For once, Liam didn't wake up with a backache. Sand, for all its faults, was surprisingly gentle on the spine.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't.
The sun was merciless, turning the ground into a frying pan. Liam lay on the simmering surface, unfazed, while others sprang up with startled yelps.
"Brandon!"
"BRANDON!"
"YES!"
Cries of joy echoed across the dunes. Out of roughly twenty players—fewer with each round—most ran toward Brandon with relief and admiration.
Except Alex, who stared with a mix of disbelief and awe.
"What…?" he muttered. He turned and spotted Liam and Caitlyn nearby. "Oh my god…"
The desert stretched endlessly in every direction—an infinite sea of identical dunes. The sun loomed like a cruel overseer. Within minutes, everyone was drenched in sweat. Skin flushed red. Heatstroke was already a threat.
Brandon pushed past the small crowd and jogged over to Liam, Caitlyn, and Alex. "Of course you survived," he said, clapping Liam on the shoulder with a grin.
"You two know each other?" Caitlyn asked.
"Brandon, right?" Liam replied coolly.
Brandon chuckled. "Liam. How uh...how was the sea monster round?"
He hadn't realized Liam was in the zombies game, not the sea monsters.
Caitlyn opened her mouth to respond, but Liam gave her hand a subtle squeeze. She flushed and shut her mouth.
"It was terrible," Liam said quietly. "You should've known that already."
Brandon's smile faded. He understood.
In the first game, 36% was shown on rabid hounds. 64% was shown on venomous snakes. Judging by the numbers, the percentages likely reflected survivors.
In the last round, the game ended prematurely (before 4a.m.)—again—once half the players had died. Zombies had 98%. Sea monsters: 2%.
Only one person could've survived that side.
"Sole survivor?" Brandon asked softly.
Liam didn't answer. He hadn't been on that side to begin with.
His expression remained cold and unreadable.
"Sorry I asked," Brandon said, lowering his voice.
Meanwhile, Alex was still absorbing his surroundings—miles of desert, nowhere near home. It truly felt like teleportation. Thousands of miles away in the blink of an eye.
"This one doesn't seem so bad," Brandon said. "I think we can tough it out until 4 a.m."
Despite the searing sun, their watches still read 12:00 a.m. The game will supposedly end by 4 a.m.—or when the player count dropped by half.
"Maybe," Liam replied.
"Is that a cop?"
"That is."
"Holy shit."
Murmurs spread as players noticed Alex's uniform.
A desperate man stormed forward, grabbing Alex by the collar.
"Hey!" The seasoned police officer easily pushed him away.
"You guys finally gonna stop this game? Huh?!"
Alex froze.
"I reported this—multiple times!" a woman shouted through tears. "No one listened!"
"I did too!" someone else chimed in. "They said it was bullshit! Does this look like bullshit to you?!"
Alex stood still, speechless. A knot twisted in his gut. This was beyond protocol. Beyond authority. Whatever this was, law enforcement had failed—badly.
"Alright, enough yelling!" Brandon stepped in, raising a calming hand. "Let's conserve energy."
He turned to Alex. "First time in the game?"
Alex nodded slowly. "…Yeah."
"Found the website?"
"No. He got me in." Alex averted his gaze to Liam.
"We needed someone with power. Someone who could help end this game," Liam explained.
"We might've already done that," Caitlyn added. "Felicia caught us on tape—being taken."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah," Liam confirmed, glancing around. "Doesn't look too dry. We might find water nearby."
"Better than waiting around to die of heatstroke." Brandon turned back to the group. "Want to form a search team?"
Liam didn't respond. The same apathetic gaze.
"I'm in," Alex said.
Brandon turned to Liam with anticipation. He received a subtle nod.
"I-I'll join too!" Caitlyn blurted, hand raised.
"Hey!" Brandon called to the crowd. "Anyone want to help us find water?"
Silence.
Then: "I'll go!" A teenage boy stepped forward. "I'll help!"
Brandon beamed. "Welcome to the team."
"I'm Thomas."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Brandon."
"I know who you are! You've saved my life twice already!" Thomas's eyes sparkled. "Thank you."
Brandon grinned. "This is Liam, and—"
"Alex."
"Caitlyn."
"There we go. Ready to move out?"
Everyone nodded.
**THUMP.**
A sound from the crowd. Gasps followed.
Someone had collapsed onto the sand, unmoving.
"Hey—are you okay?" Brandon called out.
No response.
"Heatstroke already… shit," Alex muttered.
"We better hurry," Thomas said urgently.
Brandon nodded. "Take care of him!" he called to the others. "We'll be back soon—with a safe route to water. Believe in us!"
The crowd, unified by respect for Brandon, nodded solemnly.
"Alright," Brandon said, turning toward the dunes. "Let's go."