"Huh huh huh" My breath was short, the sprint I performed was probably I''ll advised in this kind of station. You don''t want to be tired right before a shoot out. I checked my gun one last time before I walked out into the storm of lead eating away at the buildings around. Alada and the other girl have already engaged with each other within the 3min it required for me to arrive on the scene.


    But...just wow the destruction they have produced in that time is just ridiculous. I knew that Alada was using special explosive ammo but the other girl has some neat gear as well. Just a while ago she used a grenade launcher that took out the sidewall of a whole building. But it looks like she has limited ammo because she only used it once. I rushed over because I was fairly positive party girl was going to lose this fight but now I''m not so sure she seems to be holding her own. Although she is being slowly pushed back Alada is steadily getting closer to her. Now I have to figure out how to step in without getting killed.


    Then and there I decide to load stun rounds into my gun I only have one clip so I need to make them count. I don''t really want to kill Alada per se but I do want to stop this fight. So should I shoot both of them or just Alada...... whatever I''ll figure it out. There is no way I''m approaching this fight so I run along the back alley parallel to the main road up some emergency escape stairs and to the roof of the tallest three-story shop in the area. I can hear their fighting constantly as I set up a firing position the further away from that chaos the better. I crawl up to the edge of the roof on my belly secure the rifle into my shoulder and scope them out.


    By this point, they have almost entered within CQC( Close quarters Combat) range of each other they exchanging shots over the same few low walls and fences. All the while closing in on each other I watch as Alada runs out off ammo throws down her gun and switches to a plasma edge short sword. While the other girl switches to a pistol and knife now only a single stone wall separates them from each other. This puts them both right into my crosshairs how convenient, I rest my finger on the trigger ready to shoot ether one. I line up Alada she is obviously the bigger threat they are within 100 meters of me so I adjust my gun settings to default, and pull the trigger.


    "Bang" through my scope I watch as she takes it to the chest spasms and collapses. Switching targets to the other girl I see as confusion then dread flashes on her face and she tries to find cover from the unseen threat. But I don''t give her the chance "Bang" the round connects right in her back she also proceeds to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut falling face-first into the dirt. Mission accomplished I backtrack and head over to recover them.


    POV: Cion


    " Bam bam bam" Man this girl is nimble, she keeps avoiding my shots all the while getting closer, man that''s frustrating. I duck as she returns fire decimating my cover with her blasted explosive ammo. I pull back slowly to the building behind me time to take out the big girl. I reach for the gun on my back the Glade Mk 400.3 grenade launcher and load a high spread round "Dodge this" "Poop" the grenade sails through the air bounces of a trash can and impacts the wall next to it.


    "Booooom" "Hahaha, take that" the wall fragments and collapses dust permeating the air. "Crackle clack clack" "Whoa" I vault over a stone wall barely dodging the return fire. "Darn it I was sure I got her that time." I blind fire over the stone wall trying to stop her advance. "Click click" I look down at my gun...I ran out of ammo. How did I waste 150 rounds that fast at least I have a backup. I hear feet running up on my position so I pull my pistol and fire over the wall. I see as Alada dives for the cover of a wall within 10ft of me, sword in hand so she ran out as well. So now it''s down to CQC skills and I think she has the advantage in that.


    I draw my combat knife in my other hand silence permeates the air as we both wait for the others next move. "Bang" I hear a distant shoot to my right and clacking sound of a bullet passing by "sezzzttt" I look up at Alada who is twitching. "Oh no," I realize just then that she got sniped and that I''m for sure in their sights as well. I turn and run for the entrance of a doughnut shop but I never make it all I hear is a clack. Then the pain hits my back knocking the wind out my lungs as electricity attacks my nerves and muscles stiffening and numbing them. I lose control of my body I watch helplessly as I fall face first towards the ground.


    While twitching and blacking out I think whoever that was got us good I just wonder why they stunned us instead of caping us. I fade out wondering who could have done it.


    POV: Asa


    A few hours later.


    I managed to cuff and drag the two unconscious girls back to the mansion. It took a while but I got it done right now I have them locked up in a room on the second floor. With each one tied to a metal chair opposite of each other and on opposite sides of the room. Just in case they try and attack each other, I also installed a camera in there so I could watch them and react if anything changes.


    Now I''m just cleaning and maintaining my equipment while watching the cameras and drone feeds. Oh and I removed all the sharp objects from there person so they can''t break free on me, can''t have that now, can we. Well on the bright side I no longer need to worry about any other contestants in the area at least for a while Alada managed to clear out this whole town. In a little over 30min or so, man if the other top 4 are like her than I''m going to have a problem fighting them.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Hum" on the display I see my guest starting to move a minute or so passes and they awake. They slowly rouse look around notice each other then the party girl whose name I still don''t know starts an argument with Alada. The funny thing is that she completely ignores her and continues to inspect her surroundings. Eventually finding my camera and then just stares at it, the other girl catches on and also looks at it.


