Saris took the lead this time, being the only one of the three of us who knew for sure which way southeast was. After about an hour, we got hungry and took out the pocketed food. It was fairly smushed but tasted fine. We hit the edge of the map shortly after our meal-on-the-go. The buildings became more scarce and we could see a church in the distance, where we were headed. Being back with Saris calmed my nerves a bit. I trusted him and his leadership. He knew how to be careful and what to do in stressful situations while keeping a cool head. He was a survivor and here, that's saying something.

I could see that the graveyard was not empty like it had been last time. There were a lot of people walking around and talking with each other. Most teams kept to themselves, but there were a few people that wandered and started conversations with others that were clearly not in their group. It felt odd considering that if they were outside of this graveyard, they'd be at each other's throats.

We turned towards the entrance to the graveyard where a plaque stuck out of the ground. The words 'Hangman's Cemetery' was engraved on the face of the smooth stone. Not far from the sign, I saw a head of wavy blue hair in the distance. It stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn't the dark blue that we had seen earlier from the girl partnered with Goliath. Instead, it was a vibrant, bright blue and I couldn't help but think that it was a huge disadvantage in this game. She would be too easily noticeable to surprise anyone in a fight.

"There she is!" Anne nearly shouted and dashed ahead of us, running to the rock walkway that led to the entrance of the graveyard.

At first, I reached out to grab her, afraid that she'd be attacked before she reached her destination but I was too slow. I looked to Saris, expecting him to stop her, but didn't seem concerned, so I let her go without really making the effort to catch up. Instead, I walked beside Saris the rest of the way and observed him as he walked. He was looking around in his usual manner, but he also seemed more relaxed than normal. Instead of making quick glances around, he turned his head slightly and looked at the scenery, taking it in, before moving his in head another direction. It was like he wanted to know what everyone was doing instead of just where they were.

We made it into the graveyard without any issues, despite the large number of people around. Almost as soon as we entered, I saw several people glance our way, but only briefly, returning to what they were doing. We simply became more faces in the graveyard. Anne came up, holding the blue-haired woman by the hand and guiding her to meet me.

"May, this is Xander. Xander, May," Anne announced.

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Yeah, same here," May agreed with a cheery smile. "I hear you've been looking after Anne. Thanks."

"Well, it's sort of a mutual thing. I keep her safe, she heals me. I bore her with video games, she bores me with gnomes. I give her fighting lessons, she gives me a children's watch."

"You love that watch and you know it," Anne said.

Ignoring her, I asked May, "Are you planning on joining us?"

"Yeah," May whispered, "just don't tell my team. They're a bunch of jerks. Speaking of," she turned to Anne, "We should probably get out of their sight until we have a plan."

"Alright," Anne looked around, "where's Saris?"

I scanned the cemetery. Where had he gone? "He was right here."

Anne shrugged, "We'll catch up with him later."

The two girls briskly walked towards an edge of the graveyard, further from where we had entered, peeking behind their backs, looking at the team that May was escaping from. Glancing that way too, I saw three men huddled together, talking quickly. Their body language suggested that they were arguing about something. I ignored them and kept looking around since it wasn't really any of my business. I noticed a few other groups of people that acted similarly to May's team and concluded that they probably didn't feel comfortable here, even though they knew it was a safe place. While they weren't hostile, they probably wouldn't be friendly either. Curious where Saris had gone, and tired of staring at people, I went around looking for him.

There were a lot of people just lying in the grass, resting. Some were asleep and I even heard one of them snoring. These were likely the long-term veterans of the game, feeling like they belonged here, among the dead, after being killed so many times. I nearly stepped on someone and quickly apologized, hoping he wouldn't attack me for not paying better attention.

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving me off. "Just be careful where you're stepping." Then he went back to dozing.

He didn't seem angry or anything and I was taken aback by how friendly his tone was. I knew that the graveyard was a safe zone, but it felt weird to be treated like a normal person when, if we had met somewhere else, he probably would have tried to kill me. Was this normal? Or did I just get lucky and step on the exception?

