This is exactly just like 'Tanic!

[DerArknight]

Art was lunched over his tablet, staring at the screen.

((P021 Arthur "Art" Miles - Start))

The weather could have been better for a drawing session, but he didn't mind. Being reminded of his surrounding felt refreshing compared to the silent rooms he usually drew his digital art in.

His stylus swiped over the touchscreen in a slightly faster manner than usual. Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was because he had left out the drafting process and was going right to creating the actual picture.

It was barely worth noticing. His sharp and skilled mind had the whole picture. It was just a matter of transporting it on the screen. His progress was satisfying.

In this world, everyone had a role. Art knew his.

[Sh4dE]

Motherfuckers took their DNA.

((P10 Thaddäus Wiegand - Start))

Motherfuckers took their DNA and told the world they died in an accident. Thaddäus was upset. He was a citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany. This had to be a mistake. The ambassy would give him immunity, right? Maybe the runners of the experiment didn't realize this.

Maybe there was a diplomatic way to get out of this for legal reasons.

But fuck, none of this was legal. Harrison got fucking rekted.

What the fuck was that thing anyway? Chimera? Fuck. This felt like a trip, but it felt too real to be a trip. His senses were too clear, he hadn't been hallucinating. Janus-Hayes really did that. On one hand it was impressive, on the other hand it he couldn't have been more upset at them.

"Ah, scheiße, diesen Hurensöhne," he muttered to himself. He walked with his katana in hand, until his eyes caught the first living thing he had seen since waking up.

Well, at least it was human and not like a beast-monster thing.

"Hey. You."

[DerArknight]

Art threw a quick look at the disturbance before returning to his work.

He also gave an annoyed-sounding "Good morning."

[Sh4dE]

Wow...he really was just ignoring him, and continued playing with his tablet.

Eye contact, anyone? Man these kids these days were just hanging onto their electronic devices, weren't they? Well, to be fair, Thaddäus was probably only a bit older than him, but he wasn't on the phone all the time. But maybe he'd just become a boomer.

"Well. Uh, good morning to you, too."

Thaddäus didn't think this was the right time for small talk. He needed to act. The dude in front of him, whose name he didn't know, looked like he'd work out quite regularly, which made him a good potential ally. He knew only one of them could come out of this alive, but in order to fight the monsters, they'd need to stick together. Thaddäus didn't think he would manage to defeat something like Chimera alone with his katana. Teaming up seemed to be the smartest thing to do, at least for the start. And well, it wouldn't hurt if the dude in front of him would be able to protect Thaddäus from people who could be hostile, too. He really should ask for his name, so he wouldn't have to refer him to as dude in front of him in his head.

"My name's Thaddäus Wiegand. I study economics. What's your name?"

[DerArknight]

There was a problem.

One of his earlier lines was a little to curved, giving the figure an uncanny vibe. Art would have to redo this part of the picture.

He sighed.

"Art Miles, studying digital art, as you can see."

[Sh4dE]

Okay, so that kid's name was Miles, and he was like an artsy person so he called himself "Art Miles". Cool. Seriously, enough of the small talk, they had to strategize...but...

It really didn't look like the guy wanted to be disturbed from his...drawing. Why was he acting so weird, focusing on the tablet instead of talking the conversation? Hello! Thaddäus was here! He has a katana and they are in a death game! Thad coughed, in an attempt to catch his attention.

"Aren't you concerned about the...situation?"

[DerArknight]

It was only then that Art lowered his tablet and fully turned in Thad's direction. When he spoke, his face showed a surprised, if not even somewhat worried expression.

"Hold on. You actually believe this whole bullshit about Survival of the Fittest?"

[Sh4dE]

Miles spoke with such confidence that Thad got curious as to what he meant. Survival of the Fittest? Bullshit?

"What? W-what do you mean?"

[DerArknight]

After giving a sigh, as if explaining something so simple was beneath him, Art went on to extrapolate.

"Obviously, this whole situation is just some sort of social experiment. Just think about it.

"Firstly, the money and effort needed to actually set up a so-called Killing Game and fake our deaths would be enormous. And for what? There could have been no more than four dozen people attending the briefing. That is way too small of a size to get any clear results.

"Secondly, why not use prisoners again, who would be easier to get and hide? Because one single person tried to rebel during their alleged first run? And don't even get me started on how difficult it would be to fake two weeks of internet posts.

"Thirdly, the dude who got beat up at the briefing was obviously in on it. There are people out there desperate enough for money that they would be fine with getting beaten up for a quick buck.

