In the corner of his vision, he could see one of the other fifty kids that he was competing against run away from the cliff and its bunker. It looked like he was headed to a trailer camp, off the side of a road that ran around the cliff. The running figure reminded Ethan that he was on a ticking clock; every second he waited was another second someone could use to get deadly weapons or sneak into ambush positions. With that in mind, he burst into action.
No one else seemed to be going into the bunker, which was a relief. However, Ethan didn’t interpret that as an invitation to take his time.
There was nothing in the first segment of the bunker, but he noticed a doorway that lead to another room. He ran through it and found what appeared to be a rifle in the corner. Aside from that and a box of what he guessed was ammo, the room was barren and featureless.
When he approached the weapon, he realized it was an ancient musket rifle, and the box was a bunch of metal marbles and packets of gunpowder. He groaned as he thought of the tactical disadvantage he’d be in. Someone could have an automatic laser rifle or some magical staff that could turn him into dust, and he’d have this antique to defend himself with. It was better than nothing, though — even as a blunt weapon — so he took it into his inventory.
There didn’t seem to be anything else in the bunker, which disappointed Ethan. He was hoping to find some armor or healing items if he had to be stuck with such a sub-par weapon, but there was nothing. He knew he had to move on to the next area if he wanted to stand a chance against the others.
As he turned to leave the bunker, he heard footsteps. Someone else was rushing into the bunker, clearly hoping for decent loot themselves.
The other guy appeared in the entrance, a crossbow cradled in his arms. The intruder’s expression turned to surprise as he tried to get his crossbow aimed and ready. It was clear to Ethan that the stranger didn’t expect anyone inside the building. He used the moment to pull his musket up and fire. A ball of lead ripped from the end of his archaic firearm and right into the stranger’s gut. As it hit his target and the wind was knocked out of his lungs, the other player vanished and a wooden crate with all his items fell to the ground where his body was just a moment prior.
Ethan’s heart was racing. The gun and the bullet and the crossbow were all fake, but the adrenaline was real. He needed a moment to steady his nerves as he shuffled through the eliminated kid’s gear.
He swapped the musket out for the crossbow, shuddering at the thought of reloading the colonial weapon. There was also a magical amulet item that he took. Looking at the item description, he learned that it could help him find nearby tracks and help him figure out which participant they belonged to.
Gotcha, Taylor, Ethan thought. He could catch the birthday girl by surprise and take her right out of the match. Then it would be an easier win for him.
He left the junk items behind, including the rest of his musket pellets and gun powder plugs. Without delay, he abandoned the bunker and started to run with the cliff on his left.
The rock formation led into a sort of canyon that ran between it and another cliff face, where a number of alpine trees grew. The trunks were too close together for Ethan to see past the canyon.
He whipped out the magical amulet and tried to activate it. Nothing happened. For a second he thought it was broken, but he realized it was probably just because there were no tracks to pick up on. He felt a little more comfortable, so he made his way into the forested canyon.
The distant ring of gunfire met his ears. It sounded like someone had found a machine gun and was unloading the entire clip at another unfortunate player. There was some return fire and several explosions. He recognized the whistle of rockets being fired and realized the other combatant must have found a missile launcher.
I’d love to see that fight, he thought. But I hope I don’t run into either of those guys. At least, not until I have a rocket launcher of my own.
He was only a hundred feet into the canyon or so when the amulet started to vibrate. He pulled it out and a few footprints started to appear on the trail before him. They glowed with an otherworldly orange light that almost seemed to drift upwards like smoke. They were easy to make out, even through all the roots and brush.
It looked like someone had slid down the far cliff wall and into the valley, then fled down the way he was already headed. Activating the amulet, he could see a small descriptor appear next to the tracks:
TAYLOR, it read. 2 MINUTES 43 SECONDS AGO.
Ethan grinned. I’m on her trail, he thought. And she wasn’t here too long ago.
He kept the amulet level with his heart as he followed the orange footsteps. He could see the occasional orange handprint on the tree trunks where Taylor had regained her balance, or perhaps pushed off to give her a little more speed.
Keeping a steady pace, he made sure his crossbow was loaded. It looked like it even had fire bolts, which would ignite whoever he shot into a ball of flames. That would be useful whenever he encountered Taylor. She was a skilled fighter, as he’d seen in a number of simulated melees with her. He knew he
