Page 6

Any Alpha or Omega caught attempting to flee the grounds early forfeits life and prize.

THE DEAD ARE LEFT TO ROT.

No retrieval of bodies is permitted untilthe Hunt ends. Corpses shall remain where they fall, as warning or as bait.

ALLIES ARE TEMPORARY.

Alphas may form temporary pacts, but no bond holdsonce anOmega is withinreach. Betrayal is not only expected, it is tradition.

THE CHECKPOINTDETERMINES THE VICTOR.

To win the Hunt, anAlpha mustdeliveraliveOmegato thecheckpointbeforesunset on the seventh day. Both Alpha and Omega must remain inside thecheckpoint and alive until the final horn blows.

Alphas- simply catching an Omega is not enough. You must bring them in, alive, and hold them until the end.

Omegas- simply surviving is notenough. You must arrive at the checkpoint unaccompanied by an Alpha.

If multiple Alphas reachthe checkpoint with Omegas, the first Alpha to arrive with a claimedOmega is declared the victor and takes the prize.

If no Alpha delivers a live Omega or no Omega reaches the checkpointby the final sunset,there is no winner. The Hunt ends.

After the announcement, we continue to sit in silence. Four still shapes among the wreck of panic. One has her eyes… well, her eye, because she has one covered with a black patch, closed, as her lips move in some silent chant. One with glowing red eyes stares into the darkness, deadpan as if she’s thinking about nothing and cares about nothing, and the other, whose pupils are white, blinks calmly with determination in her eyes.

And me?

I keep my back straight, stare locked on the door. My breath is steady, my heart slow, because there is no backing out.I chose to be here.