"Fourthly, if they would do such a thing, Janus-Hayes wouldn't be stupid enough to do so on an island that everyone knows belongs to them.

"Fifthly, this monsterthingamajig was obviously CGI with a bit of practical effects sprinkled in. Did you see the Thing-Prequel from 2011? That one used a similar technology. If this thing was real, they would have given us a live demonstration instead of showing some footage. But it isn't, so they didn't.

"And lastly, if they wanted to test the fighting capacity of the Chimera, letting it out against civilians like us would be stupid since they could just hire mercenaries for more realistic combat tests."

Art shook his head. "It's almost funny how riddled with holes this story is.

"Trust me, in a few days we will all have to fill out boring questionnaires about how we felt at specific times and what our plan of action was. Until then, you can enjoy your vacation on snow island."

With that, Art once more concentrated on his tablet. He was still redoing his earlier mistake.

[Sh4dE]

Oh, well, okay. The guy Thad had considered a potential ally turned out to be nuts. There was nothing to gain from him.

"Mhm, yeah. I'm gonna go...exploring the island. You do...your thing. Bye."

Well, that was awkward. Thad was looking forward to find some company that wasn't this delusional.

[DerArknight]

As a way to wave goodbye, Art simply tipped his fedora.

[Sh4dE]

Well, that dude was fucked. Playing with his tablet, thinking this was fake. Yeah, he needed no ally like that.

Thaddäus turned around, still katana in hand, and walked away from Miles.

There were plenty of other people he could team up with. Thad wasn't too familiar with the others - most of the socialising he did was at the cruise ship. At first he had met a guy who had an interesting look, kinda badass looking guy with scars, and he stirred up a conversation with him. But it turned out he wasn't that badass at all - he was a vegetarian. Thad couldn't understand why anyone who had one of their five sense reduced would choose to not eat meat for what? Ethical reasons? Trend reasons? Either way, Luca was a pussy. Unbelievable what the young people of the world did today.

Then there were the girls he'd met at the bar. Maybe he'd stumble upon them. But most of the time he spent with Harrison, but he was dead. Still unbelievable. Kinda made him wish that Miles' conspiracy theory were true.

[DerArknight]

The moment he heard Thad turning around, the young man sitting on the tree stump went into action. With a motion he had done thousands of time before, Art put away the stylus and pressed the POWER-button on his tablet, sending it into sleeping mode. He laid it down on the snow.

Then he picked up the KS-23 that was sitting right next to him. It's weight was unfamiliar, but otherwise the situation felt no different from his many hours on the shooting range, or his weekends spend hunting wild game with his father.

Art's hands were calm as he pointed the shotgun at the back of his prey and pulled the trigger.

[Sh4dE]

The bullets entered his back, tearing into his lungs. Thad fell forward, dropped the katana. At first he couldn't feel below the point the bullets had hit his spine. Then, he couldn't feel anything at all.

Thaddäus Wiegand - Deceased

[DerArknight]

Recovering from the recoil, Art watched as Thad fell face-first into the snow, the new hole in his lower torso quickly painting the vicinity red. After a few seconds, the man stopped twitching.

Art felt no joy about the successful hunt, for it had been laughably easy. Barely worth the effort.

Yet it still had been necessary.

Sycamore told them that they would spent two weeks on this island, but his backpack only included food and water for one. Those of lesser intellect surely failed to realize it, but Art understood that the shortage of rations was a message. In order to survive the two weeks, one had to take from at least one other person or risk dying to hunger, thirst or a weaker condition.

Therefore, killing the first person he came across had been more than just a random act of murder. It netted him the second half of what he needed to make it to the end as well as a secondary weapon.

After laying down his shotgun, Art stepped forward to the fresh corpse to transfer his new belongings into his own backpack. A short inspection ended in disappointment, as the japanese sword turned out to be just a very convincing decoration. Maybe sufficient for a diversion, but little more. Whatever. He took it anyways alongside everything else he could need. Only the ugly hat, the flashlight (now without batteries) and the sleeping bag were left behind in the snow. Finally, Art grabbed Thad's right arm and inspected the PDA. The screen was pitch black and showed no reaction, confirming one of his theories.

Now that his resources were taken care of, he could focus on the actually important aspects of SOTF. Pickjing up his tablet and weapon, Art threw a look around to see if anyone was nearby - negative - and then set out in the dirtection of the town, his KS-23 reloaded and ready.

In this world, everyone had a role. Art knew his.

He was The Hunter.

((Arthur "Art" Miles continued elsewhere))