There was blood on Adam’s pants, but it could also just be dirt. It was hard to tell since everything was covered in soot and ash. The medic looked at Adam’s hand, only to see him holding a piece of bone.
"I think Derek saw this," Adam sighed, his breaths now much steadier. The surrounding scavengers looked at the piece of bone and exchanged glances before collectively shaking their heads at their colleague, the one responsible for sending them all into a panic.
"Man, stop drinking too much fucking coffee. Get some sleep."
"You’re not even thinking straight, and you want to be summoned to the Game? You’re even crazier than Adam. We don’t need two psychos in this team."
"What the..." The scavenger who bumped into Adam stuttered as he stared at Adam’s thighs. He was sure that he wasn’t just seeing things, the crowbar was truly poking out of his flesh from one end to the other—and yet right now, there was nothing, "...I could swear that there was something there!"
"Aight, aight! I think we all just need to chill an’ get back to work tomorrow." The old man who told Adam to put his mask back on earlier clapped his hands.
"But Boss, we barely got anything today!"
"This isn’t even enough to buy me some booze, Boss!"
"Shut the hell up an’ get yo’ ass back to the bus! Now! I’ma try to snag us a permit on the West Lane!" The old man, who turned out to be the leader of the scavenger party, pushed the ones complaining away by force. "Bus. Now! I ain’t tryna push my luck an’ have a leak pop up, summonin’ all them monsters up on our business. I ain’t gonna be no monster food. You hear me, son!?"
Hearing the rising temper in his voice, the scavengers could do nothing but pack up and obey. Their backs were hunched as they returned to the bus. Some of them, however, were still prodding the ground with their sticks, hoping to get lucky.
Unfortunately for all of them, there truly was barely anything in the area they covered and th,e disappointment on their faces could be seen as soon as they removed their masks while on the bus.
"Fuck... I think I inhaled too much of your mama, Derek. Maybe you sniffed some of that too that’s why you’re seeing things." One of the scavengers joked while rubbing his nose. Even with the mask on, all of their faces were still covered in gray.
"Fuck you," the scavenger who bumped into Adam, Derek, laughed while wiping his face, "I swear, though. I really thought the schizo’s done for."
"I wonder how your mother feels now that she’s inside all of us." Another scavenger joined in. Their bodies all swayed to one side as the bus started to move.
"Hey. That’s enough. Let Derek’s ol’ lady rest in peace. What the fuck, man." The leader of the scavenger team smirked while shaking his head. He then turned to the scavenger to seated to his left, who was completely covered in clothing from head to toe,
"You know? It’s true. Derek’s mama got summoned to fight and ended up dyin’. But from what Derek been sayin’, she was a grade A bitch—used to beat on him when he was little."
"O...Oh." The scavenger didn’t know what to say. He tried to laugh, but Derek glared at him.
"Hold up. What yo’ name is again? Today was your first day, right?"
"My name’s Han...Hans, Mr. Jefferson." The newbie lowered his hat as he spoke.
"Hanhans? The fuck kinda name is that? And why you wearing so many clothes? Ain’t you hot?" The leader, Jefferson, raised an eyebrow at the newbie, "Anyway, if you got any questions, just holla at me, not one of these clowns. So, got any questions?"
"Oh... thank you." Hans nodded before his eyes landed on Adam, whose face was still covered in soot and ash, "Then... can I ask why everyone keeps calling him a schizo?"
"Oh. Pfft. Adam?" Jefferson waved his hand, "Ain’t no need to trip ’bout him, he harmless. The boy just likes talkin’ to himself an’ shit. But he’s a good boy. One, he straight up dropped some treasure next to Gab so he could find it, tryna get some extra bread for that new baby of his. Adam helped him secretly, thought ain’t nobody gon’ notice—but I saw that shit."
"He... did that?" Hans’s eyes widened.
"Damn right, he did. He just... a l’il loose in the head, but who ain’t? Never hurt no one. Ain’t seen the boy smile even once, though. You’ll get used to it—we all good people ’round here, even though... you know."
"Except Derek’s mama."
"Man. Fuck you, guys."
The sour mood instantly switched as the team laughed with each other at the expense of Derek and his deceased mother. The laughter did not stay for long, however, as the scavengers found themselves dead asleep not even a minute later.
The only ones that were awake were the driver and Adam. Adam still kept to himself, his bright green eyes slowly glimmering as they left the desert of ash. He rested his head on the window, looking at the sky and the ruined buildings around him. He remained like that for hours, until they reached the nearest city, and the ruined buildings became lively, the ground once again became paved, and the people walked the streets.
Talking. Smiling. Laughing as if death weren’t just by their doorstep.
And the gray sky that reflected in Adam’s green eyes was replaced by tabloids, billboards, and colorful giant screens plastered on the tall buildings, all of them showing the Heroes
20 years ago, when all of this first started, there were no Heroes at all. Everyone was equal—Creeps, as they learned to be called since it was already a popular term from a video game that was eerily similar to the apocalyptic war.
But when one side won and the other was burnt into ashes, the victors were gifted the reward of strength. They were given Points for each person they murdered, and those points can be used to buy strength, in the literal sense.
Just like... a game.
And for the first time in humanity’s history, the common people could buy power.
Those who had participated in the Game before were more likely to be summoned again. If their side wins, they gain even more power. And then if they win again, and then again—if they managed to survive until they have gained enough power, they will be reborn into Heroes by the Game.
Heroes are immortal inside the Game. They respawn, over and over again. Only six of them are allowed on each side. And even if their side loses, they will not be burned to death, no.
Only the Creeps are killed.
And after 20 years, there were now at least twenty thousand documented Heroes. There would have been a lot more, but human nature caused them to kill each other outside the Game. Some even assassinate creeps when they are about to become Heroes due to... illegal betting issues.
The strongest and most popular ones of them have become akin to celebrities. No, they were treated as idols—they practically ruled the world now.
They are in the government, or perhaps it would be better to say that they are the government.
They weren’t truly Heroes in the literal sense; that was just what the world learned to call them—once again, an influence from the same video game.
The people used drones to watch the battlefield, hovering above and around the dome.
They cheered, they mourned, and they cheered again.
The world was dead, and humanity had turned it into entertainment.
Some dreamt of being summoned by the Administrators to join the Game, while most dread it. Adam... Adam was definitely the latter.
There was so much pain in the game, to the point that he avoided watching it like it was the plague.
Because Adam... Adam knew pain more than most people.
I don’t want to get hurt. Never again. Never.