A cloud of thunder suddenly erupted in the sky above. The thick clouds grew darker by the minute. The woman is eyeing them like delicious meals to be feasted on.

“Two minutes left.” Cayden immediately recovered from the shock, he searched for the spot where he was attacked earlier.

He check the position of the corridors, the number of stairs and the position of the window - there’s no doubt this is the correct location. But the body is not here. One of the survivors charge towards Cayden. Pete intercepted him and block his metal pipe with the machete.

“Back off Rabinton!”

“Never!” Metal and blades clash. The sound of blade scraping against metal broke out and every person in the room flinch. Cayden search among the faces of the survivors… That man..

He was sure he was the rogue. But where is he?

Pete’s stubbornness has its own merits. He manage to delay the survivors. On the sixth floor, the tenant of the room beside the stairs has his junk piled beside the stair's railing. Cayden pick it up and throw it to the survivors.

Metal pails, broken plastic plates, unfixable radio parts, whatever he lay his hands on, he throw it down. The survivors were delayed. They are busy avoiding getting hit rather than helping the man with the metal pipe.

Among the faces of the survivors, a familiar face emerge from the crowd. Cayden’s eyes widen. The man looked at Cayden with an unpleasant grin. On his side, he was holding a silver knife. He was drawing near to where Pete is.

“Pete!” Cayden finally hauled the heavy bag of broken VCRs and drop it in the heads of the survivors. His feet rushed to prevent the rogue from killing his best friend.

Outside, the dark clouds that have gathered above the building are now lowering itself to the sixth floor. The woman covered in green mist is sitting luxuriously at the top of a dark cloud surrounded by lightning. Her gaze is narrowed. A pleasured smile played on her lips.

“One minute left.”

Cayden finally get down in time and tackled the rogue with the silver knife. The other survivors kicked the bag of VCRs aside and rushed to him at blinding speed.

Cayden was immediately tackled to the ground. Legs kicking hit his ribs and back. But he did not let go of the rogue. He let him lie on top of him, to protect himself from the survivor’s knives. But he was not spared to the beating. Because of the crowd and the rogue on top of him, his movements are limited. Cayden can’t escape. He can’t go to where Pete is and help him. The rogue is still wearing that sickening grin. Then an unbearable pain entered his side.

Blood soaked his clothes. Something stab him in his left abdomen. As if not satisfied, the knife stabbed him in the same wound, twisting his insides using the blade.

Cayden choke back a groan. He bite his lips and took the machete on his waist. Without any hesitation, he struck the rogue on the side of his neck. His blood sprayed on Cayden’s face.

Cayden was not satisfied and drive the machete into the rogue’s skull. Blood mixed with brain matter flowed down to Cayden’s clothes.

“Time’s up.” The woman announced. Everybody froze. First there was momentary silence. Nobody moved or make a sound. The next moment, a blinding light flashed and everyone in the room screeched in ear piercing ugly scream. Men, women, their voices are indistinguishable.

Cayden’s abdomen hurt. He tried to keep his eyes open but he cannot keep them on with all the blinding light flashing all around him. Cayden decided not to move. He waited until the sound died down.

When the surrounding quieted down, he open his eyes. A stream of white smoke swirled around the stairs. He groan as he tried to sit up. On his left, he saw a familiar silhouette calling his name.

“Cayden!” Pete’s face entered his vision.

“Oh, man you okay?” The usual scruffy face of Pete is battered with bruises. His lips is swelling, his left eye is bruised. Looks like the machete did not protect him from the man’s fist.

“Glad to see you alive.” Cayden chuckle.

“Hehe. But you know man, everybody else is not lucky.” Both of them look around. The bodies of 25 individuals who attack them are piling up beneath each other. Their flesh are utterly burned down to the bones. Not much flesh left on their bodies.

It was a grotesque sight. And the woman responsible for it is smiling at them amiably.

“Oh? Looks like only you two found the rogue and successfully killed it eh? Did you spray the blood to yourselves then?”

Pete turned to Cayden. “Man, you’re not the rogue?” Cayden did not answer.

