Five people sat on the ground in a spacious cave somewhere on the island. They faced the entrance in silence, as if waiting for something. Eventually, a group of three men entered.

One of the men on the ground stood up and approached the newcomers. "I suppose that means 'yes'?" he said.

"Don't suppose anything," snapped one of them. "Give me details and then we can talk."

"You've got a sharp tongue, don't you?" the first man smirked, showing his bloody teeth.

"I don't have time for this shit. You either tell me what you want or I'm leaving."

"Oh, so you're scared? All of you? Bunch of—" The man broke off to dodge a flying dagger.

"I could fucking kill all of you alone. You think I’m scared?"

They were about to exchange blows when a wave of killing intent sent both of them to their knees.

"You fucking idiots," came a woman’s voice from the mouth of the cave. "Do you want to get disqualified?! How about letting go of your egos for a second and thinking with your fucking brains?”

Both men turned to the entrance of the cave as two more people arrived. The one shouting was dressed in black, and her face was covered. The other was also dressed in black, but her obsidian hair and smooth skin were exposed. The pressure subsided, and the two of them stood up.

"I knew you idiots were up to something, so I followed you."

"Is that chick beside you your friend?" The man with bloody teeth smiled mischievously.

"First of all, I am no chick,” retorted the black-haired woman. “One more word and I'll cut your tongue off, you lowlife." She glared at the man in front of her. "And second, we met randomly. I followed those three here to see what's going on."

"Hehe. What a funny group we've got here. I thought it would be only the eight of us, but with you two this will become even easier."

"So that's why you called us here?" the second man shouted.

"Of course that's it, you idiot! What do you think I called you for? A cup of tea?"

"You fucking—"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"STOP IT!" the masked woman shouted. "You’re like kids, bickering all the time. From now on, I'm in charge."

"Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" the first man snarled.

"I'm the one who can pummel all of you into the ground once the six-hour safe period ends. So I would fucking watch your tongue." Another wave of killing intent circulated the room and all the men fell to their knees.

"That's a handy move you've got there," stated the second woman calmly.

"You have no idea," she whispered back. "Now that you understand, stand up and listen. In two hours, you five will go and meet that blond-haired kid. The rest of us will wait for an opportunity to strike him down. The moment he's dead, we all go our separate ways and this alliance ends. No questions, let's go."

***

Maya looked at Nathan as he laid on the ground. She drummed her fingers impatiently. Finally, Nathan couldn’t handle it anymore.

"You want to ask something?" he said, sitting up.

"How much longer will we have to wait here? I know you said you'll be making the decisions, but don't you think sitting idly is a bad decision?”

"Not for our cause."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"What do you think the purpose of this safe period is?" Nathan asked.

"It's here so we don't kill each other right at the start."

"Exactly. So why not just make it ten minutes to let everyone disperse?"

"Oh, me! Me! I know!" Simon piped up.

Nathan smiled and pointed him. "Simon?"

"So that we can explore the island?"

"Ting, ting! Correct!"

"Okay, but why haven't we been exploring?" asked Maya.

"Haven't we?"

Maya looked dumbfounded. "The only thing we've done was walk around the starting area and . . . the start area! Walked around the start area! So that's why! You went in circles because you were scouting the place we’ll be fighting at?"

"We?"

"Yes, we," Maya said, crossing her arms. "Did you think we'd just let you go fight with those dirtbags and hope you come back alive?"

"I'm hurt that you think so little of me," Nathan said, feigning shock. "But I would be stupid to refuse help from a bunch of philanthropists."

"When are we going, then?"

"We're close enough for now. It will take around ten minutes to get there. It's. . . " Nathan reached into his backpack for his watch, “. . . it’s 11:33 now. That means we can sit around for five minutes or so before we slowly go to deal with some lowlifes."

"Do you think they’ll team up with each other?"

"Quite possibly."

"And you're still going to walk right into it, knowing it's a trap?"

"Don't worry, I can deal with it. Try not to get yourself into trouble and I'll be fine. Also, for the record, I will be taking points from everyone we kill."

"That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair."

"Fuck." Maya fell silent.

Simon shifted nervously. "Do you think we'll have to kill someone?"

"That's kind of a given," replied Nathan. "You didn't expect to go through this without killing, right? And what about once you're actually an assassin? Did you think you'd deal with people using your charm?"

"Well. . . I thought I was ready, but now that it's almost time, I kind of feel like. . . I don't know."

"You'll be fine," Nathan smiled, and for the first time he seemed genuinely nice. "Worst case scenario, you'll die."

"Very encouraging," Maya sneered. She was about to smack Nathan's head, but she stopped herself. "I think you've been saved from eight smackings so far. Just you wait."

"I'll be looking forward to them."