I never thought I'd set foot on another spaceship, not after the nightmare I endured a week ago. Yet here I was, strapped into a seat and staring at the dull metal walls, forced to confront the same claustrophobic hum of engines. I knew exactly why I was here this time. The woman from the skyscraper—Tatiana, or "Tate" as some people called her—sat across from me, wearing a fully black set of armor that looked deceptively flimsy. I'd learned the hard way never to judge equipment by appearance alone; everything here seemed to come with hidden attributes.

  Tatiana herself reminded me of a comic-book assassin: black widow style, but with purple hair. The alien inside her presumably let her keep some level of control, though I couldn't be sure if that was truly the case or just a front. She'd led us through the last challenge without so much as a flinch, so either she was used to violence or the alien was pulling the strings.

  I tried to distract myself by recalling what happened yesterday, when we were actually given a day off—a reprieve from killing each other or starving in some twisted game. In that single day, I'd spoken with many of the other survivors, trying to figure out who I could trust. There were twenty-eight of us in total: eight women, twenty men. Among them, four were long-range fighters—Thadric included—while the other twenty-three wielded melee weapons like swords or spears. A few had shields.

  One stood out: a guy with nunchakus. He hadn't bought them from the Arsenal at all; apparently, he brought them from Earth. Stranger still, he spent all his points on a ring that prevented him from dying unless his heart was destroyed. A literal immortality ring—though not without its drawbacks. I remembered how, during one of the challenges, he'd been decapitated, and yet the rest of us had somehow reattached his head. The wound was still visible, slightly off-center. But that didn't stop him from swaggering around, bragging about how he'd "protected" his student, who turned out to be me, Light.

  Yeah, that's Ramis for you—my sports teacher back on Earth, who ended up here and somehow managed not to stay dead even after losing his head.

  While I mulled over these oddities, I overheard him chatting up two women who looked only mildly interested in his tall tales. "Yeah, I was about to die," he boasted, pointing in my direction with a cocky grin. "Head chopped clean off, but that didn't hold me back from protecting my dear student, you know?"

  I wanted to shut him down with a scathing remark, but before I could speak, the ship rattled violently, like an earthquake in midair. A moment later, the engines began to whine, and the entire vessel lurched.

  We had landed.

  The main door hissed open. Tate was the first to step out, her black armor catching the weak overhead lights in dull reflections. I followed behind her, my legs unsteady from both the turbulent landing and my lingering distaste for spaceships. The rest of the group filed out in small clusters.

  I expected to see another wasteland or maybe a desert, like the previous challenges. Instead, we emerged into what looked like a city—except it was dead. And I mean that in every sense: the buildings were crumbling, windows shattered, streets lined with rubble. It looked as if some colossal force had swept through, leaving only ruins behind. A heavy, stale wind drifted between the collapsed structures, carrying the faint smell of ash and decay.

  Tatiana gathered everyone in front of what might have once been a grand public building—now it was a scorched shell of concrete pillars and rubble. She raised her voice, somehow commanding authority without ever shouting. "All right, listen up," she began. "You'll stick to your cohorts from the last game. Spread out. Search for any signs of life. If—and I mean if—you find anything alive, do not engage. Contact me immediately using your headbands. Yes, you can make calls with them—absurd as it sounds. Just press the stone in the center and say my name. Understood?"

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Tatiana surveyed the group. "This city is dangerous. We have no idea what caused its downfall, but from the intel we've received, there could be hostile creatures or worse. If you value your lives, don't wander alone. If you can't handle what you find, retreat and call for backup."

  Her instructions hung in the stagnant air. Then, with a curt nod, she dismissed us to our separate squads.

  Into the Ruins:

  We stopped in front of a battered office tower, its fa?ade barely clinging to the steel skeleton beneath. Shattered windows gaped like jagged mouths, and twisted metal supports jutted out at odd angles.

  Anys let out a low whistle. "So… are we sure we want to go in there?" She glanced at Thadric and me, her spiked ball resting against her hip. "Because this place looks like it's one step away from collapsing on our heads."

