Shemaru

"I'm sticking with Janis," you say firmly. "This guy knows his way around the Shemaru Plane, and that in itself is invaluable. Stuart, how long do you expect to survive without Janis? How are you going to find the enemies? And say you fail in finding the enemies. Sure, I'm sure you could get some food, but what if you want to get home? The man said you'd either need to kill all the enemies or return to your base camp. Right now, with how deep we are in the forest, do you think there's any chance you'll find your way back without Janis? You could go circling around for days. Please, Stuart, abandon this. There's no point. Stay with Janis."

"No!" Stuart screams. "He's not even supposed to be in this game! Beta testers ruin it. I bet the other team's going to throw out their's. He should go to hell. Come on guys, let's go. I guess we'll go find the enemies on our own. But Janis, as much as I hate you, it won't be beneficial for our now split factions to fight. If we destroy each other the game will be over immediately and we'll both lose. Goodbye."

And with this, Stuart and his followers turn away from Janis and walk into the brush. Janis, yourself, and the other boy remaining say nothing until the last sounds of their departing are indistinguishable.

Janis kicks the ground. "What a stupid boy. The environment's gonna kill him. He won't even find the enemy. But now, he's gone. We'll have to persist without them." Janis turns to the other boy still with him.

"What's your name?" he demands, more roughly than necessary.

The boy swallows, and darts a look at you before answering. "I'm Ryan Alfeca," he says. He is unable to hold eye contact with Janis and his eyes fall slowly to the ground. He also kicks the dirt.

"Well Ryan," Janis continues matter-of-factly, "We're down to the three of us. From here on out it will be very difficult, and to be honest that virus is bigger than I said. There aren't supposed to be monsters in the game. The other team's supposed to be your only opposition. And that's no simple bug. Someone's been playing with the code. But nevermind, let's go find some food now. Alright?"

You and Ryan agree and follow Janis. Through the vigors and scares of the day you are quite hungry. You follow Janis willingly deeper into the forest.

"Oh damn," you think to yourself as you see a beast in the distance. Another enemy. This time the beast is a huge scaly creature: bones in clear view, with only a tight skin covering the bones.

Janis wastes no time in killing the monster. He approaches it, and he seems to move like a flash. All you see is him one second, and then him again another second. And the dead monster.

And Ryan dead on the ground!!! Somehow, someway, the boy was killed within the past three seconds.

Thoughts flash through your mind. A virus? No, Janis must've done it. He must've. Janis looks at you oddly, completely disregarding the body of Ryan on the ground. Perhaps he doesn't see it, you think. It is on the edge of his peripheral vision.

Janis speaks. "Let's go. That should be the last monster. The food is right ahead."

Well, what do you do?