Author's Note

Hour 03 (2:00 - 2:59 AM)

Danger Zones: G7.

Student(s) Remaining: 41.

Flynt Coal (Male Student No. 2) stood in shock over the collapsed body of Roy Stallion (Male Student No. 14). Roy had been dead for at least...Five...Ten minutes now, and yet it felt like hours had passed. He was still bleeding quite a bit, and every time Flynt got a whiff of the air he felt the need to gag again. Though, by this point, he had probably thrown up everything he had left in him.

Most sane people would have left by now. Escaped from the crime scene. That's what most killers did after all, and wasn't that what Flynt was now? A killer? And yet he was still there, looking over the corpse as if expecting Roy to get up any minute. To tell him that it was all one big joke. That he was gonna be fine, and then they would laugh and laugh...But that wasn't happening.

Roy was dead, stone fucking dead. The most disturbed part of all though were his eyes...Those beady little eyes that stared right through Flynt. All the while, Flynt was showered in the hard rain above. But he didn't care. The world didn't matter to him, not now at least. He was off in his own little world...So much so, that he didn't seem to hear the sounds of four students approaching the scene.

They were four boys; the first was tall and brutish in appearance, with a muscular body and steely eyes. The second was shorter and leaner, with a mohawk and unnatural grin. The third was just barely taller than the second, though was a bit on the heftier side with long hair. And the fourth and final boy was average in terms of build and had a bowl-cut and narrowed eyes.

If Flynt had looked up, he'd have screamed at the sight before him.

It was Cardin Winchester (Male Student No. 11) and his gang, made up of Russel Thrush (Male Student No. 7), Sky Lark (Male Student No. 13), and Dove Bronzewing (Male Student No. 1). They were some of the worst thugs on campus, with a history of disciplinary issues and violence, especially in the form of after-school brawls. Flynt couldn't even remember how many times he had seen Cardin throwing fists with someone from class, whether it be his usual victims like Jaune Arc (Male Student No. 3) or with the likes of Sage Ayana (Male Student No. 8). Regardless, they had a reputation…

And weapons. Yeah, that seemed a bit more important at the moment.

Looking over the scene, Cardin seemed to almost be inspecting Flynt...Before mumbling, "Holy shit, Flynt. Didn't know you had it in 'ya."

"Looks pretty brutal, too," Russel whistled out, before snickering to himself, "fucking nailed the guy. Never stood a chance."

Flynt attempted to swallow his fear and respond but found himself with nothing to say. Really...What could he say, especially to these guys? It certainly didn't help that Dove was staring right through him, as he caressed the gun in his hands. It appeared to be some sort of wooden rifle, with a long, sharp dagger at the end of it. He didn't know exactly what it was, but one thing was for sure; Flynt really didn't wanna go near it.

The rest of them didn't have weapons all that impressive in comparison. Cardin was rubbing a sort of metal club, with a spiked ball at the end of it; a mace. Russel had a pair of sais, which he had only learned about from watching that turtle cartoon. And Sky had a basic handgun, probably the type you'd usually see on a police officer, or maybe a really pissed off security guard.

As if on instinct, Flynt began to reach toward his machine gun, only to flinch back as a booming sound erupted through the air, tearing into the ground and blowing dirt into the air. Flynt shook in place, slowly turning back toward the group, where he saw Sky's handgun pointed at him, a wide, toothy grin on his face as he mockingly blew out the nonexistent smoke from his pistol. "Sorry, Flynty, but you ain't getting out of this that easily."

Flynt shuddered at the sound of his voice. Sky sounded like he was in utter bliss. As if he was getting off to this somehow. Right now, he was pretty disturbing to be honest, in a way completely different from the rest of the trio, if only because of his reputation in class.

Sky Lark had always been more liked than the rest of his group. He was the class clown, a constant jokester who nobody really took all that seriously. In a lot of ways, he was the court jester, while the rest of his little group were the simpleminded, sadistic knights who did little more than pummel and bully everyone in their path. Among them, Sky had always stood out as sort of being the most decent one, the one who never threw a fist and at most would make a small joke at the victim's expense. And yet, out here...He almost looked scarier than the rest of the bullies, as if he was finally letting out some sort of primal rage he had always kept inside.

And he was aiming a pistol at Flynt's head.

"Well boys," Cardin spoke up, stomping forward with his usual intimidating presence, "it's pretty clear Flynt here is a threat. Not just to us, but to who knows who else. Perhaps we should get rid of him, for all our safety."

Russel and Sky chuckled a bit at this, as Flynt felt himself paling. Cardin continued to walk forward, staring down Flynt as he picked up the chainsaw on the ground, while Russel ran up to Flynt and swiped the machine gun that was lying nearby. Cardin smirked a little. "...But before we rush into anything, I'm a fair guy, and it's simply not my style to give you no chance. So...I'll give you thirty seconds. Try and make the best of it."

