Hiding in the bushes, laying on his stomach in the dirt, John watched as Joanna waltzed arrogantly into his starting clearing.

  He’d decided to hang back and wait for her. He knew her well enough to suspect that she’d forgo any form of strategy for a brute force approach and he planned to use it against her.

  Who’d have thought I’d end up being a camper, he thought as his opponent fired off a ball of flames into a nearby bush. Something yelped and she looked in its direction, giving John the perfect opportunity.

  Without hesitation, he levelled his gun and fired a shot at her.

  CRACK.

  She spun around from the impact and shouted, “fuck!”

  Damnit! I was aiming for her head. John thought, clenching his teeth in frustration.

  What now? Did he wait and see if he could find a better chance or did he press the attack?

  He knew he couldn’t beat her in a close quarter battle, but she was a loose cannon and if she started burning down the forest then he’d be the one at a disadvantage. She could quite literally smoke him out of his hiding place.

  Fuck it, he thought determinedly.

  This time levelling both revolvers at her, he let off a volley of rounds.

  CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.

  Looking directly at him with a vicious smile tugging at her lips, she waved her hand across the front of her face like a jedi and the bullets stopped in mid-air before falling to the ground.

  “Nice try,” she said, looking him dead in the eyes. “But now I know which bush you’re hiding in.”

  Fucking telekinesis!

  With almost no visible effort at all, she opened her hand sending a vortex of flame in his direction. Leaves wilted before his eyes and John knew he needed to act fast.

  Trying not to give her a direct line of sight on him, he rolled to the side a few times. She’d already confessed that she could only see the correct bush, not John himself, and he wanted it to stay that way.

  Waging a war of attrition was his best chance.

  “I don’t hear screaming,” Joanna cooed playfully before firing off another few fireballs for good measure. “Come out and play John, I know what you like, and it isn’t hiding in the bushes like a scared rat.”

  John scurried through the undergrowth like the very vermin she had just described. Branches, nettles, and sharp alien flora scratched at his skin. He was thankful for his duster but maybe the next time he visited a kiosk it would be wise to invest in a mask.

  His face was sore, stinging from the barrage of greenery as he crawled as unobtrusively as he could, flames nipping at his boots.

  Turning sharply, he saw Joanna pacing in the clearing like a lion deciding on the best way to pounce on its pray. His eyes stung from the smoke which was filling his hiding spot as flames destroyed his cover. Pretty soon there would be no jungle left to hide in, he needed to act decisively.

  Rolling a little further to the side, he channelled his locate weakness skill and fired off a few more rounds.

  CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.

  The first round hit her shin and she dropped to the ground like a bag of bricks as the other two sailed overhead.

  This was his chance; he needed to act before she had time to recover. Jumping to his feet, he sprinted out of the flaming bushes, firing his guns akimbo.

  She lifted her hands and, flapping them around like she was conducting an orchestra, batted each round away with her telekinesis power.

  What a pain in the ass! John thought as he closed the gap, still firing aimlessly as she battered away round after round.

  If only I had a mini gun. Time for plan B, he thought, dropping his guns which vanished back into his soul space before they hit the ground.

  Leaping into the air like a superhero, John concentrated hard on his new card Adamantite-lite. Focusing specifically on creating tiny circles of hardness on each of his knuckles.

  Let’s see her telekinesis block this!

  Landing hard on Joanna’s stomach, straddling her like an untamed horse, he threw his first punch.

  A low thud rang out as his hardened knuckles made contact with her nose and she half scream half grunted as the cartilage gave way, cracking under the might of his reinforced fist.

  One hit wasn’t going to be enough though and he knew it, allowing his potent rage skill to take over he threw punch after punch into her pretty face.

  “You like hitting women?” She said through a bloody grin, grunting under the pressure of each blow.

  “You’re not a woman, you’re not even human. You’re a monster,” John replied through gritted teeth and contorted lips. “I found that family, they were my neighbours, you burnt their kid to ashes. You lost the right to call yourself a person right there.”

  “I was saving them from this living hell!” She protested moving her arms up to protect herself. But it was in vain as John pulled them apart and continued his volley of blows.

  Slipping one hand out of his grasp, she clutched his cheek and fire radiated from her fingertips.

  John gritted his teeth and instinctually grabbed her wrist, forcing it down and pinning her arm to the floor under the weight of his knee.

  As he did so, melted flesh clung to her fingers, agony burned through the side of his face as he watched his skin peel away. Though the pain was causing black spots to appear in his vision, it also served to stoke his rage as he slammed his fist into her mouth, feeling teeth crack against the hardened, improvised knuckle dusters afforded to him by his Adamantite-lite card.

  Though her powers were terrifying, thankfully she lacked physical strength. John was far stronger and he had weight on his side as well.

  “Stop,” she whimpered, tears welling in her swollen eyes.

