The Dreamer
The morning was quiet. The kind of quiet that made everything feel tender, like the wrong word could bruise. A thin mist curled through the slave camp’s rusted alleys, clinging low to the ground where blood and ash used to dry.
Dozai sat on the edge of his cot.
Across from him, Nobu wordlessly folded his blanket, his motions tight and mechanical.
Rei was still curled beside Rizaru, who hadn’t woken fully, but her brow was furrowed in pain even as she slept.
The air smelled faintly of burnt starch and oil, breakfast for the guards, probably.
The quiet wasn’t heavy. It was trained.
And then, the steel horn blared.
Short. Sharp. No room for interpretation. A summoning.
Everyone froze.
Dozai didn’t need to look at Nobu. They were already moving in sync, gathering what they needed, about to help Rei lift Rizaru gently onto her feet.
“All workers and Hunters,” a voice crackled through the intercoms, distorted and electric. “Report to the mess hall. Master Hellick will now declare the rules for the Rat Race.”
The room stilled.
Rei looked up from where she knelt beside Rizaru, her hands halfway through rewrapping Rizaru’s arm.
Nobu approached them, also helping Rizaru up.
Rizaru shifted to sit up. Weak, but moving.
By the time they made it to the mess hall, the scent of bleach and steel was already thick in the air. The lights buzzed low overhead, casting washed-out halos over the concrete floor.
Every table had been pulled to the side, leaving a hollow space in the center.
Workers crowded together, shoulder to shoulder, avoiding each other’s eyes.
Rizaru was barely upright, one of Rei’s arms wrapped around her ribs, the other gripping Nobu’s sleeve like a lifeline.
The guards stood along the walls, weapons slung lazy at their hips, lining the perimeter. One guard’s hand tightened slightly on his weapon. Another swallowed and looked away when Rizaru limped in.
At the far end, Dozai saw three figures stood like statues... The Top Three.
Kota leaned back against a column, arms folded, lips curled in the faintest sneer.
Lucious stood upright with both hands behind his back, his fingers twitching like they missed the hilt of a blade.
And Delnora didn’t blink. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest as she stared at the workers entering... No, at Rizaru, specifically.
Then Hellick stepped forward, spine straight, hands folded neatly behind her back.
The moment the last soul entered the room, she raised one hand. Hellick’s voice sliced through the tension.
Each word felt like a dropped scalpel.
“Let me explain why you’re here. In two weeks’ time, we begin a test. A series of matches. A Rats Race.” she added dryly, “Thought it was a cute name.”
Dozai saw several workers stiffen, some involuntarily sucking in breath.
Hellick turned slightly as a guard activated the side wall projector with a mechanical click. A humming screen flickered to life, casting pale white over her form.
The words scrolled out, stark and final:
THE RAT RACE. THE HUNTER vs WORKERS
Match Type: Workers vs One Hunter
Total Matches: 3
Timer: 10 Minutes.
Worker Victory: (must win 2 of 3 times):
Subdue or restrain the Hunter for 10 full seconds
Render the Hunter unconscious
Hunter Victory:
Defeat or outlast all workers before time runs out.
Must not be captured
Failure for Workers:
Immediate death
Can be spared if Master Hellick sees potential.
Failure for Hunters:
Demotion
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Possible death if not satisfied.
Selection:
Kota, Lucious, and Delnora will each select one Hunter to represent them
Conditions:
Fights will occur in randomized, hostile environments within the camp perimeter
If Hunter wins by timeout they will still be punished.
Any killing that isn’t authorized by Master Hellick will be punished.
The only sound left was the low, electric hum of the projector and the ragged intake of a hundred nervous breaths.
Nobu glanced at Dozai, face unreadable. Rei’s jaw trembled. Somewhere behind them, Kenny muttered a curse too quiet to catch fully. Roi sighed, knowing this would be exhausting.
Hellick let the words settle in the air like dust.
“This is your only organized opportunity. After this, its back to how its always been."
Her gaze swept across the sea of Workers and Hunters, slow and surgical. “Of course, I won’t force anyone,” she added, almost casually. “I prefer slaves who obey me willingly.”
Her eyes landed on Kota.
His shoulder jerked like she'd just yanked an invisible leash.
Then came the smile, cold, composed, never quite reaching her eyes.
Scanning not the strong, but the hesitant.
Like she was selecting a pet, not a warrior.
“Now tell me…” She took one slow step forward on the platform, her hands spreading ever so slightly. “Who will take this opportunity?”
A chill ran through the hall. Dozai watched her, trying to read beneath her poise. This wasn’t about testing strength. It was about broadcasting value.
Rizaru was right that she wanted weapons, but she wanted stories too. Something violent enough to captivate, tragic enough to hook, and raw enough to be used again.
The only fair thing about it was that they didn’t have to fight the top 3 hunters directly, just ones they have chosen. But even that could be troublesome.
It was suffocating. No one moved a fraction.
The workers stood frozen, eyes wide, chests tight.
In the back, Rizaru was slumped against Nobu’s side.
Her lips were pale. Her breath shallow. But eyes steady.
Staring at all the hunters, as if she was making sure her presence was still known.
