Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter Two: Alina Vandergaugh

The first thing that Alina Vandergaugh saw as she opened her eyes, is the fine white sand her cheek is resting on.

She held her neck who were stiff and painful. She then slowly rose from the bad position of sleeping. She muttered low grunts as she squinted from the bright light that the sun was slapping in her eyes.

‘Wait, where am I?’ she asked herself.

As she finally recovered from few second-spacing out (after being awaken), she gathered her thoughts and realized that she is not supposed to be in whatever place she is right now.

She scanned the place, trying to find familiarity on it. To no avail, she cannot remember. She have no idea what was the reason why is she in here; in a beautiful island, with white sand beach, tall trees, and icy waves of water.

The early sun of the morning already tingled her sensitive skin, causing red burned spots in her arms and cheeks. Yet, she looked beautiful.

Setting aside the fact that she was wearing a fitted shirt and jeans, her skin tone looked as if she had purposely bathed in the sun, just to achieve a fair tanned look.

Her auburn hair waved in a fashionable way, making her look as if she was a model of a high and elegant brands. Her body has the curves that many woman are trying to achieve. Her pretty face scanned the whole place curiously, still trying to remember the reason why was she sleeping in the bed of white sand as the sun is brightly burning from above.

“Confused, eh?”

A man's voice broke. She look at her back. It revealed someone—a man—who is trying to set fire on a pile of dried woods. Beside him is a huge fish unfortunately pierced in a wood, with sharp tip on its end, waiting to be roasted had the man succeeds in creating fire.

“Excuse me, do you know where I am?” asked Alina.

“That's what I want to ask to you too,” the man replied, still, continuing what he was doing.

“I—I can't remember why I am here.” She pressed her neck, suppressing the pain that the stiffness is giving her.

“Neither do I.”

With the continuous scratching of two stones, causing friction, then heat, a fire erupted near one of the dried wood. The man sighed in relief, started to feed the small fire with more wood, until it grew larger, until it was ready keep the fire for a longer time.

“What do you mean, sir?”

The man looked at him. “Eh? What I mean? I mean we're on a place no one knew. We are intentionally being trapped here.”

“Intentionally trapped?” Alina continued asking.

Then, the man, stoic face he had displayed, pointed at something. “There, look at it.”

When Alina followed the direction that the man's finger is pointing, her brows collided with curiosity.

“A wall?” she asked. It was no ordinary wall, however.

She may be far from it, at least fifty meter, but she can see its massive size; its no ending corners; and its hundred meter tall standing sturdily at the white sanded ground.

“Not ordinary as it seems,” the man replied.

“A tall, blue-colored wall with an unseen ending on both sides. Not ordinary, I agree,” Alina replied both in the tone of amazement and horror.

‘Why is there a huge and tall wall in the middle of an island? What are those for?’ she asked herself. Different conspiracy theories swirled in her head as she tried finding answers for that question.

“It's more than that, kid.” His grim features stared at her: His hollow cheek, his almost sagging, old skin, his long curled hair, his blank ash-colored eyes—in a fast blink of second, she had observed all of it.

“Wh-Why is that?” she asked. She turned her stare away of the grim man's face. The reason: she felt spooked and frightened.

“That wall, it's not just a wall. It's a screen. A computer. A highly-technological . . . bullshit!”

“What?” Her face drew surprise. She was surprised both from the man's revelations, and from the snapping he had done.

“This son of a hell island!” He kicked the woods that was blazed with fire. He then started to stomp and torture the nearly-cooked fish he was just roasting a while.

As he realized what he had done, she immediately looked at Alina.

“I'm sorry, I've got no appetite,” he said as his palm harshly brushed towards his forehead, down to the back, then to his nape.

“I-It's okay,” Alina reassured even though her heart was pounding hard because of the man's trepidation.

“Boss Lukas!” from afar, two men was waving towards them. Just like the grim man, those men looked as if someone who would not hesitate breaking another man's neck for the sake of entertainment—or surviving. They have hollow cheeks, skin pale as dead, black rounds on the eyes, and skinny yet deadly bodies.

A broad, silver plated sword was being dragged by one of them, while the other man held a wooden, beautifully designed bow—but no arrows.

