Death Year

Chapter 2

12 hours earlier...

Have you ever wondered what any living creature fears the most? Is it death? Is it constant torture? Having a loved one being ripped away? Or is it just the realisation that you're all alone in this world, that no one will ever come for you, is it when you realise there's no hope?

***

"Skye."

I saw the shadow of a mysterious figure that loomed in front of me, "Who are you?"

"I am a messenger," he said, "A message was delivered for you yesterday."

At those words, I silently looked at him fishing something out of his pocket. Out of the ragged, black coat he wore, appeared a crystal, it was not purple, nor was it blue. It seemed to have .. no colour at all.. "Wake up," it suddenly sputtered out, "Wake up from the dream that traps you. Save yourself from a future that contains only darkness."

"A future that contains only darkness?" I asked, confused.

***

My tired eyes blinked slowly; white walls, remnants of tape stuck on the walls.

"Oh, I'm awake," I quietly mumbled to myself.

As I was getting up, I noticed there was a piece of paper stuck on my arm. Uncomfortable by the feeling, I pulled it off carefully, feeling the tape pull on the skin it lay on. I winced as it finally came off. I held up the paper to the sky as I plopped back down on my bed. There was just scribbles on it. An ugly, red warning sign was etched in the center of the paper, like it was trying to tell me something, it was strange.

Just then, the old wooden door that led to my bedroom was slammed open.

"What?" I groggily asked.

Not getting an answer, I turned my head slightly to see Jace stare me back at me in horror. Alarmed at his expression, I hastily ran to the bathroom to see what was wrong with me, I stare at the mirror in silence. There was nothing wrong, I only saw myself; a pale face, nut-brown hair and emerald-green eyes. My thin lips looked dry and there were dark circles circling my lower eyelids.

I stumbled back towards the doorframe of my bedroom where I saw Jace staring intently at my headboard, "Jace."

The sound of my voice seemed wake him up, "Skye.. are you some ninja that can kick holes in walls or something?"

Confused, I slightly pushed him out of the way to reveal a scorching black hole embedded in my, now, black headboard. 'I must have done that in my sleep,' I thought. "Oh, not again."

"This is the third time, Amelia would kill you if she saw you did this again," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah and she'd kill you if she heard you call her Amelia."

He scoffed at me disapprovingly, "Go get ready, you got 5 minutes."

***

The sound of forks and spoons clanging together got louder as I descended down the stairs. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the hallways right into my nose, making my stomach grumble loudly. Mouth-watering food waited eagerly on the breakfast table as I quickly sat down. I attempted to spoon a mouthful of scrambled eggs into my mouth before I was stopped by a staggering force.

"Napkin," the voice said.

I turned around to see a woman with luscious blond hair and ice-cold blue eyes. Her slender and slim body made her beautiful and appealing to men and women alike, it's no surprise that my father was immediately captivated by her dazzling beauty and wealth. However, to me, my real mother was much prettier. In both the inside and the outside.

Since she arrived, my memory of my mother's kind smile was replaced with her benevolent one and her beautiful lullabies were replaced with angry shouts resonating from the kitchen. My heart ached thinking of the mother I had lost a few years back. I hastily placed the napkin on my lap as I resumed eating.

"Just so you know, your father and I won't be back until midnight, cook dinner yourself. Finally learn how to instead of making those burnt messes. Try not to burn the kitchen down, got it?"

"Yep," I said with my mouth filled and my hand reaching for more food.

Her face twisted with disgust as she watched me fill my mouth with as much food as I could swallow, "No friends over either," she said before storming upstairs, lipstick in hand and mirror in the other. I sighed quietly as I contemplated about why my life ended up this way.

***

School was abuzz with noise as usual, there were students clambering around the hallway and teachers scolding the usual troublemakers. I reluctantly walked towards the computer lab and sat down at my desk quietly. I was never really the talkative type, I loved observing people from afar, I loved watching their muscles move, their facial features change. However, this strange side of me caused everyone to stay slightly away from me as I would be considered as a 'freak'.

"Okay, settle down everyone," said the teacher, Mr. Tucker, "Today instead of the usual tasks that have been given to you this semester, we will be doing something a little more interesting. How does.. virtual reality sound like?"

This statement caused the class to erupt in cheers and for us to eagerly wait for the incredible opportunity which we had just been given. I had to admit, even I found this the least bit interesting. We were each given a headset and after a few simple tips, we were ready to go. My heart thumped loudly as I initiated my journey, many emotions overwhelmed me as I took in the beautiful, yet fake, scenery of green grass, glittering waterfalls and quaint little cottages by the lake.

Distracted by my surroundings, I hadn't noticed that no one was here with me. Where is everyone? I searched desperately for signs of life, but found none. I wandered around the cottages searching for someone, anyone. Thankfully, after 10 minutes, I managed to spot a silhouetted figure near the mountains. I jogged towards the figure, it turned around to look at me as I came closer, it opened its hand to reveal the very same crystal from my dream.

"Welcome, Skye Cohen. You have been chosen to play Death Year, a new feature that allows 12 contestants to compete each other in a death match. It is compulsory, all those who are chosen may not opt out. Each of you will be given a random weapon, whether it be a pistol and a machine gun. You will have to find new weapons if your weapon is unsatisfactory from the story chamber. Note that only one person can use the story chamber at a time, and that the person cannot be killed within the story chamber but only when they step outside. There will be further notices and explanations, so please stay tuned."

Dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of so many words, I struggled to read as it bobbed around in the air, bending the letters into unrecognisable shapes. I hardly had time to finish as I was transported into another world. I had a feeling that finishing this adventure would take a little longer than the 2 hour time limit that I had..

Author's note: Hey! Just wanted to say hello at the end for some reason, don't question me, lol. This is the only the second official story I've wrote, so I hope it's not too bad :'), if you have any advice or feedback you would like to share, feel free to comment or DM me, see you next time!!