We had been walking for a while, falling back into our positions with Saris and I leading the way. I was doing my best to remember the quickest way to the thrift store and Saris was checking the corners of every cross street we found in case we came across an enemy. No one spoke. Despite being in the lead, I felt like I was steps behind both of them in every aspect. How was I supposed to contribute to this team? Isn't there a saying about how a team is only as strong as their weakest player? What would that mean for us?

I played Demi and Saris' fight over in my mind. They were so fast, so quick on their feet. And it wasn't only that their attacks were quick, it was also their reactions to the other's attack. Planning out moves without really having the time to think about them. They had amazing instincts. Saris made sense. I don't know how long he had been an assassin, but he clearly knew what he was doing in a fight and I'm sure he had training and experiences with this type of stuff for years before he was even put into this game. Demi was a different story. I don't know much about her life before she got here, but she spent a year fighting for her life and I'm sure that allowed her to get exponentially better in a short time. But what about before she got here? Did she have any kind of combat experience? I almost hope so. That way, maybe I won't be so far behind everyone else. Being behind Demi and Saris was one thing, but being behind everyone I'd meet would be another.

I remembered fighting the trio in the doctor's office the day before and I tried to remember what all had happened. Saris said that I had done well and that's how I had felt at the time, but what really happened? They surprised us. We retreated and hid. Saris took on the first two alone and the last one had caught hold of me. That's it. He just grabbed me. He could have taken me out but he didn't. He wasn't concerned about me, he just wanted me as leverage against Saris. His guard was down and I was able to take advantage of it. I didn't even realize his guard was down, I just reacted and I happened to be lucky enough that he wasn't prepared. Even then, all I did was get him on the ground. Saris did all of the hard work.

I didn't know when, but soon I would have to face the moral dilemma. When it comes down to it, will I have what it takes to kill someone? Murder was something I had never even considered before, but now it was a concept that seemed to be staring me down, impatiently waiting for my sword to strike into the flesh of another. Video games were one thing, but they were not real life. Even if Saris calls this a 'game' and even if I've also started calling it the same, these are real people. They're not here by choice any more than I am, but I know that they would not hesitate to kill me and I knew, deep down, that I needed to do the same. What I didn't know is if I could bring myself to do it.

"You're quiet," Saris said after passing another cross street. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," I paused, debating whether or not to open up to him, "do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"When was the first time you killed someone?"

Saris slowed. "That was a long time ago. Before the game. It was my first job. It went wrong." Saris' face changed slightly. His eyes were more narrow than before and his scowl made me wonder if I upset him, but then I realized that he was reliving the moment, going back into his younger self and I imagined him as a different person. Not more deadly, but darker all the same. "I missed my shot; I hesitated. He tackled me and I had to kill him with my hands." He turned to me, his face returning to the Saris I knew. I relaxed, not realizing how tense I had been moments before. Then he sighed, somehow knowing what I had really wanted to ask: what will happen to me when I have to kill someone? "Everyone is affected after taking a life."

Demi put a hand on my shoulder. "It's not that you need to learn to be okay with it." She said sadly. "You just... have to learn to live with it." I looked down and Demi bent to look in my eyes, "You haven't done it yet, have you?" I shook my head in response. She just looked at me. It felt like she was looking through me, like she knew everything about me without me having to tell her; like she knew more about me than I did. "When it happens, find me."

"Learning to live with blood on your hands is easier said than done," Saris admitted and I felt a slight shiver run through Demi's hand, then she pulled away. "But it has to be done. There's no easy answer for what you're looking for. It's just something that you'll have to overcome. Just know, even here, where everything and everyone seems to be against you, you're not alone. Don't deal with it by yourself. Like Demi said, find one of us."

I didn't know what to say. I kind of felt like I had over-shared without meaning to and now everyone was trying to comfort me for something that hasn't even happened. "The store's this way," I said, turning a corner, hoping to leave the conversation in the empty street behind us.

We settled back into our silent walk. I wasn't sure if I preferred the awkward silence or the awkward conversation about killing people but I figured that dwelling on questions wasn't getting us anywhere. It was better to just keep moving. Still, it felt different, like I had ruined the mood for everyone. Instead of silently walking with a goal in mind, we were silently walking while being depressed. Maybe that was just me but I wanted to say something to release the tension I felt. I was about to apologize when Saris stopped and turned his head slightly to his right. We all heard the noise. It froze each of us in place. It sounded like metal clanging together and grunts of pain. And it was nearby.

