BackBone

Begins

Saturday morning is no different than other mornings so far. I dream of her again, the beautiful blue eyed blonde lady that's falling into nothingness. It's all white when she's falling, and she's falling for a long time, the appalled look in her eyes, twined with pure dread. And then I wake up, sweaty, struggling for air, heart palpitating wildly.

It's all scary, but the scariest part is how I feel, it's why I feel what she feels and why I feel I'm falling. I still don't know this woman.

I'm on my bicycle, I didn't want to take my car because this didn't feel like the occasion for it. I was already close to location sent to my mail, and they added that I do not give out the location. I got the mail after hanging out with Keith, thankfully I was not all weird around him.

As I took a corner I saw... people, filling into a garage looking door. I made it. Seeing the place stirred something in me, some kind of familiarity. It didn't feel like it was my first time, but I was curious too. I padded to a stop, getting of my bicycle and parking it at the side, against a wall.

I joined the group of people, walking towards the large opening, a lot of people were here, so many. I wasn't surprised, but I wasn't expecting it. I weaved my way through people and made my way in.

The inside was spacious, and the length ran deep, it didn't look out of an ordinary garage,except for the podium on the far side and the covered up stands at the walls, but I guess it didn't matter, this was just a meeting site anyway, more people were inside once I stepped in, a few glancing at me as I walked past. How am I feeling at ease, like I'm not new to this. I feel I belong here.

Behind me the garage door hums shut as everyone shuffles inside. I get as close as possible, thankfully the garage gives us enough space, so we're not clustered together.

In front of me at the other end of the garage, the door opens and two people file in, and take the podium, they stand tall in front of us. A man and a woman.

I squint at the man in his early fifties, dressed in a neat blue suit, with a Curt smile on his face, and his eyes satisfyingly taking in the large number in the room. He's really good looking for a man his age, he looks younger too, but I can decipher a person's age, it's one of my many talents.

It's not his aura that grabs my attention or the fact that he's a man, but the fact that, for no reason at all, a man I've never met before, seems very familiar.

"Good Morning" his voice amplifies through the hushed crowd, that smile never leaving his face "it's an honor to have you all participate in our newly released game. BackBone" he stuffs one hand in his pants pocket, gesturing with the other as he speaks "It's a game of guts and excitement, you get to be this totally free version of you and earn a lot of cash while playing these games".

I glance around me. Everyone is so attentive.

"As you read earlier, whatever happens to you during these games does not concern us, all that concerns us is that you okay, get eliminated, cause us no trouble and never reveal our location to non backbone players or to the police. Is that understood?"

Grunts of agreements rise up from the crowd and the man continues.

"Great. My name is Ian West and I hope we can move forward in great coordination".

Ian.....Also familiar. People own that name. Duh. But, it's just different.

Ian steps back as the slightly attractive woman steps up and begins her own speech.

She's in her late forties, her hair perked up in a neat high bun, she doesn't fail to dazzle in a black floral gown, with her feet tucked into black heels.

"Good Morning" her not too feminine voice rings out through the crowd "I'm Michelle Monroe. Ian and I" she gestures towards Ian "are part of the organizers and producers of this game, but unlike the others whom by not be here now or might not be here at all, Ian and I have volunteered to physically partake in the running of the game".

My eyes sails over to Ian, his proud and mesmerized eyes taking in the sea of heads. What's this stir in my chest?

"Firstly, every player has their player name, which will be given to you at the end of this orientation. I advice to keep your personal information secret and only go by your player name. Also, do not give out information about our location to any non-backbone players or to the cops, dire consequences will follow. I highly advice that everyone turns off their phones before going into the game, do not put it on silent, switch it off. Failure to adhere to these instructions will result to elimination".

Huh? Why?

The door in which Michelle and Ian walked in through suddenly opens and some people walk in, taking their position beside each covered stands.

"Now, each player gets their tags and their ear pods. The ear pods ensure communication between us and you, to tell you what to do, how to do it, when to do it and all other information while playing the game, and the tags are obviously to show your membership and involvement to Backbone, you loose it, you loose your membership. These tags are not to be worn off premises, once you done with the game, take off your tag".

She raises her hand, dragging our gazes to the covered boards. "There are six boards in total, each board has names consisting of four letters, except board one and two which has five" she points to the first board "that one has names with letters A to E, so if you fall in that category, move over after this orientation in an orderly manner, also get your ear pods, each player gets a single one".

She shifts her gaze to us again "Drones will be let out to capture your movements when you play off property, but when inside, we have cameras, people are definitely going to watch. After each assignment, we have one week break. So play, win cash and try not to get eliminated or do, have fun".

Michelle grins widely as she and Ian walk off the podium. I try to tear my gaze off of him as we shuffle towards the boards. I finally do when they disappear behind the door.

I get to the first board, even though people here are still a lot, there's still plenty of space between us and other players hurdled around another board.

When I finally get to the board, I search for mine, I see my picture and take my tag, glancing briefly at the man holding the platter, I pick an ear pod and nudge my way through everyone. This place, the procedures, the about to happen things, everything feels familiar, weirdly, since it's obviously the first time this game existed. So why do I feel this way?

I stare at my tag. The picture used is one gotten from the the scan, and it is by far the worst picture I have taken my whole life, it's so big and close and all over the place. At least I'm definitely not breaking the rule that requires taking this tag off, I'll even hide it during the game.

I sigh. I read the information on the tag

BACKBONE

Cassidy Shaw.

Age 16.

No relation to a cop.

PLAYER NAME: Kaecy.

It begins.