“What are these?” asked the grim man as he looked at the weapon the man laid on the sand.

“We found this, boss while we’re scanning the place. There were weapons buried on the sand, hidden on the trees, even floating in the water,” explained one of them.

“Not just that, boss. They were really peculiar. But somehow, it looks amazing. See this,” the other man grabbed the beautiful bow, then started stretching its strings.

He then pointed the bow down the sand. There were no arrows loaded in it.

It was then when he released the strings, a sudden bursting had occurred. The sand where the bow was pointed, suddenly went into chaos, flying out of the pressure that the weapon had given. It scattered, creating hammock from where it was supposed to lay still. The sand flew towards them so hard that it they had to immediately cover their eyes to prevent it from entering.

“An airbow,” the man who used the bow said.

“Airbow?” the grim man—the boss Lukas that they're calling—asked.

“If there exists an airgun, this one has the same features of it. Only that it is a bow. Its bullet is the wind, boss. Actually, It killed a bird when I shot it using this.”

“Then where's the bird?” Asked the boss.

The man scratched his head. “uhh . . . It got torn into pieces. Well, the body bursted from the force the Airbow released.”

Alina cannot believe what the man said. However, recalling how she saw the sand bursting from the shot of the Airbow, making a big and deep trace that she can see even until now, it made her rethink of her disbelief again.

“I am confused,” said Alina.

The grim man looked at her. “We all are, kid. This island, that wall, these weapons, I cannot think of its sense.”

“It was as if we are inside a game,” one of the man said.

“What the hell, man. You being game obsessed does not help,” scowled by the other.

“Uhmm . . .” Alina muttered. “Since this place seems dangerous and mysterious, it would be good if we join each other's company until we get help. Is that okay?”

“Kid,” the man faces him again. This time however, he was shaking his head. “You don't want to join us, believe me.”

“Wh-Why?” asked Alina, embarrassed from the rejection.

“We're criminals. We steal, join gang fights, murder someone, rob shops. We're dangerous.”

“B-But . . .”

“Now that you're awake, it's time for us to leave. You go yourself, find a police, and be saved. We go our own way, look a solution to escape without meeting law bitches, then be safe as well.”

‘But you were keeping me safe when I was unconscious. You helped me, untouched. That's not a criminal's doing,’ she wanted to say.

However, what the men—criminals—and Alina was planning to do, were interrupted by a loud shrill of laugh. A laugh that made them jump in surprise.

When they look at where it was coming from, they saw a clown.

Displayed on the wall—now a huge screen—is a smiling clown with crazy laugh and peculiar features. Corners of the smile slit, black saliva is spitting out of its mouth while talking, dressed as someone that is supposed to be the source of jokes and tricks, now a man who can visit their nightmare whenever—whatever time—he wanted.

“Greetings,” said the clown on the wall.

“Holy s**t, what is that thing?” asked one of the man. He was staring at the wall as well with disturbed eyes.

“What if, man, this is really a game?”

“Shut up, man!”

“But look at this place! That clown and whatever stupidity he's talking about! What if he was the moderator of this game? What if we're about to play a killing game?”

“Do you really buy that idea, brother? Holy s**t, you're insane!” The man who is beside the game-enthusiast, panicky man, brushed his face in frustration.

Alina wanted to listen to the dark clown, to know what he was trying to say. Maybe it can lead them on how to ask help. Or maybe to know the reasons why they were here in this place.

However, she cannot focus because of the quarrel that the two man are having—which turned out to be brothers.

The only one who can listen to the clown-on-screen without being disturbed by the noise, is Lukas. He was listening intently to whatever it was saying.

Alina, However, cannot help herself but to listen to the immature quarreling of the boys.

“Listen, I read about a leaked article I happened to stumble online as I watch video game streams. There is this annual game that is being held in a hidden island. The game includes real players, real people. They have no avatars, but they are the one who will play. It is a killing game, man. It is a role-playing survival game. The only difference to the actual game, is that it is not happening on a virtual reality. It is real. And if I am right that this island is where that game in the article is saying, then, man, we have to play this.”

The man—the one who does not believe in the theory—grabbed his brother’s collar, then scowled, “If you don't stop this bullshit, I am the one to kill you.”