  Thadric adjusted his bow, his voice calm but tight. "We need shelter—and if there's anything worth salvaging, we won't find it standing around outside."

  I exhaled, steeling my nerves. "Right. Let's at least check the ground floor. If it's too unstable or something feels off, we'll back out."

  "Deal," Anys said, though she didn't look happy about it.

  The three of us picked our way through the debris, careful to avoid stepping on loose scraps. Once inside, the temperature dropped, sending a chill across my arms.

  "Keep close," Thadric whispered, eyes flicking around the remains of cubicles and overturned desks. He held his bow half-drawn, ready for any sign of movement. Anys moved beside me, chain in hand, each step deliberate.

  Something clattered in the distance—a sound like metal scraping against concrete. We all froze.

  Anys shot me a sidelong look. "Anyone else think we should've waited for backup?"

  Thadric inhaled slowly. "We can handle a quick recon. But be ready to bolt if it gets too hairy."

  I nodded, forcing down the knot of anxiety tightening in my chest. "Right behind you."

  We pressed deeper into the gloom. The place felt suffocating, as if the walls themselves were closing in.

  A sudden shuffle—like claws on concrete—made my heart jolt. Thadric raised his bow in a flash, drawing an arrow. "Did you hear that?"

  "Yeah," I murmured, my throat dry.

  It was too dangerous to turn our backs so we inched forward, and that's when we saw it: a hunched shape, limbs impossibly long and skeletal, skin stretched over bone like a taut drum. Its face was twisted, eyes sunken into dark hollows, mouth gaping to reveal jagged teeth.

  The creature let out a wet hiss, scuttling sideways on all fours. A second hiss answered from behind us, and my stomach dropped. There was more than one.

  Thadric's voice quivered with tension. "We're surrounded." He released an arrow, striking one monster in the chest. It shrieked but staggered forward again, blackish blood oozing from the wound.

  "Shit," I growled, summoning Astral Fang. The spear materialized in my hand with a flash of cold light. Anys spun her chain, the spiked ball whooshing in a deadly arc. It smashed into one creature's shoulder, sending it crashing into a desk. Moments later, it scrambled upright, bones cracking back into place.

  My pulse thundered. "They're tougher than they look."

  We formed a circle, back to back. One lunged at me, claws extended. I managed to parry with the spear, slicing across its torso. A foul stench and thick fluid sprayed from the wound, but the creature barely staggered.

  "Thadric, any bright ideas?" Anys shouted, whipping her chain around to strike another monster. It crumpled, then dragged itself forward on its arms, ignoring a shattered leg.

  "I'm open to suggestions!" Thadric yelled back, firing arrow after arrow. The monsters flinched with each impact but pressed on, as if pain was a foreign concept.

  Panic clawed at me. We were pinned, at least six of these things closing in. I recalled Tatiana's words about calling for backup. "We can do calls," I muttered. "Anys, Thadric—cover me!"

  I fumbled for the stone embedded in my headband, pressing it as I dodged a sudden swipe from a creature. Astral Fang lashed out, skewering it through the neck.

  Beside me, Thadric slammed his bow into another monster's face, stopping it from snapping its teeth around his arm. Anys, cursing through clenched teeth, swung her spiked ball in a tight arc, knocking two creatures aside—but they staggered back up, relentless.

  Static crackled through my headband, and Tatiana's clipped voice sounded in my ear. "Report."

  My chest burned, every breath searing my lungs. "We—found monsters," I managed, jabbing my spear into a writhing shape at my feet. "In the old office building—east side. We're pinned down!"

  "Roger that," Tatiana replied. "Hold your position if you can. I'm sending reinforcements."

  I swallowed, adrenaline surging. Hold our position? We could barely stand as it was.

  The monsters shrieked, a discordant chorus that rattled the ruined walls. The smell of rot and gore filled my lungs, and sweat stung my eyes. We can't let them overwhelm us.