[??????'???? ???????????????? ????????????????! ???????? ?????????????? ???????? ?? ???????????? ????????????!]

  HAV0C stares at the notification, snorting. His shirt has become soaked in his own blood as it pools under him. "No shit."

  Eclipse stares at the sight, the sounds of Catnip's yells to 'Put pressure on it' becoming muffled, as if she was under water. Her hands subconsciously shake, her mind replacing HAV0C with the beheaded boy. She looks away and when she glances again she let's out a breath of relief.

  ????'?? ???????? ??????0??. ???????? ?? ???????????? ???? ???????? ??????'?? ?????????????????? ???????????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ?????????????????? ???????????????? ?? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????-?????? ???? ???????? ?????????????????? ???? ???? ???????????????? ??????????!?

  ??????????, ??????????.

  She clenches her fists. Takes a deep breath.

  ???????? ???????? ??????. ???????? ???????? ????????.

  She walks over to him, her white shoes causing ripples in the puddles of blood slowly expanding from under him. He looks up at her and tries to smile. "Heya, Mom-"

  "Try not to speak, okay?" Her voice comes out harsher she intends as she lifts up his hand to fully see his injury. She immediately wishes she hadn't.

  Four angry red lines stretching out across his midsection, blood pumping out in tune with his heartbeat, which is becoming so faint she can barely pick it up when she presses her fingers against his wrist.

  ????'?? ??????????.

  "We need to slow down the bleeding-"

  "Oh really?" Catnip snaps, anger flaring in his eyes. "I didn't fucking know-"

  "Guys...." The two look down at the boy infront of them. "It's okay."

  "What?"

  "You need to stop trying so hard to save me."

  Eclipse and Catnip freeze. ".....What did you just say-?"

  HAV0C doesn't fully know what's going on. He doesn't know why they're here, how they're here, and the true goal of all this. But there's one thing he's certain about. This is a game of survival. Some sick battle royale. And in a battle royale, there's always going to be sacrifices. Teammates are going to die, one way or another. He....just happens to be that unlucky teammate today.

  He grins, his body trembling. The air seems to be getting colder and colder. "You guys need to survive this fucked up game and win. Besides, with the bounty I have on my head-"

  "I have a bounty too!" Catnip steps forward in defiance.

  "And that's all the more reason we should split. It will be harder for them to catch us that way."

  "No." Eclipse speaks quietly. "Not for you. You'll be a sitting duck."

  HAV0C lowers his gaze to the floor, staring at his red reflection. "That's just the way things are, I guess."

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "Like FUCK it is!" Catnip's face is turning red in anger. "Why are you so calm about this!? How can you accept your death that easily!?"

  The question makes him think.

  ????????, ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ????...?????? ???? ?? ???? ?????????????????? ???? ????????? ?? ???????????? ?????????? ????????????....???? ???????? ???? ???????????????? ???? ????????....

  ?????? ?? ????????....

  His vision darkens as he struggles to breathe. His head relaxes as his eyes slowly shut. Catnip and Eclipse are at his side, clamping their hands around his wound, yelling at him to stay awake.

  ...??????'?? ?????????? ???????????? ???? ???????? ??????????????.

  The two stop yelling, throats sore, a bottomless pit of despair swallowing them whole. Their hands are sticky with his blood.

  Eclipse remains where she is as Catnip shakily gets to his feet, a few choice swear words firing from his mouth. She keeps her head down, unable to take her eyes off of him.

  "He's dead. He's actually-what are we going to do-?"

  "We're going to win. That's what we're going to do." HAV0C's words ring in her head. A battle royale? If that's so....then they've been surviving against incredible odds. And now with the bounty...

  ???? ??????????'?? ????????????. ????'???? ??????????????, ???? ???????????? ????????. ???? ???????? ????.

  Eclipse slowly reaches out to shift HAV0C's body into a comfortable position. Leaving him sprawled on the floor just feels wrong.

  ???? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ??????'?? ???? ????????-

  The faintest of twitches catches her attention. Eclipse freezes and stares. Was she just imagining things, or did HAV0C just-?

  She grabs a piece of glass and holds it to HAV0C's face, heart thudding against her rib-cage. It begins to fog up and she almost cries.

  "HAV0C, you stubborn son of a...."

  ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????????'?? ????????, ?????? ????'?? ???????????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ????????.

  ?? ??????'?? ?????? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ???? ??????????-

  A notification appears in-front of her. "Huh?"

  [?????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????????? ???? ???????????]

  ?? ??????????....?

  She stares at the notification for a moment longer, before nodding. No more time to think.

  "Yes."

  She instinctively places her hands on HAV0C's still leaking wound.

  [?????? ??????????!]

  A golden glow begins to emanate from her hands as they rest on the claw marks. Somehow she knows her eyes are glowing as well, if the gob-smacked expression of Catnip isn't a good enough testament. She closes her eyes, feeling something flow through her, as if she's part of a channel. Going through her, down her arms and fingertips, and into HAV0C's wound. She distantly notes the fact that they are standing in front of a window, sunlight beaming down on them.

  [?????????????? ??????????!]

  She doesn't know how long the process takes. What could be minutes feels like hours. But she continues, holding the channel open as sweats runs down her face. Catnip lightly dabs at her forehead with a bit of torn cloth. She murmurs out her thanks.

  ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????????? ????????.....?

  The channel stops on its own, the last dredges flowing into the wound. She opens her eyes and removes her hands, which feel tingly and warm. She wipes her face with the back of her hand.

  "Catnip, can I have the cloth-?"

  She looks over at Catnip, who's staring at HAV0C with wide eyes. She follows his gaze, finally noticing her handiwork. Her mouth opens with shock.

  The vicious claw marks from before are completely healed, now just four long lines going down his torso. The scars run pretty deep, as Eclipse notes as she gently brushes over it with her hand, but the bleeding has completely stopped.

  ?? ???????????? ??????.

  ?? ????????????????...!

  HAV0C's eyes twitches a little, before slowly opening. A notification has appeared in front of his face.

  [???????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ????????????! ?????? ?????????????????????? ???????? ???????? ??????????.]

  Then another:

  [?????? ???????? ???????????????? ?????????????? ??????????. ???????????????? ????????????: [????????????????] ?????? [???????????? ??????????????????!]]

  "What the fuck-?"

  Catnip latches unto him, a wide grin on his face. HAV0C notices there's a wetness in his eyes.

  "Don't even think about dying early, you dumb fuck-"

  ???????? ?? ???????? ?????? ???? ??????, "??'?? ???????? ??????'???? ??????????-"

  HAV0C looks down at his new scar, then back up at Eclipse, who's moved a bit back and looking at the floor. "You...healed me?"

  She nods, not meeting his gaze.

  "Even after I told you guys to run, you still stayed...."

  He shuffles over and wraps Eclipse in a hug.

  "Thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me."

  Eclipse stiffens in surprise. Then she slowly hugs him back, tears brimming in her eyes.

  "You're welcome."