The clash of metal was growing more frequent as Demi and I followed Saris towards the noise. He had insisted on investigating to see what was going on and Demi agreed. Being the only one who really didn't want to move closer to the danger, I went against my instincts and followed without arguing. We came upon a gate that led into a fenced outdoor dining area. To our left, just inside the gated area, was a door leading into the affiliated restaurant, whose main entrance was several feet down the street. It had been a beautiful extension to the restaurant, but most of the small metal tables and chairs had been overturned, the flower bed along the restaurant had been trampled and strings of lights were hanging down from the birch tree in the center. The culprits to this mess were in the far corner. I counted six of them: five men closing in on a sixth, not a single one of them were weaponless.

Based on my limited experience with this game so far, I would assume that either A: the solo man's team had died and he was the last survivor or B: he was a scavenger that was caught or had failed to get the jump on them. Either way, things didn't look good for him. It was hard to look at. I kept imagining myself in his place and sympathy flooded over me. I would want help if I were him. But what could we really do? Even if we joined, we'd still be outnumbered and if there's anything that I've learned from this experience it's that Demi and especially Saris would never intentionally go into a fight that they could not win, especially if they were outnumbered. It was suicide. We'd probably wait until they were done battling, like we had done at the top floor of the parking garage.

"Come on," Saris said as he rushed into the battle...

Okay. I was wrong. At least we had the element of surprise on our side. We should be able to take a few of them out before they notice us.

"Ahh!" Saris shouted and hurled a chair at the group of attackers.

My mouth dropped as they easily dodged the metal chair. It thudded into the wooden fence, splintering it. I decided to stop assuming what Saris would do next. The five men now had their attention split between their previous target and us.

Saris struck first. He swung his blade at his closest enemy and even though his attack was blocked, the target fell on his butt from the force of the blow, sliding several inches back. Saris went to finish the man off but couldn't reach him in time. Two of the other four men had come to their ally's aid and Saris had to dodge them before he was overwhelmed. The fallen man managed to scuttle back to his feet before Saris could reach him.

The lone man, who we were attempting to help, engaged the two men in front of him with a sword larger than Saris'. It looked like a giant cleaver and was nearly the full size of the man's body. He rushed the two men, but only one of them met his charge. That one blocked the attack with a large dagger, but it looked like he was trying to block a sword with a butter knife. Still, he managed to do it. The other man, who also had a dagger, though not as large, knelt on the ground and stuck his blade in the dirt. The man with the giant sword leaped away, just as several sharp blades came out from underneath him. As the kneeling man took his dagger out of the ground, the blades also retreated.

I realized that I was just watching this. Demi was already ahead of me and was guarding Saris' blindside. She hadn't duplicated herself and for a moment I wondered why, but then I remembered what Saris had said on the day he had saved me. 'You shouldn't give away your trump card'. Your power is your ace in the hole. If they survive it, they know what to look for and can create a counter for it. In Saris' case, he could take it for himself. I snapped out of my daze, summoned my sword and shield and rushed toward my allies.

By the time I got to the battle, I noticed two things. First, Saris was using his power. He was unrealistically fast and was taking on two of the attackers, and winning. Saris would get in several cuts while the two trying to fend him off were completely on defense. Second, all of our enemies were using their abilities now. Of the two fighting Saris, the one faring better was one who was able to create a moving force field of some kind. I could see the glimmer of warped air circling his body. The man next to him had an axe that crackled as lightning danced on the edges but I noticed that Saris wasn't affected by the electricity. Maybe it was the black rubber-looking handle on his blade. The man who was battling with his ground-dagger friend had two transparent swords that were attacking the man with the giant sword, but he was holding them off and still able to make his way closer to his attackers, even with having to dodge more blades coming from the ground. Lastly, the man engaged with Demi held a mace and every time he swung it, ripples of energy crushed forward a few feet and I could see waves of air moving, warping the world around them, like heat from a chimney on a cold day. Demi had to retreat several times. She couldn't get near enough to land a blow against him. The man swung again and Demi hopped back, trying to dodge. I rushed forward, shield extended. The energy crashing from the man's mace felt like a bull had just charged into my shield, but somehow, I held my ground.

