The Great Game (2019)

6

"Hey. You're Chase Woods, right?"

A dark, muscular male slides from his bored stance by the lamp post before me. Before I can answer, he reaches his hand out. A key dangles by the tip of his pinky, hanging dangerously close to the edge and he swings it at me.

"Death wanted me to pass this to you. It's your key to the mansion which is where all of us will be staying at from today."

"The mansion? All of us?" I snatch the key off the male's hands and he draws his arm back so swiftly, I almost think that he had never left it hanging.

"Yeah. I'm your fellow contestant, Kent. Before you arrived, Death gave all the contestants a short briefing about the dangers of staying with those not participating in the games."

"That's crazy." I say but I finger the key that I have hurriedly stuffed into my pocket. The cold circular ring that the key is chained to suddenly feels a lot more comforting.

"She also set out some rules about appearing in public out of the games."

"I swear, that girl's a control freak."

"It's he/him now."

"Fine, he's a control freak." I snap, my thumb driving against the metallic ring with such a force, I think the material is starting to bend.

"Nah, he seems pretty relaxed. Anyway, he said that today's all about introducing the contestants to the public and first impressions. We have some time before the media team arrives."

"The media team?" I bring my hand to my forehead and announce my disdain with a soft slap. "Please don't tell me that we're going to be interviewed."

"Wow, you should have really came for the briefing. Anyway, seems like luck isn't on your side today. We've got an interview sometime after lunch. You can walk around and explore the perimetre, Death installed a bunch of cool infrastructure overnight to serve the tourists."

"Tourists?"

"Yeah, the games are a huge event. The higher ups from Haven and earth will be here." When Kent sees the look on my face, he laughs shortly, "No one's going to be wandering around the contestants' living area, obviously. At the very worst, you'll catch them around the golf courses or shared facilities."

"That's right, because that's my biggest concern- having others insult my golf skills." I say automatically and Kent shakes his head, not knowing how to answer me.

"Come on, I'll show you around. Everyone else is already here, settling down nicely. Maybe you'll even recognise a few people who you know from earth."

I smile at Kent the the motion hurts my cheeks. When he glances away, I let the smile topple off my face and I wonder if he knows the truth his words hold. The long limousines that accommodated my travel are parked along a grassy patch of thriving grass and around me is a world of class and elegance. White, broad pillars hold up the weight of chalets and in the distance is a sandy beach, peppered with chairs to longue on and an open bar.

"Is this the main mansion? Or is this entire place a shared facility and the mansion's just a portion?" I ask Kent who strolls so naturally, it makes me think twice if he has been here for a day or a year.

"This is the shared facilities. The mansion's a little farther where others who aren't contestants will have a harder time trying to access. You could say that the mansion's linked to the facilities but it's kind of out of the place."

Coconut trees dot the length of the widely spaced corridors and everywhere I turn, luxury seems to ooze out of the venule of the place. Swimming pools with pristine waters and wooden tiles not yet sunken in with the weight of countless people shine, beckoning me in. Employees buzz about in small litters, trying to liven up the area but in quantities so minute that it doesn't feel overcrowded.