On my walk through the cemetery, I noticed a few people looking around frantically with pale faces and clenched fists. It looked like they were about to throw up. I stopped by one, a girl who looked younger than me. She kept playing with her long, blonde hair with shaky hands and she was chewing on the string of her hoodie, which she had cut the arms off of to try and stay cool in the hot weather.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She said nothing but tensed and nodded. "Graveyards aren't what come to my mind when someone says 'safe zone'."

"Yeah," She managed.

"I'm Xander."

"Mel," she offered a shaking hand and I took it gently.

"Nice to meet you Mel. Look, I know this whole thing sucks but this place isn't somewhere you need to worry, okay? Just try to make the most of it while you're here."

Mel took a deep breath and nodded, "Thanks. I just...I'm not someone who should be here."

"I think a lot of people here have said that at one point or another. Is this your first cycle?"

"Yeah. Katie took me in," she gestured to a short brunette. "We've been attacked like... a lot. But she's really strong. Sorry, I'm rambling."

"It's okay, I do it too. Say, if you're new this cycle, why do you have a sweater on? Don't you live somewhere around here?"

"My roommates kept the apartment cold and I had planned to stay in all day but, obviously, things changed."

"Yeah, I get that. I'd say that I'm sorry you got thrown into this, but we're all in that boat. Best thing to do now is try to adjust. It takes time, but I think you'll get there."

"How do you do it?" Mel asked. "Adjust, I mean."

"Well, my team helps a lot. Just remember that you aren't alone. I got lucky with great teams so far. This whole thing isn't easy but with them, it makes it more bearable." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar figure walk a few paces by a large tree, several yards from where I was standing. It was Saris. He was looking at something but I couldn't tell what. Turning back to Mel, I said, "Well, it was nice to meet you. Good luck and try to relax while you're... here," I said awkwardly, gesturing to the cemetery as a whole.

Saris noticed me coming and I was considering not walking up to him. I didn't think it looked cool to follow someone around all the time. It felt kiddish and I wanted him to think that I just stumbled upon him by accident or that we happened to be going to the same place. I couldn't decide to walk past him or towards him.

"Xander," Saris said, nodding his head as a sign for me to come over. Relieved, I did. "Look. Two o'clock and ten o'clock."

I looked over to where I thought those locations would be and was surprised when I found what he wanted me to see. There were people watching the graveyard from a large hill, several yards out. It was creepy, like someone keeping watch over you through their window or vultures waiting for prey to fall to the ground. "What are they doing?"

"They'll attack anyone who leaves the graveyard. Not right away, but once they get far enough."

"Why weren't we attacked on the way here?" I asked, thinking about how Anne had rushed ahead. She could have been easy pickings for someone waiting for her to leave the group.

"It's an unspoken rule," Saris explained. "Most people come here because they need to. Not because they want to get away from the fighting but because this place gives them a sense of belonging. Killing someone who is coming here for that reason is like keeping a child away from their home. It's cruel. But when someone leaves, it's a sign that they're ready to go back into the fight. They become fair game."

I considered what he said, but something didn't make sense to me. He wanted to show me the danger lurking around the corner. I bet he knew about them, even before we arrived. "Saris? I appreciate you telling me all of this, but why tell me now? Anne might not know this either. Couldn't you have said this earlier while we were together?"

He waved a hand, "You can tell her."

"That's not answering my question."

Saris looked at me for a moment. "You're a good guy. Right now, you don't know how it feels to die. It's different from being injured or being tortured. I'm not saying that it's worse, it's just different and without experiencing it, it's hard to describe. I'd like to give you as much information as I can so you don't have to deal with it." He paused a moment, then shrugged. "And I like you. You seem like a good friend."

I wasn't sure what to say. "Uhh...thanks," I managed.

"But don't think that I'll let you beat me. If it comes down to you and me, you're in for the fight of your life, got it?"

I smiled, "Got it."

"What are you two up to?" A voice came from behind us and I jumped. Shivers would have run down my spine if they weren't already doing that. I recognized the voice but couldn't place it, then I turned around and saw who it was.

