The Hunt

The prisoners stepped onto the longest iron platform of their lives, taking in the vast expanse of the prison before them. As they surveyed the scene, they saw a line of guards dressed in full body armor, wielding riot shields and futuristic guns. It was clear that these guards meant business.

At the head of the line stood a towering man, clearly the leader of the group. He was tall and muscular, with a chest that was flat and defined despite his pudgy frame. With a commanding presence, he addressed the prisoners.

"Most of you are probably wondering where you are," he began. "Well, it's simple. You're at the last stop before reaching your destination - the Shinseina Gisei. But before that, you."

He pointed to a tall, slim teenager with droopy black eyes, and a emotionless expression etch on his face. He wears a black one piece that looks just shy of being too big on him, and on the left side of the the colure says "I'm a filthy rodent". This is what all the prisoner had to wear, including Keisuke as he had to change into them during the helicopter ride.

As the emotionless teen stepped forward, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease wash over him. The guard towering over him exuded an intimidating presence, and the veins pulsing in his neck only seemed to add to the tension in the air.

"Yes sir?" Said the emotionless boy with no expression hitched onto his voice. This seemed to piss off the guard, adding even more tension in the air.

"Listen up testiclies! When you speak to me, I expect to hear some backbone in your voice. You're here because you committed a heinous, so it means you guys are prepared to die, but also because you're ready to live. You may be tempted to run away and crawl back to the underground dumpster you crawl from, but I know you've got what it takes to stay and fight. So stand up straight and speak with confidence, got it?!" His words were rough, but everyone there with a sense to read between the lines would understand that his words were to lift them up, not tear them down.

Not even half of them were able to get what he meant, but the ones that did had their spirits lifted, just a little, but that would soon to be change in a few minutes...

"Yes sir." Said the expressionless teen, still very emotionless with his words and tone.

"I see... Very well." Said the guard.

Suddenly, the towering guard stepped back, motioning for the expressionless boy to approac『Polar Shield』activate," the guard commanded as the boy approached within range.

As the shield began to pulsate with a bright blue light, the expressionless boy nearest to the guard was suddenly drawn towards it, as if by some unseen, otherworldly force. The boy struggled and writhed, trying in vain to escape the magnetic pull of the shield, but to no avail. His neck collar and handcuffs, both connected to the shield, tightened and squeezed, threatening to tear him apart. Despite his efforts, the only part of his body he could move were his legs, which thrashed about wildly as he fought against the invisible bonds holding him in place.

As the other guards and prisoner watched on, the once expressionless teenager's face contorted in pain as he struggled to move, to breathe, to... live. It was as if the very life was being drained from him by the glowing blue shackles that bound him.

But then, the guard called out the command『Release Teadrul,』 and the glowing aura around the shackles dissipated. The teenager fell to the ground, his restraints reshaping to fit his now motionless form.

he guard continued talking as if he didn't care about the once emotionless and expressionless teenager, who was now gasping for air and struggling to stay alive. "As you lowlifes have seen, this shield," he waved it in front of the prisoners, "acts like a magnet of sorts. Any handcuffs, neck restraints, or arm restraints within a 5 foot radius are immediately drawn to us. It doesn't matter how fast you are, or how strong you think you are, you will be pulled to this shield."

One of the prisoners raised their hand, as if they were still in school.

The guard wasn't caught off by this, as every time a new batch of prisoners arrived and learned their lesson during the first phase, which was when the handcuffs and neck restraints were introduced, they became obedient, loyal dogs. But there were always a few who didn't follow these standards.

"What is it, bottom feeder?" the guard sneered.

"W-what would happen if a person is pulled to two or more shields at a time?" the prisoner stuttered, clearly afraid that what he was thinking might be true.

"Let's hope it's merciful," the guard said abstractly, either to spare their feelings or to instill terror in their hearts. None of them knew for sure, but they all knew one thing: they didn't want to find out what would happen.

"Well then, let's get back on topic," the guard began, his gruff voice cutting through the tense silence. "You guys will be running on this platform, all the way to the end. Our job is to kill you before you reach the end. Simple, right? All you need to worry about is surviving. Of course, if you try to get off the platform in any way, you'll be killed by our expert sniper team."

