Prologue

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” my friend screamed as his forces were quickly overwhelmed before his base was overrun. A victory scream appeared on my screen as a smirk formed upon my face. “How the fuck did you get so many units so quickly?”

“It’s all about resource management,” I pointed out and checked the scoreboard. I was amongst the top ranked as usual. There were a handful of people better than me, and from their avatar’s names, I assumed they must be Korean or Chinese. Those guys or girls were hardcore real time strategy (RTS) players. They lived off their skills. As for me, I only played for fun and pleasure. I switch off my phone soon after and looked outside the window, seeing dozens of trees flew by.

“Man, where are we?” I asked. Lance, the buddy sitting next to me gave a shrug. His attention was glued to his phone, oblivious to the surroundings. I wondered if he was still in game or just checking up his Facebook or Instagram. Good thing we still have the internet.

After a couple of minutes, I gave a yawn and decided to take a nap. It might take a few more hours to reach our camping destination. Every year, the school switched locations to keep our anticipation up. This year was no difference. We were going to camp somewhere in the mountain.

I woke up when the bus came to a screeching halt. I looked out the window and found nothing but trees, indicating that we were not there yet, unless we were camping in the woods. I looked over my seat towards the front and found everyone did the same. At the front of the school bus, the driver was raising his hands as if someone was threating his life. I couldn’t see what was happening, but a few people in front could.

They were terrified.

“Alright, everyone off the bus,” someone outside screamed. I jerked and bumped into Lance when a fist hammered the window.

“Everyone stays calm,” miss Hargrave said. She was my English teacher. Beautiful blond hair masking pale skin. She wore large round glasses covering her almond eyes. She clapped her hands and helped the students off the bus. I was amongst the last couple of people to leave.

“What the fuck is going on,” my friend Lance asked. Outside were four people holding guns, pointing at us. One of them seemed to be familiar.

“Is that Luke?” I asked, wondering if this was a joke. Luke used to go to our high school until he was expelled for bringing knifes to class. He almost stabbed a teacher. Lance nodded but too frightful to say anything.

“Hey guys,” Luke spoke up and waved at everyone like we were all still his friends. We were – sort of – not really. “Glad you all could make it.”

“Mr Stance,” Mr Wellington said sternly. He was the teacher in charge of his camping trip. “I don’t know what this, but you better –

Bang!

What!? What!? What!? I didn’t see what just happened. My eyes landed on Mr Wellington’s body as blood pooled under his head. There was a hole at the centre of his forehead. My eyes followed the smoking trail towards a handgun that ended him. Where did that come from!?

“You’re not the boss of me,” Luke said and twirled the handgun in his hand playfully. That when the scream started. It was Sarah. She was shut up by a powerful backhand slap.

“Stop it,” miss Hargrave called out and came to the girl’s aid while other girls began to whimpered. I look to my side and found Lance had taken a few steps back. I apparently did the same. I wanted to run, to run for my life, but they had guns. They could shoot me down with ease.

“Boss, is this bitch needed? There’s no ring on her.”

Luke – the boss apparently – only whistled and looked miss Hargrave up and down. “Say, are you a virgin?”

“What?” Miss Hargrave let out a puzzling look. “How dare –

Bang!

Sparks flew as bullet ricochet off the side of the bus. Luke lowered his pistol and smiled. “Remember to…” he gestured a finger across his throat “… when you’re done. No loose end.”

“Sure thing, boss,” the man responded before dragging Miss Hargrave by the shoulder. “Come with me bitch. I will show you a good time.”

“Wait, where are you taking me!? Let me go! Please!” the poor woman tried to wrestle against her captor, but he was simply too strong. She was dragged into the bush to be –

“You bastard,” Mark shouted and jumped the nearest gunman. The other students followed suit and did the same. Before I realized what was happening, I was piling on top of the nearest gunman and tried to wrestle his gun from him. Lance – despite his fear – grabbed a rock and smashed the man’s head, allowing me to grab the assault rifle. I quickly pointed the gun at Luke and noticed two others were doing the same.

“Someone called the cops,” Mark said as he got off the ground panting. His face was bruised as he took on the gunman by himself while one of his buddy – George – grabbed the gun. Everyone who were able to pulled out their phone called the cop immediately. The girl spoke hastily and ineligibly to the operators on the other end. “And someone go help Miss Hargrave!”

“You guys should be more worry about yourself,” Luke responded as he twirled his handgun in his index finger, completely unwary of the change in situation. “Give the weapon back to my men and drop your phones before I murder the lots of you.”

“Fuck you!” Mark called out before a flying knife embedded into his throat.

“Mark! You bastard!” George pulled the trigger but somehow Luke got behind him. Holy fuck! How could he move that fast!? It was like he just teleported! A knife severed George’s spine from behind as a hand grabbed hold of the rifle and fired at Thomas. Thomas fired back, but only managed to hit George before he was riddled with bullets.

I immediately dropped my gun and raised my hands in surrender. “Wait! Wait!”

“Good choice,” Luke said as he was ready to shoot me. He then pulled the gun out of George’s hand and dropped the quarterback’s body onto the ground. “Now…”

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Three girls’ head exploded as Luke executed them in cold blood. My eyes widened as I realized what they had in common.

“Lance! Drop your phones!” I shouted at Lance before another couple of gunshots went off. A boy and girl died from their brain being scattered across the ground. My knees weakened as I watched the horrid scene. A teacher and seven students killed. Mark was still alive, gripping his throat as blood oozed between his fingers. He was on his knees, trying to stop the bleeding.

Luke crouched to his level before hammered the knife in without hesitation. “I never liked you. Just because you’re the school quarterback, you get all the girls?”