Flynt quickly nodded at this, standing up from where he was laying rather pathetically, as Cardin snapped his fingers. In an instant, Flynt took off into the jungle, not bothering to look back as he screamed his head off.

The four waited in silence for a moment...Before Sky mumbled, "Are we really waiting the whole-"

"What?" Cardin interrupted, "Of course not!" He then screamed out, "It's game time, boys!"

Russel and Sky let out screams of excitement at this, racing into the forest after Flynt like wild dogs, laughing their asses off all the while. Dove narrowed his eyes a bit at this, though reluctantly began to follow beside Cardin, who was smiling to himself. This game was already leaning in their favor.

Cringing in pain, Neptune Vasilias (Male Student No. 19) mumbled out, "G-God dammit, dude, can't you be a bit more careful?"

"Sorry man, I'm not exactly used to this," Sun Wukong (Male Student No. 10) responded, patting a small cotton swab against his nose. It was smashed to all Hell, though it didn't seem to be as serious of damage as they'd thought. Probably would leave a nasty scar, but he was sure it wasn't broken at least. "Does it feel a little better?"

"Fuck no," Neptune grunted out, his words muffled slightly from the injury, "my face is burning up and my nose is fucked man! Do you think any girls are gonna wanna date me after this game with a face like this?! I'll have to like...Go to a circus and become one of the freaks, and hit on the bearded lady if I wanted any pussy."

"Eh, she'd at least be a unique lay," Sun chuckled out, which Neptune responded to with a deadpan glare, "just saying, how many people can really say 'I fucked a lady with a beard bigger than my dad's'?" This was at least enough to get a snicker out of his buddy, which to Sun was more than enough at the moment. Standing up from his spot, Sun helped Neptune up, before patting him on the shoulder, "You ready to get moving again?"

"Yeah, maybe…" Neptune muttered, picking up his trident soon after, "You sure this thing won't get like, an infection or something though, right?"

"Dude, I'm not a doctor, I ain't sure of anything," the jock casually said soon after, walking ahead and ignoring the look of unease on his companion's face.

Reluctantly, Neptune began to follow after, asking, "So, out of curiosity, if we encounter anyone else not part of the group, how are we gonna handle it?"

Sun gave his friend a look at this, saying, "Well, we take them with us. Don't know what else we'd do."

"Can we at least make sure they're not going mental?" Neptune added on with a groan, "I don't wanna get hit again-"

As he was saying this though, before he could react he felt something kick out his feet, sending him to the ground, where his back was promptly stepped on with one foot, while the other landed on his hand holding the trident, causing Neptune to scream out in pain. Instantly, Sun turned in reaction, only to pale slightly as a slick blade was placed up to his throat, holding him where he stood as his eyes widened.

In front of him, and currently on top of his best friend...Was Blake Belladonna (Female Student No. 20). He had grown to know the face well from watching her down the hall. She was always something of a foreign beauty to him, with that pale skin and those hazel, cat-like eyes...She had always reminded him of a cat somewhat. And yet he was thinking about that, and not the fact that at any instant she could tear his life away with a single slash. One second he'd be there, the next second, gone to the wind…

And yet this didn't phase him...He'd be lying if he said he was even scared. He didn't think she was gonna kill him.

So, staring at the girl in awe, Sun eventually formed a smile, "What's up, Belladonna?" And just like that, the cat was left as confused as Neptune, as both stared up at the tall blonde in shock.

Flynt Coal was in a world of pain; had been ever since he had taken off. He had been limping since the incident with Schnee, and this running was not doing him any good. For fuck's sake, his leg felt like it was gonna fall off. Sure, it wouldn't, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. And the fact he had to worry about a bunch of psychos chasing him down only made him feel worse, and when you feel worse than having a gash the size of a baseball on the back of your leg, then that proves you're in some deep shit-

...Wait...The gash...The bleeding gash…

...FUCK!

He had been leaving a fucking trail. All those assholes had to do was-

As he thought this, a bang rang off nearby, as a bullet soured right past his head. Flynt didn't even need to look back, as he could already hear the clownish cackles of Sky Lark. Flynt just kept on running, as more and more bullets flew past his head, each one seemingly getting closer and closer. Any second one of those could nail him in the back of the head, and that'd be it, he'd be done, he'd be dead!

On instinct, Flynt ducked behind a nearby tree, which found itself then being peppered with bullets. He scrunched up into a ball, flinching as each bullet shredded the wood. That wasn't a handgun doing that. It was his gun.

