Groupthink, Part II

As Xess, Alexandra and Kane quickly leave the facility behind and reach the bottom of the hill from the entrance, they have entered the area surrounded by trees in all directions. The ground was firm, with an indication that it had not rained in a long time. Some humidity is felt and rivers are heard in the far distance, if one listens closely. No life of any kind can be felt or heard anywhere. The full moon aggravates the ominous and silent tone of the forest, as the trio traverse it. A few seconds after losing sight of the facility their wrists vibrate once again. They all silently check the information.

"A map..." Xess mutters, understanding how to work the device. The map presents a layout of the forest, showing the locations of rivers, ponds, hills, and the facility. Their personal location is given in real-time as a white dot, while green dots show the rest of the members of his cluster. Vanessa's and Timo's dots are not shown, as they are outside the map area of the forest.

"What is that red line on the map? Everything afterward looks highlighted in red" Alexandra asks.

"What line?" Kane replies.

"Scroll up and you'll see it" Alexandra instructs.

"Oh..." Kane seems to understand.

"It looks like some sort of..." Alexandra gets interrupted by Kane.

"Limit zone. What the hell?" Kane reacts.

"It figures" Xess says.

"What do you mean?" a confused Kane asks, as Xess concludes, "If you think about it, it makes sense for it to be one."

Both Alexandra and Kane seem to think about what Xess has just said. Alexandra then mutters to herself, "Cunning bastards."

"Yeah..." Xess agrees.

Kane looks puzzled, and understanding this, Alexandra proceeds to explain, "This is not the only Hunt we will have. They expect some of us to survive and continue along. This whole situation is fucked, but even they realize we are rookies in what they are asking us to do."

"You mean... the area not covered in red is..." Kane asks.

"The area where we should look for the targets, yes. By excluding most of the forest, it basically makes our job a lot easier," says Xess while they still traverse the forest.

"Easier... And how difficult would you rate the next part after that, huh?" Kane asks ironically. Xess does not answer the question, and the conversation ends immediately after.

Moving deeper into the forest, the light coming from the facility begins to disappear, leaving the full moon as the only source of light. As the trio searches for the targets, they wonder what awaits them in the forest. As time passes, they can faintly hear other clusters around, indicating that most of them have moved in as well. Nevertheless, the silence surrounding the forest is harrowing. This environment makes the trio progress with extreme care, sometimes forcing them to avoid areas that do not seem easily traversable. Eventually Xess ponders what to do if they find someone. He looks at his right wrist and the message still reads 'Number of Prey available: 3'. Meaning that no target has been killed yet, with almost six hours left.

(("How are we supposed to do anything when we find them? What kind of people are they? If they are murderers, won't that mean they can just simply kill us off? How can the three of us really do anything?")) he thinks in a worrying tone believing his cluster partners might have the same questions he does, but the fact that they must, at least, find one target pushes them to cross that bridge when they get there.

A time that seems to have arrived faster than they expected.

"Xess, Alexandra... do you see that?" Kane asks rather alarmed.

"What?" Xess replies.

"Look, behind those bushes over there. Those must be other clusters, right?" Kane points out to a distance section to their right.

"Why are they all standing there?" Alexandra wonders. Changing directions almost immediately, Xess suggests, "Let's go find out."

As the trio reaches the crowd, they find that they all are gathered in a large circle, leaving a space at the center with a tree in the middle. Xess approaches a black-haired girl in the crowd to ask, "Hey, what's going on? What are you guys doing here?"

"Find out for yourself" the girl replies in a very cold tone.

Alexandra immediately comments on her behavior, "Aren't you the cutest?" The girl seems unwilling to interact. Xess ignores her and focuses on what is inside the circle. Just then, he hears Alexandra exclaim loudly, "Hey, he has it!!!" with shocked tone.

"You mean the device on the left wrist!?" Kane askes, equally shocked.

"So... we've all found one!!?" Xess tells himself in an alarmed state.

The trio moves into the inner part of the circle to get a clear view of the target. Everyone else is standing still. However strange that feels, their focus seems to be on getting a good assessment of the target. Has he hurt anyone? Has another cluster attacked him already? What is the current situation? Xess's heart rate increased as he gets closer. In the few seconds it takes Xess, Alexandra, and Kane to reach the inner part of the circle, these questions run through their heads like in an endless cycle of anxiety. Finally, they reach and are taken aback.

The target is an adult male, probably in his 40s. He wears a dirty, white shirt and black pants and holds a large knife. He sits on the floor with a desperate look on his face.

"Please!! Please, listen to me!! We don't have to do this! I don't want to die and I don't want to kill anybody, much less children!!" the man pleads desperately.

Xess is confused, (("What is this? What the hell is he saying?"))

Voices from the crowd shout.

"You think we are just going to take what you say at face value?"

"Throw the knife away!!"

"You- You're a- a criminal, right? That's why you're here."