“Oh, look at the time, there are only 45 minutes left to predestined time! I should get going! Need to prepare. See you later mortals. Wish you a happy elimination game!”

With a loud boom of lightning, the trace of the storm and that woman disappeared. Leaving only Cayden and Pete left. Cayden pick up his machete, wipe away its blood, and sheathe it back to his waist. He was careful with his movements, afraid not to scrape his wound.

His bag was left on the upper stairs with Pete. As they climbed up, Cayden began to explain.

“It was the man who tried to steal the glowing ball from the old man.”

“You mean the rogue?”

“Yes. ‘Three are heroes’ - its referring to the people who ingested the glowing ball. They are considered heroes because their choices embodied what we desire to do. I was not part of the heroes because I did not ingest the glowing ball, but that does not make me a rogue. That man tried to steal the glowing ball - making his actions dishonest, that’s why the woman labeled him ‘rogue’. I finally understand it when the woman told us to find the rogue in five minutes. Under the suspicion of me as the rogue, she could have said ‘Kill the rogue and spill its blood on your bodies.’ not ‘find the rogue then kill it’. That’s when I confirmed my guess it wasn’t really me but someone else. In that short amount of time, how can that woman categorize who is the rogue or who is not, that glowing ball incident immediately came to mind. Looking at the action of three heroes and one bystander attempting to steal from one hero, it all makes sense.”

“Oh,” Pete nodded in understanding. “Then why did I not die?”

“Remember when the rogue attack me? I slice its head in half with you on the back. Some of his blood got sprayed on you, that’s why you were spared.”

After they got their bags, they went back down to the first floor. On the landlady’s front table, there’s a bag of first aid kit beside the vase at the window. Cayden did not hesitate to rip its contents and proceed to attend to his wound.

“Let me help you.” Pete tried to take the bandage from Cayden’s hand but Cayden refused.

“Take care of that ugly bruise first.” he pointed to Pete’s left eye. “After resting for a few minutes, we can go back up and acquire more food and water supplies.”

Pete froze. “You’re planning to go back up?!” Cayden open his mouth but because he was too tired to explain with his wound bleeding, he proceed to take one of the waving fortune cats off the landlady’s desk.

“Open the window.” Pete do as he was told. Cayden throw out the fortune cat, at first they saw it flying in an arc then immediately, a loud zap sounded and the fortune cat disintegrate into dust.

“Cayden….” Pete stared at the window in horror.

“The invisible barrier is still there,” Cayden confirmed. “If my suspicion is right, we’re stuck here until 11:59pm.”

Pete did not speak anymore and Cayden continued to clean his wound and wrap it in bandages. For a few minutes, no sound can be heard in the room except the ticking clock above the shelves. The landlady who used to grumble under her thick glasses is now nowhere in sight. Probably she joined the others in becoming a wryth.

Those wryths were not spared by the lightning earlier.

“Are you done?” Pete nodded.

“Come on, we need to find more medical supplies and food that is enough for more than ten days.”

As they go up, Pete kept glancing at Cayden. His face seems restless. As if there’s something bothering him. Cayden knew what he wanted to ask. But he chose to wait for Pete to gain the courage to ask. When Pete could not stand it any longer he spoke,

“Cayden, what did the woman mean earlier by elimination game?”

Cayden slowed on his steps. They reach the first floor and kick the door open. The room inside is dark and lifeless. He flip the light switch on and proceed to go to the kitchen.

“Pete, at 11:59pm the *%#$* will emerge -” Cayden stop talking midway. Pete frown at him.

“Was it my hearing or you just speak garbled words?” Cayden wave his hand,

“It’s not letting me speak the word. Anyway, remember the wryths earlier? They are more coming later at midnight. This time its not just the whole building, it’s the whole world that will suffer the attack. *%#$* will arise in cities and countries, forcing us to participate in *%#$* and *%#$*. The elimination game will require us to survive in *%#$* days. By then, we must travel to the *%#$* if we don’t want to be eliminated by the *%#$*.”

The frown between Pete’s brow deepens.

“Knew it, I should not have said anything.”