Fletcher sat down in quiet contemplation, his mind consumed by a daring plan. His thoughts were turbulent, yet he remained steadfast in his resolve.

The room was still, the only sound was the steady beat of his heart as he wrestled with the details of his plan. He knew that the risks were high, but the potential rewards were even higher. He felt a surge of excitement as he imagined what could be accomplished if his plan succeeded.

‘I need to plan this well, there is no room for mistakes, this could be my way to get all the cores I need to upgrade in one go’ Fletcher had a determined look on his face.

Fletcher dragged David and ray into the same room.

Fletcher stood before Ray and David, his expression as cold as ice. He surveyed them both for a moment before speaking.

"I only need one of you alive," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "So who is it gonna be?"

Ray and David exchanged a quick glance, both understanding the gravity of the situation.

"If one of you doesn't give me a good reason to keep them alive," Fletcher continued, his eyes flicking between them, "I'll choose randomly."

David, heart raced, as he spoke first.

"Please, sir," he said, his voice shaking with fear. "Don't kill me. It wasn't my fault. It was him."

Ray, who was right next to him, looked at him in shock and disbelief. "What are you talking about?" he cried out.

But David was already on a roll. His face twisted into an ugly expression, he threw his friend under the bus without hesitation. "He's the one who wanted to steal from you," he said, his voice rising in pitch. "I had nothing to do with it."

Ray was horrified and shocked by his friend's betrayal.

Fletcher slowly approached Ray, and whispered in his ears, "your friend just sold you out, are you ready to die?"

Ray's heart dropped, and he could feel his entire body shivering, "please sir, don't..."

"Yes, yes kill him, he deserves it" David was relieved to see that he wasn't the one dying today, he could care less about his friend right now.

Ray remained silent, clearly feeling hopeless, Fletcher untied David out of the chair, David was overjoyed to be free, but his joy was cut short, Fletcher swiftly proceeded to grab David from behind, in a rear naked chock style hold, positioning a hand on his jaw, and the other hand on the back of his head, David was frightened by the sudden change of events, he started kicking and screaming.

SNAP!!!! Fletcher twisted his nick in a fast motion, breaking it.

Ray was watching in terror as David's eyes rolled down, and his body slumped to the ground

“ Shit, I overdid it a little bit, I'm still not used to my strength ” Fletcher clicked his tongue, he didn't control his strength, which resulted in the jaw breaking as well.

'no, no this can’t be happening this must be a dream', ray's mind was in turmoil and he started mumbling uncontrollably.

Fletcher grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes

Ray flinched and started trembling “please don’t kill me please…” crying like a baby

"BE QUIET!, I'm not going to kill you, after all, I still need you"

Ray stopped crying, but he could not stop his body from shaking.

Fletcher dragged David's body to the bathroom and locked it inside.

A few hours later.

Two figures were standing behind a few trees, watching a building in the distance, it was Ray's group camp, the place was fenced, and surrounded by golf fields.

Fletcher found a building on the outskirts of the golf club grounds, used for storage, and decided to stay there for the time being.

"Listen up kid, if you want to stay alive, you have to be useful to me otherwise, you're just dead weight"

Ray was sweating bullets, he still had the image of David's dead body in his head.

"Now tell me, is there anything else I need to know? " Fletcher put his hand on Ray's shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes.

Ray hesitated for a while, before he said, "my older sister, she's part of the group. She used to be a nurse, she's also our leader Jack's fiance"

Fletcher contemplated for a while and then patted ray on the head. "There you go kid, now that is something I can use"

'Good thing I kept him alive, who know he had such important ties. If I play this right, I could finish this camp by tonight. '

Ray Felt guilty for betraying his group, but he couldn't help it, the words rolled out of his mouth uncontrollably, but his mouth seemed like it had a mind of its own.

Fletcher smirked, 'what a naive kid, he easily buckles under pressure, that's why I kept him instead of the other one, he's easy to control'

Later on, Fletcher observed the main building for a while. He could not help but notice a young woman standing behind the fence, looking anxiously like she was waiting for someone.