A nervous wreck, the target replies, "Yes! Yes! I-I tried to steal some things... I... I made mistakes, yes. But that does not mean I have to die" the man admits desperately. Xess stares at the man, as does everyone else, frozen and none too eager to approach the him at all.

"This is just insane... Look at me, a knife so I can protect myself from what? Kids!? Is this really the price I must pay for my freedom! This is bullshit!!" The target starts hitting the ground with both hands in a sign of rage, but immediately begins to cry, "Why can't I be judged fairly, dammit!! I did not kill anybody, nor will I ever do it!!".

The man's crying worsens and all the clusters seem to have no idea what to do. Both Kane and Alexandra are in shock, their determination waning like a deflated balloon. Xess remains still, uneasy about the knife held by the target.

"Please, there has to be a way. Let me go! Please, I swear... I did not kill anybody. I... I... I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know any better. This is excessive. His rule, it's just too extreme for us. We can't go on living like this. I won't hurt anybody, please just let me go... please. My wife, my-- I just want to see my family again. I won't try and steal again, I give you my word on my family. Please just let me go" the man pleads crying.

Everyone is frozen in place. After hearing the man speak, they all seem to have lost their will to act. The man sits on the floor still holding the knife but showing no hostility at all. Then, to the complete surprise of the group, someone steps in and slowly approaches the target. Xess eyes widen in shock when he notices, "What!?".

"Is he crazy? He's going to get himself killed!!" Kane exclaims.

As the boy approaches, he asks the target, "Tell us... Tell us your name?"

“'Reese', my name is 'Reese'," the target cries.

"Reese. My name... my name is 'Cross'" the daring boy introduces himself.

Cross carefully approaches Reese, raising both hands showing that he does not mean to attack.

"We understand. Believe me, we do understand," Cross said.

"You can't possibly..." Reese cries.

"It seems... like you feel trapped, am I right?" Cross asks while slowly, but surely, approaching Reese, who has not moved from the ground with his back towards the base of the tree. With each passing step, the rest show greater signs of uneasiness. However, Cross looks determined, looking like a he did not belong among the rest of the children, "You feel like... the system has failed you. Like you are being a victim of power abuse, right?"

As Cross finishes his sentences, he slowly gets to his knees and goes to the ground. This move grabs Xess's attention.

"Though you admit to having committed a crime, you feel like an even greater crime is being committed against you" says Cross without takin his eyes of Reese. The boiling tension in the air is unbearable.

"Ye-Yeah, that's right. I... I just... I don't know what to do now," Reese admits, still crying.

Cross is now crawling towards Reese, getting closer by the second. Here, the group experiences another shocking moment.

"We share your pain, Reese," Xess says, as Cross turns alerted when he hears his voice. Xess has decided to step in and slowly begins to approach Reese as well. Cross is completely perplexed by his actions.

Practically imitating Cross, he gets to his knees, as well. Once on the ground, he introduces himself, "I am Xess. It is unfortunate we meet under these circumstances. We can all agree on that. All of us have been forced to participate in... whatever this is. Some of us have no idea how or when we got here” Xess says as he crawls towards Reese and quickly reaching the same relative distance Cross has with the target.

"And, just like you, Reese, we do not approve of our situation at all," Xess continues, raising his right hand to show the device on his wrist, "we are just like you."

"Right..." Reese said, crying. He glances at the device on his left hand as he reacts to Xess's comments, "I guess we all have one of these 'Tracers'."

Cross proceeds once again. Reese stops crying and focuses on the two children approaching him, as if feeling more at ease with the conversation.

"We should talk about this, Reese. We are not going anywhere if we don't communicate," Cross says.

"Ye-Yes, exactly. We... I can't just kill children. I can't kill anybody, for that matter. But I was told what you were also being tasked to do. If... If you let me go..." pleads Reese.

"Yes, it would be bad for all of us if you'd just leave. We don't even know how any of this works, but..." Xess starts, followed by Cross, "But unless we calm ourselves and talk it out, we will never know all our options."

"You're right. They... they didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. Why I'd steal..." Reese says.

Here, both Xess and Cross have finally reached Reese. Xess could feel his heart rate rise to its peak, yet he shows no signs of stepping back. Both stop to listen to Reese, who stares directly at them.

"My daughter, Emilia, she was born sick," Reese says in a sad tone, "there was no cure to her disease. She was given an expiration date the very same day she was born. Do you know what that does to a father? No, you can't possibly understand... you're too young. I researched and researched and researched... but..." Reese's sentence gets completed by Cross.

"There was nothing you could do."

"I-I lied. I have no wife," Reese admits.

"It seems your relationship was not able to survive Emilia's situation" Xess points out.

An ironic, faint laugh comes from Reese as he hears this, "Are you sure you are all children? It feels like I am speaking to adults."

"So, what happened? What did you try to steal?" Cross asks looking legitimately curious.

