Mortiferous Arcadia: Chapter 2 - Awakening Part 1

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean there exists an island. Ruled by a powerful sorcerer who calls himself, Master Voluminous. The island boasts its own race of people, away from the eyes of the rest of the world. Master Voluminous' power here is nearly unlimited and for unknown reasons, he hosts a contest and offers to give the winner their one true desire. In order to win, they must find the key to Voluminous' castle and then they must find the castle, all staying ahead of the competition, the ecosystem and, heaven forbid, the locals. Welcome to a world of beauty and mania. Welcome to MORTIFEROUS ARCADIA!!!

At the very edge of the island, a little cast of characters sleeps upon the sandy beaches. Jaya is the first to stir, her only good eye opens sharply, 

"Where the f^[& am I?!" she exclaims, frantically taking in her surroundings, her eye settles on the group she was apparently sleeping with,

"And who the hell are all these freaks?" Little by little the others start waking up from their slumber. Mónica immediately stands up with an unearthly scream, the sound emanating fear and rage, 

"Get away from me! I-I'll kill you! I'll kill..." she receives a sharp slap from the mercenary, 

"Shut up!"

Mónica takes a minute to register the situation, "What's going on? Where am I? Who are you?",

"I...am nobody and as for as where we are...your guess as good as mine,"

Mónica immediately extends a hand, "Well nice to meet you, Nobody, I'm Mónica!" she says with childish friendliness, Jaya rolls her eye, " That's not what I-", 

"All right, which one of you am I supposed to gut?!" Tochukwu asks, approaching the duo, Jaya immediately holds her hand out, issuing a halt, "Calm down, T-800. We're all in the same boat here,"

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"I don't know, if you haven't figured it out already, you're not going to figure it out anytime soon,"

"I'd prefer it if we didn't tear each other apart before we're all aware of the situation," Lucrecia pipes in, 

"I'm with her," Moorditj adds, "We can easily garner understanding without violence," 

A stifled laugh comes from behind him, it was Travis, the armoured giant turns around to look at the 8th grader, "You have something to share, Young One?" his voice deep and menacing, but non-threatening, 

"It's just this whole situation reminds of a movie I watched recently, that's all," Travis states, unflinchingly, it always took a lot to scare him and this is no exception.

"Welcome contestants!" comes a voice that seems to be coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, "I trust that you are all fresh, well rested and alert,"

"No one else heard that, right? Right?" Mónica asks, hoping she is schizophrenic.

"I'm afraid not," Lucrecia states apologetically, "I believe our host has come to welcome us."

"Very well done, Detective Amon!" the voice states in a tone that cannot be interpreted as sarcastic or genuine, "I have brought you all hear as my honored guests or should I say gladiators."

"Exactly like that movie..." Travis chimed. He takes the looks on the faces of the others as a cue to hold his tongue. 

"You could at least tell us who you are," Tochukwu says, already feeling like ripping someone's throat out.

"Ah yes, how rude of me," the voice says, "I am the great and powerful sorcerer, Master Voluminous and I rule of this Mortiferous Arcadia,"

Upon hearing his name, Lucrecia, Mónica, Travis and Cloccodile gasp in recognition. Jaya merely folds her arms and Tochukwu betrays no emotion whatsoever.

"Morti-what?" Mónica is confused by such large words

Moorditj explains, "It means "Fatal Paradise","

"Isn't that an oxymoron?" Travis asks.

"So you're the one with the power to give us what we want if one of us finds you?" Tochukwu asks.

"That is correct," Voluminous says, sensing the 16 year old's impatience, "To your left and right you will see sheds with your names on it, in them you will find supplies and weapons to help you survive the island's...beauty."

"Why would we need weapons?" Lucrecia asks, nervously, already knowing the answer.

"Because the only way we're getting anywhere near him is if we kill each other. Keep up, will you?" Jaya says, she really hates when people ask the obvious.

"But these..."the police detective starts pointing at the Mónica, Travis and Tochukwu, "...These are children! What kind of heartless monster, brings children to an Allah-forsaken island to die?!"

"None of you would be here if you did not want something from me," Voluminous states, "Even you, Detective. Besides you don't have to fight each other, you'll have bigger problems once you venture further inland. Please do help yourselves and...make yourselves at home."

As the group walks to their sheds, Voluminous informs them, "By the way, on the other side of the island, the rest of the contestants are receiving this exact same message that you are. I selected 12 of you, because each of you is one of a kind in this pathetic, mundane world,"

"Well that's comforting," Travis says sarcastically.

"Ciao now and happy hunting!"

"This is crazy," Lucrecia holds her head in her hands.

Jaya scoffs, "You can cry about it all you want, that will just make it easier for me."

"Don't tell me you're okay with this!"

"I'm afraid it won't matter if any of us are," Moorditj says, sadly, "But hopefully, it won't come to us trading blows, as the sorcerer said, we may have bigger problems."

"Well what if we work together?" Travis asks, "For survival. at least until..."

"No," Mónica says.

"But..."

"I said no!" She pulls two large machetes off the wall of her shed, and effortlessly swings them in random directions.

"Watch it!" Tochukwu snaps.

"I came here for me and no one else," Mónica begins, "And you'd all just slow me down."

"You're pretty sure of yourself," Moorditj says skeptically. Mónica simply gives him a big toothy grin, "I get that a lot" After making sure she has all she needs, she says, "Adios!" and with inhuman speed, runs into the forest.

Without another word, Tochukwu grabs a sledgehammer from his shed, rolls out a fully fueled Harley Davidson, gathers his supplies and rides on into the forest. The others follow suit. Jaya packs artillery as if she were going to war, Cloccodile has gauntlets and a portable science lab, Travis a slingshot, firework shooter and some fighting gloves, Lucrecia guns, tasers, pepper spray and telepathic booster. Jaya leaves with one final word, "If any of you are smart, you'll stay out of my way. Enough said,"

Moorditj reluctantly trudges towards the wilderness, "Good luck and I hope we don't meet again as adversaries."

Travis is about to leave when Lucrecia stops him, "How old are you?" she asked.

"13," 

"What possible reason would you have for coming to a place like this? You have your whole life ahead of you!"

"Like I haven't heard that one before," he says with an eye roll.

"I'm serious. This isn't a game or a movie. This is life and death!"

"With all due respect...Detective Amon, was it?" He says, a little annoyed, "But I must be going now."

Lucrecia stands in front of him, "Oh no you don't! There is no way I'm letting another minor enter an unknown wilderness alone. You were the one who suggested we work together, so I'm going with you, are we clear?"

After an tense staring contest, Travis concedes defeat and sighs, "Yes, Ma'am." 

"Good!" she says with a smile, "Now before we go into what could be hell on earth, let's talk strategy."

Meanwhile on the other side of the island, a similar occurrence is taking place, with an equally bizarre cast of characters.