I think Mace Guy knew he was in trouble. For a brief moment, I saw panic in his eyes. He was focused on his fight with Demi and probably didn't notice his two comrades getting beat by Saris or his other allies failing to kill off the man we had come to help. He had seemed confident when he was facing Demi alone, but when I stepped in, fear flickered across his features. I thought he might shout for help but he never got the chance. Demi's spear was suddenly deep in his neck and he was vanishing before my eyes. The last thing I saw in him was the recognition of pain and I cringed, wanting to forget the man and his death, if I could.

Demi hadn't stopped to notice my discomfort, or the man's. Instead, she re-summoned her spear in her hand and turned to help Saris. He didn't need the help though. The head of one of the men he was fighting fell from his shoulders and vanished along with the body before hitting the ground. The man with the moving shield seemed to realize that he was fighting a losing battle and broke off, trying to run. He didn't get very far, barely three steps away, before Saris ended him. Turning to us and seeing that we were alright, he directed his attention to the remaining two enemies. The three of us approached them. The man who was kneeling and stabbing the ground noticed us first and stopped what he was doing. With a quick thrust from Demi's spear, the man vanished. Almost at the same time, the man with the large cleaver of a sword had struck down his foe, nearly cutting him in half.

It was over so much quicker than I had expected. They had the advantage of having more people. They were all using their powers. I'm not really sure what I thought would happen. I guess I expected something out of an anime or something. Long fights with amazing powers and a lot of yelling. But they had all been beaten so fast and the only sounds were those of metal hitting metal. They had only lasted a minute or so once we showed up.

Saris walked over to the remaining stranger, allowing his weapon to vanish. The man's sword also disappeared as he gave Saris a big smile, "Saris! Good timing! Let's not do it that way again."

"What? You didn't have fun?" They firmly gripped each other's forearms in a manly greeting. Saris turned towards us, "this," he announced, "is Zack."

Zack was not a tall man but he was stocky and had broad shoulders. Something about him reminded me of an army man, which seemed fitting since he dressed in casual military clothes. He had a sharp jawline that connected to a rather pointed chin and a large nose. He looked at us with a hint of a smile in his grey eyes. There was some blood on his pant leg and a shallow cut near his eye but none of it seemed to bother him. A small trickle of blood dripped onto a scar on his left cheek, which must have been from before he came here, since wounds didn't seem to last once the game restarted. Otherwise Saris, and probably everyone else, would be covered in scars.

"So," I said, not sure what to say, "Your weapon looks like one from a video game I know."

"Yeah. Cloud right? Final Fantasy?" Zack confirmed my suspicion. "I thought it would look intimidating. Plus, I like the game."

"How long have you two known each other?"

"I was the first person to greet Saris when he got here."

Realization dawned on me and I blurted out, "You're the one that attacked Saris and teamed up with him?"

"Umm..." Zack said, looking at Saris. Then he shrugged and said, "well, yeah. More or less. I found him on the roof somewhere and thought I'd take out some competition. Turns out it was his first day here, and...well, the rest is history."

"You go around taking out newbies?" Demi asked harshly.

Zack chuckled, "no, he was just there. In my experience, you don't leave people you find alive unless you end up on the same side. It's too risky to leave them alive. It's not my habit to hunt down newbies."

"Some people do go out of their way to hunt new people though," Saris said.

"Yeah. You saved me from one of those creeps." I reminded him, wrinkling my nose at the thought of the crazy guy.

"Creep is right," Demi chimed in. "What kind of sick and twisted jerk makes hunting newbies their strategy?"

"It's not an honorable way to do things," Saris said. "They do it out of fear."

"Fear?" Demi and I said at the same time, confusion and disbelief tainting the question.

"They are afraid of someone stronger than them coming and pushing them further away from winning. So, they take out the new competition so it takes them longer to adapt." Saris explained. "But Zack is also right. You don't want to leave anyone alive unless they're on your side."

"So if I had refused and not followed you..." I started.

"I would have come back," He said plainly. "But that's not what happened." Saris looked at Zack's leg. "We should take some time to bandage you up. And I could use some water."