"During my research, I found out the existence of a book... a very, very unique book... one that could give me knowledge that would surpass conventional wisdom. You see, I'm a doctor. It is my duty to save lives… not take them," Reese cries, "yet, my daughter... I simply did not know how to save her."

"That's when you decided to steal the book” Cross completes.

"I wasn't thinking straight. The book... it simply was not accessible for people like me. Those who hold no power have no right to anything in this world." The morale fell even greater for the group when Reese says these words.

Not one person speaks for a full minute before Cross finally breaks the silence.

"Reese, look around you," says Cross as he points to the group surrounding them, "if we want to get out of this situation, we need to be able to trust each other. To work together. Please," Cross places his hand on Reese's shoulder as he continues, "let go of the knife. No one wants to get hurt here. I will not take it from you."

Reese remains silent.

Xess completes Cross's idea, trying to convince Reese to let go of the knife, "In order for this to work, it has to come from you. Otherwise, those behind us won't be able to trust you. Please, give us a chance to help one another."

Reese scans the dozens of boys and girls that surrounded him in silence. Among them was Kane, Alexandra and Eva, whom Xess had met beforehand. Some look scared, others angry. It is a sight full of emotions. Then, staring at Cross, a defeated Reese speaks once again.

"If you are the future of humanity," Reese then looks at Xess as he finishes his sentence, "Then there might still be hope for us."

Reese turns back at Cross, who returns a very gentle smile to Reese who concludes, "Let's try and work it out then."

Cross smiles with what it looks to be a very genuine expression. Reese takes his left hand from the knife, leaving it on the ground. As Cross begins to stretch his own left hand for Reese to shake it in a sign of mutual understanding, seconds later, the lives of everyone involved with the Hunts changes forever.

With a penetrating murderous intent, Xess immediately grabs the knife from the ground and stabs Reese on a side of the neck.

Blood splatters onto Xess's face, making him look like a completely different person for everyone. Reese screams in absolute agony. Cross, stunned, crawls back a few feet in a clear sign of complete disbelief. Xess gets on top of Reese, who fell onto his back, and continues to stab him in the neck repeatedly with no compassion. With every stab, blood splatters covering most of Xess's face and clothes. The empathy in his eyes has vanished, replaced by a cold, mechanical determination to kill.

Everyone watches in horror, as Reese tries to desperately cover his wounds in a attempt to stop the bleeding and push Xess away, but Xess easily overpowers him. The relentless stabbing continues with such violence that the blood splatters onto Cross's leg.

Finally, Reese's screams of agony and struggles cease, but Xess continues to stab him. It is here when Cross notices a device lying next to Reese and Xess.

"His... His wrist device has... fallen..." Cross mentions Reese's fallen Tracer, barely being able to speak.

Immediately, Xess stops. He silently tilts his head slightly to confirm Cross's observation and sees Reese's device, the "Tracer," on the ground. Echoing the rest of the crowd, both Alexandra and Kane are in a state of anxiety and shock that they could not even mutter a single noise. The moonlight was shining strongly on the scene, as if the world telling the group this was the main event of a horror story. Xess sat on top of Reese's corpse, surrounded by blood and deafening silence.

Then, all their Tracers vibrate signaling new information has arrived. A still-shaken Cross glances at his Tracer slowly while the rest follow suit. Xess does not check his Tracer, however, when the rest do they witness a change in the information: 'Number of Prey available... 2/3'.

Chaos erupts among the group like wildfire.

"Shit! We need to find the other two fast!!!"

"No fucking way! How much time do we have? I don't want to die!!!"

"I can't believe he actually killed him!!!! What are we going to do now?"

As soon as everyone grasped the severity of the situation, the circle dispersed in all directions of the forest. Amidst the fleeing, Eva glances back at Xess with an expressionless face while leaving the scene with some haste. Alexandra, Kane, and Cross are left behind closest to Xess. Cross still is unable to react, laying down next to Xess and Reese's body. Then, someone from Cross's cluster returns to pick him up, "Get the hell up, you stupid fuckup! We need to move, now!"

Cross seems to regain his composure somewhat and quickly approaches Xess, who has yet to move away from Reese, and takes the knife away from him while not missing a look at his face as if trying to search for answers for his actions. He would not find any.

In that brief instant, Cross sees beneath the bloodbath a face filled, simply, with raw emotion. Cross takes the knife and leaves with his cluster partner. Kane and Alexandra stand frozen in place watching Xess from a distance so close yet so far away in many other ways. He still sat on top of Reese's body fully bathed in blood.

As they are the only ones left at the scene, Xess then slowly turns his bloodied hand, the one he used to kill Reese, and looks at the palm. He can clearly see the blood on his hands as the full moonlight illuminates the dreadful scene. He speaks to himself.

"I have survived."

Chapter 03 – Groupthink, Part II: END

to be continued...