SURVIVAL 27: POINT OF VIEWS PART 3

AEITH'S / MYRIANA QUEVAS' POV

"Ah, dang it!" I tripped over my foot.

My partner is Thirtwen or Karson laughed at me.

"Hey, where are we?" Karson asked.

“In war,” I philosophically answered him.

My only weapon is a grenade while Karson has a gun with him!

"That's mine," I seized the pistol he was checking. He annoys me for being unfair.

"What are you, a thief?" He snatched it from me instantly.

Yes, I have experienced the life of a thief.

“Sis, we don't have any more food," my third younger sister told me.

"Here, share it with them," I handed her a plastic bag containing five loaves. It came from the kind heart down the street. I just drank a lot of water to relieve my empty stomach.

"Myriana! Martin has left again!" news from my fourth younger brother, Mark. Martin was second.

"What? Did he go billiards again?"

Mark nodded in response.

I was about to go out the door to look for my rebellious second brother when I heard our youngest, the sixth, crying.

"No more milk for baby," cried my fifth younger brother.

I went back and approached our youngest sister, who’s still a baby.

"I'll buy milk," I put her back in the crib.

I reached into my bag pocket. What? Yesterday I still had enough money.

"Hey, did someone steal from my wallet again?"

They were quiet, but Mark was the one lying the most.

"You're a dead child." I approached him and slapped him in the ass.

"Whaaa! That's enough!" he cried and begged to let him go.

I was about to strike a few more times when Martin grabbed my right hand.

"Where did you go?!" I asked Martin. Mark hid behind Martin.

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet," I called Mark, but he ran.

"Enough of it," Tch, the nerve of this guy.

"Why? Are you the eldest? If you don't want me to beat them, teach and discipline them, too! It doesn’t have to be me all the time. Do your part as the second eldest!" I scolded him.

"M-Myriana, the baby is still crying," the third said hesitantly.

I was blown away with my problems accompanied by the crying of our youngest sister. I became a thief to feed them. Daughter of a notorious city snatcher. Mom’s a mistress. We’re poor—poorer than a rat. At the age of 17, I had already experienced extreme hardship that a minor should not experience.

I love my family. I’ll finish this no matter what—even if it means trampling upon others I just met here. This is my selfish wish for my family.

THIRTWEN'S / KARSON LU’S POV

She has really done it, huh? Haha! Despite the pair quarrels, we managed to win the last game.

"Get your pistol ready. We're going to attack Aeizen." How bossy, eh.

Aeizen is with Fifth. But they are roaming around separately. And Aeizen is the closest to us right now.

As Master Aeith said, I had already prepared myself for the attack. Aeith’s nth sense is hearing, and I am smelling. I can smell when someone is approaching us.

“Okay... go!” she commanded.

I pulled the trigger and waited to see if I could bullseye Aeizen. Man, she ran away! She didn’t just move by accident. Fifth got alerted when he felt something. They looked around then they ran away. I saw Aeizen’s weapon is a katana and Fifth has a bow and arrow. What a good combination of weapons!

"Sh*t, they're gone. Why are you so stupid, huh?"

There we have it, another pair quarrel from us. She could’ve been nicer to me but I’m getting to her nerves whenever she plays seriously.

I let her leave me. Accustomed to being left behind. My dramatic self is on. The name’s Karson Lu, as young as 16. Good-looking, tall, happy-go-lucky, and talk of the town.

Kidding aside, I have had a couple of friends since grade school. Our bond is so strong that we formed a fraternity group. I was the right-hand man of our leader, my closest friend, and childhood friend who also pressured me into doing stuff I don’t want to be involved with.

“If you’re no longer interested with being the mid-man, then forget that you’re part of us.” He threatened me.

“I’ve done everything you told me to for the past years. Let me slip this time, just this time.” I begged him. How can he forget the years we’ve been together for a mere task I refused to deliver drugs to him from the dealer.

They become my family so losing them would be difficult. If the people who know I’m part of this frat know that they banish me, I will be prone to bullying and might even be forced to stop going to school.

“Exactly. All you have to do is to give them to me. Simple, right?”

“But, can you-”

“I’ll give you until tomorrow,” he left me.

I went home and got drunk.

There has been a raid by the government recently. I don’t want to get caught. Maybe, if I do this for one last time, he’ll still consider me to be part of the group. Okay, I’ll do the task tomorrow and tell him to refrain from the delivery for a moment.

I stood up to get more liquor when my I felt my heart beats faster. I am breaking out in a cold sweat. I feel dizzy and lightheaded. I held my chest. It’s so painful.

“Karson!” someone screamed my name.

The doctor reported I had a mild heart attack. D*ng. What a life-or-death situation was that for me.

Weeks after hospitalization, the leader meet me.

“I heard what happened to you.”

“Ah, yeah. But I’m okay now! By the way, about the delivery, I can do it. But let’s lay low after that. The news everywhere has been spreading.”

“You don’t have to bother with it anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was fun working with you for 6 years.”

They left me. It was because I got sick. But that wasn’t enough reason to just leave me like that.

Even on this day, I have lost many friends here on nth planet too. The difference is it was out of their free will to leave me. They died. To Eleventh, Thirteenth, and my schoolmate, Fortwen—you guys are awesome.

