The Island

"Uhng, wha?" Roman muttered. There was a incressingly loud beeping noise that was interrupting his nap. He slowly opened his eyes and saw light beneath the brim of his hat and smelled sea water. "Oh," he mumbled. "We there yet?"

He yawned and put his hat back on his head from where it had been covering his face. Sitting up he noticed that the canopy on his pod was open to an azure sky above with light clouds and a bright sun. Looking around as he undid his safety harness he noted that he was on some beach with rocky crags. He saw a treeline not too far away and heard the crashing of waves and the cry of seagulls. "Seems we've arrived at our destination."

He climbed out of the pod, reaching back in to grab his meager supplies and looking around. "No sign of anyone yet. Enough water for a day or two but that's all. Best drink sparringly," he said ignoring the slight cotton feeling in his mouth as he shook off the chemically induced lethargy and watched the pod close itself up. It slowly hovered in place up off the ground and then turned around and zipped off over water flying off into the horizon and out of sight. "Dang. I was hoping to strip it for parts. Oh well. Should have known it wouldn't be that easy."

Looking left he saw the beach continue off into the distance. "Beautiful beach but I'm not here for a vacation." He smirked to himself. "Well, actually I am but that's not the point! Not the time or place for a leisurely stroll on the beach with no cover and completely visible to all."

He looked ahead into the dense, jungle like forest. "Good cover, shade and possibility for food and I could do well in the woods... but..." he watched some more pods, similar in make to his, fly overhead coming from that direction before zipping out of sight. "Others are that way. Visibility will be poor. I'd have to stay on the look out for ambushes. And that leaves..."

He looked right. Judging from the position of the sun this was roughly north. The ground swept upwards into what appeared to be a grassy but rocky promontory. "High ground is a good idea," he concluded. "Get someplace I can see trouble coming, hopefully before trouble spots me, and get the lay of the land. But first thing's, first."

He took off his long grey coat he wore, vest and shirt. Using his knife he cut the sleeves off the shirt before putting it back on. He carefully cut the cuff off one with the small camp knife making two small holes and a long strip of cloth he used as string to thread through the holes. "Better than nothing," he said looking over his improvised sling and giving it a few twirls. Satisfied at his basic ranged weapon he stuffed it into his pocket, stowed the left over materials, donned his coat and pack and started traveling north keeping an eye out for and picking up good smooth stones as he went and stuffing them in his pockets.

He moved fairly quickly. He wasn't quite as tall as his father but was still fairly tall, with a lean muscular build and long legs. He swt himself a pace that made good time while conserving energy. After all he had no food or shelter yet. Conservation was important for survival too, especially with minimal resources. Something he was glad for as he started climbing up the sloped terrain. The hard packed scrub and rocks were easier to traverse than the sand but the incline that started gradually began to grow steeper as he went.

He slowed down a bit more to pace himself as well as move cautiously. He could definitely see better than the wooded forest would have provided but who knew what was around each Boulder. Competitors could be laying in wait... or game to hunt. Or-

"Well shit! It locked me out! Apparently we get only one try each per day so what now?"

Roman ducked up against a Boulder hearing voices ahead. Creeping forward and peeking around he saw two- no, three men, two down below with a cutlass like weapon, another a hatchet and a third with a spear on the rocks above in a depression that dipped down into the earth forming a Gulley that lead to a cave opening in the rocky crag ahead. And in that depression was a pod like container! Which meant either supplies or a Character!

"My turn," said the short axe guy approaching the pod and a touch panel. "Your answers were stupid anyway! But I already figured it out! Balls!" He said typing on the TouchPad grinning.

There was a harsh buzzing sound like a game show might make for an incorrectly given answer. That angered the hatchet guy who kicked the side of the container, then cursed hopping around in pain on one foot as his compatriots laughed at his failure.

"Ahahaha! Balls?!" Laughed the cutlass wielder. "That's your answer? Hahahah! You're the biggest dumbass yet, Burt!"

"Fuck you, Carlos!" Said Burt the Axe guy angrily. "Better than your answer! You can't give "hunger" to somebody moron!"

Carlos the cutlass guy shrugged still chuckling. "Still better than "balls"! Heheh."

"Shut it," said the tall guy with the spear. "I'm thinking," he said. "Read it to me again." It wasn't a request and Roman pegged him as their little groups "leader".

"Sure, Yu. Sure," said Carlos as Burt quietly sulked and started reading. "I hurt the most when lost, yet also when not had at all. I’m sometimes the hardest to express, but the easiest to ignore. I can be given to many, or just one. What am I?"

"Fucking riddles," Burt spit. "Nobody said nothing about no stupid fucking riddles and shit!"

"Riddles," Yu the Spearman said thinking as he jumped down and walked over to the display. "Puzzles. Tests. Trials and more. It was all laid out in the stuff they made us sign. The trick is tginking around the puzzle itself. I'm guessing there's a Character inside and the answer is related somehow," He rested his spear over one shoulder then said as he typed, "P-R-I-D-E... Pride."

The same buzzing sound went off as Yu answered incorrectly. "Damn," Yu said then shrugged. "Well it's locked me out too for twenty-four hours. At least we got some time to think about it."

"Yeah," Carlos said. "I bet you were close."

"Yeah," Burt agreed. "We'll get it for sure tomorrow!"

Yu rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb at the cave entrance. "Go check the cave out while I think."

"Uh... in there?" Burt asked swallowing nervously glancing at the dark opening.

Yu glared at him and Carlos tapped Burts shoulder. "C'mon genius." They started making their way into the cave.

"Balls," Carlos said snickering, implying Burt didn't have any.

"Shut up!" Burt grumbled as they walked into the darkness.

Yu smirked. "It ain't easy staying on top! Wait. What's that whistling soun-Oooh..."

*Thwack!*

The rock colliding with his head hit hard stunning him and making him see stars and reel drunkenly. Stars and a man in a long coat with a hat smiling as he walked up twirling a stupid looking black cane as he tried to stay on his feet.

"You got that half right," Roman said swing his cane. The deceptively light seeming metal clubbed the man upside the head a heavy blow knocking him to the ground. "It is hard work to reach the top too, loser." Roman looked down at his foe and smirking clubbed him again ruthlessly to make sure he stayed down and **** before glancing at the cave. He listened and didn't hear anything... still he worked fast.

He went to opened up the TRS system but stopped as it automatically did rewarding him with all of Spearguys tokens complete with a videogame like coin sound. Roman smirked. The judges were fast! He wondered if his uncle was watching. He tipped his hat to the potential audience before getting to work. A pod drone would be along to collect the garbage shortly.

He took the guy's spear and set it aside then stripped him of his backpack and even most of his clothes. He'd be sure to go through the pockets later. When you have very little to work with, every little bit would be helpful. "Sorry, not sorry," he said softly before turning to the mystery pod.

[Roman Stark will return in

First Character! Introducing...

Coming Soon]