I am the storm

Chapter 2 | The beginning of the end

After a sleepless night of tossing and turning in my bed I awoke to what seemed like a normal bright morning, unfortunately after that e-mail my life could never be bright again...

The following morning was oddly quiet, I ate my breakfast at the downstairs table like any seventeen year old girl, but the uneventful morning I longed for was interrupted by a ring at the door from the doorbell.

In response I cautiously walked to the front door, turned the key slowly and swung open the door to see no one there. Relieved I started to close the door before my eyes looked down and I saw a brown cardboard box.

The box was no bigger than a house brick, on top of the box was a white card neatly fastened in the middle of the top of the box. The white card read 'For Alexis Monroe, something to aid you in The end of days.'

I instantly knew that this package was for me (due to the name tag) and something to do with The end of days killing game! Whatever this package was it must be important.

Maybe if it was something important to the killing game wouldn't it say in the e-mail?

Or the package was something to kill me with sent by another participant like a....bomb?

Oh god if I touch the box it could explode killing me! And everyone close by!

No. I wouldn't let fear control my life!
I won't let it!

Propelled by a new confidence my hands reached down and firmly grabbed the box. A moment of silence. Then I exhaled in reassurance what ever it was, it probably wasn't a timed bomb, I was safe.

Confidently, I brought the box inside and closed and locked the door behind me.

I placed the box on the downstairs table in the kitchen and proceeded to open the box: first by removing the white square label and placing it to the side, then using a pair of scissors cutting the tape binding the box shut and finally I opened the boxes folds.

Inside the box was about three layers of bubble wrap for insulation, covering a small device about five and a half centimetres in width and eight and a half centimetres in length with rounded edges and half a centimetre in depth. The device was mostly a screen but it was a grey colour. The device had one button a switch between 'on' and 'off', the device also had a charging port which only made sense upon seeing the cable charger in the box.

Curiously, I flipped the switch currently on the 'off' onto 'on' and I was greeted by blank white screen with a battery icon fully charged and a tab which said 'Messages' and in the middle of the screen was a blank circle.

Suddenly, a number one in a black circle appeared next to the tab saying
'Messages' so I clicked the tab and a screen displaying a message from 'anonymous', it read 'Miss Monroe this is you're PTD (Participant Tracking Device) this device lets the organisers of The end of days game contact the players, also this device has an fifteen hour battery life. In addition this device on the home screen contains a currently blank circle when a participant is in a ten metre radius of another participants chip implant the circle will beep and flash to notify you of another participants presence. Good luck Miss Monroe in The end of days.'

Well this game certainly tries to be fair but why? Why try to be fair when you force people into an unlawful mutual killing game? My mind raced as all this nonsense had become real this cruel reality was now the reality I was forced to accept I couldn't process all this information!

So in frustration I got dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a light blue tee-shirt and dark grey raincoat to combat the rain falling heavily outside and I left the house to go for a walk along the river side.

As I walked along the peaceful riverside for some time to collect my thoughts. I thought to myself about who could of placed me in a killing game?

Who could of organised a surgery on my body without me knowing?

Who else had been forced in to 'The end of days'?

Did I know any of the other participants?

Or was I truly alone?

By now it was getting late and somehow it was around six p.m. so I started walking through town heading back home when I heard a 'Beep' from my pocket.

Confused I looked in my pocket to see the PTD, somehow instinctually I had grabbed the PTD and took it on my walk.

But the more pressing concern grew, the PTD beeped! A player was within ten metres of me! So in a panic I looked in all directions of me but I could only see one person when 'beep beep' rang out, twice this time!

The beeping continued as the person started walking in my direction now I could see the person was a man in a black leather coat and dark jeans and a black beanie the man was out of shape and fat maybe in his mid thirties, by now it was definitively clear, he was heading towards me!

I turned and started walking at a brisk pace but before I could get away a hand grasped over my mouth and dragged me backwards into a secluded alley. I tried to yell and scream but I couldn't, the strangers grasp stopped me.

The man threw me to the ground my face facing up as he loomed over me and knelt down over me. He proceeded to grasp my neck and squeezed hard, he was chocking me! I was dying this participant was trying to kill me!

The man said in a nervous voice "I'm sorry but I have to do this, not because of the game but I just have a need a..bloodlust! You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" His voice seemed sad and disappointed, as if he had no choice.

His grip tightened as he repeated the word "Sorry" in a whisper over and over as my world grew darker and darker.

I couldn't remove his grasp. I clawed at his fingers but none of them would let go.

Quickly, realising the futility of trying to remove his hands I tried to find something, anything to help me!
Luckily my left hand found a brick! With all my might I swung with the brick and it collided with the mans right temple causing him to fall off me releasing his grip on my neck. I gasped and quickly rose from the ground brick in hand!

The man retaliated quickly and tried to tackle me to the ground but my body instinctively swirled round past the man dodging his tackle! But the man quickly got back to his feet and turned to me but now he held a pocket knife and an animalistic look on his face.

He charged at me brandishing the knife in an offensive position but as if on instinct I launched the brick in my left hand into the mans face causing him to drop the knife and become dazed. I quickly grabbed the knife which had landed on the floor and took a step back to keep away from the man.

Suddenly, the man charged but this time instead of dodging the man landed on the knife gripped in my hand and blood erupted on my coat from the man's mouth. His body fell limp as blood poured from the stab wound in the man's stomach and the man fell into a puddle of his own blood.

In shock I collapsed, kneeling down next to the man as tears ran down my cheeks and fell into the pool of the mans still warm blood...