selfish. [ jack/naib ]

chapter 2.

After a day of downtime, it was time for another match. The lawyer opened up an envelope and read out the match details.

"We'll be having our morning 4v1 match at Moonlit River Park today. Any volunteers?"

Naib raised his hand, since Martha, the coordinator, wasn't feeling well. Tracy, William, and Emily volunteered as well, and they headed off to the waiting lobby.

"I'll try my best to decode!" Tracy, the mechanic, smiled as she wished everyone good luck. Naib nodded.

"I'll distract the hunter, so don't worry." Everyone gave Naib a grateful smile.

Jack took a seat as he overheard the survivors' conversation. I'll distract the hunter, so don't worry. Jack chuckled.

We'll see about that.

---

Everyone got transported to the amusement park and started to head off at the signal of the glass crack. Tracy placed her robot down and the two got to decoding right away. Emily looked for a cipher and started to decode. William crouched behind a stand as his heartbeat quickened. Damn... he cursed to himself as his heartbeat sped up, and he took off, the hunter right behind him.

'The hunter is near me!' William's voice echoed through the park as Naib worked on a cipher. Tracy popped her cipher just as William got hit, and Jack's humming echoed through the park. Naib shuddered at the eerie tune, wondering to himself. This tune... It's oddly familiar...

Dong... The bell of a survivor being hit down rang through the map as William's cry of pain could be heard. 'Focus on decoding!' Naib yelled as he followed the hunter's humming tune. William couldn't struggle free in time and got slammed into a chair. Groaning in pain, he looked at the hunter.

"Who are you?" He choked out as he caught his breath, trying to break free of the restraints. The hunter adjusted his mask.

"The Ripper is what they call me, but please, call me Jack." He gave William a curt bow, grinning behind his mask. One survivor chaired, 4 ciphers remaining. Just got to secure my kill and hunt down the mechanic...

His tinnitus acted up just as he blended in with the fog. Jack spotted movement from up ahead and saw the mercenary heading towards the chair.

"Naib! Be careful!" William cried out as Naib approached the chair. His heartbeat was so fast it almost jumped out of his chest, but he didn't see a glimpse of the hunter. As he took out his kukri blade and sliced the restraints, freeing William. The two of them ran further from the chair and found the doctor, who had just popped her cipher and she started to heal William. Naib wondered why his heart almost jumped out of his chest even though the hunter was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Jack was observing the actions of the mercenary. He saw the determination on his face as he cut his friend free, but the fear seeped into his gaze as he ran, his heartbeat sounded into Jack's ears. Jack watched Naib's graceful strides as he guided his wounded friend away. He seemed more confident when I last saw him. Well, his friends won't get away so easily this time. Jack took off again, fog trailing behind him.

"That was terrifying. He just disappeared! I thought you were gonna get hit." William shuddered as he hit a calibration.

"Disappeared?" Naib tilted his head, confused. That sounds familiar. Just can't put my finger on it...

"Maybe it's Jack. It's been a while since..." Emily pondered, trailing off at the thought. There was silence as William, Naib and Emily finished the third cipher. Naib didn't want to remember the accident and guilt seeping into him as he had failed to save his teammate. Thankfully, William didn't question them and they headed off to other ciphers.

"I hope he's changed..." Naib muttered as he started on another cipher, Tracy appearing and joining him. Suddenly, the bell rang across the map again. Emily got terror shocked. She groaned in pain, holding her head from the impact as stinging pain filled her back. Blood filled the air as Jack crawled through the window and picked her up.

"Emily!" William yelled, charging at the hunter, but he had dodged and managed to strike him. Jack hummed a tune, grinning.

"Try harder." He taunted the forward, who prepared to charge again. Fortunately for him, he had his fog blades charged up.

"William no!" Emily cried, struggling as Jack swung his hand, releasing his fog blade. William fell back with a thump, cradling the fresh wounds the fog blade made on his chest.

"Sorry..." William choked out as he watched Emily get placed on a chair. Jack came back for him and place him on a chair as well, sending him back to the manor.

"Fuck... Keep decoding, Tracy." Naib left the cipher swiftly and made his way towards Emily. His heartbeat sped up, and he heard the familiar humming tune.