My entries for the STARDUST contest

It's just a game...right?

I grab my dark blue duffle bag from the entrance and run out of my house. I run fast; I'm going to be late. Soon, I arrive at my destination, a tall building with giant glass windows. I push open the door and I rush thru the lobby. For a second, I consider taking the elevator, but there's no time for that. I climb the step two at a time, open the seventh-floor door and I run to the last room of the long white hallway. I look at my watch, 4:39, it starts in one minute. I enter the spacious room to see my two best friends and my girlfriend waiting for me. I unzip my bag and get my body sensor suit.

"Sorry! I'm late! Will one of you help me put this on?" I say looking at my friends, trying to take my pants off, and to put on the tight suit at the same time. I struggle to put on the legs so I look up at my friends begging for help. Then something clicks in my mind, none of them are wearing their suit, they are just in normal clothes, smirking at me struggling.

"Don't panic Asher! You are an hour early; we change to time on your watch so you would not be late like always." Jules tells me

I roll my eyes at them but still thank them, without them I would have been late. Jules won a special mission on "The ligne". It's a Virtual reality game, we have body sensor suit to fell the pain, sensor gloves to feel the weapon in our hands, VR headset, to hear and see everything. Jules won a really important mission for four players, if we accomplish the goal, we could level up a lot.

Amber, my sweet girlfriend, help me put on my suit and I help her put hers on. We activate the multiway conveyor belts, integrated into the floor. With those things, we can walk in every direction while staying at the same place in real life. Five minutes before the start of the mission, we activate our headsets and our microphones. I enter the game and see my friend's avatars next to mine.

Amber's avatar has the same short brown hair, green eyes, and sweet freckled face as my girlfriend. The avatar is wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. She's also wearing a khaki vest. I know that the vest is full of small pockets hiding little knives. My girl has a strong preference for knives and she's really good at using those sharp blades. She's also really good with martial art.

Then there's Jules, our captain. Him, and his avatar, have messy blond hair and small dark eyes. The avatar has a very strong jaw, while Jules's is just average. The avatar is wearing a stained hoodie and a jean jacket. A giant shotgun is hanging from his shoulder. He loves to show off and shot bullets thru the heads of his enemies. He also loves exploding things.

On my right, there is a tall chocolate skinned teen, Ethan, the fourth member of our group. Like in real life, his avatar is super muscular. He's wearing normal clothes and a black cap. Two pistols are hanging from his belt. A crowbar and an ax are peeking out of a dark blue backpack ready to be used for a stealth kill.

And last but not least, there's me, Asher. An average guy with messy dark brown hair and hazel eyes. My avatar is wearing a beige t-shirt underneath a camouflage vest, similar looking to Amber's. I have a brown backpack holding my three snipers. I'm the mind of the team, the smart one and I'm also the one killing from afar. My friends often call me the Shadow killer as a joke. They say that I'm their secret weapon.

Soon enough, the game start. A deep voice resonates in my headphones.

"Hello, players. This mission will be different than any mission you've ever done, not only cause it's in reality mode but because you will not play again other players. You will play against NPCs (Non-Player Characters), smart NPCs. May I explain the situation of the mission? Last night, one of you has been kidnaped by a group of rebels. The mission will be to save the player held captive. The prisoner can also try to escape on his own, but it's not going to be easy. Oh, by the way, the rebel group is composed of more than 500 people. Good luck players."