Chapter 5: The Butcher's Camp
The agony radiating from her shattered limbs nearly sent Linda into a blackout. But through the haze of pain, she screamed with a voice full of venom.
"You ask why I tried to change the plot?"
"I did it to survive, you bastard! The Predator is about to start its slaughter! I'm a nobody with zero combat skills—was I supposed to just sit here and wait for my head to be ripped off?"
Dante let out a low, dry chuckle.
"Hah. Cut the pity act."
He leaned down, his shadow looming over her. "I don't buy it. You know damn well the Predator doesn't hunt 'unarmed' or 'defenseless' prey. Out of everyone here, you were the safest. But you weren't satisfied with just living, were you? You wanted the bonus credits. You got greedy and tried to rig the game for a payout. Am I right?"
Linda went silent instantly. The look in her eyes confirmed it. He'd nailed her.
"Greed without the muscle to back it up is just a death wish," Dante sneered. "Fucking with the script when you're a civilian is how you get yourself erased."
Linda's eyes burned with resentment. "I just wanted to get stronger! I wanted a chance! Why do you get to have it so easy? Why do you get to trample on our dignity? Where's the fairness in that?"
"Fairness?"
Dante's laugh was cold as a grave. "You still haven't woken up, have you, young lady? The world has changed. This isn't your 'everyone is equal' HR-approved society anymore. The Evolution Space only cares about one thing: the big fish eating the little fish."
"Might makes right. You stepped on my toes, so you get broken." He leaned into her ear, his voice a cruel rasp. "I'll let you live for now, since it's your first offense. But we're moving out in a minute. Better pray your 'teammates' are willing to lug around a hundred pounds of dead weight. If not... well, you can just lie here and watch yourself pop."
With a sharp shove, he tossed her back into the mud like a piece of trash and walked away without looking back.
***
Leo and the others had been watching from a distance. The moment Dante left, they scrambled over to Linda.
She was a wreck. Her limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, jagged bits of white bone poking through the skin. It was a butchery.
Monica recoiled, burying her face in Leo's chest. "How... how could he be so cruel? He's not even human! Linda, it looks so bad..."
Leo gritted his teeth, his face twisted in a mask of righteous fury. "He's a goddamn animal in a human skin. Mark my words, the universe will catch up to that bastard."
Jerry, the IT guy, knelt down, his voice trembling. "Linda, what did you say to him? Tell us so we don't accidentally piss him off too."
Linda wasn't about to admit she was trying to steal a bonus reward. "I don't... I don't know," she wheezed, blood bubbling at the corners of her mouth. "He just... he went crazy. He started... breaking me... God, it hurts!"
They all voiced their sympathy, loudly condemning Dante's "insanity" to make themselves feel better. Then, Linda reached out a mangled hand, her voice a pathetic whimper.
"Guys... you'll... you'll carry me, right? Please... don't leave me here... to die..."
The air went dead.
Silence stretched out for several long, agonizing seconds.
Leo finally spoke, his eyes darting everywhere but at her. "Linda... I have to look after Monica. You know how it is between us. I... I literally don't have the strength to carry you and keep up with Dutch."
Jerry jumped in, backing away. "Don't look at me! I can barely carry my own weight! Look, if we had a stretcher, maybe Leo and I could try... but we don't."
He added a finishing touch of pure bullshit: "Besides, you're hurt so bad! You should stay here and rest. Moving you might... make the injuries worse."
It was a lie, and they all knew it. In a world where your head explodes if you fall behind, "resting" was a death sentence. But they didn't care. No one was willing to risk their own life for a cripple.
"But we're a team!" Linda shrieked, her voice breaking. "You said we'd look out for each other! You can't just dump me!"
Leo looked ashamed, but he didn't stop backing away. "Don't worry, Linda! When we get stronger, we'll kill that son of a bitch Dante for you! I'll snap his neck myself! You just... you just rest now..."
"They're moving!" Jerry shouted, pointing at the soldiers. "Go! Go! We have to go!"
He bolted, disappearing into the foliage.
"Linda... we have to. Good luck," Leo muttered. He grabbed Monica's hand, and they ran, leaving her behind in the dirt.
Linda watched them go, her mind fracturing. "Why? Why me? I just wanted to be strong so I could help people... is that wrong? Has the world really gone this dark?"
As her mind collapsed into despair, the grey HUD flickered into existence. The crimson numbers began their final dance.
...98... 99... 100.
"NO!!"
BOOM.
A dull thud echoed through the jungle. A spray of blood and bone fragments painted the nearby ferns a sticky, dark crimson.
[Candidate 952702: Mission Failed.]
[OBLITERATED.]
The notification rang in the heads of the three survivors as they sprinted through the brush. Their faces went pale. Four down.
A cold chill of shared fate settled over them. In just half a day, the "Evolution Space" had stripped away their illusions of civilization. The reality was here, and it was fucking brutal.
Dante didn't feel the weight. In fact, he felt a bit lighter when the notification popped. He'd actually been worried those idiots might try to be heroes and bring her along—then he'd have had to waste time killing all of them.
Objectively speaking, Linda had potential. She was smart and knew the lore. If she'd just kept her head down and played the long game, she could have earned enough credits to buy some real power. But she'd let her greed outrun her common sense.
"Stupid bitch bit off more than she could chew. Good riddance," Dante muttered, closing the case on her in his mind.
The march was grueling. Under Billy's lead, the squad ghosted through the primordial forest, tracking the guerrilla trail with surgical precision. Just as Jerry and Monica were about to collapse from exhaustion, Billy signaled a halt.
They crept to the edge of a ridge and looked down.
Spread out in the valley below was a massive, makeshift military camp. Armed men patrolled the perimeter. This was it.
The cold, majestic voice of the Space boomed in their minds:
[Status Update: Guerrilla Camp reached.]
[Primary Objective I: COMPLETED.]
[Reward Credits distributed.]
[Major Dutch Distance Restriction: LIFTED.]
[Candidates are now granted Free Action.]
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A/n: This is a bonus chapter for 5 star review...
If you're enjoying the story and want the extra chapters faster, leave a 5 star review. It really helps me and you'll get a bonus chapter immediately. (You've got 10/9 chances left.)