The rest of the group turned towards Manny, whose gaze remained fixed on Nathan's face.

"W—what do you mean by that?" Maya stuttered. Her head snapped between Manny and Nathan.

"I don't know who he really is or if he's telling the truth," Manny said, gradually turning towards Maya. "But one thing is for sure. He's awfully perceptive, and it’s quite possible he only approached us with some ulterior motive. After all, he talked about that bully like he was just a tool. And while I'm at it, he also remembered Mark’s and Mike’s names. Our names, too.” Manny looked back at Nathan, a challenge in his eyes. "Isn't that right, Nathan?"

Nathan let out a slight chuckle. "You're pretty observant yourself, Mr Eis." Manny's smile crumbled. He looked like a person who had poked a hungry bear. "But you see, I can't help but notice some details that don't add up in your story. If I'm not going senile, I never approached any of you. It was Maya who tried to step in and save me when I hadn’t asked for it, and even tonight it was Maya who invited me to join you. So please, excuse me if I feel a little disheartened by your unreasonable suspicions. I . . . kind of don't think I want to eat anymore. Maybe I'll just head back." Nathan stood up from the table.

"Please stop," Maya said, shooting up from her seat. "I'm sure he didn't mean to be rude." She glared at Manny.

"I—I . . .” Manny fumbled.

"That certainly doesn't sound like an earnest apology. He painted me as a villain with ulterior motives. He said I viewed people as tools. Don’t you have any shame?”

The restaurant went silent.

"He didn't mean it that—"

"I'm sorry," Manny interrupted. He stood up and looked Nathan in the eye. "I'm terribly sorry, Nathan. I didn't mean to come off rude." Manny bowed his massive figure. "But I think you can understand that I might be a little sceptical about someone who just approached our group out of nowhere."

"What about her?" Nathan nodded towards Ann.

"Her?" Manny said. "Yeah, we met her here as well. But she's harmless. She's a shy and timid girl—no offence—so I wasn't as suspicious. But of course, I was suspicious at first with her as well."

Ann shifted in her seat but remained silent.

"That's awfully inconsiderate of you. So you start by badmouthing me, and now you're doing the same to her." Nathan crossed his arms.

"What?! I—I didn't mean it that way. Ann, you know what I mean, right?"

"Y—yeah," she responded, her voice barely audible.

"See? She didn't take offence at it."

"Maybe she's just afraid to say it. After all, you could pummel her into the ground."

"No. No. That's outrageous. You—"

"Okay, leave it be," Nathan interrupted with a raised hand. "I understand you didn't mean to be rude. Or I hope you didn't mean to be rude. I don't want to make unnecessary enemies, so I'll go to the toilet now and I'll return shortly. If we could continue this dinner without badmouthing each other after I come back, that would be great."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Yes, that would be great," replied Maya. "You sit down, Manny. Please, Simon, speak some sense into him."

"I don't really think what he did was wrong,” Simon said slowly. “I think we should all just calm down and move over it."

"I—I agree,” Ann said softly.

"Okay, then. I’m sorry if I came across as aggressive,” Nathan said, stretching out his hand. “Peace?”

Manny followed suit. "Peace."

"Great. In that case, I'll be back in a minute."

Nathan walked away, heading for the toilet on the far end of the restaurant. As he passed by, he noticed the bully smirking at him the whole time. Beside him sat an older man who had been playing on his phone the whole time. Whatever their relationship was, it was an unknown that Nathan didn't particularly fancy. His plans always relied on eliminating unknowns. But in this case, the number of unknowns was becoming overwhelming.

***

The cold morning breeze whipped against Nathan's face as he stood on the deck of the massive yacht headed for the horseshoe-shaped island. He could just see land through the fog. With the time Nathan had spent studying the maps, he felt like he was returning home.

The yacht cruised into the opening in the middle of the island, revealing a white-sanded beach. When it stopped a hundred metres from the shore, Nathan knew it was time to get off. He turned around and headed for the mass of people lined up to take the smaller boat to the shore.

As the rowboat ferried over six people at a time, Nathan noticed a couple of candidates who had piqued his interest during the first exam. The most puzzling one, the androgynous person in black with a hood. Another one was an older looking man with a scar on his face. More variables.

As the last group of candidates stepped ashore, Pyke gave one last command. “It’s just after 6:00 a.m., so let’s keep this brief. You know the rules. The time is here. Go!” And with that, he returned to the boat.

"Hey, you pipsqueak!" shouted a familiar voice.

"I suppose that would be me," Nathan said, looking for the speaker. He spared only a passing glance for the bully.

"Yeah," he snarled. "You were talking a lot of shit back there. I saw you staring at me and my guys the whole dinner yesterday. You really want to fight, eh?"

"You think you can take me on, Mark?"

"Me? No. I don't. I'm not stupid. But life isn’t a fucking novel. What you have in strength, we have in numbers. And we'll use it. What do you say?" The bully's backup dancers all cracked their knuckles and lined up behind him.

"Since you're not stupid, you definitely remember that there's a six-hour safe period, right?"

"Of course. That's why we’ll meet back here in six hours. We'll pummel you into the ground and take your points."

Nobody moved from the starting point.

"I definitely won't chicken out. It's up to you. I will be here when the sun reaches the crest of the sky. That's when this whole charade will end," Nathan said, turning away from the bully. If it weren't for the fact that the island was crawling with people who wanted to kill each other, he might have enjoyed the chance to stay in such a beautiful place.

“Nathan, wait!” shouted a female voice from behind. “Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" Maya said, clutching Nathan's shoulders and shaking him until he got dizzy. "Why the hell do you go around starting trouble all the time?"

"I suppose because it's fun wouldn't really be the answer you're looking for, right?"

"If it weren't for the peace period, I'd smack you."

"You can hold on to that smacking. I'm sure there will be a dozen of them piled up in six hours."

"What?"

Nathan smiled. "You think I'm an idiot?"

"Ye—"

"Don't answer. What I meant is it’s blatantly obvious you want to leech off me. And I have no problems with that."

"That's not true!" Maya denied.

"Don't really feel like arguing. We both know I'm right. As I've said, I don't care."

Maya crossed her arms. "Okay. What's the catch?"

"I will be the one who decides where we go and how we act for the next five days."

"No way in hell! You can't go for five minutes without getting into trouble."

Nathan shrugged and started walking away.

Maya looked at her companions and back at Nathan. "Okay. We'll do it," she said.

Nathan stopped and twisted back towards Maya.

Maya glanced back again. "Everyone's fine with it, right?"

They nodded in response. Maya walked towards Nathan and held out her hand. "Looks like we have a deal."

Nathan took it. "It does seem so."