25 Deaths

Chapter 1 - Splinters

-Dakota's POV-

The sound of sirens were ringing in my ears, forcing my wake. And yet, although it isn't the ideal way to be woken, I'm glad to be awake.

I vaguely remember my home. I furrowed my brow as I tried to reclaim my memories. I was... Leaving. For school, maybe. I had just managed to walk maybe a street or two before I felt some stabbing pain in my back. I recall being dragged into a large black truck, and it was this specific memory that caused my to jolt upright, fully awake.

I observed my scenery. It reminded me of those cheap wooden cabins you can rent out over camping trips. The current cabin I was in honestly looked as though it was holding onto its last thread, about to collapse any minute. I saw about five bunk beds other than my own, but all of which were empty. Either everyone was awake, or I was alone.

I pulled myself out of my bed, a confused look scarring my face. I had no idea where I was, and all I remember is a vague kidnapping, which never proves to be anything good.

I began pacing through my cabin, each step I take causing the walls to creak and struggle due to their weakness. I managed to find a small, single person, bathroom at the back of the cabin. But other than that, there was nothing truly enticing nor extraordinary about this cabin.

Once I had accepted the fact that there was nothing left worth exploring in my poorly built 'home' I decided to leave. Although, truthfully, I mainly left due to my fear that the cabin would collapse at any moment.

Outside, it was daylight. Which, supposedly, is good. But, it also appears that a majority of my surroundings is just forests. That, is usually bad.

When I got a look around, the siren still ringing, I realized that there was about twenty other cabins, identical to mine, all placed in a perfect square outlining a forest clearing. What was this place?

Right in the center of the clearing was a large poll with speakers attached to the top. The source of the sirens.

It was only now that I realized the sirens were getting quieter as each second went by. Not much quieter, but still, the sound was still fading.

About now, some of the other cabin doors began to open. At first I was surprised, but really, considering the circumstances, it was kind of expected.

At least this means I'm not alone. After a few minutes, there was about 20 or so others, all teenagers, wandering around wondering where the hell they were. I was one of them.

Once no more kids emerged from any of the cabins, the sirens slowed to a stop only to be replaced by a voice.

"Hello," The voice said, from what I could tell, it was a girl's voice, "You're probably all wondering why you're here, and I'm going to tell you. You are here because I'm bored. Simple,"

"Because you couldn't go into more detail, could you?" I mumbled bitterly.

"You have been taken from your homes and are currently on an island," the voice continued, "There are 26 of you in total and you will soon be split up into two teams. Everyday your teams will compete in challenges, as generally assumed, the team that wins will earn a reward and the losing team gets a punishment. I cannot guarantee that your entire team will survive these challenges, but I can guarantee that at least one person will die each conscious week,"

So far, I'm not liking this place. And the fact that she just added the word 'conscious' to that sentence only makes me feel that much more uneasy.

"6 players are not here with us right now. These players are called 'Wolf Slayers' they have gained their role due to the fact that each of them has some superiority compared to all of you, whether it be in physical or mental strength, they just are better."

I saw a few people glared as though they had been awfully insulted,

"The Wolf Slayers are out in the wild and do not belong to a team, however, if you find a Wolf Slayer they will have the chance to join a team. A Wolf Slayer has 24 hours before they are permanently in their chosen team. However, the Wolf Slayers are oblivious to any of this. They have no instructions nor support. They are not told about any rules and they know nothing whatsoever,"

By now, everybody had gathered around the speaker. I counted 10 boys and 10 girls.

"You're first challenge will be a nice and easy one. Consider it as a warmup for the challenges to come," the voice told us, I could practically feel her grinning behind the speakers. "You may begin the challenge once I finish explaining the rules. Inside the cabins each of you woke up in, there is now a crate with your luggage, a dagger and a list with your team on it. In 2 minutes, starting from now, 15 of the 20 cabins will be demolished. Retrieve your things within the time limit, or hope your cabin won't be destroyed. If you don't get any of the items, you'll have to go without clothing, weapons, toiletries and a few other things. This will be the only announcement and I will not repeat any rules,"

Yeah. I really, really don't like this place.

I started to run back to my cabin, regretting that I didn't just stay there in the first place, considering that I just wasted ten or so seconds sprinting to my cabin.

I reached my cabin and managed to trip over the doorway, tumbling inside causing my cabin to shake violently.

Next to the bed I woke in, I saw a large wooden crate that's just a little shorter, but much wider, than me.

On top of the crate is a dagger and a piece of paper, I took a quick glance at it and saw a few names, including my own, 'Dakota S. Aberhart'. I didn't worry about the dagger and paper, those wouldn't be a trouble to get out of the cabin, but the giant crate was really starting to piss me off. Time was ticking away and I probably only have 40 seconds left, a minute at most, I have to think of a way to get this crate out of here, but due to just how weak I really am and the sheer weight of this crate, the task was proving to be very difficult. I start off with the basics of trying to push the crate out of my cabin but, no success. I managed to move the crate about a centimetre forward, but I need to move faster. Much faster.

I grabbed the dagger and shoved it under the lid of the crate and pried it open. I looked inside to see if there was anything that could help me, just like our kidnapper said, there was clothes, a toothbrush and other useless items. But I need to work with what I have, I've barely got any time left. I grabbed some pants and tied the ends around each other, then wrapped them around my crate and started pulling on the end. Now I know how Santa Claus feels, lugging that everyones presents around in hopes of completing the horrid challenge known as 'Christmas'.

I was able to move the crate slightly faster, but not fast enough. Suddenly, the walls began to vibrate, then they started shaking violently. "Screw it," I muttered to myself. I snatched up the dagger, the piece of paper, then just grabbed as much as I could carry out of my crate, then ran outside, just a few seconds before my cabin collapsed into the ground.

I looked around. 10 boys, 10 girls. No one died. I'd like to say that's good, but deep down, I'm disappointed, because even though I barely understand what's going on, I know that others death, brings me one step closer to home.

Hey!! It's midnightcrisis here and OMG THIS IS MY FIRST BOOK ON WATTPAD YAY! I just want to promise you all that it does get better, I'm just naturally horrible at book beginnings XD
I really hope you guys like my story and I just want to pre-thankyou for everything ! Until the next chapter, baii :)