  He almost did, despite the pain, despite… everything, hearing her voice so broken and weak tugged on his heart strings.

  “Please,” she pleaded and his fist stopped, hovering in midair above her bloodied face..

  What am I doing? He asked himself, do I really want to win like this?

  With a deep sigh, he pulled a revolver from his card deck. She had been beaten, there was no need to prolong the pain. A simple bullet should do the trick. It sounded callous and he knew that, but he needed the tournament prize, the card, to survive and by killing Joanna he could take both of hers as well. Besides, she was too dangerous to leave alive.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  She had forfeited her right to a second chance when she had decided to set an innocent family on fire, burning a child to death. She truly was a monster. Killing her mercifully would hopefully prevent John from turning into one as well.

  You will not take my humanity. Fuck this game.

  Placing the muzzle on her forehead, he began to squeeze the trigger.

  Looks like we’re entering the final minute folks! I can’t wait to find out what the second environmental factor will be.

  Time stopped as the two were frozen, eyes locked as John straddled the bloodied and bleeding woman. The barrel of his gun placed firmly against her forehead.

  The jungle melted away, rocks formed, lava streams pulsating in rivets carved into the brittle ground. The heat was oppressive, overwhelming. The crowd came back into view. This new environment was a flat expanse of lava and rocks.

  Small bumps, like miniature volcanoes, grew out of the rocks and began spitting molten rocks into the air. They glowed bright orange and red as they began raining down around the two contestants like hail.

  John was now at a disadvantage and he knew it. The second time resumed, he needed to pull the trigger. He needed to end this match right now.

  Time resumed and John tried to squeeze the trigger but Joanna reacted a split second faster.

  I should have kept Adamantite-lite activated. Fuck!

  “DIE!” she yelled primally, grabbing his weapon and twisting the cylinder.

  He pulled the trigger at roughly the same time but nothing happened, she had disarmed his pistol. How had she known that would work? John didn’t even know that until Buck had told him as he faced off against the Whowie.

  “You’re weak,” she said as blood dripped into her mouth, “in this game, it’s kill or be killed. No hesitation.”

  Flames erupted from her chest and John was blasted off her. He flew through the air landing painfully on his back as the oxygen evacuated his lungs. His duster had a hole burned clean through it and he staggered, struggling to catch his breath as third-degree burns bubbled nastily on his chest. Molten rocks fell from the sky, burning more holes into his duster and his skin. It hurt like hell and he stifled a scream.

  “You’re only trying to save yourself!” She screamed.

  Isn’t that what we’re all doing? John wondered, confused.

  Looking up at Joanna, her eyes seemed misty and bloodshot as she staggered to her feet, advancing on him. She was sporting a thousand-yard stare and, if he didn’t know better, John could have sworn she was unconscious. Her eyes seemed to be completely glazed over and she completely ignored the raining lava rocks which sizzled her flesh as they did his.

  “This is why I ran away you bastard!” She yelled, blood pouring from her face. One of her eyes was swollen shut from the bruising. Her teeth were a mess as well, she looked half dead and despite the volume, her voice was cold. “What more do you want from me! I loved you for fuck’s sake. I gave you a child, and you… you.”

  Her anger turned into sobbing as John watched, frozen and horrified, as she advanced on him staggering like a zombie. Had his punches given her brain damage? She definitely wasn’t talking about him. Was she having a flashback? He knew she was pretty messed up but he hadn’t realised she was this mentally damaged.

  Who is she talking to? John thought, then something clicked and he understood.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, pulling his guns from his card deck as he stumbled to his feet. “This fucking game, it really sucks.”

  You will not take my humanity. I will burn it all down.

  Lifting his revolver he looked upon her broken face. His rage had vanished along with any malice he’d held for her, washed away by a single realisation: she had suffered too. In that moment he knew that his rage had been misplaced. There was only one entity responsible for all this: Tanlan and his showrunners.

  Suddenly, all he felt towards Joanna was… pity.

  Scrunching up his eyes for a moment as he took a breath to steady his aim, he pulled the trigger.

  ***

  Not again, Joanna thought as punches rained down on her face.

  Sharp pain rattled her head as she looked into the eyes of a man whose face bore nothing but rage and hatred. John Doe had given into primal instinct as he hit her again and again, a barrage of passionate disdain. A look she knew all too well.

  Not again, she thought as she looked into those vengeful eyes and saw not her opponent in the tournament, but the love of her life.

  “You’re not a woman, you’re not even human. You’re a monster,” John said through gritted teeth and contorted lips. “I found that family, they were my neighbours. You burnt their kid to ashes. You lost the right to call yourself a person right there.”

  “I was saving them from this living hell!” She protested and something clicked, suddenly she was in two places at once. She couldn’t tell which was real. It was all so visceral.

  The jungle melted away, John’s face replaced by that of her husband as she was transported back to the day of the cataclysm, the day she had lost everything. The day the system came.

