The Mating Run by Leeka

Chapter 39



Breakout
88%
Victor, sprawled on his beanbag, looks at me with a hint of curiosity.
“Lost your sense of humor, Alina?” he quips, his voice cutting through the
stillness.
glance at him, a bitter taste lingering in my mouth. “Do you even know what
happened out there? What we had to do to survive?”
Victor shrugs, a nonchalant gesture that stirs a simmering anger within me.
“Survival, adaptation — it’s all part of the game, Alina. You should learn to
embrace
it.”
I clench my fists, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. “Embrace it? You act
like it's some kind of thrilling adventure. We're out there fighting for our lives, and
all you care about is your privilege.”
Victor leans forward, his smirk replaced by a cold glint in his eyes. “Privilege or
not, it doesn’t change the fact that we're all playing the same game. Some just
play it smarter.”
The tension in the shack thickens, a palpable force that hangs in the air. The
moonlight casts long shadows, accentuating the divide between us. I take a deep
breath, my anger simmering beneath the surface.
1. US.
“You think it’s a game, Victor? A game with rules that only favor you?”
Victor smiles, points at the corner of the shack where a camera is directed at
“Why don’t we ask the audience?”
I shake my head, a bitter smile playing on my lips.
“Fuck you.”
o
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I can't shake off the frustration that coils within me, a serpent ready to strike. The
moonlight seeps through the windows, casting a cold glow on the scattered
remnants of my earlier outburst.
I pace the limited space, the confined walls of the shack closing in on me. The
what-ifs, the maybes — they echo in my mind like a haunting refrain. I glance at
Victor, lounging on his bed with an air of indifference, and the anger resurfaces.
Without a word, I start tearing through the shack once more. Plates crash to the
floor, and gadgets are thrown haphazardly. Victor grumbles, his irritation. evident,
but he doesn’t move to stop me. The shack becomes a canvas for my rage, a
chaotic display of frustration.
“Relax, Alina,” Victor mutters, his voice tinged with annoyance. “Someone’s going
to find us soon, and this will all be over.”
I
His words only fuel my anger. I turn to him, my eyes burning with intensity. “Find
us? This isn't a game, Victor. We're not waiting for rescue. We're fighting for
survival, and your privilege blinds you to that!”
Victor rolls his eyes, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips.
“Whatever, yada, yada. If you're going to act all crazy, can you at least be quiet
about it?”
I ignore his words, my frustration pushing me to continue my rampage. The
shack, with its illusions and confines, bears the brunt of my rebellion. The
moonlight outside watches over the chaos, a silent witness to the clash of
perspectives.
Victor remains on his bed, flipping through his magazine with casual disinterest.
The sound of pages turning becomes a backdrop to my destructive symphony.
The shack, once a haven of illusions, now stands as a battleground for my
defiance.
I grab a random object, hurling it against the wall.
Victor looks up from his magazine, annoyance etched on his face.
I pace the limited space, frustration coiling within me like a caged beast. The
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magazine in Victor's hands becomes a target for my wrath. Without a word, I
snatch it from him and start tearing through its pages. The sound of paper ripping
echoes through the shack, a symphony of defiance.
Victor glances up from his bed, his eyes narrowing in irritation. “Seriously, Alina?
If you're going to be this annoying, maybe you should just leave.”
I ignore his words, the adrenaline of rebellion coursing through me. The
magazine becomes a casualty of my frustration, its pages torn and scattered like.
confetti. The moonlight outside witnesses the clash, indifferent to the turmoil
within.
“You think tearing my magazine will change anything?” Victor grumbles, his
annoyance evident.
I shoot him a defiant look, tearing another page with a satisfying rip. “Mayber not,
but it feels damn good.”
Victor rolls his eyes, a gesture of dismissiveness. “Feelings or not, you're just
making a mess for no reason. If you're that upset, go find your own corner of the
forest.”
The suggestion only fans the flames of my anger. I tear through the magazine
with renewed vigor, the sound of paper tearing becoming a mantra of rebellion.
The shack, with its confines and illusions, bears witness to my defiance.
Victor sighs, a mix of frustration and resignation in his voice. “You're being
ridiculous, Alina. What's tearing my magazine going to achieve?”
I scoff, tossing a torn page into the air.
He leans back on his bed, unimpressed. “Reality or not, tearing my things won't
change a thing. If you're that dissatisfied, just leave.”
The suggestion lingers in the air, a challenge hanging between us. I tear through
the magazine with even more intensity, my actions fueled by a mix of frustration
and a desperate need to reclaim a sense of control. The moonlight outside casts
elongated shadows on the turmoil within.
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Victor watches with an air of detached amusement, as if my rebellion is nothing
more than a minor inconvenience. “You're really making a fuss over nothing,
Alina.”
The shack envelops me in its narrow confines, a cage of resentment and
frustration. The memories of the outside world, the unforgiving forest, linger like
shadows in the corners of my mind. I find myself trapped in a mental labyrinth,
revisiting the visceral experiences of the Mating Run.
The Hider, a specter in the moonlit darkness, surfaces in my thoughts. The
memory is like a dark
canvas of my consciousness. I remember the stealth, the quiet breaths, the
desperate attempts to remain unseen. Survival, in those moments, boiled down
to a primal instinct — hide or be found.
conscious Strokes of fear and tension splashed across the
As I sit in the shack, the memory unfolds like a play in my mind. The Hider,
elusive and cunning, was a fleeting ally in the dance of survival. Yet, alliances are
ephemeral in the harsh reality of the Mating Run. Trust, a fragile commodity,