"Man, Coal, you got a fucking banger of a weapon, bud!" A voice called out from the distance, almost certainly Russel Thrush. "All I got was a pair of weird-looking swords, but now I don't gotta worry about those!" Flynt cringed at the sound of the bully laughing.

After a moment, the bullets stopped coming, and just like that, Flynt took off running, ignoring the frustrated screams of Russel. He had forgotten that guns sorta needed ammo to function...Somehow. Then again, intelligence wasn't exactly Russ' strong suit.

As he thought this, another bullet flew past his head, as Sky screamed, "You're screwed, Flynty! You're gonna get fucking bent!" His cackles only further unnerved Flynt, as he just kept running and running, desperately attempting to escape.

...Only to trip over himself in the process.

Flynt's eyes widened as his face smashed into the ground, the rest of his body following as he rolled across the grass. He grabbed onto his face in pain, pulling back his hands to see a small splash of blood on them. Oh fuck...He was bleeding even more...God, he was gonna pass out at this rate.

"Well, well, well, Flynty had a little tumble."

Before he could react, metal smashed into Flynt's cheek. Sky Lark chuckled holding the pistol in his hand, before whipping it across the boy's face again, this time sending him to the ground. "What a fucking baby, can't even handle a little smack!"

"Sky, stop fucking around," Russel groaned out nearby, pushing himself through the thick trees as he narrowed his eyes into a scowl, "just get it over with." He was still holding the machine gun in his hands, though it seemed the back at cracked slightly. Had probably smashed it against something in frustration earlier.

Sky narrowed his eyes into a frown at his friend's words, but nonetheless shook them away, and pointed the handgun at Flynt's head. Flynt shook in place for a moment, though found himself closing his eyes. At least...At least it'd be quick.

His thoughts were interrupted as a series of bullets erupted through the air, and Sky let out a scream of pain. Flynt's eyes shot open, and he almost had to do a double-take when he saw the handgun now on the ground, and that Sky's hand was bleeding...And his hand was shredded. If you looked in just the right way, you could see the bone on the inside. Sky's body shook for a moment, as he let out a strained, "F-Fuck! W-What the fuck?!"

"You two better get back. Next time I'll go for something vital."

All three couldn't help but freeze at the voice. It was deep and guttural, more comparable to a beast than a man. And when they looked back to find the voice, they weren't shocked to see their assumptions weren't inaccurate. The man was close to six feet tall, with dark skin and a muscular body, eyes as cold as steel and hair combed back to reveal a nasty scar going down his forehead. He was bull-necked, with a square jaw, and skin so rough it could be seen from there, almost as easily as the orange-tinted machine gun in his hands.

It was Nadir Shiko (Male Student No. 16). The scariest guy in class. One of the only kids in school nobody messed with.

Least of all Russel Thrush and Sky Lark.

"O-Oh...H-Hey Nadir," Sky mumbled out, a false smile on his face, "h-how're y-you doing-"

"You have one minute," Nadir interrupted with a straight-faced look, "if you're not gone by then, I won't hesitate to open fire."

This seemed to be all Sky needed to hear, as he took off running, only stopping a moment to grab his pistol with his good hand, leaving a long, disgusting trail of blood and shredded skin behind as he ran off. Russel lingered for a moment, scowling at the two in front of him, before mumbling, "We'll be back, assholes," and then taking off into the jungle as well, calling out for Sky as he did so.

And there Flynt sat, still on the ground, laying in mud, his face battered and bruised and his leg still bleeding, no weapon or bag in sight...And he was next to a guy with a machine gun…

He was going to die-

"Hey," Flynt yelped at the voice, looking up to see Nadir staring down at him, screaming out like a drill sergeant, "get up, man, we need to get moving!" Flynt just continued to stare, confusion settling onto his expression. "Now!"

Shivering slightly, Flynt did as he was told and stood up, and reluctantly, he began to follow Nadir into the jungle.

Sky let out a screech as Dove pulled down on the bandage in his hand, as he continuously wrapped it around whatever was left of Sky's. "J-Jeez, Dove, you hafta' be so hard?!" Dove didn't respond to this, as he continued to wrap it.

Watching from nearby, Cardin stared at his men with narrowed eyes, shifting uncomfortably on a tree stump while the chainsaw laid in his lap, before turning to Russel, "So...Flynt got away, and now Nadir knows what our best weapons are?" The boy nodded without much thought, as his leader tapped his teeth together, "Yeah...That's not good. Nope, not good at all."

Russel, who was barely listening on account of his frequent kicking of Roy's corpse, most likely from boredom, eventually said, "I don't see the big deal. It's just Nadir. Dude only got into a couple fights and yet everyone treats him like he's hot shit or something."

"You've never seen him in a fight," Cardin spat out, "dude's got skills. Flynt's one poor bastard now that he's stuck with him. What he could do is so much worse than what we can."