  The torii gate was dead ahead, her son Stevie cradled in her arms, unaware, delicate. All around her the world was falling apart. Gun fire, sirens, screams, all surrounded her. The air smelled of cordite… and blood.

  Tears blurred her vision and pain shot through her feet as she ran through glass towards the torii gate: her salvation. It was the only place that was safe. The only place where she could take her son away from all of this.

  “Wait!” Her husband Billy shouted panic stricken. “Wait for fuck’s sake, do what I tell you Joanna!”

  Stopping, she turned to see her husband, red in the face and covered in blood. A smoking shotgun in his hand.

  “Look at the numbers,” he said quietly and she obeyed. She always obeyed.

  Looking up she saw the number two in the metal atop the gate.

  Two, was that two minutes until it closed or two spots left?

  “There’re only two places left,” he said, a hard look in his eyes. “You’re gonna have to leave the kid.”

  She didn’t reply, she simply stared at him uncomprehendingly.

  “Do you hear me damn it? Leave the fucking kid, we’ll make a new one. He ain’t gonna survive whatever this shitshow is anyhow.”

  “How could you say that?” She asked in a hushed tone, “how could you even think it?”

  She blinked and Billy… or was it John? Was sat on top of her, a fancy revolver pressed to her temple and an oddly familiar jungle canopy allowing only partial streams of light to shine on her bloodied face. Rage bubbled up inside of her.

  Not again!

  “DIE!” She screamed, spittle flying from her mouth like a feral beast as she twisted the cylinder, trying to push it out of the gun itself, removing the bullets.

  “You’re weak,” Billy said, leaning in so close she could smell the intoxicants on his rancid breath, “It’s kill or be killed. No hesitation.”

  She blinked and suddenly she was back in front of the torii gate.

  Billy pressed the muzzle of his shotgun to Stevie’s head, gritted his teeth and his reddened eyes squinted at the boy, hardened.

  “Billy no, please!” She pleaded hysterically, “I’ll come back, I won’t run away again. Just please don’t hurt him.”

  “Is he even mine?” Billy asked coldly, “faithful wives don’t run away Joanna.”

  “Of course he’s yours!” She yelled, edging closer, “I didn’t cheat on you Billy, you just scare me, you’re always so angry, you hurt me… you…”

  “Shut up bitch!” He snarled, holding Stevie out at arm’s length by the scruff of his neck.

  Wailing emanated from the child whose red face scrunched up as he cried a primal, terrified scream.

  “Billy you’re hurting him!”

  “I’m saving him,” he shouted, “saving him from this living hell!”

  “You’re only trying to save yourself!”

  He tipped the sawn-off shotgun down; muzzle resting on the chest of his child and began squeezing the trigger.

  Joanna dived forwards, placing both hands on the shotgun, attempting to wrestle it away from him. He was stronger, but something deep inside her gave her strength. It was a yearning to save her baby boy, the kind of visceral, reptilian strength that only a mother could produce.

  CRACK.

  The crying stopped.

  Joanna stood, holding the gun.

  Mouth agape an ear-splitting, broken wail started up and then died in her throat. It wasn’t her fault, it was him, it was always him. It wasn’t her fault. It isn’t my fault. It was him. It was him. It was him!

  “Gimme the gun Joanna, we’ll survive this, we’ll make a new child once we beat back these alien fucks. I love you baby.”

  It wasn’t my fault. It was him.

  Coldly, she stared at Billy with a blank face. Emotionless, broken. Tears ran down her cheeks, her eyes hazy and uncomprehending.

  “This is why I ran away from you, you bastard,” she said, her voice the volume of a shout but as still as a frozen winter lake. “What more do you want from me! I loved you for fuck’s sake. I gave you a child, and you… you.”

  Without hesitation, she pointed the weapon at his chest and pulled the trigger, then turned and stepped through the torii gate, heartbroken and alone.

  ***

  Opening her eyes she saw John Doe staring at her down the barrel of his gun. When had he stopped hitting her? Why was she standing?

  Stevie! Her heart pounded as she remembered where she was. That had happened days ago. She was a different person now. She was salvation. She was revenge.

  Gazing deeply into his eyes, she saw glistening, sorrow.

  When had he stopped hating her?

  “I’m sorry,” he said softly and her heart jumped inside her chest. No man had ever spoken to her with such sincere compassion. No person had. It stunned her.

  Eyes tracking down, she saw his finger begin a slow squeeze.

  I need to get revenge, she thought, but it was a half-hearted plea. Stevie died because of these aliens, I need to win, I need to win so I can kill them all. It wasn’t my fault. It was them. They need to die. They all need to die.

  Despite the jumbled thoughts bouncing around inside her mind, she made no attempt to move. She didn’t fight back; she didn’t even try to dodge.

  Maybe if she had fought back when it truly mattered, before the day of the apocalypse, things would have turned out differently.

  CRACK.