"Sure," Zack agreed. "Get electrocuted a bit?"

"Some," Saris said. He looked at Demi and me. "Are you two okay?"

"I'm good," I said.

Demi put a hand to her stomach. "I'm a bit beat up. I could use a rest."

"How bad is it?" Saris asked.

I hadn't noticed before, but now that I was looking I saw several purple bruises on her arms and when she lifted her shirt, she had a long, purple bruise just above her belly button that spanned all the way around to her sides and went up beyond her raised shirt.

Saris surveyed the surrounding businesses then motioned to the restaurant., "let's see what we can find inside."

We all entered the cafe, Saris and Zack walking ahead as if already forgetting Demi's condition. I watched her as she walked to see if she was having any trouble moving or maneuvering around. We found a small booth with a curtain covering the window. Demi inhaled sharply when she sat down but otherwise didn't say anything. Zack sat down on the opposite side of the booth and I stood awkwardly beside the table, not sure what to do.

"I'm gonna take a look around, then find the first aid kit," Saris said. "Xander, you stay with Demi and Zack. Try to lay low and relax for a while."

I nodded in response and looked at Demi. She tried to smile but winced. "Is it bad?" I asked.

She shook her head, "mostly just sore. I'm sure it'll be fine. It will heal on its own eventually." She sighed carefully, "lucky you were there to back me up. Otherwise, it might have been worse."

"You've got good reflexes," Zack said. "I've seen that guy before. The real power is up close and personal. It's sort of like a concentrated shockwave. The further away you get, the less damage it does."

"So," I said to Zack, "I assume you'll be joining us?"

"Naturally," Zack affirmed. "Assuming there's no objections. Whenever Saris and I find each other, we team-up. Been that way since he got here."

"Why is that?" I asked. From what I had seen, Zack seemed like a good fighter. I wouldn't be surprised if he had loads of people trying to team up with him and while Saris was a great fighter, it didn't seem necessary for Zack to have Saris on his team to win this game. Unlike me; I was hopeless without him.

Zack chuckled. "Have you seen him fight? It's incredible. Unfairly good. It took me a good two cycles to really get a grasp on everything, but he was so good that he won his first cycle! I thought I'd have an advantage; I was a soldier in the army." He sighed, mumbling, "there's always someone better."

"If he's so good, is it a smart move to team up with him?" Demi asked. "Even if you make it to the end, you'll have to fight him. Or do you think you can beat him?"

"Psh, naw. It would take some real luck to beat that guy. I could ask you the same thing but I'll tell you my theory." Zack leaned in. "In the end game, it's not the strongest fighter on the team you need to worry about. It's the second."

"Why's that?" I asked, looking out the windows, searching for any sign of life. Not finding any, I decided to take a seat. I couldn't really see any more than Zack or Demi anyway.

"Because when the last teams are scrapping, who are they going to try to take out first?" Zack asked. "They go for the strongest fighter. Not always. Anything could happen, really. But that's what most people tend to do. They think that if you take out the biggest threat then the rest are easier."

"What do you think is best?"

"The opposite," Zack said. "Take out the help, leave the big one for last so you can gang up on them. You shouldn't make a fair fight out of someone you can't beat head-on."

"With that mentality, you could be a scavenger," Demi said.

"Not really my thing. I'd get lost and second guess my advantages. Scavengers have much more insight than I do. I'm more of a brute force kind of guy, not an evaluate the situation guy. I get too impatient."

A flicker of movement behind the counter drew our attention and Saris emerged from a door leading to the back room. He held a small white box which he set on the table and promptly opened. Zack picked out a few bandages for his leg and Demi reached to look for something for her but Saris blocked her way. Then he took out some packages of ointment, wrap and a few packets of painkillers.

Saris set the items on the table and looked at Demi. "We need to check for any breaks before we apply this."

"I'm pretty sure they aren't broken," Demi said.