Glancing out from behind a tree, Nadir Shiko scanned the immediate area before him with a bored glare. After a second, he grunted out some kind of signal to move, before walking forward. A few moments later, Flynt Coal walked out from his own tree, following after Nadir.

To say Flynt was scared would be an understatement. He and Nadir weren't friends, they didn't even really talk. The most they had ever conversed before this moment was one time in PE, where Nadir told Flynt his shoes were untied. And even that was a scary encounter. Hell, Nadir, in general, was scary to be around. He was just so...Intense. It always felt like he was only moments away from grabbing you by the neck and snapping it in two, or at least that was the impression he had always given off. And compared to Roy, or the bullies, or even Flynt himself…

Nadir was handling this game remarkably well.

"Hey," Nadir muttered, coming to an abrupt stop, as Flynt almost smacked right into his back, "you have a weapon right?"

Flynt's face paled slightly, as he let out a strained breath, "Y-Yeah, I did...But those four took it, and my bag." Nadir hummed at this, and Flynt could feel his own heart stop. Oh God, had he only saved him because he thought he'd be useful?! Was he going to kill him-

...Flynt...You need to calm down...Freaking out is what got Roy killed...Well, sort of.

Nadir continued to hum to himself, grazing his hand along his gun...Before saying, "...Do you have good aim?" Flynt didn't respond, which...Seemed to confuse Nadir. He stared at him...Before smiling, "Sorry, maybe I should have been a bit more clear," rather abruptly, he held out the gun, "do you want it?"

Flynt almost swallowed his tongue from the shere confusion he felt in that instant. It was as if everything he knew about the universe had just been flipped on its head. Grass grows, birds fly, and Nadir Shiko doesn't smile!

Despite this, Nadir continued to hold out the weapon, shaking it slightly, "Seriously, do you-" In a swift movement Flynt pulled the gun from his grasp and held it against himself, practically cradling it as if it was an infant. "Well, that answers my question." With a shrug, he began to walk forward, barely paying Flynt anymore mind.

However, all this did was make him more confused. "...Nadir...Why'd you save me?" This stopped the boy in his tracks. "You coulda let them kill me. Would have done you some good, having one less player out here." Flynt's hands shook slightly, as his grip tightened on the gun. "A-After all...O-Only one of us can win."

Many thoughts began to cross Flynt's mind as he stared at his classmate. He could kill him right here and now. Wouldn't even be on him; it was his mistake to hand him the damn gun, what else was he expecting in a game like this. Would be pretty fast too. Hopefully a lot faster, and a lot cleaner than Roy. Just a few shots to the head and Nadir wouldn't even know what happened. After all...It's not like the second kill would be any worse than the first-

"I'm not playing, Flynt," Nadir said, his voice thick with anger and practically spewing vitriol. "And there doesn't need to be only one survivor. Not if I have anything to say about it."

And just like that, Flynt stopped shaking, and instead just...Stared at his companion with a hollow look. "...What? How?"

This question seemed to make Nadir brighten, as he held his head up and said simply, "Cause if I have anything to say about it, I'm burning this game to the ground, along with all the people who dared to start it." He smiled a bit, "All I have to do is find the right people. The smart people; Ivori, Ciel, Dew...And then we can figure out how to topple this thing. Before anyone has to get hurt. Before anyone has to die."

That last part made Flynt flinch to himself, but only moments later, he could feel his mind beginning to unravel, and explore this thought. The ability to escape...To go home, without him having to hurt anyone else. Admittedly, he wasn't sure if he had been capable of winning the game on his own, with just a gun and his wits, but this...This could change everything…

Shining his trademark toothy smile, which was ruined slightly by his battered, bloody cheeks and broken teeth, he said, "You know...That's the best damn thing I've heard today." Holding out a hand, he added on, "You got yourself a partner, Nadir."

Returning the smile, Nadir took his hand with something resembling pure enthusiasm. "Great to hear it, bud. Now, let's get you healed up. I'll grab the bandages from my bag-"

"Wait," Flynt interrupted, pulling back his hand, "you have bandages?"

Nadir couldn't help but give him a look. "Well...Yeah. We all started out with them-" He noticed the pale, stupid expression on Flynt's face, as Nadir came to a realization...Before snickering, "You forgot didn't you." The grumble that came out in response confirmed this, as Nadir let out a laugh. It was a small one, but it was certainly a bit of a cleanser compared to what he had seen thus far.

As he reached into his bag and pulled out the bandages, Nadir smiled to himself. About his plan...About how it was coming together. He had Flynt, now he just needed to find the others, and then he could get his plans underway. This was gonna work...They'd all get out of this game, even if he had to sacrifice everything to make it happen.

41 Students Left to Go.