As Aurex was moving, he saw the big guy that he killed and that killed him on the first day. "Oh, hey, long time no see. How have you been doing here?" The guy asked.
"Just fine," Aurex replied. "What do you guys do for fun in here?"
The big guy chuckled. "Well, you did not even ask for my name yet! Hi, my name is Dargan. Most folks just call me Dar. What's yours?"
Aurex laughed, a genuine sound. "Ah, I forgot. My name is Aurex. Nice to meet you, Dar."
Dargan grinned, extending a hand. His grip was firm, almost too firm, like he didn't know his own strength, or didn't care. Aurex forced a smile and shook his hand. "So… what do you guys do for fun around here, aside from the whole daily bloodbath thing?"
Dargan laughed, a deep, rumbling sound. "Fun? Well, depends on what you're into. Some people just wander, talk, drink, or play games during the day. Others… train for the fights at sunset. Everyone has their own way of killing time before we… you know, kill each other." He smirked like the whole thing was just another chore.
Aurex nodded slowly, his smile staying on his face, though his mind was elsewhere. Dargan seemed almost too casual about all of this. Almost like he'd been here forever.
"Do you want me to show you around?" Dargan offered. "I can introduce you to new people."
"Why not?" Aurex said. "Please, show me around. I'd love to."
Dargan then showed him around the town, but Aurex had already explored it, so there was nothing new. Then Dargan said, "You should come see this group."
"What group?" Aurex asked.
"They're a group of people, a group of friends, who gather around to kill old people and kids before sunset," Dargan explained, a strange glint in his eye. "They find happiness doing that."
Aurex's brow furrowed. "Ah, they're kind of weird."
"Yes, yes, you should go look at them," Dargan insisted.
So, the both of them continued walking until they reached a big house. There was a large garage attached. They knocked on the door, and some people opened it. The garage door creaked open, revealing about a dozen people inside. They were young, late teens to early thirties, all laughing and talking like a group of close friends. But the energy was strange. Some of them had bloodstains on their clothes, and in the corner of the garage, Aurex spotted what looked like a pile of canes and tattered clothes, things that clearly belonged to elderly people.
One of them, a tall woman with a shaved head, stepped forward and eyed Aurex. "Who's the new guy, Dar? You are bringing us fresh company?"
Dargan grinned. "Yeah. This is Aurex. He's still figuring the place out. Thought he might want to see how some folks pass the time."
The woman smirked. "Pass the time, huh? Well, you're welcome to watch. Maybe even join in, if you're feeling it."
Aurex kept his expression calm but couldn't shake the unease crawling up his spine. "What exactly do you… do here?" he asked, even though he already had a good idea.
The woman tilted her head, her smirk widening. "We make things fun. You'll see soon enough."
"Do you guys remember anything about your childhood?" Dargan suddenly asked.
Everyone looked stunned for a moment. "Hmm… now that you mention it, no, we don't remember," one of them said. "But what's weird about that? People forget things from a long time ago."
Dargan looked at them, then back at Aurex. "You see?" Then, without warning, Dargan punched the guy next to him. His punch was so strong that it completely crushed the man's head, splattering blood across the wall as if someone had swatted a bug.
Everyone continued laughing and joking. It seemed like the man's death didn't mean anything to them. They were just joking about how easily his head had exploded.
Dargan looked at them with absolute disgust. He turned to Aurex and said, "Do you know what makes a human… human? It is their instinct to live. No matter how sad and lonely someone is they will not wish to be hurt, to die a brutal death. They will fight anything, pour out their soul just to survive. But here, people only fight and die, they won't fight for survival, just for death. There is no respect for human nature. You asked earlier what we do for fun. We do absolutely nothing. We just kill each other. You seemed sad earlier, but please don't be. Please don't be. These things are not human. And if they are human, they died a long time ago. They have been dead for a long time."
As he finished speaking, Dargan moved with blinding speed. He grabbed the girl and ripped her head from her body. Then he turned to another man and punched him in the stomach, his hand tearing straight through. It took him only three seconds to kill everyone in the room.
When Aurex realized what had happened, he immediately ran away.