Unknown Situations

I have no idea how I got here. One moment, I was wandering the woods, hunting bow in hand, the next moment I wake up in an unfamiliar place with no recollection of what happened. The people in here also seem to have no clue as to why they are here, although some of the ones who claimed to have been here a while gave us a brief explanation. According to them, the small town we are in is in the middle of a seemingly endless and unknown forest. Some of them have tried to find a way out but never returned. The ones who stayed in the town have just decided to stay there. Not me, I wanted to go back home, and that's when I brought chaos to this small town.

You see, after a few days of being here, I decided to search these lands for any chance of getting out of here. Some were against me leaving and some, mostly the desperate ones to get out, supported me. None of them showed any interest of volunteering to come along with me, however. I didn't mind either way, none of these people looked fit enough to survive out there. Thankfully, I was a hunter, so I had experience in surviving out in the wild. Unfortunately, this town had no weapons at all, so I decided to take a kitchen knife, anything was better than nothing, and some people had prepared me a sack with food and water. I thanked them and went on into the forest, in hopes of going back home.

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So far, I was doing good. It was peaceful and I made sure to leave markings on the tree trunks to know my way back. It wasn't until half an hour later that my hunter instincts kicked in, and I had a feeling I was in danger. I slowed down, hearing every little thing that would give me a clue as to why I was feeling like this. My eyes scanned the crowded trees and bushes until they stopped at one particular spot on the ground. Someone had set a trap. Does that mean there are others not living in the town? My thoughts were soon interrupted when I felt something quickly pass by me. I turned back and saw it was an arrow. I quickly dashed away, and after five minutes of running, I hid in one of the bushes covered by thick leaves. I stayed still while thinking if I should go back to the town or not, when I suddenly heard voices.

"Ya sure it was this way?" It was a rough, raspy voice, as if the person had spent their whole life screaming their lungs out.

"Yessir. Saw the lad runnin' this direction. I'm impressed he managed to figure out the arrow wasn't an accidental shot though." replied another voice, this one seemed a bit younger than the first voice.

"Search the area! Make sure this fellow doesn't get away, we wouldn't want him warnin' others that we hunt em' once they step foot in this forest now would we?" A few chuckles were heard after the first voice finished speaking. There were about five of them, and I couldn't believe they were kidnapping us just to hunt us for sport. I had to warn the others and make a solid plan at the town if any of us were to get out of this mess alive. Thankfully, there was only one man searching the area where I stayed hidden. I swiftly took out the kitchen knife and waited until he was close enough. As soon as he turned his back on me, I quickly leapt out of my hiding place and stabbed the man on the side of his neck. The man let out a scream before collapsing on the ground. I quickly snatch the bow and the few arrows he has, and make a run for it, quickly running towards the town once I spot one of the trees I had marked on my way out here. The men had said they hunt once we are in the woods, so it should be safe for me to go back to the town.

I arrived running and slightly out of breath, so of course the people quickly came out once the word had spread that I returned. I had explained to them what I had experienced out there, and that I needed their help to get out of here. The people were thinking, probably processing the whole situation when all of a sudden, I hear that familiar, raspy voice, "Well well well, what do we have here?" He looked old, but apparently strong enough to earn these men's respect. "See? Told ya he went back to warn em' bout' us." his companion spoke. He wore an eye patch on his left eye, and he seemed much more younger than the old man.

They looked ready to attack us. Confused and wanting to buy time to form a last second plan, I spoke up, "I heard you guys, and you said you only hunt when we're out in the woods. I don't know what kind of sick game you guys are playing here. Why do you do this?" They looked surprised for a second before returning back to their menacing stances. "Y'see, once someone knows what they're doin' here, we automatically attack so we can bring in fresh prey. It wouldn't be fun knowin' your purpose here." Spoke the old man, and then in a dark tone, "Kill em' all boys."

I am ashamed I was the one who brought death to this town. Now, here I am, up on a tree while I watch them searching for me among the dead bodies of the innocent people. I was obviously outnumbered, and knowing better, I chose flight instead of fight. I am aware the consequences of my rash acts were the lives of these people, but it was obvious from the start they stood no chance against the hunters. I decided to wait until dark to strike.

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The moon was full tonight, shining brightly upon the starry night. The hunters were gathered around a fire, and I was thankful for the darkness that hid me from their sight. There was only four, I realized I must have killed the other one I had stabbed with the kitchen knife. One of them was patrolling the dark forest not too far from the fire, but not close to it either. I silently aim the bow I had stolen from the other hunter at the one patrolling. I wait for the right moment... He is coming closer... I can aim easily... I release the arrow.

The arrow, silent as a fox, quickly sliced through the air and went straight for his head. In less than a second, the man is lying on the ground, dead with an arrow through his head. One down, three to go. I silently creep up to their camp until I hear a voice behind me. "Well what do we have here? Looks like he killed ol' James back there boss." I quickly turn around only to be struck by the man with the eye patch. I let go of my weapon and clutch my head in pain, how does he have such eyesight with only one eye? "Looks like he'll have to pay... With his life!" I heard the sound of a gun, and then I fell into a dark, eternal rest.

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I jolted awake in a dark room. I hear voices I don't recognize and soon, I feel something being removed from my eyes and I am blinded by light. "You did a good job. More than good actually, you were the first to manage to find out why you were in that town and you managed to kill two of the skilled hunters. Nice job."

I was confused, but as soon as my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that the scientist looking man was holding some sort of virtual reality headset. "What... What are you talking about?" My memory was blurry and I recall a few pieces of the town. The man spoke up, "You were chosen to participate in a VR experiment. You see, we are researching on people's limits and how far they can hold out when put into a life-threatening situation. We were able to create a VR headset that not only brings your eyesight to the situation, but it also brings your soul, as if you were experiencing everything for real. So far you're the most valuable one we can get more data on. We'll sleep you with a gas that will wipe your memory again and then place you under a more complicated scenario. Good luck." The last thing I saw was the symbol of the government on the wall of the room before my vision went dark.

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