Rei’s knees trembled visibly. Her eyes darted from Hellick to the ground, to Dozai, to nothing. Nobu clenched his fists so tight his nails bit into his palm, jaw trembling to keep it all together.
Roi stood still, unbothered. Like she’d expecting something like this.
Kenny just breathed, slow and measured.
Dozai could feel all of them, could feel the tension rising like pressure in a sealed room.
And in that moment…
He felt a terrible clarity.
This wasn’t a test. This was a branding.
“No one?” Hellick teased, voice lilting.
One kid in the crowd dropped his gaze. Another hesitantly stepped forward, just to be pulled back by his friend.
It was suffocating. The silence. The feeling of bodies pressing into eachother.
The projector's light making everyone already look like pale corpses.
Dozai’s heart pounded. His mind screamed to wait.
To plan. To buy time.
But he also knew, if no one stepped forward… they’d all lose.
He looked up.
Hellick’s eyes met his and for a single beat, her expression softened.
A smile curled on her lips.
Anticipation.
Dozai inhaled slowly. His heartbeat thudded loud in his ears, each beat felt measured, like something counting him down.
Before he even decided to move, pain lanced through his ankle.
Sharp. Twisting. Familiar.
Like a crowbar had just swung out of nowhere and caught him mid-stride. His foot buckled half an inch—not from anything there, but from flesh remembering what metal felt like.
The sensation vanished just as quickly as it came, leaving behind a dull, aching pressure.
Dozai sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, forcing the tremor out of his leg.
Then—
He stepped forward. The first to break the silence.
The first to stand beneath the weight of her gaze.
Hellick’s smile widened, just barely.
“Of course,” she whispered, her voice dripping with cold satisfaction. “The dreamer.”
The silence stretched thin, held together by breath, by fear, by the weight of what came next.
Dozai stood alone beneath the flickering mess hall lights, their pale glow casting long shadows behind him. His face stayed calm, unreadable, but inside, something frayed. A crack behind the mask.
His fingers twitched by his side before he clenched them into stillness. Every sound, the shuffle of boots, the hiss of static from an overhead light, seemed louder than it should be.
Eyes turned towards him.
Lucious slightly raised an eyebrow, his sigh subtle but audible, like he was watching a child touch fire just to see what it felt like.
Kota scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning back, expression unreadable, but his gaze lingered a beat too long.
Delnora said nothing. Her stare drifted past Dozai’s front and into something deeper, darker. The look of someone contemplating how to unravel a thing just to see what’s inside.
Dozai could feel it all pressing in.
His lungs drew breath like it was a chore. His heartbeat had steadied on the outside, but inside, it was galloping.
This was reckless. This was stupid. I should’ve waited. Thought it through.
He clenched his fist tightly.
But if I didn’t move, no one would.
Behind him, the crowd murmured, workers barely daring to whisper. Then came the sound of boots.
Kenny stepped forward with a stretch and an exaggerated yawn. “Well, someone’s gotta keep the dreamer from dying too early,” he said, flashing a crooked grin to keep himself together. “Might as well be me.”
Dozai didn’t look at him, but the sound grounded him slightly.
Nobu followed almost immediately, his expression ice-cold. “I finally get to bully the bullies,” he muttered, stepping beside them. “It’s about time I start dreaming too.”
Three.
Then stillness.
The mess hall, once full of whispers, dropped back into that brittle quiet. The kind that buzzed inside your ears.
“…Guess we’re doing this.”
Roi pushed her way through the crowd with a huff, brushing stray hair from her face. Annoyance tugged at her brow, but a small, reluctant smile curved her lips.
Four.
Hellick tilted her head, smile fading.
“Only four?” she said, voice dipped in disappointment. “Show a little more effort.” Hellick egged on.
Still, no one moved. Hellick exhaled, soft but scathing. “Fine. Four it—”
A fifth step echoed through the mess hall.
Every head turned towards her.
A guard muttered, "Idiot girl."
She walked past the crowd gently.
The bandages on her thigh were soaked through, her breath hitched with every other step, but she didn’t stop.
Her nervous smile never wavering.
Rei.
Nobu reached for her instinctively, arm extended in a silent wait or don’t.
She smiled at him. “Together.” .
No one could stop her.
Even Hellick blinked, just once. Then she clapped, once, sharp.
“Five. You have fourteen days.” She turned, coat flaring slightly with the motion as she descended the platform steps. “Don’t disappoint me, dreamers.”
She didn’t look back.
The Top Three moved behind her.
Delnora leaned in and whispered something too soft to hear, something that made Lucious push her off of him.
Delnora playfully pretended she was about to fall before landing eloquently on one leg, laughing.
Kota trailed behind them, arms still crossed, shoulders tense. But he paused at the edge of the doorway. His gaze flicked back to the group.
Dozai.
They locked eyes.
Kota said nothing. He didn’t have to.
His eyes darted to Rizaru, still seated in the back,
Her eyes locked with his, calm and cold.
Then Kota turned forward again and muttered under his breath as he walked out, “Tch. You guys asked for it.”
The mess hall began to clear. Back to routine.
But for the five who stood at the center, something had shifted.
The weight of the next two weeks settled onto their shoulders.
Just the rules. And the will to survive it.
