The only one.

The only one.

Shit.

“What do you mean only one? I can’t be the only one!”

Rick pursed his lips. “Not that many people have Classes, man. It seems like a lot online, but it’s still a small percentage of the population.”

Jorden took a deep breath, forcing himself to contain his panic.

It wasn’t bravery on his part. It was his fear pushing him from behind. He just didn’t have time to panic cause he and everyone here were dead if he did.

The Hunters were probably on their way right now. The parking garage was close to the edge of downtown, and the mall was pretty much in the middle of it, so it would take them a few minutes.

But they were coming, one of them could sniff them out, and they had Jorden’s trail.

He shook himself and turned all of his attention to Rick.

“We need to move. Have any of you been chased by the Hunters yet?”

Rick nodded. “I was, briefly. Barely put a steel cage between us, and I think it might’ve torn through if it hadn’t decided to run off after someone else.”

Jorden nodded. “It was chasing me, and the third hunter got released right on top of me. It sniffed me out, literally. Which probably means they're on their way right now. I’d give them five minutes, tops.”

Kyle frowned, his hands clenching and relaxing against the bat's handle.

“How good can their sense of smell be? We’re inside through several sets of doors.”

“I don’t think assuming that the System is going too easy on us is a safe bet. Not if we want to live.”

Kyle scowled. “How do we mask our scents then?”

Rick spun to the people peering out from the stores. “Beauty shops! Grab perfume and cologne, spray it over the closest entrances and storefronts!”

“Will that work?” Jorden asked, his voice quiet as people rushed into motion.

Rick shrugged. “I figure it’ll overpower our scents, make us harder to find if everything reeks of chemical bubble gum. I don’t know what else we can do.”

Jorden didn’t have any better ideas, so he rushed off to help.

A short woman with light brown skin, round features, and shoulder-length black hair was handing out perfume bottles to people. Jorden snatched an offered bottle.

He bolted to the nearest door. It was a clothing store that led out into the city. He sprayed a disgusting amount of the fruity-smelling perfume on the doorway before running back and repeating the process on the side that led into the mall.

Everyone else was running around doing the same, spraying so much perfume around that Jorden’s head started to pound.

He’d never been a fan of strong-smelling anything, and now he struggled not to gag as he made his way to the next store.

After two minutes of frantic spraying, Rick’s voice echoed over the mall. “Enough spraying, hide!”

Jorden didn’t waste any time, sprinting into the nearby GameStop. He leaped over the counter and slipped into the back room, which was thankfully unlocked.

Several people were already hiding inside. A pale-skinned girl in her late teens clutched a backpack like it was her lifeline, and to her left was an older woman with a tan face graced with smile lines. She was wearing a fancy black dinner dress, of all things, and stared at the door as if it would bite her.

Jorden didn’t say a word, the door drawing his attention like a black hole.

With the three of them cramped into the small space, it quickly became stifling. Sweat started to bead on Jorden’s brow.

A clock slowly ticked away in the corner, and the sound dug its way into Jorden’s ears.

Tick tick tick.

How long had it been since the Scenario started?

Tick tick tick.

It couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes. They could make it. They would make it.

Tick tick tick.

Jorden glared at the clock, willing it to either shut up or move faster.

Tick tick tick.

Sitting there in that suffocating room, with only the ticking of the clock in his ears, Jorden felt a sickening sense of disconnection, like someone had taken a knife and cut his mind away from his body.

But while he felt removed, it didn’t shelter him. His stomach twisted with nausea, the scent of bubble gum perfume invading his mind. A heart pounded in someone’s ears.

Was it his? Was that him?

Tick tick tick tick tick.

I- I need to get it together.

The thought bounced around a few times before sticking.

Get a grip. He needed to get a grip. Jorden took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but that only made the smell of perfume worse.

A scream broke the quiet. A terrified, desperate sound that could only come from someone who knew they were about to die.

Another sound followed on its heels; a monstrous, ear-splitting screech.

Jorden stopped breathing.

Don’t move. Don’t think. It won’t find you. It won’t-

The crash of something heavy against metal. Another scream.

Jorden squeezed his eyes shut.

It won’t find me.

The sound of rattling metal turned into a screech. The hunter was breaking through. It was going to kill someone.

“You’re the only one we’ve seen.”

Jorden stood up, the motion odd and stiff like he was moving someone else’s limbs.

The others shot him horrified looks, they might’ve tried to say something, but the screams of terror and tearing metal drowned them out.

“The only one.”

“I- I need to hide,” Jorden thought, even as his feet moved him forward.

He reached the door and paused, its handle cool against his sweaty palm.

“Help!”

“You can’t do this. Hide. If you go, you’ll freeze, and two people will die instead of one.”

His hand shook.

“The only one.”

Jorden opened the door.

The sounds grew louder, the screech of metal stabbing into his ears with a vengeance.

He walked forward, closing the door behind him as he went.

What am I doing?

He walked to the front of the store, past the racks of games and posters advertising the latest releases.

What am I doing?

The hunter came into view, and Jorden almost froze.

It was the better part of eight feet tall, with thin, spindly limbs covered in patches of greasy black feather over mottled grey skin.

It had claw-tipped hands with unnaturally long fingers, and instead of feet, it had another pair of those awful hands.

Its face was pressed against the buckling metal gate warding it from entering a shoe store, but Jorden could make out a short, wide beak and part of a beady eye.

His hands shook. Hell, his legs were shaking.

Off to his left, the second Hunter was sniffing around, its wide nose pressed close to the tiles.

It was a deformed thing in the shape of a wolf. Wide shoulders covered in brown fur that bulged with uneven muscle, two thick front limbs, and a massive head and protruding snout stuffed with jagged teeth.

It had comparatively tiny hindquarters, with thin back legs that barely looked functional.

If you back away right now, they might not notice you.

Jorden was afraid. More afraid than he’d ever been. There was nothing he wanted to do more than turn and run, to curl up into a little ball and pray until this was over.

But he was the only one! If he didn’t do something, who else could?

Jorden couldn’t just hide while this thing tore into someone.

Yes, you can, you fucking idiot!

…No, I can’t. Not if I want to live with myself after.

Jorden lifted a shaking hand and sucked in a breath. The only reason they hadn’t found him already was because of the racket the bird-like Hunter was making, but that couldn’t last forever.

If he was going to survive, his Class needed to work with him instead of against him.

Jorden’s Skills pulsed.

He screamed. “Hey! Over here!” Not the most creative, but the Hunters both froze in place.

The bird turned around and cocked its head to the side like it was staring at a worm that had just thrown itself at its feet.

Before either creature could move, Jorden activated Wizards Gambit, and the world erupted in turquoise light.