The air was thick with tension as the players gathered in the abandoned warehouse, the game’s setting. The lights flickered dimly, casting eerie shadows against the rusted metal walls. A robotic voice crackled over the speakers, announcing the rules:

The moment the countdown began, the players scattered like rats in the dark, each desperate to find a hiding spot before the tagger was released. Aguni, as always, preferred to work alone. He didn’t trust others, nor did he need their help. He had survived countless games through sheer skill and brutality—he wasn’t about to change that now.

But then he saw her.

A young woman—clearly new—standing in the middle of the chaos, her wide eyes scanning the area with hesitation. She hadn’t moved fast enough, and now the others were gone, leaving her exposed. A dead giveaway for the tagger.

Damn idiot, Aguni thought, clenching his jaw. She was going to get herself killed.

Still, he had no reason to interfere. He told himself that over and over. But as the tagger was released—a towering figure in a blood-red mask—his instincts screamed at him to move.

She must have sensed it too, because the second the tagger’s head snapped in her direction, she bolted. Her breathing was sharp and panicked as she sprinted down one of the darkened corridors, but the tagger was fast—too fast. It was only a matter of seconds before it would catch her.

Aguni cursed under his breath before pushing off from his hiding spot. In one swift motion, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her into the shadows with him. He pressed her back against the cold wall, one hand firmly over her mouth as he held her still.

“Quiet,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

Her breathing was frantic against his palm, but she nodded, eyes wide as the tagger’s heavy footsteps echoed through the hall. It slowed, searching, its presence looming just outside their hiding spot. The dim red glow from its mask cast a haunting light across the wall beside them.