A tall man in dark clothes and with a dark goatee approached Saris and me. I instantly remembered him. He was the first opponent that I had seen after Saris had taken me under his wing. It was also the first opponent that I had attacked; I had punched him in the throat and threw him on the ground. Saris had finished the job, but I had helped. When fighting, he used a double-bladed scythe and had the power to walk in shadows. It made me think of the grim reaper.

"Kain," Saris said calmly, turning towards the larger man. They grasped arms in a manly greeting and I wondered how long they had known each other.

"So, still sticking with the kid, huh?" Kain asked, looking at me.

"Yeah. Seemed to go alright last time."

"You lost."

"You're missing a lot of details."

"Do share," Kain pressed.

"Naw. A loss is a loss, right?"

Kain huffed, "Yeah. But don't go thinking I'll lose to you again. You or your little padawan here."

"Kain!" Someone called from behind the tall man. "We gotta go, remember?"

"Already?" Kain mumbled. "Well, that's my cue."

"Odd time to leave, don't you think?" Saris pried.

"See the grave stalkers?" Kain laughed. "They're ours. Posers." He turned to me. "Best way to get in and out of a graveyard is to keep some of your team back to pose as stalkers. Frees up an area." Kain waved goodbye and walked away with another member of his team, exiting the cemetery.

"Don't listen to him," Saris said. "While it's true that you have a better chance to exit a graveyard, it also puts the people posing as stalkers at risk. A larger team could take them out, then take you out when you're leaving. Not to mention you might have real graveyard stalkers to deal with before you arrive and maybe even after you leave."

"Demi was a scavenger. What's the difference? Or did she stalk the graveyard too?" I asked.

"Probably not. A scavenger is someone who goes solo. They pick on the weaker players when they're vulnerable. Sometimes they go after small teams that can be caught unprepared, taking them out when they least expect it. Then there's the grave stalker. These are teams who find a graveyard and camp out, waiting for other groups to leave. Stalker teams are typically larger than normal, maybe six to ten people. They're not efficient. It's hard to maneuver them all, especially if you're trying to be stealthy, but they also get the most in-team hostility. People get impatient or nervous around each other and will attack their own team. It's not a great way to operate." He turned, staring out beyond the graveyard again. "Well, go relax. For now, you don't need to worry about this stuff. I just wanted you to be aware of what's waiting for us." He sighed, "We should stay till the morning. We'll meet up soon to discuss our next move, but there's no rush."

"Saris?" I asked before I decided to leave. He turned his head to look at me. "How do you fight someone that can easily overpower you?" The image of Goliath ripping someone apart with his bare hands had kept creeping into my mind ever since I had seen him in action and I wondered how Saris would suggest fighting him.

He seemed to consider this. "Well, strength isn't the only thing in a fight. Speed is another, sometimes stealth can be used, agility or your weapon technique, then there's your ability to take into account; the list goes on. If someone is so strong that they trump everything else that you can do, then do something unexpected."

"Like what?"

"Get creative. Throw your sword, craft a barrier of some kind so they can't get too close or find a confined space to lure them into, limiting their range. Another option would be to wear them down, tire them out or just keep attacking a specific body part so they eventually can't use it against you."

"What do you think you would do?"

"Me personally?" He chuckled. "I'd probably copy their strength. But if I couldn't, I would figure out the best way to make their strength worthless. Maybe cut off an arm or something. Sorry, but without being in the fight, I can only give you some vague ideas. What works best will depend on who you're fighting and where you are. But don't forget, just because someone is strong, doesn't mean they're invincible. They can still be cut down with your sword." He paused, then finished his thought. "But, also remember, it's okay to run from a fight too. Sometimes running is the difference between dying and surviving another day to figure out how to beat someone. Fools rush in. Just...keep that in mind."

"Right." Feeling better, but also not, I left Saris to wander and think. I had been hoping for some kind of guaranteed method to win against Goliath; something that would make me invincible against him. But after talking with Saris, I realized that I was being stupid. A fight was a fight and I would have to find a way to win on my own, in the moment. Still, I'm glad I asked. It gave me a lot to think about and I began to play how the fight might go in my head. Even in my imagination, I usually lost. Apparently, I didn't have much faith in myself.