The Last Man Standing

Chapter 5

Clio opened her eyes to an unfamiliar place. She could feel the throbbing pain on her head from waking up after what she thought had been a long sleep. She found herself lying on a soft mattress–a bed with gold lining. Her heavy eyelids adjusted to the bright light above her. Her forehead immediately twitched as she pushed her tired body to sit up.

Her eyes roamed around. She was dazed and her aching head was not helping her to grasp the unfamiliar surroundings. Where was she? How did she get here? Just what the heck happened while she’s in deep slumber?

The room in which Clio woke up was moderate in size. There were five double deck beds inside, including the bed where she was at. She was on the upper deck. That provided an opportunity for Clio to see the rest of the room and the other beds that were there in U-shaped orientation—and the other people with her.

Clio didn’t see the difference in bed design from the others; a red sheet was covering the mattress and a white pillow. The walls and floor of the room seem to be made of sandstone. There was a big candle chandelier above them and some torches with sparks on both walls of the door. There was no window on the room but a small square ventilation chamber on the upper right corner near the only steel door. Clio could not pinpoint the time.

But the fact that she was not alone made her stop herself from panicking and screaming for help. She tried her hardest to stay calm and observe—like she should do in an environment that she did not know. Her heart was beating rapidly and her throat felt dry out of all the nerves and fear she was feeling inside.

Dungeon. The room looked like a dungeon, that was Clio's first thought.

Clio's chest throbbed with utter confusion.

Her intent gaze focused on the other people inside the room. There was a bed on either side of the bed where Clio was sitting. In front of those beds was a bed each. All in all, there were two people for each bed, summing up to ten people inside the room.

The atmosphere was a bit cold—and strange.

There were two men talking softly on the bed on her right side—on the lower deck. They were not even giving her a glance. Then, there was another man who was quietly leaning against the sand wall beside the door and his head was slightly bowed down while both of his arms were crossed over his chest.

Clio’s forehead knotted as she noticed their similar clothes. All of them were wearing black hoodies, black jogging pants, and white sneakers. She immediately looked at herself and her mouth fell open. She was wearing the same hoodie, pants and shoes.

With her confusion doubling, she saw the two people on the lower decks of the beds in front of her—both of them were still asleep. While the people on the upper decks of the same beds were lying comfortably on the mattress as if they were on a vacation and there was nothing to worry about.

To some strange feeling, Clio looked again at the man leaning against the stone wall. She knew immediately that he was also the same man she had sat next to at the party.

It was as if something clicked on Clio's brain and a series of memories flowed like a crashing river. She fell into a long trance as she started recalling what happened before she fell asleep and then woke up in a room that looked like a dungeon.

Red and gold. WIC. Smoke. Five million dollars.

Clio stared at the man leaning against the stone wall. Because of the light coming from the chandelier and torch, although his head was slightly bowed down, his familiar feature confirmed his identity. Aside from the attire, nothing had changed in the man; he was still wearing the thick glasses; his hair was curly and his skin was brown; and the weird and unwelcoming aura around him was still there. She scolded herself for seeing Bruno Mars on the weird man.

Clio’s hand immediately landed on the thin chain around her neck. She was relieved when her mother’s locket was still there. With enough courage, Clio decided to catch the attention of the two men below him who were talking endlessly—and both men were not showing any confusion like her. As if they were expecting things to go this way.

She was about to ask a question when the woman sleeping on the upper deck of the bed on her right suddenly got up from lying. The woman stretched her arms. Unlike Clio, there was no hesitation nor confusion in her eyes when they met hers.

Clio stared at the woman intently. The woman smiled widely at her. “I can't go back to sleep,” the woman said comfortably. Her voice was unexpectedly friendly and Clio's question was left on the air.

The unknown woman has a very fair and white complexion. She has tough facial western features; aristocratic nose and brown set of eyes. Her hair was straight, reaching her broad but thin shoulders.

“How are you?” The woman asked. “Are you ready? We are about to start,” she added, knowingly.

Clio frowned. “Huh? W-What do you mean? Start… Start what?”

The woman’s head c****d to the side, amusement filling in her eyes. She immediately knew what kind of player she was talking to—a clueless prey.

“It’s about to start. The beginning of Evolution.”

Evolution?

Clio didn’t know what to say. The woman, on the other hand, smiled. She looked up at the big chandelier in the middle of the room. “Last night, Alice and I talked about what would happen during the party. But so far, I have no clue what we’re going to play for the first round. Are you excited?” The woman faced Clio again, her smile disappearing. “You should not be. This is probably the last time we’re going to talk.”

“I don’t get it,” Clio answered. “Do you know… Do you know where we are?” Right now, that’s what Clio was most interested about; to know where she was and why she was here.

“You should not be here,” the woman warned Clio before having a deep sigh. She stared at Clio for quite some time before she made up her mind; she should not let herself feel pity towards another player—another competition. Then, her smile returned. “I'm Reneger,” the stranger—who now would be called Reneger— introduced.

Clio stared at the woman named Reneger. She could not understand why they had to be acquainted. For now, Clio had nothing else to do but to leave this place. So, she refused to acknowledge her introduction. Instead, she asked again, “Where are we?”

Reneger smirked. “We are in God-knows-where now. Like you, I don’t know. All of us here did not know where we were.”

Clio frowned. “Why? Why are we here?”

“You certainly know nothing about Evolution.” Reneger sighed before she looked straight to the steel door of the room. “Today is our day of judgment. Evolution is the final test that the WIC Compact has long told us.”

Clio's mouth dropped open at what she heard. Evolution? Final judgement?

Deep down, she considered what Reneger said as complete madness.

“Evolution? I accepted the invitation for the money. I don’t know about Evolution,” Clio admitted.

Reneger’s grin widened. “For the money?” Her head tilted in added amusement.

Clio was about to ask another question when out of nowhere, the woman lying on the upper deck of the bed beside her got up and interjected into their conversation. “You are making me laugh, dear.”

Clio and Renege turned their heads at the woman. Her long hair was loose. Her face was so sunken that she seemed to be malnourished. The undersides of her eyes were black and his lips were pale and dry. The woman was shaking her head as she stared at Clio in disapproval. “My, my, what happened to you? How come you don’t know about Evolution?” The woman ran both of her hands on her loose and dry hair. “Of course, Evolution. The Great Battle. The Final Judgment. The Doorway towards the seat of salvation. After those years of training, this is our purpose. To pass and prepare for Doom's Day. To revolutionize the human race. To evolve. To become the highest form of ourselves. To be worthy of the seat to salvation.”

Again, Clio had nothing to say. Reneger, on the other hand, rolled her eyes with the dramatic explanation by the other woman. “In conclusion, only the strongest will be worth it of salvation. Only those who can evolve will be saved by the greatest destruction. Evolution is the game where we can prove that we are not weak and a prey to devour. The winner is the greatest predator. The last man standing— the greatest predator has the highest chance to survive and be with the creator.”

“The last man standing….” Clio uttered to herself. For some reason, the fear she was feeling intensified, causing her hands to tremble. She felt nothing but fear at the idea of the ‘the last man standing’. She looked at everyone in the room. Who among them was strong and the greatest predator? Who among them was weak and the prey to devour? Who among them was going to be the winner— the last man standing?