(5)Survival Test

The second night was terrifying. It was as though, instead of being in a forest, the candidates had been teleported to a dark and murderous jungle filled with savage, starving beasts.

Of course, these "beasts" were none other than the predatory candidates among them. Many of the attacks during the first night had been cunning and calculated. Victims had been savagely beaten, to be sure, but there had been some kind of sense of normalcy to the screams, the ordinary fear of people realizing they were about to suffer enormous pain.

The second night was different. It was as though some kind of hidden, bestial nature had awoken in the hearts of both predators and victims. People weren't simply attacking others and taking their water and belongings because they wanted an advantage—it was as though everyone now realized attacking another could save your life and that being attacked could mean your death.

The screams were louder than before. More shrill, more panicked, more frequent.

Sometimes the loudspeakers automatically announced the elimination of some candidate who'd fled the test zone, but this was uncommon. Even rarer were the times when someone was disqualified because they were so savagely assaulted that they fell into a coma… or worse.

Even among the predatory candidates, there was a general sense that it would be wise to avoid killing other candidates. Though that wouldn't result in your immediate disqualification, most people understood that it would be best to avoid the reputation of being insanely violent. Others might team up to target you, after all!

***

Despite all of this escalating madness, Alexandre was unbothered. He lay on the ground with his arms crossed underneath his head, looking up at the stars. He took frequent micro-naps of fifteen minutes, at which point his digital watch beeped to wake him up for a quick environmental check. Though Alexandre was confident that his instincts and reflexes could protect him against any threat from these weak (and weakened) candidates, even while he was asleep, it was best to take precautions.

Shortly after one of these naps, Alexandre heard an unexpected noise from nearby: the sound of a cat meowing. Surprised, Alexandre sat up and lit up the flashlight on his phone, shining it toward the point where he'd heard the noise.

Sitting not far away from Alexandre was the young blonde woman who'd questioned Omega earlier in the day. She squinted as the light shone in her face, giving Alexandre a mischievous smile.

Alexandre sprung to his feet, preparing to fight.

"Don't worry!" the woman said. "I have no hostile intentions. Quite the contrary, actually!"

Alexandre narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

The young blonde woman's smile broadened. "My name is Claire. I just want some… company."

Alexandre replied, "Company? I'm not interested. Though there are plenty of men here who'd be more than happy to offer it, little mouse."

Claire rose from the ground. She took a couple steps closer, unzipped her combat, jacket, and reached inside—

Alexandre instinctively reacted, his muscles tensing as he prepared to counter the weapon Claire was surely reaching for!

But instead of pulling out a knife or a gun, Claire pulled down the tank top she wore under her jacket, revealing a pale, ample bosom that shone in the moonlight.

Alexandre snapped, "I said I'm not interested!"

Claire pouted. "What, you don't want a taste of my milk?"

But Alexandre was no longer paying attention. He glanced around, looking for candidates who might be planning to ambush him. He didn't for a moment consider that Claire was being sincere, of course. The real question was whether she was so stupid that she was still trying to seduce him in order to attack him, despite the fact he wasn't falling for her advances, or whether she had allies that were waiting for the opportunity to attack.

Then Claire's other arm moved behind her back as she continued to walk forward, and Alexandre wrinkled his nose in contempt. So this woman really was stupid enough to try attacking him head-on!

In only a few seconds, Alexandre had switched off his phone's flashlight, darted forward, and disarmed Claire of the hunting knife she'd just drawn from its sheath on her back. He fluidly pulled her arm behind her back, causing her to yelp in pain.

"Please!" she whimpered. "Let go of me!"

Alexandre replied, "You've got a beautiful chest, but you'll need more than that to pull off an attack against even one of the idiots around us. You should've brought some friends if you wanted to make a proper attack…"

His voice trailed off as his instincts warned him that something was wrong. Alexandre hurled Claire away from himself, narrowly avoiding the hidden blade that had protruded from the heel of Claire's boot, and which she'd aimed directly at his groin. If he'd been a second slower, the hidden weapon would have neutered him.

But then the unthinkable happened.

While Alexandre was still in midair, leaping away from Claire's attack, the young blonde woman released another weapon she'd been hiding during their entire encounter.

A shuriken streaked through the air toward Alexandre's face, faster than he could dodge.