The Dark Fairytale

Chapter 2 | Addoredda's Hunt

I closed my eyes, accepting my fate. After everything, I have come to this point where I have nothing but to surrender.

I waited for it to tear me apart in shreds but instead, it never happened. I opened my eyes to see it standing in still motion, its position same the moment I closed my eyes in. I could feel my heart pounding, my breathing accelerating at a rate I didn't know was possible and hands sweating.

Slowly, I raised my hand to touch the monster but before I could, it fell on the ground with a loud thud, still and lifeless. Like it wasn't the one chasing through the building.

I caught my breath, before withdrawing my hand. I could feel my shivering body coming back to normal. I looked around to see what has made it like this, though, I couldn't see anyone around.

I got up and made my way towards the entrance. The staircase ended in another hallway. Strangely, the whole place was quiet again. I chose to take the left path and walked until I reached the end of it. I could see hospital dorms, cabins, and labs on my way but each one of them was vacant.

Slowly, I made my way towards the end of the hallway. There were a lot of things in the rooms, but not a single object I could use as a weapon. Not even a pair of scissors. Like someone removed it before leaving me there. I wonder what would happen if another one of those things come.

Finally, I found myself at the entrance of the hospital. I could see the receptionists desk at the corner while at the other was a place for visitors to sit. In front of me was a door, white light seeping in through the cracks. With a deep breath, I walked towards it and opened it. The bright light almost stung my eyes for a couple of seconds, before I could finally take in the scene.

The ground was dry, cracked at some places. The soil here has a greenish tint, maybe from the oxidation of copper in the soil. I looked at the group of people coming in from different doors. Their faces mirroring my own expressions.

My eyes wandered towards the crowd, cheering for the people who managed to live. But I could see their curious expressions, turning into realization and then shock when they saw some of us, didn't come back. I could hear the wails buried in by the sounds of enthusiasm.

I could feel their sorrow and surprise.

What an unusual sight, I wondered.

That's when the large black screen at one end lit up, showing a man dressed in black. His face covered with a black mask but I could hear his voice.

"Welcome to Adoredda!" he spoke. Though his words were hospitable his tone was nonchalant. And the encounter I had just a minute ago made me sure that hospitality is the last thing I'm going to be shown here.

"Every year, we choose 20 fighters across the Rigel Empire to compete for the Adoredda's Treasure. A key to anything under the power of Adoredda. Only the swiftest, boldest and the smartest of them reach here. All 13 of you are the best fighters across the Rigel, who have survived the Phase I. But only one of you will reach the final throne of Champion and claim Adoredda's Treasure," the masked man said and the crowd waved their signboards.

I could see names written on them, even though, I couldn't find mine on any one of them.

"Make four teams of three to four members and learn about your surroundings, your teammates and your opponents. Remember, no one of you will kill each other," he informed. "...yet," he added.

I looked at other members. Some shifted with unease, some only nodded their head. However, there was one who didn't show any emotion at all. He was tall, with dark hair and amber eyes. His features angular, making him much more attractive.

"However, it doesn't mean you can't die in other ways. What you encountered inside was just the beginning. The woods of Adoredda are full of horrors, monsters you didn't even know existed. All of you are injected with viruses that have started taking effect. It will affect your ability, emotions, and even intelligence. You have two days to find the cure in Adoredda's woods. There are 9 of them, which will be made available for search on Day II, for three of the teams which are able to find them first."

"For your help, there are hidden bases and resources you can use for your aid. You have to find weapons, food, and medical kits to survive. The moment you enter in there, the gates would be closed. You can't run, you can't escape. You can only progress or be left behind and die," the guy on the screen told the group. 

"Do you have any questions?" he asked.

"What about the team that fails to find the cure?" a younger boy with curly blonde hair asked the question everyone would be pondering on but couldn't find the courage to put forth. The question I already knew the answer to.

The guy laughed without humor before watching him straight in the eyes. That glare could make anyone's heart stop. "In that case," he answered, "You die."

I could hear gasps and curses. A wave of hostility covered the atmosphere among participants and unruly whistles of people watching the show. It's such a rush people get from seeing other people die.

"Remember," the masked guy announced, addressing everyone.

"In Adoredda's Hunt, there's only one rule," he added.

You Kill or You Die.

I remembered the words engraved in my soul.

"You Kill or You Die" he repeated.

I watched as the gates to a place now I could only call the hell opened. At first glance, it looked like any dark forest from any corner of the world but the horrors that it keeps inside are much more chilling and much more unforgiving. Many have tried their fate here and died at the hands of the unknown.

There were some who succumbed to hunger, some to insanity. Many were betrayed, many were simply forgotten, others killed themselves. Rest were brutally murdered by the beings that live in there. Those who have lived to tell the tales have told them to be straight out of hell. Mythical beasts, results of experiments, humans turned into cannibals. Even the plants that would trap a living soul and dissolve them until there's nothing left. 

The truth is, it's not what we know is in there, that makes Adoredda deadly. It's what we don't know. The fear of the unknown is enough fuel for human's wildest imaginations to turn wild. And Adoredda is the home to those fantasies, if not more.

Every year, thirteen of twenty are selected to walk these paths, only one of them will survive in the end. And those who do are tainted for the rest of their lives. 

I could see the expressions on other people's faces, no one sure anymore but no one could step back either. I remember what I was told before I came here, once you're in you can't step back.

But do they want to step back?

All those people come here, in search of Adoredda's Treasure. Driven by their desires, impulse and even liabilities, they end up in Rigel's deadliest hell. All those people there, no matter how they present themselves, are there from the fate far worse than death. To them, Adoredda is just a part of what they go through every day, if not better. 

It's suicide, I had said back then.

And you think living in Rigel is any better than that? I would consider dying to be a privilege.

All of us, we're here for the prize, Adoredda's Treasure. But I am the one who's going to take it. I have no other choice. And more than that, dying was a privilege I wasn't ascertained to. 

Against every bone in my body, I ascended towards Adoredda. I could hear the words of luck being shouted at us, even vivaciousness of gathering's valediction, as we walked towards the certain death. As twelve of us advanced in, only one of us would ever return.

As this moment, I promised myself one thing.

No matter what it takes, Clate, it has to be you.