Capítulo 23: THIRD TRIAL: SACRIFICE III

GROWLS*

The moment the monster heard David's scream as he rolled down the tunnel, it appeared immediately and began feasting on his flesh. It ripped out David's leg with its sharp teeth, causing him to bleed profusely.

The players couldn't help but remain silent as they watched the monster drag David away with its teeth, David screaming for help and blood gushing from the bites.

Soon, the sounds of David and the monster faded away, and it seemed like the monster had taken David to an enclosed area in order to properly feast on its dinner.

"Why the hell did you push him, you motherfucker!" Yelled Florence as she stood in front of Lionel, giving him a hard slap on his cheeks, even though he was wearing a mask.

"You all didn't say anything when he was trying to put Axe to death by telling him to use his shadow movement skill to continue searching for the tunnel out of the cave, even though he knew that it failed the first time he tried and he is still busy trying to figure out what went wrong in the first attempt."

Axel's eyes widened as he heard Lionel call him by his nickname "Axe." He fixed his gaze on him with eyes full of suspicion. He knew he didn't tell him about his nickname, so how come he knew about it? He thought to himself as he remained mute.

"We should push him down the tunnel too," yelled Florence, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"We're not meant to sacrifice one another, even though this is a deadly game. We shouldn't sacrifice one another just because we want to live," said Ave, anger evident in her tone and eyes as she glared at Lionel. "We wouldn't stoop so low to your level to push you down the tunnel just as you did to David."

"We should push him down, Ave. He's a murderer. He killed our comrade, so why should we spare him?" said Florence as she walked up to Ave and stood beside her, curiously waiting for an answer.

"Pushing him down the tunnel wouldn't bring David back to us. We would also be murderers if we did the same thing he did," said Ave, placing her hands on Florence's shoulder. "David is gone. Let's think of how we can get out of this trial and then get revenge on him in an honorable way."

"Right! David is my boy, so I must take revenge for him," said Logan with a serious and cold tone. "You're a dead man. You better pray you die in this trial than survive, because if you do, I'll eventually end up killing you," he added with a hateful glare at Lionel.

"Since the monster is away for now, I'll go get Livi and Rosa using my shadow movement skill. They both need to be here if we're going to make any plan to escape," Axel said, although his gaze remained fixed on Lionel. "I'll be right back," he added, finally shifting his gaze from Lionel to the other players before calling the skill in his mind and vanishing.

"Hey! You both should follow me. I've found the other participants, " said Axel, still in his invisible form, his voice startling the two ladies who only heard a voice but couldn't see the person before them but they were soon relieved after identifying it fo be Axel's voice.

"Did you find the tunnel which leads outside the cave too?" Livi asked, with a worried look, curiously waiting for Axel's response.

"No! Hurry up! Let's just get out of here before the monster returns. I'll lead you both with stones because I don't want to stop this spell for now since I'm using my second chance, or better still I'll direct you with my words, with the use of left or right," said Axel, as he let out a heavy sigh. "Are we clear?" He asked.

"Yes! Let's go," replied Rosa and Livi in unison as they both jumped down from the tunnel, following the invisible Axel. They used the words "right" or "left" and sometimes understood him through stones thrown by him.

"Now that we're all together, what's the way forward out of this cave?" Florence asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I found a tunnel with a bit of light. The monster arrived just in time when I was about to explore it, and that was when I lost my shadow movement skill. So I'm sure that's the exit out of this cave," Axel said firmly.

"Now that you've used your shadow movement skill to save those two," Lionel said, pointing his fingers at Livi and Rosa before withdrawing them and folding his arms. "Are we going to face the monster now? It seems like the monster doesn't have our attention at the moment, so we can use this opportunity to start walking towards that tunnel."

"We have to," Axel groaned. "I didn't realize there was a time limit for using the shadow skill movement. I thought you just had to command it in your mind. I guess that's what happened with the first attempt too. I must have reached the time limit, which is why the monster discovered me."

"The monster already knows we're here, I'm sure of that. And when it's finished eating David, it will come back for us. So let's start moving before that happens," Lionel said, as the players let out a heavy sigh and finally nodded in agreement.

The eight players quickly followed Axel in a straight line out of the tunnel, reaching the entrance that Axel claimed was the exit. Suddenly,they heard the loud growls of the monster, causing them to cover their ears. When they turned to look, they saw the fierce monster with its red glowing eyes, feeling the heat on their skin. "We're doomed!" exclaimed Rosa, trembling in fear at the ugly creature standing just a mile away from them.

Listen up! Some of us need to hold back the monster while the rest continue down the tunnel. Those holding it back will catch up with you," Axel said with a determined look. "Rosa, Livi, Florence, and Ave, you guys keep moving. The guys will handle the monster."

"What? Fight the monster with what?" Logan asked, looking scared. "We don't have any weapons."

"We still have our guns, don't we? Use them," Lionel said, pulling out his gun, followed by Axel and then Logan.

Meanwhile, the four women had begun walking down the tunnels. They couldn't help but keep looking back to see if the guys were already coming.

"I guess we would be leaving without them," said Rosa with a dejected face. "I hope they make it."

Ave was stunned by the glowing fungi on the walls, which kept on shining brightly. "Where have I seen something like this?" she thought to herself, and soon her eyes widened with excitement. "Let's head back," she said, as she began running all the way back to the cave, with the other ladies running behind her.

The four women met Axel and the other two guys still fighting with the monster, even though they were already heavily injured. They still kept on fighting and firing their guns intensively.

Suddenly, Ave screamed, "Aim for the fungi!" The players looked at each other with confusion but soon began picking up rocks and breaking the fungi as Ave repeated the sentence continuosly. The fungi exploded into sparks, filling the tunnel with a bright, blinding light. The monster howled in pain and tried to flee, but it was too late. The players continued striking the fungi, and the light grew brighter. The monster screamed and writhed in agony before bursting into flames. The tunnel filled with smoke and ash, making it difficult for the players to breathe.

As the smoke cleared, the players saw that the monster was gone, and the tunnel was quiet again. Exhausted and injured, they helped each other to their feet and slowly made their way out of the tunnel. When they emerged, they found themselves back on the express road of Canada.

"How did you know that those fungi could kill the monster?" Livi asked Ave with a curious gaze.

"I read about the glowing fungi in an ancient book of lore. I remembered that the book said the fungi were deadly to monsters, so I took a chance by using them to fight the beast. We're lucky that the plan worked, and I'm grateful that we escaped that dark and dangerous tunnel."

The players' discussion was abruptly interrupted by a loud bang and a groan of pain, leaving them speechless.