Team Deathmatch

Round 2: Semi-Finals

Humans always thrive for competition. When we're pitted against one another, we'll stop at nothing to win.

-James Woodrow, TIME, 2021

I leaned up against the back of the wall, feeling the shudder of gunfire and explosions above me, and reloaded the clip in my weapon. I was breathing heavily, and I looked around for any sign of my target. As soon as I did, I heard a metallic clattering, and saw a small round object drop down from above the bridge that I was hiding under, and roll towards me. I dived out of the way just before it exploded.

I saw my screen turn red, and got up, my hearing temporarily impaired from the explosion. Then, as I recovered, I turned around to see an enemy wielding a gun jump down and aim at me. I spun my rifle around and aimed right for him. I had a clear shot, but then, I suddenly froze up.

My scope was aimed right between his eyes, and there was no way that I could miss from this range. But, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't compel myself to pull the trigger. I felt my hands shaking in both the game and in the real world, and my breath hitch up in my throat. I realized that I should move, but my legs wouldn't comply. Then, I saw the soldier raise his weapon at me, then watched as he pulled trigger, the bullet flying through my skull, killing me instantly.

"Sam? Sam! You ok?" I heard Yumi's voice speak to me from far away, then I realized that she was still on our open comms channel. I looked around to see that I was back at my spawn point, and I hadn't died. Instead, the game had been paused, and everyone on the team was gathered around and looking at me. I sighed, then shook my head. "I...I'm sorry guys. I froze up. I got killed."

Yumi looked at me sadly, then opened her menu. She clicked the End Game button, and the training match ended, teleporting all of us back to the main menu. After me and Yumi had reconciled, along with the rest of the team, we had decided to do a few training matches, all of us having begrudgingly accepting to go along with Woodrow's game. 

After I made it to the main menu, I logged out of Team Deathmatch and went into the new chatroom we had created for our team. Unlike the bedroom that Yumi had created for herself, we had all contributed something to this room, so we could all feel at home. Maya had put up a few paintings everywhere, along with placing a cat AI that would occasionally spawn in, roam around, even ask for belly rubs. Jasper had placed plenty of comfy spots to sit, with couches, recliners, and beanbags. Leo wasn't much of an interior decorator, so he had created the exterior, programming the weather patterns and scenery. One minute, we could be in the middle of a city on a sunny day, the next in a rainy countryside. Yumi had added some of her own personal collection, like the figurines from her shelves, now splayed around the room, along with some random books, comics, and manga. Also, she had placed every gaming system she could program to our entertainment centre. From Atari 2600 to PlayStation 5, everything was there. Finally, I had added some small toys and art programs that we could relax and play with, and were as much for my benefit than for everyone else's.

I saw that the team had already spawned in before I did, and I quickly grabbed a virtual fidget cube from the toy table, and sat down on the couch next to Yumi. I looked over at the other side of the room and saw Maya playing with the cat, and Leo and Jasper both sitting on chair, looking at me. 

We all sat in silence, then Jasper spoke first, uncharacteristically serious. "Listen, Sam...no one blames you for that. I mean, after everything that's happened today...it'd be much harder for me to pull the trigger too." Everyone nodded in agreement, and Yumi rubbed my back. "This is going to take some getting used to...but we need to be able to in order to make it out of this." I put my head in my hands, running my fingers through my hair. "I just...I never wanted to kill anybody. For all we know, the next game that could be us getting fried." Maya shook her head. "It's not your fault. It's that sick bastardo Woodrow that's killing them. We're just his pawns."