Chapter 286 - 286. Blizzard!

"We are just seconds away from the start of our first tournament. The survival tactics tournament! We have our friend the transport king here. He's well known for his one way teleportation super power which took over the industry and lead the world in shopping since his company was founded fifteen years ago." This broadcast was being played on speakers to the large room of contestants. 

Jackson was looking around at the many who were entered along with him. He knew the rules already but was glad that they were being repeated. Hearing them again was calming his nerves. 

"A reminder. Each participant has a small necklace with a button that allows them to surrender and be taken from the venue by our volunteer heroes! They will attempt to stay in as long as possible while our environmental controllers ramp up the conditions, there could be any means of sneaky weather related changes! If a participant fails to press their button but loses safe body conditions, they will be automatically taken from the running." 

This was what put Jackson at ease the most. He worried he would fall in to a bad position and end up unable to even attempt to survive. Knowing that someone would resume him if he was or was not conscious was very comforting. 

"The participants can fight for supplies or territory, however, that will come at great risk. Will it be worth it? Well, as you can see it is time. The participants have already started to get teleported to the arena one at a time. Let's watch and see how they handle the conditions!" 

Jackson saw a small blue portal encompass a woman next to him and suddenly there was only an empty space. He hadn't known why they were standing on little dots but now it seemed that it was a way for the transport kings' super power to work.

"You've got this. Everyone knows you are made for this tournament. No one can hold you back. Take it slow and you will win." Jackson was giving himself a final pep talk. A few contestants heard him and smiled like they were watching a newbie that was for sure to lose. They may have been right, Jackson was a newbie participant. But, they did not know how good Jackson was when it came to survival knowledge and first aid. 

Jackson was holding the card he had been given that said what injury he would have but he wasn't allowed to read it until he was teleported in to the arena. He looked around and began to think he might be the last one to be teleported in when he blinked. 

What met him was the harsh cold wind and white. What looked like an endless canvass of white stretched before him. "Blizzard!" he couldn't help but shout in surprise. He immediately read his cats and found that it said left eye blind.

"Alright, bandage one eye." He pulled out a bandage from his slip backpack and stuck it over his left eye. He knew he had gotten very lucky since losing one eye was not a debilitating unjust to have in these conditions. If he had damaged movement ability he could be severely limited in what he could do. 

"Trees, I can use them to make a fire and shelter up." He saw the trees standing out slightly against the snow. He had a thermal blanket to protect from heat and to keep warmth in so he wrapped himself in that. His slow movements through the snow seemed like he was not ready for it, however, it was intentional. 

If he made big movements he could sweat. He knew that if he did this his sweat would freeze and open him to frostbite and hypothermia. These were the two biggest killers in a blizzard survival situation. He didn't worry about food or for water since those would come second. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's been ten minutes and we have already seen half our participants drop out. The snow and ice are daunting but some were smart enough to see that their injuries would not allow them to continue. Now to mention the few that ran right in to the small streams we have placed under the snow." The announcer laughed heartily while he played some footage for the audience from thee instances. 

"We already have some favorites taking the lead. We have a crowd favorite, the snowwoman. Her body is as cool as she looks. She was graced with the super power to regulate her body temperature and operate normally no matter the cold she faces. She has taken four others out of the tournament and only has a broken finger as her injury." 

"The shifter, teddy. He may look chubby and kind. But when he shifts he is a massive grizzly. The cold is nothing to him as he already dug a burrow and is napping away the competition. Let's just hope another competitor doesn't find him."

"Don't forget our noticeable mentions. One is a first time entrant who seems to have a multitude of survival knowledge and gear in his back pack. Sporting a thermal blanket and currently digging a shelter at the base of a tree. This boy aptly nicknames, survivalist, has a stack of hidden branches ready for a fire!"

The announcer was having a field day while showing off the different contestants. Of course, the contestants didn't know what the others were doing but the input was being eaten up by everyone watching and listening. 

"Now, we have a basic blizzard. But what happens when it becomes a real emergency? Who ever said that blizzards couldn't have thunder and lightning?" 

The announcer spoke and there was a rumble of thunder. Jackson was the very first to react since he had read about thunder and lightning in thunderstorms. He had been prompted to by Louis who was studying all kinds of lightning to hold a better understanding of his lightning body super power. 

The moment that the rumble of thunder happened Jackson used all his strength in his legs to jump from the trees. The trees were the highest points and would be struck forest. He instead forced his legs through the snow which barely held him down. After clearing the trees he dug down in the snow and covered the top with the thermal blanket leaving a small hole for breathing. 

The lightning was flashing above and there were distant cries as opponents were eliminated. "Remember folks. The lightning is strong enough to incapacitate anyone. But it can not cause fatal injuries and our staff is on patrol. Now, for the best reaction, the survivalist lept like a frog as soon as thunder rumbled. The knowledge being demonstrated puts him as the dark horse of the competition. The lightning has cut us down to ten. So fast, we are only four hours in to the tournament!" 

Jackson considered trying to move around but knew it was too dangerous. Instead, he widened his small snowy bunker and decided to wait. In his digging, he managed to find some frozen berries near the ground. He analyzed them and cautiously used snow to pinch them and see their color. "Huh, these are plain old blue berries. I was worried they were bird berries." With his stress gone he snacked on the frozen berries. 

Unknown to him the announcer had just shown the shifter fall to unconsciousness from eating the bird berries Jackson had been wary of. The last participants were in similar cases to Jackson. The most dangerous and top participants had been taken out by the weather twist of snow lightning. All that was left was for him to wait out the cold and win. He had his strategy and that was what he would stick to. 

"I'm glad I grabbed those sticks." He looked at the sticks tied with rope to his waist. "I can't believe no one else had a survival pack with them." Jackson knew it was an achievement to survive with just their body. But this was an intense competition, he would never risk something like that. Especially since it could lead to real life. He wasn't sure if he should wait to start a small fire or not since he wasn't too cold just yet. 

"And here comes our final twist. Now more snow. Bring on the hail. The last of the four will be the winners." The announcer said this gluing everyone's faces to the four displayed participants. 

Jackson heard the first ting of ice on the thermal blanket. He reached up and felt that the temperature was colder than before and that there were small beads of ice on top of the snow. His internal voice screamed at him as it suddenly increased in strength. 

Jackson burrowed himself to the ground letting the thermal blanket get pierced by falling hail. He had his head barely out of the snow of the wall in his little dug out shelter. He watched as golfball sized pieces of hail filled it. For every second that passed, he hoped that there would be no more. 

When the weather suddenly ceased and warmth radiated through the arena he believed that things were just taking another challenge. He slowly crawled from the snow.