MISTRESS

THIRD PERSON'S POV .The clock ticked by but the fight only became more serious.Everything was falling apart, completely.Gavin staggered back, barely managing to block another strike from the swordsman. His arms trembled violently now, each impact numbing his grip further.His breathing was raspy.It was clear, he wasn’t going to last long.Atleast not like this.Behind him, Boris’s screams had turned hoarse—ragged, broken sounds as blood pooled beneath him. Barbara was still hacking at the boxer zombie in desperation, her strikes growing weaker, sloppier.She was practically in tears.Her face was pale, ghostly white infact.Nancy on the other hand just laid still.She wasn’t even screaming anymore.She was exhausted.Her body lay half-dragged across the dirt, twitching as those things—severed hands, strips of flesh—crawled towards her like feeding insects.Zoe glanced at her battered team mates, her chest welling up with pity.They were clearly out match.Completely surrounded by

BOSS

MELISSA'S POV I watched as the team fell into panic— a small smile tugging on my lips.Barbara’s mouth fell open. “No… it can't be... You?”Zoe’s grip tightened on her dagger, her voice barely above a whisper. “…What are you? And why do they take orders from you?”Gavin said nothing.For the first time— He looked at me like he didn’t know me at all.Like I was something terrifying. Floating comments exploded again.“MISTRESS??? DID THEY JUST CALL HER MISTRESS???"“IS SHE A BOSS CHARACTER NOW??!" “THIS GAME IS RIGGED I SWEAR" (crying emoji)“SHE WAS CRYING LIKE 5 MINUTES AGO??? WHAT GLOW-UP IS THIS??"I cleared my throat, my face a mask of indifferent as I turned towards my new allies.“They’re with me.”My voice was calm, firmed, controlled.They carried a strange authority I barely knew I had.The moment those words fell, a wind of silence swept across the atmosphere.No one dared to move, nor speak.It was as though in that moment— I was no longer just a player like the rest of

THE FALL OUT

MELISSA'S POV “…So this is what it feels like,” I murmured.Having power was surreal.It was no wonder those old men were willing to pay a fortune just to be in charge.Turns out knowledge is power.Power is power.And power isn't loud, not explosive, but quiet, absolute, and unquestionable.It was gut wrenchingly perfect.I turned slowly, and fixating my gaze on my five team mates. Their faces were a mixture of shock, fear, confusion, something more.We stayed like that for a while exchanging glazes with each other, no one willing to make the first move.Barbara was the first to break the silence.She stepped forward— eyes gleaming with anger.As always, she had to say something stupid just to grab attention.“What the hell is this?” she snapped, her voice trembling with anger. I rolled my eyes, arms crossed over my chest, but didn't say a word.There was no way I was going to waste a second of my time explaining my actions to her.“You disappear, then come back controlling monste

PLAN IN ACTION

MELISSA'S POV The arena fell deadly silent, leaving behind only the sound of our racing hearts and heavy breathing.The air was heavy with tension.The atmosphere suffocating with unease.Gavin and I stood at a stand still, his jaw clutched with annoyance.I too was furious— balling so had on my fist so hard my knuckles turned white.My body trembling ever so slightly.I opened my mouth, ready to curse Gavin out further when “DING!"A sharp chime cut through the air.“[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]”“[CAPTURE THE FLAG GAME COMPLETED]"“[SURVIVORS CONFIRMED]”“[WINNING TEAMS: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, AND 11]“[REWARDS OBTAINED…]**Immediately a warm, soothing golden light descended around us— engulfing us in one go.Instantly my wounds were gone.They vanished without a trace, as though they were never there to begin with.All the pain fading instantaneously .Screens flickered before my eyes.“[REWARD: HEALING POTION ×1]”“[BONUS: +15 AGILITY POINTS, 1 PICNIC PACKED MEAL, 1 WILDERNESS SURVIVAL PACK

LET THE GAMES OFFICIALLY BEGIN

MELISSA'S POV Sylvia wobbled towards me, practically hopping like a kangaroo.I glanced down and froze at the sight before me. Sylvia was standing on one leg, her left leg visibly chopped at the knee off— leaving behind a patch of clotted blood and bones.The point of dissection was characterized by torn chunks of flesh. Obviously cut out my a blunt weapon. My heart stopped. I bolted towards her, my mind filled with panic. “Sylvia what happened?" I asked, scanning the point of injury. My heart hurting as though I'd be stuck straight in the heart. Sylvia's lips curved into a visibly forced smile. “Oh this?" she waved it off casually like it was some minor scratch. “Punish, we lost and apparently the group decided I was the most expendable player."Her words were straight forward, but they didn't sit well with me one bit. What was the meaning of most expendable? And did that have to do with her leg being chopped off? I shook my head, trying to narrow my thoughts. “What do y

RULES

MELISSA'S POVThe air was packed with a suffocating type of silence that made one's scalp tingle.Each player was stiff, unable to process the sick prank that played in their ear drums. A large white portal appeared before us, but the horrors of the game had already done it's job by scaring the players into paralysis.I glanced into the portal and what I saw made my blood freeze. This particular portal was different. It was bright like the other. It was calming— it was pain numbingly frightening. The portal was pit black. Looking deeper I could faintly make out the figure of rusty weapons, and decayed carcasses, not those of animals.They were of humans, players to be exact— the tattoo on their half rotten flesh said that much. That was when I realized it— I was freezing literally, my teeth were chattering and a trail of goosebumps had surfaced all over. My heart slammed violently against my ribs that it felt like my ribs were about to break any moment now. Then the system's