Night came again.
This time, we were ready.
Sort of.
We set a loose perimeter around our camp. No fire this time. It would be too visible. Everyone stayed awake longer than they should have.
That was when Owen made his move.
He waited until the siblings were asleep.
Until the healer was distracted.
Then he shoved the older man forward.
Straight into the water.
His scream was short.
The system chimed.
Seven.
"What the hell?! Are you fucking crazy?" someone yelled.
Owen raised his hands. "He was slowing us all down. He would have died anyways whether by us or to those damn monsters."
Silence.
Mira's blade was at his throat in an instant.
"You don't get to choose that," she said.
He didn't panic.
That was the problem.
"The system chooses for us," Owen replied calmly. "I'm just helping it along."
I stepped forward.
"So what?" I asked. "Are you going to keep 'helping' people?"
He met my eyes.
"If it keeps me alive? Yeah."
The forest rustled.
Creatures moved.
Drawn by the noise.
Owen glanced at them. Then at us.
He made a decision.
He turned and ran.
Straight into the dark.
No one chased after him.
He kept running.
The system chimed again once more.
PLAYER STATUS UNKNOWN.
I exhaled slowly.
Now there were seven survivors.
And now we knew...
Monsters weren't the only threat out here.
People were worse.
And this place?
It didn't care which one killed you.
End of Chapter 7.