THE MOMENT
"I wasn't ready!" Marcus knew it was a useless complaint even as he replied to the mysterious voice. He'd just finished agreeing to the hunt when he was teleported to the warehouse. He assumed he'd have a more scheduled start; but, the giant red number 10 floating in the air counted down to nine. The other five participants, three women and two men, darted in five different directions.
"Fine..," he grumbled and picked a sixth direction. At least, he had a plan. The voice promised the last man standing gets to live. His best option was to help eliminate the competition. But first, he needed to gear up. the starting area was surrounded by hallways. Marcus hoped that he might find something if he picked a hallway the others didn't.
The warehouse was large and dim with crates, tarps, and more organized like a maze. The pamphlet, and the several forms he signed promised participants weapons and items to defend themselves. Along with the added bonus that the survivor got to keep anything they earned, along with a large cash prize. Marcus was desperate enough to bet his life for the cash prize alone.
[There are only five challengers left.] Giant text appeared in the air above the crates along with a chime to draw everyone's attention. The red glow of the letters looked sinister as it floated in the dim warehouse.
"Damnit...," Marcus picked up his pace and his head swiveled left and right even faster as he looked for something that might help him. But, he was thankful that the announcement did not reveal the killer. It meant his plan would work; and, possibly was already. He was sure he wouldn't be the only one to try and eliminate the others first. Then, he saw a ray of golden light piercing the darkness. A small spotlight shined on an ornate red box.
"Yes!" he rushed to the box and touched it to find the lid. But, it disintegrated into white powder as soon as he touched it. It left behind a transparent glass card with '#34' in red numbers on it. "What?" he touched it and a deep voice filled his head.
[El Soldado] Marcus felt strength and vitality course through him. He was getting close to 40 but he suddenly felt as fit as he did at 18. Unfortunately, the sensation was soon replaced by intense burning pain sliding across his throat. He had been so distracted that he didn't realize someone snuck up on him until it was too late.
But, it wasn't. The pain subsided after a moment and he still felt conscious.
"What the hell?" Marcus heard a man's voice behind him and felt his grip tighten to try again; his instincts kicked in. With a swift move and all his strength, he flipped the attacker over and slammed him onto the ground.
[There are only four challengers left.] The chime sounded and Marcus wondered if he killed the attacker. The impact was wet and there was more blood than he expected; he was much stronger now. He heard the stranger groan, then the chime sounded again.
[There are only three challengers left.] the word 'three' replaced the four in the text that was still in the air. Then it faded. Marcus reached up to his neck. His shirt and neck were covered with blood, but there was no wound.
"No way...," Marcus knelt to pick up the dead stranger's knife. He made a small cut on his finger out of curiosity, and he watched it close almost instantly. He tried again with a larger cut and it healed just as fast. "I'm gonna win!" he said. Not only would he win the cash prize; he was going to keep his newfound regeneration too.
[There are only two challengers left.] Marcus was suddenly glad that it was happening so fast. He just had to kill one more person and he would be the last man standing. He knew that whoever it was would not stand a chance against his new abilities.
"Hey, it's the 'I wasn't ready' guy," Marcus heard a chuckling voice as he explored the warehouse. He was startled into jumping; but, he remembered he had nothing to fear. He looked and saw the other blood-covered participant. It was the third man, and he smiled at Marcus as he held up a transparent card like the one he found.
"Sorry pal, but I'm winning this," he grinned. His card had a red #33 on it. As Marcus wondered what he could do, he realized he felt something crawling on him; lots of somethings. He looked down and found himself covered in spiders from the waist down. And, the swarm was moving up his body.
Marcus had faith that the spiders couldn't do any permanent damage. He charged forward with the knife ready. The stranger did not expect it and he was caught by surprise. Marcus aimed for the heart. Then, the spiders seemed to fall off of him when the chime sounded.
[There is one challenger left.] Marcus cheered.
"I WON!!!! I WON!!!! I'M RICH!!!!" He was jumping for joy when he noticed someone else appear. He realized it was probably the hunter coming to congratulate him. The hunter wore a black and gold costume with his face covered by a golden moon-shaped mask.
"With all that noise, you're really easy to find," the hunter said.
"So what?? I won! I'm the last man standing!" The hunter chuckled; Marcus stopped celebrating.
"You're the last challenger; but, I'm still the champion," the hunter said. His hands began to glow with blue energy.
"What?" Marcus took a step back. But, the hunter aimed his palms at him and the last thing Marcus saw was a flash of bright blue light. But, he felt intense, prolonged burning as he tried to heal through the plasma beam. Thankfully, that did not last long. Then, the chime filled the air.
[Winner: DarkMoon]