The camp was bustling as people celebrated new discoveries. Early in the morning, some selected teams would guide the rest of the group to the collection sites they eagerly awaited to satisfy their hunger and thirst. Many especially wanted to take some time to bathe in the river.
Stark looked around, feeling that something was wrong. Not long ago, he had been considering leaving the camp and facing the rest of the challenge alone, but now he felt a sense of belonging here and didn’t want to leave anyone behind.
“The people here are very welcoming and warm; it feels almost like a dystopian utopia… those two things are strange together.” He scratched his head hard, trying to understand what was happening, increasingly irritated and succumbing to illusions.
“It’s amazing that we’ve come this far with so many ordinary people…” He couldn’t help but judge various individuals; some emos and metalheads always caught his eye, pick-me girls and girls with hair that looked like a rainbow, who in his view would be the first to die, regardless of being protected or not.
“Speaking of which, it’s been a while since I’ve seen my coworkers…” He had caught a glimpse of them the last time he arrived at the camp. He searched high and low through the crowd but couldn’t find them anywhere.
“He could have died since he was out exploring… no one from the exploration group died… she was safe at the camp, so he has to be around here!” His mind continued to race, playing tricks on him.
His searches were fruitless; his mind throbbed until he couldn’t resist anymore; he needed security in his heart.
“This utopia has to be real!” The only way for him to feel better was to count person by person and ensure that no one had disappeared. Most people were sitting around chatting in circles of several dozen. He moved away as much as he could and started counting.
“Three, six, nine…” he counted in groups of three.
“Three hundred and ninety-three…” Stark reflected on the weight of the words coming out of his mouth… if he was right, it wouldn’t be a case of one or two missing people, but rather hundreds. He recounted, trying to avoid any slip-ups. The same number presented itself sooner or later.
“At least two hundred and fifty people have vanished without explanation overnight…” His hair stood on end, a deep chill running down his spine.
“I need to inform the others!” He stepped forward but quickly reconsidered.
“Why hasn’t anyone else noticed? These counts must have been done by the leader when we returned; yes, I remember him doing it… they know and are avoiding telling because of the panic.” Stark soon realized the cruel truth; still, he needed to find out what had happened. At the farthest part of the camp, almost entering the woods, was the leader’s shelter. From a distance, he could see smoke rising from there, thick with leaves banning the curious.
Stark approached without fear, the smell of grilled meat invading his nostrils. Two men stood in front; he tried to ignore them and pass by, but they grabbed him by the shoulder.
“The chief is busy with the leaders.” Stark looked deep into their eyes, his expression furious and defiant.
“Think carefully about who you’re messing with, or you might regret it in the future.” They glared back at him, ready to escalate the confrontation.
“Let him pass.” A voice capable of easing all troubles echoed from the other side; her expression softened as he moved to the other side. Several soldiers sat around the campfire, their faces grim. The middle-aged woman was the one who had granted him passage, her calming smile different from the others, the ‘chief’ beside her disgusted with himself.
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Over the fire, some chunks of meat were roasting, Stark delved deeper into his mind, trying to shatter the lies into a thousand pieces.
“Everyone finds the same things, yet there’s meat here…” he understood why everyone had solemn faces; they had committed an atrocity without limits at a time when they still had several options.
“I see that some have gone through awakening; I would say you are one of them ma'am."She looked at him with renewed interest, her smile tempting and greedy.
“I’m not the only one, but these airheads didn’t gain anything very useful, which is why I’m in charge now.” Stark counted the heads.
“Mental manipulation, I imagine, and them?” Without averting her gaze, she replied.
“Some navigation skills and physical enhancements; the ‘chief’ can buff the others. If you want, we can tell you how if you follow me voluntarily.” He didn’t need anyone to tell him the obvious limits of her abilities.
“You can’t manipulate those of the same level… so that’s it?” She laughed lightly.
“Honestly, I think I can let the following thing slide; as long as you keep doing the same old thing, I can help you. I’m surprised an ordinary person managed to break even a little of my lies.”
“I won’t ally with someone who does such things.” He stared intensely at the meat, wondering which of his companions it was; it could have been one of his coworkers, an unfortunate child, or a dying old man.
“I still don’t understand why, so do me a favor and get rid of that garbage.” Her eyes sparkled again, this time completely loosening his restraints. He was once again aware that he was poisoned, just like everyone else in the camp, except for them who had eaten the only thing that was guaranteed not to be toxic.
“I hope you realize that it’s useless to try to help others.”
“Yes… there’s not much I can do against superhumans, nor can you do anything, so leave me in peace, and I’ll let you be.” She shook her head in denial this time.
“You know something; I saw you talking with one of the angels; they haven’t told anyone anything except for you. If you want to leave, at least tell me what you know.” With a sigh, he provided the simplest and most important information.
“We haven’t been abandoned yet; this is all a test, and it seems you’ve already passed. As long as you stay alive, you should have a special place in paradise waiting for you. And if no one more useful shows up, then them too. Everything else is irrelevant; just stay alive.” She waved her hand, releasing him while she took a stick serving as a skewer with meat in her mouth, her expression one of wonderful pleasure. He was already turning his back on her.
“Are you sure you don’t want a piece? Hunger can be more dangerous than you think.” He didn’t turn around as he left the camp behind; the truth was that the situation was worse than he thought.
“We already have the first awakened; if I don’t hurry my awakening, I’ll be left behind, and in a few days, I’ll die.” He decided that sleeping in the woods was better than staying close to cannibals. After walking for several hours, extremely tired, he searched for a tree with prominent roots and leaned back, letting his fatigue fade away.
Getting up, he continued walking, still tense.
“The idea is that under pressure, we will awaken, and we are certainly in a sort of safe zone still, without resources, which demands that we kill each other for medium-term survival. There must be a more dangerous zone that allows for long-term survival.” Several hours passed since the beginning of his walk; he was about a day’s journey from the camp, having found a river and following its flow, hoping it would lead him to larger animals, preferably edible ones.
In the middle of the path, a voice echoed in his head; it held the same angelic tone he had heard many times before.
“You are leaving the safe zone; the difficulty of survival will rise exponentially. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, retreat immediately.” Stark heard the voice with delight, taking a few steps back.
“I imagine this isn’t called the death zone for nothing.” He saw from a distance more of the purple fruits so common in this place, extending his hands to pick a few and carefully stuffing them into his pockets so their juice wouldn’t go to waste.
Then he searched for two stones, one smaller and one larger, banging one against the other incessantly until it started to chip. When one of them was sharp enough, he took another and repeated the process a few times, gathering some sharp stone tips.
He looked for some long branches around and shaped them accordingly. By the river, he found some plants with long, flexible and dry leaves that can be transformed to serve as ropes, which he used to tie the wooden handles to some sharpened stone tips to make spears and to make an improvised knife.
“This should be done for now.” He stood up again, heading toward the true death zone. Once more, he heard the voice announcing that he should retreat if he had any attachment to his own life; protection ended there, from this point on, no one would help him or test if something was poisonous; he would have to figure it out alone. Despite this, he was smiling.
“I hope you’re not joking.”