My System has a Glitch

"For someone who just had a near death experience, you seem quite ready to throw your whole life away."

The man kept talking as they fell,while William kept trying to punch him the man dodged all his attacks with a frightening ease.

"What now,William?What now!? What would you be when your life is all over again!? Snake food?"

He grabbed hold of a vine and kicked William hard on the side of his head. William spun in mid air and was disoriented for a moment.

As he opened his eyes again he saw the pool of snakes coming at him fast. He quickly reached for the nearest vine he could grab, which luckily for him was quite close.

It was strong enough to stop his fall and when he looked up he saw the man smiling down at him.

"How about another test William?" The man said.

'How does he know my name?'

William saw him swing towards his vine, "No!" William screamed as he realized the man was about to cut his vine. "Don't do it!"

William heard gunfire and saw the man fall off his vine. "He's been shot," he thought but it was too late before the old man had fired, the man had severed his vine with a single swing of his hand.

Before William could tell what was going on he was already falling into the pool of snakes and with mare inches left to go the kite swooped in and pulled him away.

William saw the man crash into the pool of snakes and landed on his feet with such ease like he had just pitched a volley ball on the beach.

He stood in the pool while the snake crawled on him and bit him but still he had a smile on his face, with the bullet caught between his teeth.

He spat it out and said, "so the old man wasn't bluffing, I like that."

A grenade manifested in his hand and immediately he pulled out the pin and dropped the bomb right beside himself and the loud explosion covered him in fire and smoke.

No one who had seen the explosion believed he was dead and they all knew would only return to hunt them all again.

******

It was golden hour and the sun was now setting and no one could imagine what the night would bring.

"I don't think he's dead," the old man said. "No, I wouldn't believe it for a moment."

"Who was that guy anyways," Ingrid said.

They were all settled at the top of a very large tree

"Do you know who he was, old man?"

The old man shook his head. "I've got no idea, but he has a good eye, he could tell directly where the bullet had come from, he looked directly at me, it was a bit… it's a bit too scary I must say."

"I did meet him before," William said. Back at the ship."

"Yeah he mentioned that," Ingrid said. "He said you helped him pick out those glasses."

"What? I don't think I did, we barely even spoke."

"Either way he was going to spare your life just because of that."

"And you believed that?"

"No," she said. "of course not!"

William smiled and said, "well anyways, thanks for staying by my side."

She looked away and said. "It was all the old man, he found the herbs."

"Oh no William, don't you buy that for a moment, I had no intention of saving you, I was just picking them up for research, she on the other hand did it all, she got to you on time to administer it."

"No! he fend of the men"

"Men?" Willaim said.

"No! she found the final herb and protected you from that fiend!"

"No, he was the one who scared him off with the head shot. Remember that."

"No you're the one who saved him!."

William was bouncing back and forth from Ingrid to the old man, as the situation grew into a verbal game of tennis with both sides unwilling to accept his fullest gratitude.

"No it was me!"! They turned and saw Nod swoop in on his kite. "I saved him last so I got the win."

"Right, it's him," Ingrid said and William laughed and said, "Well thank you all then. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you guys, I really appreciate it."

Nod squeezed his face, "you know nothing about me William, if you did you'd know I don't like to share things,you better give it to one of us or I won't take it."

"He really doesn't share," Ingrid said and the old man and William laughed.

"Did you see anything?" Ingrid asked.

"I saw many things sister. The safe houses are already taken."

"All of them?"

"Every single one, you should have seen it, bodies everywhere you look, it wasn't an easy fight, whoever those people are in there they've got to be real killers."

"We have to keep moving right?" William asked.

"We can't unless you want to go back, cause right after the houses, it's just fog as far as the eye can see even when looking at it from up above the tree."

"Really? That must me those parts that haven't been created yet," willaim said.

"My thoughts exactly. You don't seem in the mood to jump off the edge again, are you?"

William laughed and said, "give it time."

"I've got no time to give William, I'm running out!"

"Did you see him?" the old man asked.

"What? You mean him? To be honest I was kinda hoping I wouldn't and thank God I didn't but it's not like I'm scared of him or anything."

"Yes, it's just that. You're scared of him and many other things."

"Quit acting tough Ingrid, I know you are too and if I am so what? I've got a good reason to be. Show of hands, when was the last time any one of you caught anything but food between your teeth?"

William chuckled but the old man looked quite worried and Ingrid wasn't finding it funny either.

"Oh no hands? That's what I thought."

"He really did that didn't he?" Ingrid said and they all felt a bit solemn like death was in the air.

"Yeah and it was a special bullet too, right old man?."

The old man didn't respond as he was deep in his thoughts.

"Right pops?" Nod said again and it jolted the old man and he agreed with him, "yes, yes it was special, his shield wouldn't have stood a chance against it, that means if he had been just a fraction off he would have been snake food by now."

They were silent for a moment as the full realization of what his one act had meant dawned on them then william said,

"Anyways we better prepare for tomorrow our goal should be to make it into the safe houses before anyone else, cause….."

William was interrupted by his own growling stomach.

"Cause you're hungry?" Nod said. William laughed and said, "I'm caught red handed, I can't deny it now, I really am"

"At the next stage there'll only be five safe houses," the old man said.

"We've just got to take one for ourselves," William said.

"That won't be easy, I've seen all those bodies, a lot of them looked like you and I, one of them even had my chin."

"I see what you mean," William said.

"It's a matter of life and death," the old man added. "People are crazier than usual in such situations, you don't want to underestimate anybody."

"Yeah."

"But still," the old man said. "Some people won't make it through tonight, they won't even have enough time left to get by, so they'll be running around looking for who to take from, some will just have enough to make it till the morning or the afternoon. I think it's best we know where we all stand, so we could better plan our movements."

"Yeah that's true," William said and the siblings nodded in agreement. They revealed their time to each other and William was stunned.

[GUIDE STATUS]

××[TimeRemaining — 3:02:15]××

William blinked, hoping he was seeing things but the digits didn't change.

'How the hell…' he whispered. The blood drained from his face, they could all see the panic in his expression.

"William, how much do you have? "

Thre.. Three… i..William stuttered but before he could clear his mind enough to speak they heard a screeching hiss that cut through the jungle.

it's sounded like lightning had struck the earth and almost Immediately after a mist moved towards them

"What's going on!?" Ingrid asked but no one but William knew what it was.

"I know what this is… It's like back then… Oh god no, not now!"