Death Games

Chapter 9 : Wolf's Winter Hunt

Maria felt the bone-chilling cold as she ran across the vast snowy mountains, filled with fear. She could feel the strong wind blowing through the gaps in her hood, covering her ears, but that wasn't what scared her. Behind her, a pack of robot wolves chased Maria with a terrifying howl!

They were robots owned by WIC Company. Maria ran, tears streaming down her face.

"Help! Somebody help!" Maria shouted, her voice almost lost in the wind.

Unfortunately, no one answered her cries. There was only her, the robot wolves, and the sound of the howling wind in the snowy mountains. The iron frames of the robot wolves made them unaffected by the extreme weather. They continued to chase Maria relentlessly, while she grew weaker and lost her strength. If she didn't find a hiding place that could provide warmth soon, the possibility of dying from hypothermia was high. Maria could feel her breath getting shorter, but she couldn't stop. If she stopped, she would die.

Maria tried to remember how she ended up here. As far as she could recall, she and all the participants were brought into WIC Company's secret underground laboratory. She remembered when Mrs. Katy instructed them to choose one room each for every participant. They were not allowed to leave the room without permission. At that time, Maria entered room number 18. She opened the novel book she brought from home and read until she fell asleep, until she found herself waking up on the cold snow wearing a thick jacket.

As Maria felt her energy running out and the robot wolves getting closer, something unexpected happened. From a distance, a giant snowball rolled down from the mountaintop and crushed the robot wolves. The iron-clad creatures were thrown far away and buried under the snowball.

Maria was startled for a moment, but then she let out a sigh of relief. At least she was safe for now. Maria felt a sense of fatigue in her body from running tirelessly to escape the pursuit of the wolves. She could feel her heart pounding rapidly. Her fingertips and toes felt numb.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" a woman's voice shouted from the top of the cliff to Maria.

"Y-yes! I am good!" Maria shouted back.

The mist from the snow, carried by the strong wind, blurred Maria's vision. It made it difficult for her to see clearly who had spoken to her. But faintly, Maria could see someone trying to descend the cliff and make their way towards her. Maria quickly stood up and brushed off the snow from her jacket.

The figure approached closer. Gradually, Maria could see her face clearly. She was a girl around the same age as Maria.

The girl nodded, "Glad you are fine." She looked around, "Follow me! It's not safe here."

She walked ahead of Maria. Maria followed her from behind.

"Where are we going?" Maria asked.

The girl turned around and pressed her index finger to her lips, "Shh! Don't make noise. The wolves have sound-detecting sensors." She looked around and continued walking quickly.

Maria, with no other choice, decided to follow the girl. She didn't want to die from hypothermia or get frostbite. They walked in silence, not exchanging a single word. The girl hadn't even introduced herself, and neither had Maria.

While they were walking, Maria noticed something familiar. She reached for her chest. She touched something, a golden pin in the shape of a bird of paradise. The same pin that the girl who had saved her was wearing.

"Hey!" the girl shouted.

Maria was startled when she realized she was far behind the girl. The girl seemed impatient with Maria's slow pace.

"I-I am coming." Maria ran to catch up with her.

After walking for a while, they finally arrived at the entrance of a cave. Maria caught her breath, and they walked inside. The girl took a flashlight from her bag and turned it on.

Maria could see the cave walls reflecting the light from the girl's flashlight. There was nothing special about them. Just regular stone walls. Maria wanted to ask about their destination, but she felt a bit scared. So, in the end, Maria decided to keep quiet.

As they walked deeper into the cave, the air felt warmer. Maria no longer needed to tighten her jacket. Until finally, she could see a light at the end.

"We're almost there."

"Oh, great!"

The light became more visible as they continued. Maria was surprised! When they arrived, Maria realized that the light was a bonfire. But that's not what surprised her. It was the presence of three other teenagers, three boys around her age. They looked at Maria with curiosity.

"Moon, who is she?" one of the boys asked.

"I don't know. We haven't introduced ourselves yet."

"Oh, my name is Maria. Maria Elazor."

"Wow! Sounds like Latina," one of the boys replied.

"Yeah, I am from Spain."

"Great! At least we have someone who can cook tacos here besides you, David," the girl who had helped Maria earlier said while sharpening the tip of an arrow with a knife. "I am Moon Seomin. You can call me Moon." She looked at Maria, "Are you just going to keep standing there?"

Maria awkwardly sat down near Moon and said, "Thank you for saving me earlier."

Moon glanced at her with a smile, "Yeah. Maybe you'll save me too later."

They introduced themselves to each other. David Garcia, another Spanish boy with a Latin Oriental face. Then Miguel Costa, a Portuguese-American boy, and Luca Ferri, a boy of Italian descent.

Maria told them about the moment she opened her eyes and found a robotic wolf standing in front of her, with glowing red eyes and sharp teeth on display. She panicked, slowly backed away, stood up, and quickly ran to avoid the wolf's pursuit.

She stumbled and lost her bag. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came and blurred her vision. Maria took the opportunity to hide from the wolf. But it seemed that the wolf could smell her, as it easily found Maria. Fortunately, she managed to run away before the wolf could catch her. Until Moon came and saved her.

Similarly, Moon Seomin also woke up on a pile of snow. But the difference was that there was no one around her. Only a bag was there. She took it and started walking aimlessly.

Unlike the others, Luca woke up in a valley squeezed between two cliffs. He panicked and tried to find a way out. With no other choice, he climbed the cliffs, carefully choosing the right footholds until he successfully reached the top.

At that moment, they heard someone shouting for help. They saw Miguel being chased by two wolves. With no other choice, Miguel headed towards Luca, and they both jumped from the cliff into the valley. Luckily, they landed on the snow, avoiding severe injuries. However, Miguel and Luca's jackets were slightly torn, and they had bruises on their legs and arms.

After making sure the two wolves were gone, the two of them climbed the cliff and left the place. It didn't take long before a strong wind accompanied by snow came, almost causing them to faint and suffer from hypothermia. They walked aimlessly until they saw a plume of smoke.

Initially, Miguel thought it was a camp or a local settlement, but as they approached, it turned out to be just a bonfire with some fish being grilled beside it. Seeing that, their hunger overwhelmed them, and Miguel and Luca couldn't resist. They took the fish and ate them.

While they were enjoying the fish, someone held a knife to Miguel's neck. It was Moon. The owner of the bonfire and the fish they had eaten.

Moon rolled her eyes upon hearing Miguel and Luca recounting the incident while laughing. David, on the other hand, seemed unwilling to speak. Miguel mentioned that they met David after the three of them decided to leave the bonfire.

Maria realized that the four of them had different personalities. Moon Seomin, although tomboyish and rarely spoke, seemed to be much better in terms of self-defense and survival. On the other hand, Miguel and Luca were just like typical high school boys. They talked a lot and were reckless. As for David, he was quieter, appearing to be someone who preferred researching and was introverted.

As Maria, Luca, and Miguel were engrossed in their conversation, they suddenly heard the rapid footsteps coming from the mouth of the cave. They immediately fell silent. No, it wasn't just a pair of footsteps, but many footsteps!

"Grab your weapons!"