CHAPTER 140

Jenny put zero effort into any sort of strategy. Instead, she whimsically picked places based on who she thought wanted to play toys with her. Beth assumed that the people who took her toys would be her army, but it was impossible to tell what the doll was thinking. Was Jenny still able to move in and out of the game?

If not, they were royally fucked. Despite having never played, the horsemen had a definable strategy. She assumed it was because they were physical manifestations of concepts that transcended understanding, but also worried that maybe they had some tricks up their sleeve as well.

The Earth spun lazily beneath them as a tone sounded, signalling that all territories were occupied. The zones glowed different colors based on who owned them. War's zones were red. Famine had black. Pestilence's were green. Reggie's were blue. Beth's glowed yellow, while Jenny's were all the bright pink of a highlighter.

Famine cackled in delight as he was assigned troops at the beginning of his turn for the number of territories he had. He distributed a few to Peru, then turned to Reggie.

"It's time to catch some mice." They were pulled down to Argentina, where Reggie's rat troops stood anxiously around a set of enormous waterfalls. The mist from the falls blew upward, casting rainbows into the sky.

Reggie cast a dirty look in Famine's direction, then looked over at Beth. "The numbers are not in my favor," he informed her.

"No, they are not." Famine laughed and disappeared. He reappeared upstream of the falls just as an enormous horde of his Hunger appeared. "Slay them!" he cried, his voice rending the sky like thunder.

Reggie's troops opened fire with blaster rifles that ionized the air around them. When the Hunger came, it tore through the ranks of the rats, ripping them out of their suits and casting the mechs aside to get caught up in the flow of the falls.

Famine howled in delight as the Hunger made quick work of the rats. Reggie narrowed his eyes at the horsemen, but was caught off guard when the Hunger suddenly descended on him as well.

"Reggie!" Beth tried to reach his side, but it was as if she was a ghost. Unable to touch Reggie or the Hunger, she watched helplessly as he fired his weapons and was toppled over. The Hunger pulled him free of his mech and ripped him apart.

Beth screamed, her own ears ringing as the Hunger swirled around her. When they ascended into the sky, Argentina was now black with Famine's troops.

"This doesn't make any sense!" She turned to Murray. "How is this a game if we can be killed in it?"

"There is no true death here," Murray explained as golden light swirled around the space next to him. When it was gone, Reggie reappeared, visibly shaken inside his suit. "On your turn, you are part of the battle. It was what you agreed on."

War laughed heartily and slapped Beth on the back hard enough that she winced.

"Now you see!" he declared. "You offered us everything we could have ever wanted, and we took it!"

"But...that means..." she turned on him, her voice filled with venom. "It means that you will be killed, too!"

"Meh." War shrugged, then shifted his sword. "Wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last. I'm War, darling. Wherever people fight, I'm there. It's not about who wins or loses, it's about chaos, blood, and righteous fury! When a man dies in battle, I ride that last bit of light in his eyes into the dark, then watch as my brother claims him. I don't favor victor or loser, for I experience the fight from both sides. It's the fight itself that thrills me."

"You're a psychopath," she replied.

"If this is too hard for you, you can quit." He sneered, revealing crimson gums. "What was all that talk about backing a human into a corner if you're gonna be a huge pussy about it?"

Beth growled. "I'll have you know that a pussy is built to take a beating. Not that you'd know anything about that. I assume the sword is compensating for something, and you're definitely not used to swinging it more than once, if you know what I mean."

War laughed for a few seconds, then went completely still.

"I can't wait until it's my turn," he told her through gritted teeth.

"But it's still my turn," Famine said. "I'm attacking Japan."

No! Jenny's cry echoed around them as they were taken down to Japan. She had failed to put more than one troop in Japan, and paid the price as the Hunger devoured screaming grown-ups and children who clung to their toys. My friends!

Beth stared in horror as Famine commanded the Hunger to capture the doll and rip her apart. Jenny was yanked free of her rocking horse, the Hunger yanking at her limbs until they ripped and she was dragged away by the shadowy horde.

Once they were back in space, Jenny reappeared. She had a teardrop drawn on her cheek, and she cowered beneath Famine's withering stare.

You're mean, the doll declared, then turned her back on the group.

"Ooh, ooh, me next!" War was practically hopping up and down on his horse's back.

"Fine." Famine waved a hand dismissively.

"This bitch is mine." He leveled his sword at Beth, then pointed it at the Earth. "Congo, now!"

Beth frowned as she was pulled to her defensive position in the Congo. She could see the other players, but War was missing. Standing around her were three infantry worth of soldiers who eyed the surrounding forests in trepidation. Bird calls echoed across the hills as the minutes passed.

He's toying with me. She looked into the woods and raised her staff. Golden light formed a tight beam that incinerated the nearby woods, casting smoke into the sky. She clutched the staff tightly, focusing her wrath into a tight beam of energy that sliced cleanly through wood and caused it to ignite.

The beam also carved its way through War's first battalion. The men screamed in agony as they went up in flames, and cavalry made of men and elves charged forward on their horses. Gunfire mowed them down, but not before they closed the gap and tore into War's forces.

Back and forth the battle surged, Beth's nerves fraying at the edges. Her battle was far longer than the others had been, and it was hard to tell who had the advantage until almost an hour later when War stumbled out of the woods, his body pincushioned with dozens of arrows.