"I'd rather be sure," Saris urged. Demi looked irritated but gave in when another intake of breath made her wince. She reluctantly agreed to let Saris check her for any breaks. Zack and I moved into the next booth to give Demi some privacy. I didn't feel comfortable watching, it felt wrong. I doubted that Demi would take off her shirt entirely but I didn't want her to feel overly conscious of the two of us staring at her exposed skin while Saris did whatever he needed to do to check for any broken or cracked ribs. A few moments later, we heard Saris' synopsis, "No breaks, but the bruising is pretty rough. I'll get you some ice to put on it. We should stay here for a while so you can rest and heal a bit. Any objections, Zack?"

I scrambled to follow Zack as he scooted out of the booth, standing to face Saris. " It's as good a place as any. It's small so it's unlikely to draw much attention. There's food, water and a bathroom. Add a few beds and it'd be a regular hotel. Is it easily defendable?"

"There are three exits," Saris said, pointing as he listed them. "The main one in the front, the one that leads to the garden area and one in the back, which leads to an alleyway. We shouldn't have to worry about anyone coming in through that one, it's locked."

"So, we're staying here tonight?" I asked.

Saris nodded. "As long as someone else doesn't find us here. But I think we'll be alright." He looked at the wall behind the counter and I followed his gaze, finding a small clock. "It's almost five. Since there are four of us now our watch schedule will change. We can talk about it while we eat," he said, standing and taking the subs from his pockets. He put the rumbled bags on the table and resumed his seat next to Demi. He pointed to me as Demi started unpacking the food. "You and I will train when we're done here."

I found a knife so Demi could cut the subs into quarters. Zack went behind the counter and started listing what they had to offer. We had our choice of fruity breads, chocolaty muffins, cheesy buns or sugary bagels. Zack gathered the ordered baked goods as I filled glasses at the soda fountain. We would save our water bottles for another time. The food was great, but after the fight, I was really hoping for a hot meal, not a lukewarm sandwich and desserts.

We made sure to keep Demi's glass topped off, trying to ensure she would get as much rest as possible. None of us wanted her to strain herself. She needed rest and we intended to give it to her; even if she didn't want it.

"I can get it myself," She complained when Saris took her empty cup and refilled it with water.

"You need to rest, not agitate your body every chance you get," Saris argued. Demi didn't press the issue, but she made comments like that every so often. After the meal was over Saris moved several of the chairs and tables, clearing an area in the center. It was training time.

Training wasn't as bad as I expected. First off, it was much shorter and much less straining on me. Saris had said that he needed me to heal by the morning and I was sure that, after some sleep, I'd be back to normal. That's not to say I wasn't sore by the end. It just wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We didn't really go over anything new, we just used the new weapons. Saris told me not to hold back or worry about hitting him and I reluctantly obeyed. Saris had me work on the same movements, attacks, blocks and dodges that he had in my previous training with him. Occasionally, he would point out my mistakes or he would praise me for what I was doing well. My new sword felt lighter than the bulky bedpost we had used in our last training session and it took me a while to adjust to the weight in order to get the techniques right. The shield was an added bonus. It really boosted my defense and Saris showed me how to position it to be more effective. We trained for nearly three hours with only short breaks for water and one ten-minute cooldown. I thought the cooldown was a mercy, it was at the start of our last hour, but when we got back to it, Saris picked up speed. I couldn't keep up and I made more mistakes than ever. Where does he get all of this energy?

"Relax, Xander," Saris said, on our cooldown walk around the room when we were done training for the night. "You're doing well but your opponent isn't going to be as slow as I've been going on you. You'll get used to the pace eventually."

"Honestly," I huffed, "I'm not sure anyone is as fast as you are." Saris just smiled but said nothing else.

I slumped into a booth after our walk. I was so tired that the events of the past twenty-four hours were hazy and blurred together. I had two new allies, had encountered several enemies,

had watched Saris and Demi fight and had trained with Saris myself. The thing that stuck out most clearly was my conversation with Demi at Subway. That was definitely a sunny highlight in my day. In the whole past week, actually.

I glanced across the aisle at the booth she was lying in. Her hair was covering her face and she seemed to be using her hands as a pillow. Slow, soft breaths were visible in the rising and falling of her body and the slight flutter of her hair. I wondered how she felt about me. I was worried about her. Her injuries weren't too serious, but any injury is dangerous here; even I know that. I pushed the concerns from my mind as I laid down. Most I could do was be prepared to help protect her and the rest of my team tomorrow by being well-rested.