One Up

Chapter 7

All the gamers are led down to the first floor in front of all the people who came to watch. Over two hundred players are in attendance. How am I going to win against two hundred people?

I glance around and find Sage in the crowd. His eyes regard me with worry. Even though what he says is crazy, part of me wonders how true it can be? Am I really predetermined to win? And why?

The man who addressed us at the podium leads us to a series of 10 rooms made of glass. By the looks of the inside, it looks like the game is virtual reality exclusive, with a virtual reality headset and flat screen TV decorating the inside. I also see a red button through the glass door. I wonder what it is when the man stops us. Facing the crowd, he starts to speak.

"Ladies and gents; boys and girls from all around the globe. I present to you your contestants!"

We all turn in two single file lines and face the crowd. The crowd applauds and cheers for us. When the roar of the crowd dies down, the man continues to speak.

"Welcome all to the first annual International League of Gamers. I am Mark Love and I will be the judge of today's events." A small round of applause emnates the floor. I scan the throng of people until my eyes rest on both my mother and my friend Rachael. They regard me with warm smiles on the balcony where the VIP watchers are. I find myself smiling back.

"Today," Mark says, "Our contestants will have an opportunity to compete against each other in a series of firefights. They will be playing against each other via Virtual Reality. The top twenty players who win first in the firefight will be crowned our champions, and be taken to an exclusive resort where they will get to play One Up! Contestants, are you ready?"

The contestants start buzzing as the crowd erupts into cheers. The only one who is not smiling is Sage. I think back to what he said. Surely things should be okay if we are in front of a whole crowd of people?

Mark starts announcing the first ten players. Each box emnates the selected player's name. I watch the players as they go into an arena like one on Call of Duty. All of the players are only equipped with handguns, so that there is no advantage to one player over another. The clock counts down and they are off.

How the tournament works is that there will be twenty initial rounds. The winner of each round will then go against each other in a series of two rounds, deciding the placement of the winners. If what Sage said is correct, I would have to be killed first in the Winner's Line-up. I am not letting that happen.

The first round finishes twenty minutes later, crowning Augustus Campbell as the first player to enter the Winner's Line-up.

As more rounds pass, I watch each of the players. Some tap the red button and relinquish their headsets. I soon realize that the red buttons are there so the player can quit and exit the game when they are killed.

When the seventh round ends, the next players are called. I perk up a little more when I hear Sage's name called with the others. I watch as he walks toward the fourth block, and enters his name into the tablet beside the glass door. His name lights up above the door and he enters the glass enclosure. Once everyone has their headsets on, the game begins.

I watch Sage's character closely, seeing him duck behind walls and buildings as other players fire at him. I start to see why they chose a free-for-all arena for this tornament. They want to see who the best players are by seeing how they use their surroundings. It's strategic.

I watch as players fire at each other left and right, some having to hit the red button to exit. One player from Denmark throws down the VR headset in a slew of cuss words. He is quickly escorted out.

Sage holds his ground against the other players, whipping back and forth. His movements tell me he's played this type of game before. In my mind, I have a feeling he's going to win.

Ten minutes later, two players are left. Sage and a player from Russia. They are at a standstill, firing shots at each other and ducking away before a stray bullet can hit them. I watch as Sage turns and looks down the road. There is an entryway. He quickly relinquishes his position and runs toward the door. The Russian guy -who looks to be in his thirties- quickly chases after him.

Sage ducks into the door, enters another room and runs up the stairs. He makes his character run into a room with a window open, and ducks behind the door waiting. The Russian runs in quickly before realizing where Sage is. Sage quickly opens fire as the Russian turns to fire back, but Eskibar is too late. A couple more shots and Sage is proclaimed the winner of the round. Cheers erupt through the crowd as Mark announces Sage as the winner and is asked to join the other players in the Winner's Line-up.

More firefights pass, proclaiming ten different winners. There are now eighteen players in the lineup. Mark Love starts announcing the ten players for round 19.

"Elijah Horning..."

"Sakeev Wush..."

"Li Young..."

"Payton Smith..."

"Rilee Malkev..."

My heart start to thrum obnoxiously in my chest. I wait in nervous anticipation, and then-

"Samara Keys."

My breath catches in my throat as I make my way to the ninth box. I am nervous as ever, but with my mom, Rachael, and Jordan watching over me, I know I'll be okay.