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Minutes passed and the game grew no less intense. Kazumi's vision stayed centered on the area she knew the safe zone had to be, looking for any further indication of the exact apartment. The game seemed stalled with no clear way to progress further, as the players get picked off one by one. Suddenly a voice rang out through the arena.
"Everyone! The tagger is at the second level of the central area! The tagger has bad vision because of his mask!"
Kazumi attention snapped to the sound of the mans voice. Was he insane?
"Lets inform each other of the tagger's location and search for the safe zone together!"
It was a stupid idea in Kazumi's opinion. It could get any one of them killed.
The unbothered man spoke up from across the floor. "It's a good idea, but no one will respond." Kazumi decided she did not like this man, his attitude was really starting to get on her nerves.
A woman's voice called out "The tagger is moving from the fourth level of the central area! Anyone nearby, run!"
Kazumi snorted and looked over to the man, who seemed surprised at the call back. She focused back on the action happening below the two, confirming that the woman had been telling the truth about the location of the tagger. With cooperation, perhaps it wasn't as bad as a plan as she thought. Regardless they were running out of time. She needed to take some risks.
The tagger rounded on the woman who had called out, but she narrowly dodged by swinging herself off the building and climbing up to the next level. Another woman was not as lucky, quickly killed by the tagger. " A climber?" Kazumi commented.
"She's pretty good."
Kazumi spun towards the man. "Are you planning on staying here this whole game?"
"Are you?"
"If I stay still any longer I'll go crazy," She moved over to the staircase, taking a moment to pause. "I refuse to die here."
She hurried down the stairs onto the floor below, nearly crashing into the climber. She turned to speak but the sound of shots cut her off. However these shots sounded different to the rest, it sounded long range.
Kazumi hurriedly to the edge of the walkway to see the tagger shooting across the building at a player. She spun to face the climber. "I know where the safe zone is." but she was met with an empty space, she had jumped down to the level below.
Debating running after her, she checked the phone she picked up for the time remaining and upon seeing the scarily low number, decided against it and headed down the stairs to the door the tagger had shot at.
Skidding to a stop outside her target she put a hand on the handle to pull it open but hesitated. Another unknown. It was risky facing it alone. Swallowing her nerves she slowly opened the door, but hesitating to step inside the room. It was dark inside the apartment, and bare of any furniture. At the end of the room sat another door, which probably held their goal. A small bathroom outcropped to the left and the wall of the entryway prevented Kazumi from seeing what was to the right.
As quietly as possible, she stepped into the room, stopping once again in the threshold and listened. As her ears strained to pick up noise she could just barely make out the sound of breathing. Facing into the room it sounded as if it were coming from her right .
She slowly closed the door behind her and let her eyes fully adjust to the dark. Moving through the room she hugged the left wall, slowly inching her way towards the door, but her eyes stuck to the right half of the room, as her new position revealed more and more of the room.
She nearly had a clear view of the whole room before the door creaked open again, revealing the shaggy haired man from the beginning of the game and the man who had been on the top floor. Shock crossed both their faces upon seeing her, clearly not expecting to find someone already inside. She held a finger to her lips before pointing to the right side of the room.
The other two cautiously approached Kazumi who had taken the unexpected backup as an opportunity to move further towards the door. Reaching the door handle she turned to face it before suddenly being pulled down, narrowly avoiding being shot. Rolling onto her knees a second attacker in a horse mask came into view.The light haired man pulled some sort of device from his pocket, pressing it against the second tagger and activating it, shocking them and sending them to the ground.
"Did you make that?" Kazumi stood up from the ground.
"It never hurts to be prepared-" His reply was interrupted by a wild spray of gunfire from the no longer immobilized tagger.
He and Kazumi evaded the gunfire by hurtling out of the apartment and slamming the door shut, while the other man dove into the second room. Crouched outside the door Kazumi took her knife from her pocket and flipped it open, readying herself to fight.
The man in the final room shouted out through the window for someone to come. "The safe zone is in Apartment 406! It's impossible to clear the game alone! We need to people to do this!"
"Damn." Kazumi sighed, and reached up to open the apartment door. The door opened to the second tagger shooting off the handle to the second room and kicking open the door. Followed closely by the light haired man she rushed after to see the other man charging the shooter. Before either of them could help the gun chaotically swung their direction forcing them to duck back or get shot.
"Does that thing have another charge?" She gestured to the makeshift taser in the man beside her's hand.
"It does, the problem is getting close enough to use it."
Kazumi hated close ranged fights, she always felt so exposed.
"I'll do it, give it to me."
He didn't hesitate placing it in her outstretched palm. The man in the other room screamed again for help as the announcement signaled only thirty-seconds remaining. Kazumi peeked around the corner brain going into overdrive searching for an opening.
One came in the form of the climber jumping in through the window directing everyone in the rooms attention to her. Kazumi recovered first, darting forward, the taser making contact with the shooter's side, and turned weapon on. The second tagger fell to the floor, freeing the shaggy haired man and the climber up to leap for the buttons, stoping the timer with no time to spare.
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