Detailed Report.

Team Uno Report, 5 Of 12.

Day 5. Part 4.

The Put Down.

Spotlights of moonlight pierced the forest canopy, illuminating the battleground where former comrades Ben and Timmon clashed. Once-fluid movements slowed as fatigue set in, their strength waning. Their endurance was nothing compared to Mr Major's when he was in peak condition.

Exhaustion made Ben's movements erratic, creating larger openings in his defence. An outsider would have thought Ben was losing control of his limbs. His eyes darted wildly, searching for Mr Major and any other threats like the bees.

Stepping fully from behind the tree he used as a shield, Timmon stood in the open, a rare position in this dense forest. With his spear at the ready, he looked over Ben's shoulder and shouted, "Now!"

Ben gauged the distance between them and decided that Mr Major, who was behind him, posed the closest threat. He needed to avoid Mr Major's attack but also see what Timmon was planning. Timmon was clearly preparing for a large swing of the spear. Whether it was a low or high swing, Ben was confident he could block it this time. But as he turned toward Mr. Major, he realized there was no one there.

He had fallen for the oldest trick in the book. Knowing he had to avoid whatever was coming at all costs, Ben threw himself to the ground just seconds before a spear flew toward him, narrowly missing his heart. The spear, thrown by Timmon, flew true to its target but instead left a deep cut on Ben's shoulder—a wound Timmon knew Ben wouldn't feel due to the bee stings.

As Ben quickly got to his feet, he gripped the spear with both hands and charged toward Timmon. But something felt off. A chill descended around his body as he heard a soft whooshing sound, a familiar sound. Was it the swing of an object? Timmon was weaponless. With each step toward Timmon, Ben's body grew colder. Was he dying? Was he losing too much blood? Then, something materialized in his peripheral vision.

Mr Major had retrieved the spear that Timmon had thrown, and the moment Ben turned, Mr Major sprang into action. With ample space and the pain from his injury nonexistent, he swung the spear at Ben's shoulder with everything he had. It was sure to shatter Ben's shoulder and put a stop to the fight.

As the carbon fibre spear connected with Ben's shoulder, it momentarily lifted him a few centimetres off the ground, sending him rolling into a nearby tree. But, as expected, Ben jumped back to his feet almost as if the blow hadn't happened. He picked up the spear with his uninjured hand and, looking toward both Timmon and Mr. Major, started laughing to himself. Unaware of his physical reaction, he shouted, "Good! Good! This is what I needed. No pain, no gain, clearly."

Timmon exchanged a worried glance with Mr. Major. "There's something seriously wrong with him."

"Something wrong?" Ben sneered. "You're mistaken. This is my berserk skill. And don't get it confused, because this isn't even my final form yet. Who needs two arms when one arm will always finish the job?"

Mr. Major, gritting his teeth in frustration, nodded. "We need to subdue him without causing any more harm. If he thinks this is some kind of twisted game, let's not play into his hands. His shoulder is messed up, and the only reason he's still moving is because of the bee stings. I took the least amount of damage and stings, and I think the bee stings have a time limit because I'm starting to feel static in my ribs."

Ben stabbed his spear into the ground which caught the others attention even more. What was he doing now, they wondered. Slowly, he pulled a piece of cloth from his back pocket and shook it to unwrap it.

Timmon's eyes widened in disbelief. "What is that he's got in his hand? food? At a time like this?"

Mr Major squinted as he slowly walked over to where Timmon was trying to make out what Ben was holding in his hand. "It's probably important the way he's dramatically knocking it back in slow motion."

Timmon shook his head. "So it's crumbs. Imagine if it was rough cocaine. That gave him crackhead strength, wouldn't that be funny?"

Mr Major sighed. "Funny for who? He said this was his berserk mode, as he is a scientist who the fuck knows what he managed to put together, but it's only been a few hours, so it is impossible for him to concoct some wonder drug. Whatever it is, just be ready. I'm getting hungry and tired. I don't know why one man keeps causing us so much trouble. Tobi fucked up and was never this problematic."

