Sleeping Alone

Please Stay

Everyone was silent while walking back to our initial room. No one dared utter a word, you walked at the back of the line in complete silence.

As you walk, one of the men in the pink jumpsuits bumps into you.

"Ah, I'm sorry sir," you say looking up at him. They had a square on their mask, you wondered if the shapes perhaps meant something.

He just stared at you, then walked away.

'What was that about?'

"Hey! Get back in line." a man with a triangle mask urges you back into line.

You shake off the encounter and continue to walk to the main room, though this time, a pair of eyes watched your every step.

• • •

Nobody is speaking besides a few men discussing what had happened during the game. You don't blame them, you too need a moment to collect yourself.

Slouching your back against a bed and putting your hands in your pockets you feel something inside it. You take it out, it's a tiny rolled-up piece of paper. With something written on it. You read it.

'Please Stay'

Had this always been in your pocket?

'No, it wasn't there before. I checked my pockets for my phone before the game started and there was nothing there.'

Your mind went to the man who bumped into you, was he the one who put this in your pocket? It seemed like a plausible answer, however, you are surrounded by hundreds of people. It could have equally been any of them. Not to forget the possibility of it being one of your fellow contestants was a much higher probability. Even so, why be creepy with this anonymity and not just say it to your face?

Just as you began to figure out where the paper came from, multiple men from the large doors at the back of the stage pour out to greet you after the blood bath.

"Congratulations, you have all completed the first game. We will now reveal the results of the game."

The screen above the stage displayed the number of people, 457, soon started to plummet rapidly. We started with 457 of us, trickled down to only 201.

"Please sir, Let me go home!"

A lady with long dark hair bowed on the ground begging to leave this hell hole.

"I'll pay off my debts I swear I will! I have a child! I haven't even registered them for a name, please let me see my child!"

'Number 212'

Then others followed her lead, a few dozen people proceeded to plead for their freedom. Promising to pay their debts off if given a chance of freedom.

"I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding," the man with the square mask begins to explain. "we are not here to try and collect your debts. We are here to give you a second chance at life."

A man began to revolt, "A second chance at life? We played a game and you shot us! You call this a second chance?"

Another man chimes in "We all may be in serious debt but please sir, none of us deserve to die for it!"

You avert your gaze and stare at the floor knowing damn well you're probably the only person in the room who isn't in serious debt. Seriously, how did you meet the criteria?

"It was simply a game. They were eliminated because they did not follow the rules of the game."

"So this is just a game to you!" the man yelled.