The river on the map was much wider than Brittany anticipated. It was not a narrow stream, but instead a raging river that dropped off at a steep waterfall. It had taken her nearly an hour of jogging downstream to the edge of the southern wooded area that she had seen on the map to find a shallow part of the river where she could cross. By the time she arrived, it was dusk.

She held all three guns above her head as she waded neck-deep through the water. For some reason the option to store weapons in her inventory was offline, so she was forced to carry them by hand. After her encounter with the dragon, she’d decided to keep the Saiga despite being out of rounds. She figured that if she were to take down any opponents armed with 12-gauge shotguns during her travels, she could extract the shells. The automatic load feature of the Saiga was far superior, because the few seconds it took to reload a standard shotgun could mean the difference between winning or losing a match.

When she reached the far shoreline, she felt her stomach groan. Normally the game would suppress her metabolism while she played by artificially stimulating the cortisol levels in her brain. Ever since the malfunction, though, nothing in the game seemed to be normal anymore.

In her youth, Brittany had been infatuated by the Survivalist movement. Her favorite television shows were documentaries about prepping for doomsday or how to survive in the wild. Some of her favorite books included topics like how to identify edible vegetation and how to skin a wild animal. It was this same infatuation that led her to ultimately enter the police academy.

She glanced at her lush surroundings in the dimming sunlight, identifying dandelions, wood sorrel, and dead-nettle. The virtual vegetation wasn’t exactly a feast, but, oddly, it kept her stomach pains at bay.

Something whizzed past her ear, and she intuitively knew it had been a long-range bullet. She dove for cover in the thick trees. She peeked her head out and squinted at the prairie to the north.

Where is the coward?

She saw the distinct flash of flint nearly 200 yards out. Another bullet embedded itself in a nearby tree.

There you are.

He had a long-range rifle. None of the weapons she had obtained could cover that kind of distance. She’d have to wait it out until both suns set before she could get any closer.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

She became aware that her shimmery armor made her the perfect target. Every glint of sunlight betrayed her location for miles. It unnerved her to know that she was so exposed and vulnerable. She considered disappearing into the woods, but much greater dangers lurked in such shadowy places, so it was best to stay out in the open.

At least, until the game started allowing guns.

What a predicament: avoid the sniper by running off into the woods where she could face unknown dangers, or wait him out and try to get a jump on him after dark. She debated for a few minutes and made her decision: she’d wait it out. Besides, she was eager to get her hands on a long-range rifle. It would make gaining XP kill points to level-up much easier.

She dodged from behind one tree to the next. Three bullets zipped past after she saw the flashes of flint. What concerned her though was where each had come from. One of the flashes had come from the original reference point, but the other two had come from opposing 90-degree angles.

It’s a hunting party! They’re closing in from the sides!

All she needed was one rifle, and she could use it to take the other two down. They likely had night vision scopes on them, considering the hunters had seen her dodge between the trees in such dim light. There was only one choice left. Without a second’s hesitation, she dove deeper into the woods. After a hundred feet, she took a sharp turn to the left and barreled north through the thick forest. It was difficult to see anything, and she tripped over thick roots several times.

WARNING!

You have entered the Lost Zone. Your map has been disabled, and your chances for survival have greatly decreased. Many players have perished at the hand of unspeakable creatures in these woods. Proceed with caution!

She pressed her right temple and accessed her HUD. As anticipated, the map refused to activate. She knew the risk of encountering a monster was significant, but it was the only way she could get a jump on one of her attackers.

Being unable to track her location made it difficult to judge how far she needed to run, but she had a pretty good guess. After several minutes of stumbling northward, she had a gut instinct to turn back toward the clearing. Angling left, she slowed to a jog. The forest thinned, and she saw the clearing not too far off in the distance.

Brittany shouldered the AK-47 and inched forward while catching her breath. At any moment, the map would activate again and betray her whereabouts. She’d only have one chance to take the hunter down.

And then she saw the dim light of a cigarette. The hunter had taken the necessary precaution of pointing it away from the clearing and shielding it with his hand, but he hadn’t expected that anyone would approach him from behind.

Got you.

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