fear as the huge bearded man paced back in fort inside her hut, ocassionally throwing the things inside. The hut has been turned upside down but Trevor didn't find any traces of Fei.

"That girl sure looks dumb but good at hiding huh? Did she used a prop to escape?"

A few minutes later Trevor left the ransacked hut full of anger he even madly kicked the wooden bucket rolling around. Some of the village people have asked for help from the tribe chief -- and told him that the mercenaries he hired are fighting each other, causing troubles in the village. The village chief and a few warriors confronted Trevor. After exchanging words, the village people left with fear written on their faces.

What did he tell them?

Fei leaned behind where the old woman was crouching down. Thanks to the shrimp costume, Trevor didn't find her. But she only have an hour to remain invisible. Taking advantage of the prop, Fei followed Trevor back into the hut. When she took a peek inside the window she discovered two things. One, Steven seems to be unconscious or worse...dead. But since the system didn't notify them he could still be alive. Two, Trevor is working with Ana and the man with the hammer. Remembering the man who could easily fake his death under their noses, she suddenly felt fear for Dein. She hoped Dein is still alive and is hiding somewhere.

Fei heave a sigh then tried to remember the game summary.

Every midnight, a pack of hungry wolves attack the village to steal the rabbits they raise. This has made the village chief resentful, and he decided to order his warriors to attack the wolves' den, but they were all defeated -- none returned. The village chief has asked for help from traveling mercenaries, promising them the immortality stone passed down through generations in exchange for their assistance.

Fei rolled out everything she can get from this scenario. The game talks about the wolves attacking at midnight to steal the rabbits--the wolves are the village people but they don't seem to realized it. The rabbits, are not literally rabbits. Based on the human remains found in the rabbit shed, the rabbits could be humans...or the players themselves.

Some players such as; Ana, Trevor, Ryan and the hammer man seemed to terrorize the other players. When Yvonne disappeared, the system notified that the wolves have successfully steal a rabbit. Was Yvonne identified as a rabbit in this scenario? Then are the remaining players; Dein, Steven and Fei are rabbits as well?

How do this game ends? Kill all the wolves? But the village people are also wolves, it's not possible to kill them when the game condition said that the players should help the village people. This game is making her go insane!

She then remembered the paper Dein handed her. As quickly as she can, Fei opened the piece of paper. Two words are written on it, 'Immortality Stone'.

A light bulb struck open in Fei's head...she may be able to end this game soon.