'That must be ray's sister, got to say she's quite the beauty. I didn't expect that. This might be more fun than I imagined.'

A rock landed beside Olivia. She picked it up and noticed a note attached to it. She opened it and as she was reading it, her face frowned more and more.

Note:

If you want to see your brother again, you need to follow the instructions below.

1-Immediately walk in a straight line toward the trees.

2-Do not stop walking or look behind.

3-Do not alert your comrades in any way.

If you don't follow these instructions, you will receive your brother's dead body.

Olivia was rooted to the spot, with a look of terror and helplessness plastered on her face, she couldn't think straight, and she knew whoever wrote the letter was watching her and would harm her brother if she tried to do anything.

She loved her brother the most, he is the only family she has left, so even though she knew what she was about to do next was utterly stupid, she had to try to save her brother no matter what, she slipped away from the camp, and walked toward the tree line, she walked for a while when suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Stop right there, and don't look back, put both your hands on your head and stand still, nod your head if you understand"

Olivia did as she was told

Fletcher walked towards her, first zip-tied her hand, put duct tape over her mouth, and blindfolded her.

"Don't worry, I'll take you to see your brother soon, these are just some measures to protect you and me"

Back at the storage building, Fletcher removed Olivia's blindfolds for a few seconds, and then put them back.

"your brother is safe and sound for now"

Olivia was relieved to see her brother even though he was tied up, and disheveled, he was alive and well.

he took her to the next room and sat her down.

"Alright, Olivia, is that your name?"

Olivia looked helplessly, as she had duct tape over her mouth.

"My fault, I forgot to remove the tape"

"Yes, my name is Olivia, why are you doing this? What do you want?"

"Nice to meet you, Olivia, sorry about all of this, let me first assure you, I don't want anyone to get hurt, I'm not a criminal, I am just someone in a desperate situation, as long as I get what I want, I will let you and your brother go, how does that sound?"

Olivia was suspicious, but there was nothing to indicate the man was lying so far, he certainly didn't hurt her or her brother, and so far he was very polite.

"Okay, so what do you want?"

"Well, your group is a scavenger group, right?"

"Yes?"

"You must have gathered a lot of supplies and cores, so I'll cut to the chase I want everything you have collected"

"Are you crazy, even if I could, I wouldn't be able to give you our loot, it belongs to the entire group, everyone had risked their lives for it, and I'm just a nurse, I have never stepped outside the camp"

" don't worry, I know your group would never willingly hand over their loot, that's why I have thought of another way"

"What is it?"

"The plan is simply to draw the camp's main fighting power, and only awakened away from the camp and stall him for a few minutes, that's all I need you to do, and before you say anything, I know that you are very close to the leader of the group jack, aren't you Jack's fiancé, so I'm sure you can accomplish this simple task"

Olivia was stunned for a moment, 'how does this guy know so much about us? Did ray tell him no way, ray would never do that, it must be someone else, is there a traitor in our group?'

Fletcher noticed Olivia lost in her thought, 'what is this dumb bitch thinking about so much'

"OK, I will try. What do I need to do?"

"All you need to do is convince your fiance, to come with you outside the building, into the woods tonight, I need him away from your camp as far as possible, and remember, I am always watching, don't tell anyone anything, if I suspect you, I will kill your brother immediately, do you understand?"

"Fine, but what if he doesn't want to leave? What then?"

"Then your brother dies"

'I don't have a choice, I'll agree for now and maybe later I can find another way to save my brother' Olivia wracked her brain for an answer.

"Fine, I can do that, but remember if you touch even a hair of my brother, you will regret it dearly," Olivia said in a threatening tone

Fletcher raised his hands and said, "relax miss Olivia, as I said before, I don't want to hurt anyone, if I don't have to, you just need to keep your part of the deal, and I will keep mine"

Fletcher was always a great liar, and this was just another great performance.

Later, Fletcher brought Olivia back close to the camp, and let her go, of course, after going around in a few circles.