As they watched Ben hold his bloody shoulder for a few seconds, they saw it move. Clearly, that was impossible. Maybe the dark was playing tricks, or fatigue was really starting to set in.

Grabbing his spear from the ground and holding on to it at its base, Ben stretched both arms outwards and leaned back as he took a step backwards. With unnatural speed and strength, he hurled the spear through the air at Timmon's head.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Look out!" yelled Mr Major as he kicked the back of Timmon's knee, causing him to fall slightly to the right, narrowly avoiding the spear.

Ben quickly rushed in with his plane wooden daggers, which he kept concealed, as Mr Major stepped forward with a rock and a carbon fibre dagger of his own in hand.

With unprecedented skills, Mr Major countered every stab from Ben; he was used to defending against knife combat, but Ben's strength was beginning to take its toll.

Timmon, who had finally recovered from the fall, tried to tackle Ben while occupied by Mr Major but was stopped by a brutal kick to the head, sending him sprawling on the ground. "Ben! What have you done?" This outburst momentarily stunned Ben just as he stumbled from the after-effects of the substance he had taken.

"You fucking moron, he really killed him, a blow like that to the head is death!" Mr Major muttered in disbelief.

With a weak, struggling voice, Ben replied, "One down, another bitch to go."

Mr Major, yelling out in frustration, grabbed Ben and slammed him to the ground with a forceful takedown. Using every ounce of strength he had, he tried to restrain Ben with a roll of vine he had wrapped around his arm. Despite his smaller frame, Ben's strength was unnaturally strong, making it difficult for Mr Major to control him. "Was it really steroids? His muscles keep shrinking over time. Is it a side effect of whatever he ate?" he wondered.

Transitioning smoothly into a rear naked choke hold, Mr Major quickly reached into Ben's pocket for the dust-like substance he had taken minutes ago. As his grip on Ben slipped, Mr Major, with his free hand, knocked back the substance. Instantly, he felt a reaction as it went down his drying throat, the sound of bees buzzing again in the distance.

Mr Major: "Was this poison? Don't tell me this was a double-edged sword. Maybe I'm just allergic. That's basically the same as poison in this world. If it was poison, Ben would be dead, and if he survived, he wouldn't have taken it again, right? He's a smart man, but there's no way he could build up immunity to it in such a short time. Did I take too much? Is this an overdose?"

As pain shot through his elbows and back, Mr Major started to panic. "What happened to the effects of the bee stings? Dammit, the pain in my ribs is coming back." However, amidst the pain, he felt a familiar seed of relief growing rapidly. It felt good. He felt good. A surge of strength built up within him, accompanied by heat and energy. His arms and legs felt light, almost weightless, like his carbon weapons. The pain in his ribs vanished. But it wasn't just that; it did more. Mr. Major couldn't pinpoint what exactly was changing or what had changed. But this wasn't the time to figure it out because Ben was seconds away from breaking free yet again.

Just as Mr. Major tried to hold him with a triangle choke hold, Ben roared and stood up, slamming Mr. Major into the ground. Once, twice, and three times before Mr Major was forced to release his grip. Now, in a closed guard, Mr. Major tried to anticipate Ben's next move, but Ben came at him with a two-handed hammer fist and then switched to boxing. Each blow felt weaker than the last. "Was he starting to get tired? Is the effect wearing off?" Mr. Major wondered. Quickly switching to a half-guard to control the situation, Ben suddenly backed off.

Ben: "How dare you steal from me!" He rushed at Mr Major, who easily dodged and delivered a neck chop as Ben passed. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, Mr Major realized that the injury from both his and Timmons' spear attack to Ben's left shoulder was completely gone. "How is that possible?" he thought. In his moment of distraction, Ben twisted toward Mr Major and punched him straight in the balls just as Mr Major tried to hold him with a guillotine choke. Then came the uppercut.

Out of nowhere, Timmon, who was thought to be out of commission, got up and punched Ben in the face, causing Ben's head to smash into Mr Major's face. Exhausted and panting, Timmon quickly got over Ben and helped pin him down while Mr Major attempted to use his vine to restrain him.

