《The Traitor Games》Chapter 8
Advertisement
Allison seemed fine as we walked up, and caught us as we left the tree line. I was going to warn her about Crazy, and ask if she was okay, but before I could get a word in edgewise she cut me off.
"We're okay. I'm fine, and Emma is healing. She was hurt badly. The old dude started going insane, and he tried to kill Emma. The only thing that kept her alive was the safe zone protections. I dealt with him." How she had dealt with him was left unsaid, it was clear enough from her face what she had to do.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.
"No, but what's done is done at this point. I can't change the past, nor would I want to. It was him or me." I didn't know how to help, but it was likely that it would only get harder from here. Better compartmentalize and deal with it after. I don't want to think about what happened between the brothers given that one of them had to be a traitor, but we needed to get the parts.
"We need to split up again. Emma will be safe until she heals back up, but we can't afford to wait on her. Luna and BT head north, Allison and I will head to the last spot. If you aren't back in 2 hours we will come after you." One of the brothers was likely still out there, and if Crazy had been here the entire time, it meant whoever it was had gotten access to at least 1 traitor crate if not more. He was armed and dangerous, and we'd need to be careful.
Aside from a lone wolf crossing our path, easily scared away, unlike the pack that had attacked me, the trek was uneventful. Unlike the rest of the locations on the map, this one wasn't as clearly defined with a structure. Instead, the part was somewhere in a snowy clearing. There had to have been some sort of crate around here that held it. The only concern would be, what happens if a traitor gets the part first?
Advertisement
Hopefully, there was some mechanism of preventing that, as without protections in place it would be easy for a traitor to simply hide with the parts until time ran out. Looking around, I noticed the small corner of a chest sticking out of the snow. We looted it, and inside was another Medkit as well as the part we needed. After quickly explaining the device's purpose to Allison, we made our way back to our home base, the cabin.
Emma was still unconscious when we arrived, although her wounds had healed, leaving only a thin scar, barely noticeable, around her throat. Luna and BT arrived shortly after we did, also carrying their part. Now, how did we repair the station? I had asked previously, and no one had any experience with repairing electrical systems, especially not one that was as complex as a radio.
I got nominated to try, as I was the most experienced with any sort of wiring, but even so, I'd be guessing for the most part. BT was the next most experienced of us, so he went with me. The last thing I heard before blacking out due to the pain was a loud snap as I set foot in the snow outside the radio station.
I found out when I woke up 30 minutes later the bear trap had majorly broken my leg, and the only reason I could still walk was due to the quick actions of Allison, who grabbed the Medkit from my pack and applied it immediately. We hadn't determined if a Medkit could repair severed limbs, and I wasn't eager to test it, so I'm glad Allison did something.
"Great, so now we need to worry about traps as well?" Luna asked, looking out at the area still left before the building I needed to get to.
"See if you can either cut or find a long stick. Let's go bear trap fishing." We managed to find one, and with it triggered three more before the way was clear of both snow and traps. We finally made our way into the station. Pulling out the 4 parts, the wires moved of their own accord, connecting and leaving behind a single part that fit perfectly into the machinery.
Advertisement
Radio Station repaired
New objective: Discover and Repair Helipad
Equipment added: Graz Corp 3D Printer
My UI provided the next objective as well as the method by which to fix it. I expected another trap, but all 4 of us made our way to the Helipad without incident. Luna and BT had seen it on their way north, and thus it wasn't difficult to navigate to it. When we got there, there was a slot for the printer, and a note attached to it, but no sign of whatever brother was the traitor. The note read:
Hi Innocents. I'm writing you this message in response to the notification I just received that you had killed my partner. It just felt, right to leave this. Maybe I'm a little crazy as well, but I figure with how many of you there are you should at least have the knowledge of who is hunting you. You know, I thought it would be different, getting revenge on Greg. I'd been standing in his shadow for years, and now his shadow follows me, but I don't feel different. He was always better than me. Everyone knew it, and while they never said it I know my parents asked themselves why I never measured up to him. I tried, I really did. Everything just seemed to come so naturally to him. The one thing I thought I could do better? Oddly enough it was shooting. And then not 2 hours in, we get ourselves weapons from the crates around the map, and what does he do? Kill 3 wolves while I was still fumbling around with my gun. And then I knew that no matter what, he was always going to be better. It felt satisfying at the moment to finally be able to take out all that frustration, but that look of utter betrayal he gave me as he died instantly brought me back to reality. I feel so empty, like a yawning pit that refuses to close has opened and taken everything I ever loved. Unfortunately, I must continue on this path. I can't stop, because if I do I make all the damning decisions I made worthless. And so, I wish you good luck, because I am going to do everything I can to stop you from succeeding. I have to make it worth something. Signed Dave.
"Dave, if you're out there, know that you won't get anything from us. I refuse to let you." I know Dave is likely out there and watching us. But just as he will try his hardest to stop us, will we do everything to succeed, and it makes me feel better to yell it out to him.
My UI updated with a notification as I went to slot the printer in.