“I think whatever theory you have Theodor, we need to buy it,” Lukas interrupted.

“What? You believin' him, boss?”

Then, as if the silence that passed between them became the cue of the clown, he said, “player, if I were you, I would look at my left wrist. Now.”

Without any hesitation, they did. Alina was shocked when she saw a rectangular screen-like chip embedded on her left arm.

“Wh-What is this?” her heart pounded hard.

The thought of Theodor's theory about the game and this island started to invade her, making her succumb in fear and panic. On the screen, a phrase was inscribed with the font similar to the video games: LEVEL 1

“This s**t was not here a while ago, eh,” said Lukas. He was looking at his left wrist as well. Then, he spit out saliva—sign that he was disgusted.

“That screen, stupid players will indicate your success and your chance of surviving for this game. It would also help you big time while this show is running. Never lose it. Never chop off your hands.” The clown laughed. “NOW!” he screamed, “OFF TO THE NEXT LEVEL!”

He grabbed a red balloon from his below. He plucked out one of his decaying teeth, then stab it towards the ball of air.

As it exploded, the earth trembled for few seconds. The trees shook in horror, the bird flew in panic, crying, feared.

“The rule, dear players, is to kill! A single kill means a step to the center of the wall! Good luck!”

The sun is blazing from above. They feel its heat. Sweat is trickling down their forehead, their neck, their nape. The crash of the waves became louder. They feel it.

All four of them stood frozen, afraid, breath frantic.

Then, Lukas reached Theodore. He held its head. One of his hand at the top of Theodore's head, the other one at his lower left jaw.

A CRACK! Reverberated at Alina's ears as slowly, Theodore fell on the ground—eyes wide, mouth hanging open, head contorted uneasily at almost three hundred sixty degrees.

“The rule's a rule,” muttered Lukas Calmly.

Alina screamed. Horrified, panicking.

At the back of her mind, however, she knew what was happening.

She knew that if she continued only to stand, to scream, to continue being embedded in horror and shock . . . it would be her last day.

Lukas ran towards her. In an unexplainable event, however, he flew back as if he was being pushed by a magnetic force.

Theodore's brother was running towards her as well. He was holding the long broad sword, ready to swing and to decapitate her head.

Before he succeed, Alina relied on her reflexes. She bent her body to dodge the attack that the man swung to her. She was outbalanced, unfortunately. But it gave her the opportunity to crawl toward the dead body of Theodore.

“Die!” Theodore's brother screamed.

Before Theodore's brother could swung his broad sword, Alina had enough time to grab the Airbow at Theodore's dead hand.

She stretched the strings and released it in an unfashionable, floppy stroke.

Blood splattered on her face. She screamed again. She felt the hot liquid and pieces of meat licking the skin of her face. Right in front of her, is a shivering dead man's body whose head exploded; blown into pieces; after how she clumsily released the string of the Airbow she's holding.

‘No,’ Alina’s panic started to eat her. ‘I-I killed a man. I-I killed . . . I am a murderer.’

A beeping sound entered her ears. As she glanced at her wrist—where the sound is coming from—she saw how the text changed: LEVEL 2.

‘A kill means increase of level?’

A red, bright beam of ray escaped from the screen on her wrist. It was showing her something. Like a direction.

The beep sounded louder and more frantic. From her left side, she saw a beautiful yet the most uncanny woman she ever saw in her life—a green woman with vines at her back.

She stood up, knew that the green woman might be a creature who would not hesitate to kill her. Maybe a monster.

She ran, following the direction of the red ray from her wrist. Not a far, she saw Lukas. Just like her, he was running towards where the red ray from his wrist is pointing too.

Lukas, however, did not bother killing Alina. He realized that this game won't allow second kill from the sets of players.

As Alina continued running, she realized she was heading to the wall. A small portion of it disintegrated.

A dark, cave-like path on the wall started to form. A path towards the second level. A path one step closer to her safety.

Before she entered the dark realm, there is one thing that she realized she need to keep on doing, long as she was here: that as this weird game progresses, as she continued her role as a player, to be safe, or perhaps to win, she knew . . . she have to kill.

She have to end more lives.