SECOND'S / HEAVIEN'S POV

First and I are still here in the forest. We sat on the ground for a moment and rested. As we sat, I looked back at the comics I had written. I try to remember what the outcome of this stage will be. Who will be hurt this time? Who will win? Will I die or live?

"Watch out!” he alerted.

I was shocked at the noise I heard and at him hugging me.

"Are you okay?” he asked.

"Y-Yes, what was that?" I turned to the right, and something exploded. "First, you have a wound," I touched his bleeding right arm.

"Let's go!" He grabbed my right hand, and we hid in a large tree.

"I saw them. It was Sectwen and Ninezen. If my eyes serve right, Sectwen has the grenade while Ninezen has a sword." So, it was Nadine and Trake.

So, First and Trake were armed with the same weapon, which is a sword.

"Isn't sight your nth sense?" I asked.

"How?" he wondered.

"How did you see that Nadine had a grenade when they are far away from us?”

"Didn't you see them?”

"No”

"Maybe you're right. I'll have myself tested about my nth sense and don't forget yours so that we can put them to good use.”

I nodded in agreement.

"I think they're following us," First noticed, scrutinizing the surroundings.

I also checked around, but I didn't see anyone except the two of us.

"Why don't you shoot your arrow?" he suggested to me.

"Huh?”

"I think you’re right about my nth sense. I'll direct you to their position, then you'll shoot.”

"Why don’t you do it?" If he shoots the arrow with his enhanced sense of sight, the chances of it being a successful shot is high.

When he touched my bow, he suddenly let go of it and pulled his hand away.

"I was electrocuted.” He said.

He touched my bow for a second, and his left palm slightly reddened already. I suddenly grabbed his sword, and I also released it and fell to the ground.

"Ouch! It is forbidden for another person to hold or use one's own weapon.”

We had no choice.

"Move it to the southeast, angle 220 degrees..." First is telling the direction in which I should point my bow and arrow.

What made it even more difficult was that there was no hole in the middle of the bow. I used my finger to straighten it. I don’t know if we would hit the target.

"Steady and... shoot!”

I let go of the arrow and closed my eyes.

"Nice shot!” he praised me.

I looked up and asked First. "What happened?" I can't see anything in particular from that distance.

"You hit Sectwen’s shoulder.”

Will I be happy or sad?

"The others are already there. We got to go and attack them."

"T-This is wrong. This is not the right thing to do," I'm getting teary-eyed.

“How about… we will go fully on defending ourselves and let them attack first?”

I agreed because I have no better idea.

"Someone's following us," I felt uneasy about what he noticed. "We can't just run. We need to face them.”

We stopped running and waited for whoever he said was following us. Not long after, it was Karson and Myriana.

"Myriana!" I called her and waved. They are just 10 meters away from us.

"Heavien," she looked surprised.

"Hey, guys! We’ve been following noises and t’was you." Karson said.

"What're you doing here?" a serious question by First.

"Because my partner heard a fast-crackling sound, probably running. I smelled the scent of a girl, lol. Then we followed you. I wasn’t sure if it was Heavien’s scent, but it's really you." Karson’s nth sense must be a sense of smell.

"Why don't you say... You want to attack us?" First’s mischievous question.

"Ah, hehe.” Karson grinned. “What a blunt man you are. Well, accuse us whatever you want. We don't have a choice because you two are closest to us right now.”

Karson pulled out his pistol.

Myriana looked at me. "So sorry, Heavien. I have to do this." She slowly took the… g-grenades out of her suit pocket!

First also presented his sword to the two of them and then told me, "Ready your weapon.”

After he said that, against my will, I aimed my bow and arrow at them. I am trembling.

"Haha! Sword and archery? Traditional yet classy. But ours is more powerful." Karson boasted. Thirtwen from whom I met was loving to his friends who died early during the Tri-Games. Now, he has become an overconfident opponent of ours.

I crouched down and closed my eyes when Karson fired his pistol. I opened my eyes and saw that First was still standing.

"Did you just avoid the bullet with your sword?" Karson wondered.

"Myriana, the grenade!" Karson commands Myriana.

I ran. Myriana threw it at us, but the sound of the explosion was not too loud. I hadn't gone far yet, so I inhaled smoke and gunpowder. I licked my dry lips when I tasted bitterness in the air.

I coughed. "First! Where are you?”

Several calls and I heard someone coughed too.

"First!" I approached him.

I rubbed his back as he continued to cough.

"What happened to them?" I can’t see them because of the thick smoke from the grenade.

He looked into my eyes. "I killed Thirtwen.”

"H-Huh?” I am puzzled.

"Please forgive me. That was the only way. I made the sword invisible and managed to get Thirtwen’s guard down after the grenade exploded. I wasted no time. It was instant death for him. He actually planned to attack us first after the explosion, but I went to him faster."

I searched around and saw Myriana running away. Karson has no life lying on the ground. First just killed someone with his own hands.

I helped First stand up.

“It was all sudden,” He is limping because of his injured left leg. “I hope I didn’t scare you.” I heard him groan.

I remained silent. We continued walking to find a safer place to rest his injury.

"Be strong. Be alert to your surroundings. Ensnare your senses.” he asserted.

I already know what my nth sense is.