“I’ll kill you Damien, I’ll kill you Damien, I’ll kill you Damien, I’ll kill you Damien...” Jennifer clenched her fists to the point she’d snapped several of her nails in half as she approached the gate. She came into the stadium and instantly her emotions changed from blinding anger to blinding fear.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the eighty seventh annual Grand Melee!” bellowed the announcer as Jennifer approached the holographic projector. She was too busy shaking and holding up a terrified smile as best she could to pay attention to the recap of the past winners.
Jennifer occupied herself by thinking of the different ways to murder her former friends as the announcer finished his list. The crowd’s barriers were dropped and they began picking out their favourite competitor. She looked at the horde of teen girls converging on Eli and wondered just what they were thinking.
Being neither famous or a good chance of winning, Jennifer was left alone on the arena grounds. That was fine for her, helping her to calm down a little with the knowledge that no one cared about or was paying attention to her. It didn’t improve how depressed she felt about the whole thing. Jennifer had told absolutely everyone she didn’t want to enter the Melee for a whole month now.
Everyone from her friends to her family laughed it off, and the default response from the organisers of the Melee itself told her that once a name was entered it couldn’t be revoked. She had tried to pretend to be sick for weeks before, but when the officials arrived they told her very bluntly that the arena wasn’t affected by that.
So, here she was lying down in the pod and quietly begging the attendant to free her. Despite Jennifer’s attempts, the attendant wasn’t phased and she was too terrified to try and fight her way free herself... so she just laid there as the pod was closed.
Jennifer’s eyes opened and when she saw the distinctive white city stretching out around her she burst into tears, lying in a plaza trying to convince everyone that she should be let out of the pod. Of course, she was stuck now. And after a little under ten minutes she came to accept that.
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Virtually Existent
Ficção CientíficaVirtually Existent is dedicated to Siobhan and Angela. Without their encouragement and support this story wouldn't have become what it is.