    "Well guess I should go and greet the guest." Linking the live feed to my helmet display I proceed to the makeshift jail. They are now conversating with each other man I should have installed sound in there. It seems they are trying to break their restraints now but realize they are without the tools to do so. And the metal chairs and extra-thick zip ties make it that much more secure from them breaking free in any easy fashion. I slowly make my way there all the while watching this amusing interaction.


    A minute later I''m in the linking hall and there not any closer to getting free. A few seconds from the door and they seem to have heard my approach, so they stop their suspicious movements and stare at the entrance. It''s funny I can totally see them so why do they act innocent now. Deciding I''ve seen enough I walk in and turn off the video feed or I''ll be seeing double. I see the shock on there faces when I come in I assume I was not on the list of people they expected to be there captor.


    I speak first to the party girl with a smile on my face "Hey partner that alliance still valid?". She''s doing the classic open and close mouth thing where you''re speechless. "Wah hu... IT WAS YOU you are the one who bloody stunned me. You couldn''t I don''t know have just said hi Cion glad I found you lets team up or something." She went irate so I move on to Alada " Hi Alada glad you could join me on this lovely afternoon."


    She continues to look at me without saying anything but I can tell she is just trying to understand the situation. "Hi....so why did you not eliminate me, there must be a reason you kept me around obviously you have an accord with Cion but I do not."


    "Well I have not fully decided what to do with you but I''m sure there is an advantage to gain somewhere in this situation. What are you willing to give or offer that may change my mind?" Her brows and nose scrunched up slightly but her face stayed mostly neutral. I''ll leave her to think about it and I turn back to Cion whose name I finally got. I wonder why we never introduced our selves earlier?


    Her gaze is intense and pouty she seems mad I ignored her. I chuckle " Don''t get all sulky it was my bad, I did not want to risk you shooting me in the face we are after all newly acquainted. Besides I only used stun rounds I know they hurt but at least you blacked out fast." Her glare does not reduce " That''s easy for you to say have you ever be hit with one?"


    My focus drifts for a second as I remember my days in basic training and a slight shiver hits my spine. " As a matter a fact I do it''s not pleasant that''s for sure." "Then you know my pain and why I''m mad. Now untie me so we can talk properly."


    "Well about that I''m not going to do that till I''m sure you won''t shoot me in the face when I release you after all you don''t really know me. So is there a way to reduce my worries."


    With a shocked and offended face "I''m hurt after we bonded and shared answers and you still don''t trust me. We even agreed to work together if we meet up in this test I don''t understand."


    "That''s the thing we are in a test about elimination and point acquisition you acquire a point by eliminating me and reducing your competition. You don''t even have to do it now you could wait till the end then screw me over with around to the back of my head."


    Her brows come together and her eyes narrow but she loosens up and her face relaxes shortly after I stop speaking. " I would not do that you have shown too much potential, intelligence, and goodwill. The benefit of one point would not match my gains if we teamed up and made it to the top 10. I would then have a reliable Allie in the next round and maybe after this test, we could still work together." She looks up at me with a glimmer in her eyes like shes looking at fine gems. "I have no way for you to trust me completely but I can designate you as a friend in the system and that will prevent at least my first hostile action from damaging you.


    I stare her in the eyes looking for any deception but I find nothing that can refute her words. "Ok we can give it a try, just don''t undermine me and we will get along well. Oh and don''t try to kill Alada here we are still in negotiations."


    "Tch...fine I''ll play nice for now but this girl is more sly than you think don''t trust her at face value." And with that, she designated me as friendly and I cut her loose. She was rubbing her wrist but she kept to her word she just sat there and waited for my interaction with Alada to resume.


    At this point, I turned back around to continue my other conversation. Alada seems to have been waiting for me to approach her but her focus was on my other conversation. So when I turned to her, she was gazing at me and past me at the same time as our interaction hit a memory of some sort. "So have you come up with an offer?"


    ".....Yes, I propose a truce for this and the next round we don''t try to fight each other if we can help it and we go our separate ways. Of course, you can''t completely trust me so I''ll also throw in setting you as a friendly in my settings so the first attack I make on you is negated."


    "That is a reasonable offer but how about we extend that to reality as well. I know that family competition is fierce so it can''t hurt to not have one more person willing to be natural or friendly right?" She seems to think about it for a while but nods her head in the end.


    "Yea ok we can do that, as people from the same generation it never hurts to have more people not working against you. I can''t promise I will never work against you but I won''t try to sabotage you ether deal." I look her in the eyes for a few seconds "Deal". " Now let''s get to it do those settings and you can be on your way. I will blindfold you and drop you and then drop you off out of my territory ok."


    "Is the blindfold really necessary?" Alada committed. Yes, it is can''t have you scouting out my stuff on your way out no matter what we are still in the honeymoon period of this relationship it takes time to build trust."


    "Fine just get on with it I got people to eliminate and rivals to challenge." And so continue I did, she was blindfolded and cut from the chair but I kept her zip ties on. I and Cion marched her halfway across town, on the way I took all the twists and turns I could, and at one point I even twirled her around in a circle a few times just to throw her off. When we got to the central plaza I cut her ties and me and Cion left in a hurry. By the time she got the blindfold off we were out of sight and sneaking back to the mansion.