shattered like glass when the stakes became a matter of life and death.
The Hunter enters the stage, a relentless force in pursuit. The forest, once a
sanctuary, transforms into a maze of uncertainty. Each step is laden with the
weight. of survival, the primal fear of becoming prey. I recall the heartbeat, the
rush of adrenaline, and the cruel necessity that compelled me to wield a rock as
a weapon.
The memory of the Hunter's demise is etched in stark contrast to the privilege of
this shack. It's a juxtaposition of struggle and indulgence, a tale of survival versus
comfort. While I grappled with the fear of being hunted, Victor reclined in his
haven, shielded from the brutal truths of the forest floor.
Ettie’s encounter with another Hunter weaves into the narrative. The forest,
witness to a silent clash, becomes a silent graveyard. The memory carries the
weight of a life extinguished, a casualty in the name of survival. It's a somber
reflection on the choices made, the lives lost, and the desperation that defines
the Mating Run.
And then there's Victor, perched above it all in his sanctuary. The memories of
struggle and death clash with the image of him indulging in the comforts of the
shack. It's a bitter realization that in this cruel game, not all players face the
same.
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08:34 Sat, 9 Mar N
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trials. While I navigated the dangers of the forest, he feasted on the spoils of al
sheltered existence.
The anger simmers within me, a slow burn that threatens to erupt. The shack,
with its illusions of safety, becomes a trigger for the resentment that festers. Ther
contrast between the struggles outside and the comfort within intensifies the
storm of emotions within me.
I remember the corpses, the silent witnesses to the brutality of survival. Each life
lost is a scar on the landscape of my memory, a testament to the choices made
in desperation. The forest, with its secrets and shadows, becomes a graveyard of
hopes and fears.
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The disparity between the struggles I
: f a
faced and Victor's oblivious
5 vl
indulgence. grates on my nerves. It's
a bitter pill to swallow, a realization
that while I fought. tooth and nail for
survival, he basked in the luxury of
his shack. The Mating Run, intended
as a test of resilience, becomes a
glaring showcase of inequality. The
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the latest chapter there!
It's funny how life can throw these unexpected curveballs, like a game where the
rules change when you least expect it. I used to think unfairness was something
confined to the schoolyard, where kids would squabble over the swings or who
got the bigger piece of cake. I never thought it would be a looming shadow in my
own
story.
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“ls 5
You know, it's strange. Growing up,
they tell you about fairness, sharing,
5 : Anes
and playing nice. It's like a mantra
repeated so often that it becomes
part of the background noise of your
childhood. You nod along, thinking
PY)
you understand the concept, but it's
one of those things you never truly
grasp until life decides to teach you a
lesson. The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
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I remember watching those
schoolyard squabbles, thinking they
were just a part of being a kid.
Someone gets the shiny new toy, and
the others pout because they want it
) 9 5
too. It's simple, almost innocent.
Little did I know that the echoes of
those playground disputes would find
their way into the tangled mess of
the Mating Run. The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
Life has a way of surprising you. It’s like being handed a puzzle with missing
pieces, and you're expected to make sense of the incomplete picture. The Mating
II
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08:34 Sat, 9 Mar N
Breakout
Run, with its twisted rules and unpredictable challenges, feels like that puzzle.
88%%
I guess I always assumed fairness was a basic principle, a universal constant
that applied to everyone. The golden rule, right? Treat others as you want to be
treated. It sounds so simple, so straightforward.
It's a haven for one, a refuge from the struggles outside. Victor sits there,
untouched by the trials I faced in the forest. It's like he’s living in a different world,
where the rules are different, and the game is rigged in his favor.
I never thought unfairness could be this blatant. It's not just about who got the
better toy; it's about life and death. The forest doesn't care about faimess. It's a
wild, unpredictable force, indifferent to the concept of right or wrong.
In a burst of rage, I'm on my feet. The narrow space of the shack feels
constricting as the walls seem to close in. The air is thick with tension, and the
decision to confront Victor takes root like a stubborn weed in my mind.
I don't even think; the anger propels me forward. Victor looks up, surprise etching
his face, but it's quickly replaced by defiance. I grab his arm, my fingers. digging
into the fabric of his shirt. The shack, witness to this sudden burst of aggression,
stands silent.
“Enough!” Victor protests, his voice sharp and cutting through the air. He tries to
pull away, but my grip tightens. The anger, once a simmering undercurrent, now
roars to the surface like a tempest. The forest outside, oblivious to our struggle,
stands sentinel to the unfolding drama.
I can feel Victor resisting, his body tensing against my grasp. He yells, tells me to
let go, but the anger has a grip of its own. I shove him, and for a moment, there's
a strange dance of chaos within the confines of the shack. It's a clash of wills, a
collision of opposing forces.
I grab him again, my fingers biting into his arm. The forest outside, oblivious to
the dynamics within, stands still like a silent audience. Victor's protests turn into
shouts, but I'm resolute.
His voice echoes in the narrow space, a cacophony of protest. “Stop this, Alina!
II
[e)
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Breakout
What are you doing?”
But I don't answer.
With determination, I push forward.
6/


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