Warning: All nearby animals will be attracted to the helipad upon activation.
I knew it wasn't going to be so easy as to simply slot it and turn it on. Between us, we didn't have much in the way of ammo, but I figured BT and myself were good for at least a few animals before it turned into fighting with sticks. We also positioned the bear traps from the radio station around the Helipad, making sure everyone knew where they were. It was time. "Everyone ready?" I said, looking around at the 3 other people with me. I saw the determination on all of their faces. At a nod from them, I slotted the printer into the helipad and started it. And so it began.
Advertisement
- In Serial642 Chapters
I Really Am Not The Lord Of Demon
As the owner of an ordinary bookstore, Ling PingAn’s biggest wish was to muddle through life and do absolutely nothing.
8 592 - In Serial23 Chapters
What Was Lost Outside Time
What happens to a mind, subjected to an infinite span of time? What remains, when it is taken out again? This is the story of an individual reborn after such time has passed that nothing remains of what it was; an individual who must learn once again what it is to be, beginning with awareness of the idea of awareness, and growing from there; from awareness of self, to awareness of others, to awareness of society, and on. This is the story of a mind; growing, learning, adapting, and becoming more. -- Currently the first three chapters are - well, kind of experimental. I both like and hate these; they were a pain to write, and I'm told by at least one person that they're painful to get through, but I think something like them is necessary to set one of the basic ideas about the way the story is written. It gets slightly more normal after that, the first arc of the story is rather "battle school", and I think I may need to go back and edit it - the characterization didn't end up working out as well as I had originally hoped, unfortunately, and ended up rather weak to my eye. I may go back and add a sub-plot or two, depending on how well I can handle the intended perspective shift of the second arc. -- Currently on hiatus, in case that wasn't obvious. I'm debating between rewriting large portions of what I've already written, and just finishing out the story, but either way, I don't actually have a clear idea of what I want to do right now. If I'm still feeling the same way in a few months I'll put a chapter up explaining where the story was going, maybe, so the people who have enjoyed it can know where the story was intended to go, and close this out.
8 204 - In Serial24 Chapters
Dungeon Tower Babel
This is a short story about a naive and inexperienced boy. A boy who thinks he is a man already and decides to test his luck in a dungeon full of bounty. Bounty in a shape of monsters, minerals and other resources. The things get tough and he meets a mysterious girl. Someone, he had never seen anyone like her before. The unusual meeting leads to an unusual relationship and his adventures continue. His goal is to form a party and reach the bottom of The Dungeon Tower Babel.About the fiction:The main protagonist is not OP. He is just average everyday guy so he will make a lot of mistakes and poor desitions.There will be some GameLit elements like [Skills] and [Monsters] but they will be very light.Some teenage drama can be expected but I will try not to overdo it.This is a short novel so expect around 50k words and ~2k words per chapter, (4-5 chapters a week).
8 72 - In Serial6 Chapters
Ember
Princess out on walk of her castle . But is it as simple as it looks ?
8 143 - In Serial238 Chapters
Nostalgic Gamer in a Cultivation World
Dyne Valiant is a frustrated gamer. But as one of the best special ops agents that the world has, his superiors and the government itself ensured that he won’t be able to play video games because of his addictive tendencies. And so he lived and fought without ever being able to play beyond the nostalgic PS-One games. Fate was cruel as he finally meets his end after exacting revenge on those who killed his family. But on his dying moments, another dying man with strange magical powers appears. But unlike Dyne, justice was not served for this man. He then offers Dyne a chance to satisfy the greatest regret of his life… To play the videogames he loved back when he was a kid. Using the enigmatic god-tiered artifact, the Imaginarium Bond, Dyne is revived and sent to the world of cultivators where he must reach for the peak and challenge the gods of that world. And while the path of Immortality and a second life was a great gift, Dyne's joy was elsewhere. Within the Imaginarium Bond were three worlds that the mysterious man created with the last of his powers. These worlds were based on three PS-One classic games and are designed to help Dyne in his Path of Cultivation. Soon, Dyne will reach the Cultivation world and fight the wicked Kings, Saints, Devils, and Gods that now control it. Soon, Dyne will awaken the Genesis Trees of Legaia. Soon he will conquer the many nations with his Rune Knights in the continent of Forsena. Soon he will be reborn as an Endless to battle gods and dragons and slay the founding Emperor of the Fou Empire. Dyne was deprived of gaming all his life. But now his life depends on his gaming. Witness the tales of Dyne Valiant in his adventure as a Nostalgic Gamer in a Cultivation World. --- (Will also be posting this on Scribblehub.com and Webnovel. Support me on Patreon and read more (up to 90 chapters there!) Note: This isn't my first rodeo. I have written over 1000 chapters on two other ongoing stories that is ongoing with a 3-4 chapter per week rate at Webnovel and another in Meganovel. This will probably have at least 900 chapters before it ends. And I'm being very conservative. As this story is at its early phase, please read and rate it as such.
8 209 - In Serial12 Chapters
Dreamnotfound
Ahh thank you 🥰
8 179

