“Are you okay?” Alice asked softly, her usual loud energy completely vanishing as she slowly approached him.
Sam gave no response.
He just kept staring blankly at the rushing river, his eyes hollow and unblinking.
Without another word, Alice quietly sat down beside him.
Without pressing for answers, she simply turned her gaze toward the water, placing herself beside him in the deafening silence.
She looked down at his hands, noticing the dark splatters of blood staining his skin.
Without a word, she reached out and gently took his hands in hers, lowering them into the cool, flowing river to wash them clean.
As the crimson water disappeared into the current, she looked up at him.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” she said softly.
He couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes as a choked sob escaped his throat.
He felt entirely hollowed out and desperately ashamed that Alice had to see him in such a broken state.
“It felt horrible,” he choked out, his voice trembling violently.
“So horrible. I never… I never want to do anything like that ever again.”
She pulled him tightly into an embrace, wrapping her arms around him without a second thought.
A gentle, comforting warmth radiated from her body, seeping into his skin and driving away the cold dread that had consumed him.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered into his shoulder, her voice thick with genuine guilt.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you…”
No more words were spoken.
They simply sat together in the quiet sanctuary of the riverbank, letting the minutes drift by.
Much as she wanted to let him stay here for as long as he needed, Alice knew they couldn’t afford to remain by the river forever.
“I know this is the last thing you want to hear right now,” she said softly, gently releasing her embrace and looking him in the eyes.
“But we need to keep moving if we want to survive this game.”
Sam took a shaky breath, wiping the remaining tears from his face with the back of his hand.
“You’re right…” he murmured, his voice low but resolved.
He took a slow breath before rising to his feet and surveying the area around them.
“Actually, I don’t think we should leave just yet,” Sam said, gesturing toward the landscape.
“We have direct access to fresh water right here, and the cave provides perfect shelter.”
“That’s true,” Alice agreed, though a familiar rumble in her stomach cut her off.
“I passed through a forest with white trees not too long ago,” Sam suggested, stretching his back.
“There’s a chance we could find something there.”
“Um…” Alice winced, rubbing the back of her neck as she avoided his eyes.
“Yeah, about that… that may not be a viable option anymore.”
Before Sam could even ask why, a thick scent of smoke washed over the riverbank.
He turned his head toward the horizon, his jaw slowly dropping.
There it was.
The white forest was completely engulfed in roaring orange flames, slowly transforming the lush canopy into a blackened, ash-choked wasteland.
“I guess we can try looking elsewhere then…” Sam said slowly, his blank stare shifting entirely to Alice.
She gave an awkward, guilty laugh and a helpless shrug.
Sam let out a heavy sigh, running a hand over his face.
“But… could you help me with something else first?”
“What is it?” Alice asked, slightly tilting her head in curiosity.
He headed toward the cave entrance, Alice following close behind.
As they stepped past the threshold and into the gloom, Sam pulled out his phone, clicking on the flashlight feature.
The harsh white beam cut through the shadows, reflecting off the damp stone walls.
The deeper they ventured into the cavern, the more the thick, metallic scent of blood hung in the cool air.
Then the flashlight caught something.
The cold, unmoving body of the dead elf girl on the cave floor.
“Who’s this?” Alice asked, her tone dropping into a quiet seriousness as she stared down at the body.
“I don’t know,” Sam said, a deep frown carving into his face.
“What do you want to do with her?”
Sam stared silently at the flashlight beam illuminating the body.
“Even though she tried to kill me… I’d like to at least bury her. I don’t blame her for what she did. I blame this wretched game.”
Without a single word of protest, Alice walked over to the body.
She effortlessly lifted the fallen player off the cold stone floor and hoisted her onto her shoulders.
Together, they retraced their steps back toward the light.
The moment Alice stepped outside the cave, the brilliant midday sun glared down on her, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut.
When her vision finally recovered, she noticed Sam was already a few yards away, using his hands to dig into the dirt.
She gently laid the body down before kneeling beside Sam and silently helping him dig. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Once the grave was deep enough, they carefully lowered the body into the grave before covering it with the earth they had dug, gently patting down the fresh soil.
For a few long, quiet minutes, they simply stood together, staring down at the unmarked mound.
A sombre silence hung over them before they finally turned away, leaving the past behind as they set out along the riverbank in search of a food source.
As they walked, neither of them spoke.
A few times, Alice opened her mouth to speak, only to bite her lip again, deciding that whatever chaotic thought had popped into her head could probably wait.
Splash!
She froze.
Something had broken the surface of the river.
Her eyes locked onto the rippling water as her stomach let out an expectant growl.
Was it food?
There was only one way to find out.
“What are you doing?!” Sam exclaimed, his eyes widening as Alice launched herself off the bank and splashed straight into the rushing river.
Ignoring him entirely, she waded into the current and dropped into a wide, focused stance, her fingers bent like claws.
She tracked a shadow beneath the surface, waited a beat, and then violently slammed both hands into the water.
SPLASH!
Her hands suddenly clamped onto something powerful beneath the surface.
The river erupted into a frenzy of white foam as whatever she had caught began fiercely thrashing, trying to tear itself out of her iron grip.
“I got it!” she cheered triumphantly, flashing Sam a grin.
But that split-second distraction was all the creature needed.
The moment she lowered her guard, the thrashing beast yanked downward with terrifying force.
With a violent splash, Alice was ripped off her feet and dragged beneath the churning water.
“Alice!” Sam cried out.
“Are you okay?!”
Panic surging through him, he bolted toward the riverbank, kicking off the ground as he prepared to plunge into the rushing current after her.
However, before his feet could even leave the edge, the river erupted.
Alice burst through the surface, gasping for air as she hoisted something enormous high above her head—a glittering fish almost as tall as she was.
“Looks like we’ll be having fish for lunch!” she beamed, completely oblivious to the heart attack she had just given him.
Sam let out a sudden, breathless laugh.
The tight knot of anxiety in his chest finally began to loosen.
Although he hadn’t fully recovered from the horrors of the day, looking at her, he felt the first flicker of warmth return to his soul.
Ever so slowly, he was starting to feel better.