“W-why are you doing this…?” Linda sobbed.

“There is a reason, but you don’t need to know,” Luke said and tossed the rifle to one of his men. He then looked at the one near me, who had his head smashed by Lance. He was still alive despite the serious injury. “Seriously guys, please refrain yourself from killing my men. She will have my ass for this.”

She? Who was he talking about?

“Alright, everyone shut up and follow me. If anyone tries to run away,” Luke said and pointed the gun at the unconscious man’s head. He pulled the trigger as I flinched. “You will join him. Oh yeah, where’s that idiot? Go get him and kill the bitch.”

One of the men nodded and ran into the bush. There was a scream a moment later before two men returned.

“Fuck, I was getting to the good part, until you spilled her guts all over my dick,” the man growled before looking around and seeing his dead comrade. “The fuck happened?”

“He was weak,” Luke said flatly and gestured everyone to follow him.

“We’re going to be killed, aren’t we?” Lance asked and I nodded in agreement.

“Did you see how he moved?” I asked and recalled the scene a moment ago. One moment, Luke was standing acting, twirling his pistol. The next moment, he was behind George and stabbing the man through the back with a twelve-inch blades. Where did that blade comes from?

“No,” Lance responded.

“Exactly,” I said and tried to make sense of what happened.

“Alright, here we are,” Luke announced as he led us into an opening in the wood. We soon came to a cauldron with a woman draped in cloak looking over it. She had unearthly white hair and enchanting purple eyes. “Sup? I brought the sacrifices.”

Sacrifices? Before I could display my worry, Jerry bolted, bumping into several girls in the process. He didn’t make it more than a dozen steps before he was gun down.

“Idiot, as if you can get away,” Luke muttered as the woman with white hair only give a glance. She didn’t seem particular interested at all. She whispered something to Luke before heading off into the woods as Luke gave her a salute. “Alright, everyone gets in line.”

“Hey, what about us?” one of the armed men called out. “You promised us supernatural powers.”

“Right, right. Join the line,” Luke said.

Did I hear that right? Supernatural powers? What the fuck is going on? How did a simple camping trip become something like this?

Luke looked at us and snickered. “Yeah, you heard him right. I’m going to give you godlike power.”

“Bullshit,” I heard someone cursed before he screamed.

“Ah! Ah! You fucking crazy son of a bitch,” Ben shouted as he gripped his thigh. A knife, held by Luke pierced cleanly through his jean. Crimson colour began to displace the faded blue of the fabric. His expression was full of shock.

Again!? He teleported. Is that the power he was referring to? It was unreal!

“By the way, don’t think that you can go up against me,” Luke said and nudged the knife a bit deeper into the bleeding flesh. “I can slit all of your throat before you could even think of trying to off me.”

With that said, Luke returned to the side of the cauldron causing everyone to gasp. He definitely had some sort of teleporting power. No, if it was just teleporting then we should at least able to react to his attacks. Ben was as surprised as everyone. It wasn’t teleporting. Was it superspeed?

“Time stop,” Lance muttered weakly.

I looked at Lance who was staring at the ground. I followed his gaze and saw foot print leading back and forth from the cauldron. It stopped at each of us before returning the cauldron. The imprints on the dirt didn’t show a sign of someone running really fast. It was normally paced as if there was not a single care in the world.

“Time stop,” I muttered and sweated profusely. If Luke could actually stop time then his threat had some weights. I wouldn’t know I was dead before I was actually dead. Fuck! Good thing I didn’t try to shoot him.

“Alright, enough idling,” Luke called out and grabbed the wooden ladle. He dipped it into the bowl and scooped up a blood red liquid. There was something floating in it and it was moving. “So who’s first? Wendy?”

“Please don’t, Luke,” Wendy called out. “I will do anything.”

“Alright,” Luke said before spraying her brains onto the girl behind her. Leal screamed in shock and before she was killed, someone called out.

“I’ll do it!” I covered my mouth with wide eyes. Why did I do that?

“Alright, Erik, drink up,” Luke said and offered me the ladle. I looked at the bloody stew and noticed an eye was looking up at me. What is this shit!?

I closed my eyes and drank the soup. Imagine the worst thing you ever eaten, multiple that by a million. The moment the soup ran down my throat, I threw up and fainted.

“Ggggrrrrrr,” an animalistic growl echoed in my mind.

I snapped my eyes opened as the sun shone upon me. I pulled myself up and hold my stomach. All around me were burnt bodies. There were at least a dozen body. “W-what happened?”

“This is awesome,” Lance called out as I turned towards him. His body was wrapped in flames yet it wasn’t hurting him. “This is my power, Erik! My power!”

He was laughing manically. I had never seen Lance like this.

[Kill him and absorb his essence. Do it now!]

“What?” I uttered and looked around. The voice was everywhere and nowhere. It was inside my head. It was deep and ominous.

“You’ve heard it too right?” Lance asked as his flames swirled into a ball. It glowed fiercely like a mini sun in the palm of hands.

“What?” I uttered before dropping onto the ground. The fireball flew overhead and slammed into the tree behind him. The tree exploded into splitter, raining burning barks onto the earth. “Lance!”

“C’mon, use your power and fight,” Lance called out.

I looked at the charred body next to me. “Did you do this!?”

“Yup,” Lance said as flames around him swirling into orbs. “It was so easy… killing them and taking their energy.”

“You!” I growled. “How could you? They were our friends!”

“No, they aren’t,” Lance said as dozens of flaming orbs surged at me. “And neither are you.”

I couldn’t dodge. There was nothing I could do. My entire world turned dark as fiery orbs turned the area into an inferno. All I could heard was a madman drowning with power.