Mr. Major: "Timmon, I thought you were out!"

Timmon: "I was, but I couldn't let you handle this alone."

"Ben, snap out of it!" Timmon pleaded. "We're not enemies. We're a team."

Ben's eyes flickered with anger. "I am not losing. The game has just begun, my HP is low, and my stat buff is wearing off, but I have enough in the tank for my hell special."

As Ben began to flex, Timmon yelled, "Do something! This won't hold!"

Mr Major quickly unwrapped the other roll of vines he had around his feet to bind Ben, and as he did, Ben went limp in his hold, out cold as if nothing happened.

Timmon heaved a sigh of relief as he looked at Ben. The forest seemed to close in around them, the air thick with tension, and the sound of the bees still lingered in the air. While the sound of howling wolves in the distance hardly registered in their mind. Timmon carefully checked Ben's pulse, ensuring he was only unconscious and not dead or seriously harmed.

"What the hell just happened?" Timmon muttered, still catching his breath. "Ben's never been like this. I don't understand. How did he get that strong, that fast, that skilled?"

"We can't let our guard down," Mr Major warned, rubbing his face and feet. "Something's not right. We need to figure out what's going on with him. And what about that dust crumb we both took? Is that also going to happen to me?" Just after saying those words, Mr Major blacked out.

Timmon managed to drag them both for a good distance of 16 meters before Mr Major regained consciousness. It was clear that Ben was also awake, but, for some reason, he was being purposely unresponsive, so they just dragged him along until it felt safe enough.

Timmon: "We need to find a safe spot and set up camp. We need to monitor Ben and figure out what's going on with him. This isn't normal, and we can't risk another episode like that."

Mr Major: "Agreed. We need to get to the bottom of this. That dust...it did something to him, and it did something to me too. I felt a surge of power, but there's something else, something I can't quite put my finger on and its the most important fact."

"Look, things are getting out of hand; we've been in this forest too long. Ben was acting like he was in some sort of game. Mentioning HP and stat buffs, it's bizarre," Timmon said. "But we've got to stay focused. Like you said, a delusional team player is a dangerous team player. This area is marked with two X's, so we know it's relatively safe since we searched the area before being attacked. But we need to find out what triggered this behaviour in Ben."

Mr Major nodded, still eyeing Ben cautiously. "If this is a joke, he needs to retire it; call me stupid, but I'd rather deal with his old perverted jokes than this killer gamer act. This is way beyond us. We need to be cautious while also trying to get out of the forest. Let's not lose focus on the task at hand: food and water."

Timmon explained their observations about the gorilla-like monster tree predator they had encountered as they traversed through the forest. "We've got to stick to the areas we've marked. The animals avoid that area, and my theory is that the tree's attack range can reach this far. More specifically, it's projectile attacks. The bullet-like seeds pack a punch and can travel a considerable distance. We already know which direction it's looking. Our best chance of making it through without any surprises is to find a path under the canopy till we get to the section of the crater wall where Tobi spotted food and water."

Mr Major glanced around warily. "I still can't believe Ben attacked us like that. It's like he wasn't himself, and I have a bone to pick with him if we plan to move on as a team. We need to build trust back, but more importantly, I need to vent my anger, frustration, and disappointment."

Timmon nodded. "We've been through a lot, and I'm pretty sure it's more about what he saw out here while he was alone. Maybe there's something in this forest that's affecting his mind and not just what he ate. But time will tell all eventually."

Mr Major looked over at Ben, who was now clearly conscious but remaining silent. "I know he's no longer unconscious, so why are we still carrying him around?"

Timmon glanced at Ben and then back at Mr. Major. "We have him bound up and under watch. If he doesn't want to talk, that's okay. I'm more worried about his body, though. That large build he had is now down to an average size with almost no sizeable muscle. How will that affect him? Will it return easily?"

Mr. Major sighed, the tension in his voice evident. "We need to understand what's happening to him. If his strength fluctuates like this, it could be a huge liability or an unexpected advantage. But first, we need to get closer to both the tree and the wall, then figure out our next steps."