Video Games

Chapter Twenty

"Get up gamers."

What the hell? It's the middle of the night and I'm being instructed to wake up... Why? Looking out of the window, nothing is visible, not even the outlines of the gate. Pulling myself from the bed, I look around and stretch. Whatever they've planned, it can't be a great game. Well, it can't be great in terms of the daylight variation. We could've easily have played this in a dark lit room or something. It occurs to me that we could be playing a horror game.

The pounding in my head as I stand up makes the edges of my vision flicker; I feel disorientated, unawake. Rubbing the sleep dust from my eyes, I grab the glass I was using last night and down the water in it. It doesn't taste the best as it hits the back of my throat, but it will have to do. I have barely any time before this game commences.

No call is needed, for I step outside and see the hovercraft before me; it consumes my farm in more shadow than it originally did. Climbing the ladder, it occurs to me that it's going to be virtually empty. To think that thirty of us started here and that now only eight of us remain is a crazy thought. Yesterday, four people were wiped out and now we only have two thirds of what we had yesterday. We're perishing too fast; we need to slow down the number of deaths.

What other games are left to play? I mean, we won't cover every world record holder's game here. We're probably doing horror now, to relive the memory of Nysan. Tomorrow, I don't know how many of us will be left - there could be six, there could be four, there could be two. This could be the penultimate game. For all we know, this could be the last game - seven of us could die right here. That is unlucky, but you can't count anything out in this place.

As I make it to the top, I sit between Baiyou and Keiji; Chryso, Tainai, Tynoco and Oguro sit opposite us. Ithai will sit on the end next to Keiji. That's us, the last eight. It's also strange to think that I'm still here as the only female. Chibuike passed too long ago; Areli and the other females all passed before that. Tynoco appears in my mind; I think of him when I think of Areli and Keltain and Dexio.

Dexio risked his life for Tynoco. Dexio could've lived and Tynoco could've been found, but no, Dexio ran and averted the attention from Tynoco. Dexio tried to fulfil my happiness in his last moments. How can I repay something as precious as that? If anything is keeping me going, it's the fact that Dexio did that. If I can get out of here, I will visit his family and be sure to pay his family everything that I can to make up for the loss of their son.

Ithai arrives and sits in the last seat free. It's so strange to think that the little kid, barely older than Chibuike and Kwesi, has made it this far. Other than Tainai, Ithai and I, the guys are like tanks. They all have muscle that many other people envy. Then again, Tainai and I have actually gained muscle and have managed to lose a lot of weight. Before these games, I wasn't too happy with my body; now I can see my hipbones. However, I'll be unhappy if I can see my ribs because I do like the idea of having a little bit of flesh left.

Tynoco looks at me with fear in his eyes; he knows that we have to tear away from each other if we want to get through this. No one can remain friends. We can't get attached to each other anymore or there will be a victorious suicide. Maybe that would make a statement though; that this is all wrong and it needs to stop. Then again, having a kid kill themselves over something like this wouldn't exactly be great. It would be tragic and I'd hate to think of the pain in their final moments.

The hovercraft lands, distracting me from the suicide daydream in my mind. Outside, it is pitch black and nothing stands out from the darkness, not even the outlines of whatever objects are out there. The guards come onto the hovercraft and hand us a flashlight and a little bag that goes over our shoulders. Hopefully we don't need our helmets and such, for I was in such a rush to get out that I completely forgot to grab it. Then again, this seems pretty simplistic and that nothing will come out and attempt to knock me unconscious.