Page 88 of The Hunt

“This is good, Everly. Really good,” Cheryl said, patting me on the shoulder.

I averted my eyes as guilt flashed through me again. If the group knew what I’d hidden from them last night, they wouldn’t be so pleased with me now. “I just wish I thought of it earlier,” I murmured.

Kanako finally spoke up. “Itisgood that we’ve narrowed it down so much, but there’s one problem,” she said. She pointed to our current location on the map. “We’re all the way over here, and like Nikki just said, this island is massive. It could take us six hours to walk over to the west side. Maybe even more, considering how slowly we have to walk just to keep quiet.”

Nikki nodded. “We’ll have to try and stop at safe zones along the way. That might add some time to the journey, but it’s still a decent plan, right?”

Everyone nodded.

Nikki briskly clapped her hands together. “Okay, is everyone happy to move out now and start heading west?” she asked. “Once the next safe zones are announced, we can check the map to see which one makes the most sense to stop at.”

Everyone nodded again, and we began to gather our things, the quiet shuffle of gear filling the silence. My pulse thrummed as I adjusted the straps of my backpack, the weight of the situation pressing down on me like a lead blanket.

Even though our new plan gave us direction, it didn’t guarantee survival. We’d have to spend the whole day on our toes, praying we didn’t inadvertently wander into the path of one of the hunters—or worse, an ambush.

We’d all learned last night that these psychopaths didn’t just rely on brute force. Some of them thrived on strategy and patience. Like the guy who killed Chris. He must’ve lurked beyond the trap field for hours last night, hoping a player would fall through as they made their way toward the nearby safe zone, and in the end, his patience had paid off.

The civilian players like me could prepare and strategize all we wanted, but at the end of the day, it seemed like surviving this place came down to one thing: luck.

As we left the safety of the cabin and headed into the woods, my heart pounded louder and louder with every step I took. Every shadow felt like it was hiding a pair of eyes, every rustle in the woods a potential sign of someone waiting to strike.

Nikki took the lead again, her sharp eyes scanning the terrain ahead. "Stay close, and remember the rules," she whispered over her shoulder.

We quietly walked through the woods for the next three hours, heading toward the closest safe zone. It lay directly on our path westward, making it the perfect place to rest for a while before we continued our journey.

Nothing happened to us, thankfully, but we received multiple announcements through our earbuds, letting us know that several other players had been killed; a harrowing reminder that it could’ve been one of us if we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My bladder started to ache around mid-morning, so I turned to ask if the others minded stopping for a short toilet break.

“Hey, could we—wait, where’s Ava and Kanako?” I asked in a low voice, heart instantly racing. I could’ve sworn the two women were right behind me a minute ago, but I couldn’t see them now.

The others stopped and peered around, equally confused.

“I thought they were right behind us,” Cheryl said.

“Me too,” Jade added.

Nikki’s eyes widened as she looked over our shoulders, and she lifted a shaky finger to point at the shaded path we’d just come down. Ava and Kanako were sprawled on the ground, motionless, and my stomach dropped when I saw darts sticking out of their necks.

“Shit,” Cheryl hissed. “Run! Now!”

Panic surged through me like a tidal wave, and I bolted. The forest came alive with the sounds of our escape—branches snapping underfoot, heavy breaths, and the ominous rustling of leaves somewhere behind us.

Ahead, Nikki suddenly stopped and waved us toward the dark mouth of a cave. “Look! We can hide there for now!”

“We can’t go into some random cave. What if it’s a trap?” Jade said, brows shooting up.

“We don’t have a choice!” Nikki shot back. “Whoever got Ava and Kanako is probably still close!”

Without further argument, we ducked inside the cave, our footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. The air was damp and cold, and the faint scent of moss filled my nose. My heart was still racing when Nikki motioned for silence and carefully clicked on her flashlight.

It illuminated something unexpected—wooden crates stacked against the walls.

“Holy shit,” Jade said, his voice tinged with disbelief. “This is one of the hidden supply caches they told us about.”

“Thank god,” Cheryl muttered. “I was half-expecting a pit of writhing snakes, judging by how everything else has gone so far.”

We cautiously approached the crates, finding food, water, and medical supplies. There was even a pair of binoculars, which would be useful for scouting our surroundings and spotting potential threats from a distance.

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