The Pride Game

Chapter 11

"Good morning, everyone," a voice echoed from a loudspeaker in a field located to the north of the island. Samuel, Old Man, Alena, and Abdul walked towards the sound source.

"Where is your friend?" asked the Old Man to Samuel; he glanced in the direction where Samuel had come out, "he better get up soon because I think there will be an announcement."

Samuel nodded and said, "Okay," but before he could enter the room, Jonathan was already out of the room, his face unfriendly.

"Jonathan!" cried Samuel, he waved his hand, but Jonathan walked away from Samuel and the others.

Old Man, Alena, and Abdul didn't give their opinion, and they just walked together with other people to the field.

I hardly know those here, thought Samuel; he looked left and right but didn't know who was on his right. They were all young and old, women and men, staring ahead blankly.

Samuel had already entered the line, and he was behind Abdul. In front of Abdul stood the Old Man. Alena lined up behind Samuel.

"Do you know them?" asked Samuel without turning around; he spoke to Alena.

"Yeah," Elena whispered. "Here, as it says on the invitation card, here we are, people, who have worked for the CDA company, and for some reason, in the end, they all, including us, were dishonorably expelled. I know them." Alena pointed her index finger at the front row and said, "That's Mr. James. He's a former high-ranking officer in the Heavy Crimes department." Then Alena pointed to the second row at the very front. "He's the most famous former detective in the CDA company--"

"I've never known him," Samuel interrupted.

"He's known to be the smartest. He always manages to solve problems. His name is Mr. Zac." Alena paused for a moment, then she resumed her sentence, "He was the one who found evidence of fraud in my father's report. My father was dishonorably discharged and then committed suicide."

Samuel didn't look back, and he stood looking straight ahead. Then he heard Alena say in a low voice, "That damn human framed my father."

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard the sound from the loudspeaker again. "You guys gathered here are great people who managed to find the location where you were supposed to be waiting."

Hearing the news, everyone raised their hands.

"What game is this!" Abdul shouted. What are you guys doing to us! Is it because we were a few seconds late, then you have the right to kill us!" Abdul's face was filled with anger as if all the blood had pooled at the top of his head.

"Right! What do you mean by this! You gathered us to have us die here! What did you promise, huh! Good name! Money is abundant! Don't be crazy! Why do you value our lives so cheaply!"

"Yeah, right! What the hell are you guys doing! We want to get out of this place!"

"Get us out right now! And I don't even want to play this kind of trash game! It's better for me to have no job for the rest of my life than to die in vain like this!" Everyone protested against the guards, and they headed forward, demanding that they be returned home immediately.

The guards covered their faces with full masks to see only their eyes. They are equipped with firearms.

The square became so crowded and chaotic, everyone protested and tried to push the guards.

"Get us out of here!"

"Yes! We don't want to be here! We want to go home soon!"

"It's better than we have nothing than we die stupid by agreeing to this game!"

"Get us out from here!"

"Get us out from here!"

"Get us out from here!"

A man holding a loudspeaker spoke loudly over the noise of the participants. "Who said that we value your life at a low price? We will give seven million dollars to the winner of this match."

That's a surprise. The men and women lowed their hands. They were amazed by the gift the guard had just mentioned.

"W-what do you mean by seven million dollars?" asked a man while swallowing his saliva. His heart was beating fast, and his hands were shaking.

Did I hear wrong? he asked himself.

If the field had been filled with chaotic sounds that echoed each other, the area would have begun to calm down.

"Entrants must follow the rules of our game. This game is called The Pride Game. We invite all of you who the CDA has dishonorably expelled." As soon as the guard explained the game, the front screen was displayed when the CDA employees were trampling the participants one by one.

"Even being a CDA slut wouldn't suit you!" shouted Mr. Shen. Mr. Shen was slapping Alena's face so many times that Alena became unconscious, and Mr. Shen had thought that Alena was dead; from Alena's nose and temples, fresh blood flowed profusely.

All silent. No one dared to make a sound, several people who knew Alena looked at the girl. They did not dare to see the injustice received by Alena.

"You were harassed, mistreated, and then dishonorably expelled. Likewise, after you leave the CDA company, your fate and future become meaningless. No one wants to hire you because your names have been entered into the blacklist of every company. You guys have no future."

One of the screens shows Jonathan being poorly beaten by guards from the mansion in front of the screen.

Jonathan lowered his face, and he was so embarrassed.

Samuel saw it, and he thought that Jonathan's fate was the same as his own.

"The prize we promised was a good name, a bright future, and seven million dollars in money."

All were stunned by the nominal mentioned by the guard in front there.

Their hearts seemed to stop when the guard mentioned the thing they wanted most. More than anything in the world, they want their reputation back; they don't want to live in the shadow of the big-name CDA. They want to be respected and have freedom. It was freedom that brought them to this place.

Someone then asked, his face still filled with fiery anger, "Then why don't you guys explain first the rules of this ridiculous game! Why did my friend have to die in front of me! I don't even know where we should be waiting."

"Yes, that's right! How do we know where, when, and what games will be played if you don't give us any information."

The women and men again urged the guards until the guard said, "You have agreed to this game from the start. You find out who is taking part in the game. You also know how much the prize is offered. You expect to win this match. You want your good name back, and you want to take home the gifts offered."

No one dared to argue. All seemed to mute because what was told was true.

"Fifteen minutes from now, you will start this match. Whoever falls in the match will be eliminated immediately."

"What's the next match?" asked one participant.

"Everyone just follows the rule. It will be notified to you in fifteen minutes."

Everyone there fell silent. They thought about what game they would play, they were really vigilant and used everything in their power to search for clues that were around them, even though they were actually scared to death.