Page 71 of Make Me Hunt
Everyone will be given a smart bracelet that tracks how many participants are still alive. The game ends when the countdown is down to one. Every player you kill earns you an extra five hundred thousand dollars.
Additionally, there are the Observers. Anyone wearing white is an observer, and you’re not allowed to harm them in any way. Injuring an Observer results in immediate execution.
Next are the five Valiants.
You’ll recognize them by the red uniforms. They’ll remain in the game until they choose to withdraw. Each one wearing a number from one to five.
When a Valiant steps out, their number will be announced through the auxilium stations across the auxilium and displayed on your bracelets.
Attacking a Valiant after their withdrawal will result in instant death.
This year’s special edition includes bonus prizes for ending the Rats.
There’s a brief pause, and the camera cuts to another room, where a group of approximately forty men and women dressed in purple form a large circle. Each one has a guard stationed behind him. And I recognize every single one of them.
The camera starts spinning, and the voice continues the introduction.
As you can see, the Rats will be wearing purple. Each one of the Rats, as well as the players has a bounty on their head of five hundred thousand dollars. Multiply that with the sum of possible targets, ninety-four, and the bonus is beyond your wildest dream.
A sudden murmur ripples through the people standing in the circle. A scared expression on each one of their faces. I want that scared expression to be there. I want them to fucking burn—each one of them.
Each individual kill adds to your grand prize. The more you kill, the bigger your payout. IF you live.
The camera keeps circling the Rats, lingering on their faces. Every single one of them, an employee of this sanatorium. Every single one of them wronged me either through cruelty or total indifference to what they let happen to us. And from what I can tell, only two people are missing. The beast who abused me, and the woman who helped me escape. This isn’t a coincidence. The same way, this place isn’t a coincidence.
My mind starts spinning, with just one thought—this is all for me.
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve loved hunting down every single one of these monsters. But right now, I have a different goal.
The final participant in this game is… The Hunter.
The announcer stops for a moment, as the image cuts to someone new, starting at his boots and panning slowly up his godlike body.
I’d recognize that posture anywhere. Ares.
Aresisthe Hunter.
Black armor starts at his legs, covering his entire body. Jagged and brutal, just like the man wearing it. An image that sparks fear into every single person around me. I can see their eyes growing wide as every new muscle is revealed. And the fear reflected in them is unmistakable.
He wears that armor like it’s his second skin, and I’ve never seen him like this. This complete. This lethal.
But I know the real danger isn’t in the iron he wears around him, or in his weapons.
He is the real danger. The real weapon.
As the name suggests, he’ll hunt you down. You can attempt to kill him. He will definitely attempt to kill you. But the Hunter can’t win the grand prize. If the Hunter is still alive, alongside one contestant, that contestant will be declared the winner, and the game ends.
The image finally reaches his face, his dark eyes glinting with something devious while a solid black steel mask covers the lower part of his face. The damn thing is slightly worn at the edges, like it has seen war. The sharp lines follow the strong curve of his jaw, giving him a permanent scowl, making him look like a weapon instead of a man.
There are no excuses in this game. No turning back, and definitely no mercy.
Each one of you will be escorted to a separate room, where you will receive your weapons, and from where you can start the game when the signal sounds. The Rats will have a five-minute head start and can use any weapon taken from the contestants to defend themselves.
The guards will also wear white, like the observers, but with the logo SECURITY printed across their uniforms. You are not to interfere with them or harm them in any way. The penalty for any of these actions is immediate execution.
May the best ONE of you survive.
As soon as the announcement ends, a guard grabs my arm and leads me out of the room, and down the corridor until we almost reach its end.