The prisoners all glanced around, trying to locate the snipers, but the lead guard interrupted their curiosity. "You'll all be given a five second head start to reach your goal, after which all of us will chase and kill you. Any questions?" Without waiting for a response, he counted down from five.

Half the prisoners were stunned, while the other half immediately took off at the sound of "five." Keisuke was among those stunned, while the expressionless kid surprised everyone by taking off immediately. It was probably because he had an epiphany about the absurdity of dying for a "show."

As Keisuke sprinted down the thousand-foot iron platform, his heart pounded in his chest. He could feel the guards' pursuit close behind him, the hum of their advanced technology a constant presence at his back. But he couldn't let himself be caught.

Beside him, the emotionless teenager struggled to keep up, his breathing getting worse by the seconds. Keisuke didn't hesitate for a moment, scooping the other boy up and slinging him over his shoulder and into a piggy back. He couldn't leave him to die, not when he had seen the fear in the other's eyes.

"Let me down," the emotionless teen said in a monotone voice.

"I won't leave you to your death," Keisuke replied, determination in his voice.

"So, you'll leave others to die but not me? That's very contradicting of you."

"I know it sounds wrong, but I saw you crying for help, even if you were too afraid to speak. I know what that feels like, so I won't abandon you."

The emotionless teen fell silent, and Keisuke continued to run, his breathing labored. He knew that they had to make it to the end of the platform, no matter what. And as he ran, he couldn't help but wonder what had brought the other boy to this place, to this game of life or death.

"I was sentenced here for murder," the emotionless teen said suddenly. "I killed my mother, father, and brother."

Keisuke's heart ached at the confession, but he didn't let it slow him down. They had to keep moving, to keep fighting for survival. And as they ran, Keisuke vowed to do everything in his power to keep them both alive, no matter the cost.

As the countdown reached two, Keisuke burst into action, propelled forward by his fight or flight response. His eyes widened in shock as the expressionless teen suddenly pushed himself off from him.

"What are you doing?!" Keisuke yelled, reaching out a hand towards the emotionless teenager who back was now on the ground. "Grab my hand!"

10...The scene before them was eerily familiar to Keisuke, reminding him of the rooftop incident that had landed him in this prison island. 9...

"What am I doing? What are you doing? I'm a killer through and through, I don't deserve to live, so get your hands away from me," the emotionless teen replied in his usual monotone voice. 8... 7...

The guards were just six feet away from them now, one more step and they would be dragged and killed. Seeing this, Keisuke sprinted away, leaving the emotionless teen behind with tears streaming down his face.

Despite knowing that the young teenager was not a killer in his heart, Keisuke couldn't bring himself to abandon him, but his body can... He saw a version of himself in the emotionless teen, most likely falsely accused and sentenced to this island just like him.

But it was too late. As the guards closed in, the teenager was pulled towards their sci-fi shields before being shot by hundreds of their futuristic guns. The soundless impact sent his body tumbling to the ground, where it joined the pile of other bodies attached to the guards' shields.

As the guards deactivated their shields, the bodies dropped to the floor and were unceremoniously tossed into giant buckets by other guards. Keisuke could only watch in horror as the emotionless teen's lifeless body was added to the pile.

These men were called carriers. Their sole purpose was to collect the bodies of the deceased from around the prison. They were the grim reapers of this place.

Suddenly, Keisuke made an incredible move. He pushed his body to its limits, sprinting at an unimaginable speed of 30 mph. It's worth noting that Keisuke had a natural talent for running and anything speed related. If he had been more sociable, any fast-paced sports team would have begged him to join. As he ran past every other prisoner, he could feel the guards hovering above him, trying to keep up on their hovering boards.

With his eyes closed and his only thought being "I need to survive," Keisuke ran and ran until he crashed into something solid. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was not a wall, but a door. A 20-foot square door, to be exact. As he stared at it in surprise, he felt blood dripping from his nose, a clear sign that he had broken it. Despite his impressive speed, Keisuke's durability left something to be desired.