Hotel Jeontu: The Five Survivors

Chapter 5 - Playing With Fire Pt. 1

Forget about it.

We don't need to talk about that.

Still shaking from the uncomfortable spasm, I gather myself and continue down the path.

I weakly smile at Hestia. "Sorry about that. Where was I?"

The water jellyfish doesn't reply (as she is, of course, a water jellyfish). Instead, she begin to fly ahead of me, spinning around and spewing random bursts of water as she makes her way down the stone path.

"Hestia?" I promptly run after her, confused why she's acting like that. What is up with her? Did my panic attack affect her too? How is a jellyfish I created acting out of the boundaries of my commands?

She leads me through a small grove of purple palm trees and a cluster of huge boulders. As I run I ready my weapons. Something's definitely up; I don't know what, but something or someone is here.

It doesn't take long before I can finally see where Hestia's been leading me. A small group of five unrecognizable students stands at the bottom of the cliff. Four of them face one lone girl, all of them except her wielding a weapon. An axe, a lasso, a claymore, and a club. It's clear that there's some conflict between the team of four and the girl standing alone. Even with a lack of anything to protect herself she stands tall and confident. Every one of them wears the same taekwondo uniform as me, displaying their collective Tier 4 status.

I climb on top of a nearby boulder with Hestia to observe the sight. This is going to be fun. "Wow, thanks for leading me here," I say to Hestia. She spins in response. "But you know I'm not going to kill them, right?" She spins again. "Right." I turn back to the students to watch their encounter.

Even from afar, the voices of the five students are clear and crisp. I immediately recognize each of them as they each take turns speaking.

"So you're saying that if we let you pass," the first boy, Kenneth, asks. His voice is deep and grumbly, but with a tad of energy in it that makes him always sound like he's in a debate. He's the claymore-wielder. "You won't kill us?"

"Like I've said a thousand times, if you let me into the Tier 4 cave, I'll let you guys out of here alive," the lone girl groans. "It's not that hard to understand."

I smirk when I hear the girl's stale voice. It's Heather, probably one of the fiercest girls I've met in my entire life, and that means a lot. I've encountered many, many girls, but none as confident and bold as Heather Kwon. In the years I've known her I have never beaten her in a fight (a verbal fight, of course); she's far too valorous and scary to face. If I were to compare her to any fictional figure, I would compare her to a warrior goddess, and I'm sure anybody else would agree with me. Although she isn't currently wielding her weapon, I know that she could wipe all four of those kids out without blinking an eye.

"Do you really think you'll be able to kill all four of us?" the axe-wielder Harry asks. He's short and stumpy, his voice as high as the hobbit that he is. In fact, his nickname amongst our grade used to be "The Hobbit", referring to his persistent 165 centimeter height which he's maintained ever since the beginning of middle school. How he managed to stay alive with a weapon taller than him, let alone manage to reach Tier 4 is a big question for me.

The club-wielder Gianna says, "Yeah, I mean the odds are clearly against you. I don't see why you're making such a big fuss."

I don't know too much about Gianna, but her pigtails dyed red and blue like Harley Quinn have always stood out to me. It's aesthetically fitting that she uses a club.

The last boy doesn't open his mouth, but his tall and lanky stature gives off his obvious identity of Jordan, the poster boy basketball player of our class. As always, he stays silent. He speaks as often as a box of Cheerios, and has as much hair as a box of Cheerios. Yet, he still manages to be one of the most well-known and liked guys in our grade (which is also a lingering question of mine). For some odd reason his weapon is the lasso, which again, I cannot explain.