THE GAME

The last thing Kairo Vale remembered was the sound of rain. He had been walking home, one hand buried in his jacket pocket and the other holding his phone. The streets were unusually quiet, and the cold evening air had made him regret leaving his apartment without an umbrella. He remembered checking the time. 8:47 p.m. Then everything went white. Not a flash of lightning. Not the headlights of an approaching vehicle. White. An overwhelming brightness that swallowed the streets, the buildings and everything around him. And then... Nothing. --- "Get up!" Kairo groaned. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Something nudged his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly, expecting to find himself lying on a pavement somewhere. Instead, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar sky. He immediately sat up. "What the hell?" The first thing he noticed was the ground beneath him. It was smooth, almost metallic, but strangely warm. The second thing was the enormous structure stretching into the distance. He didn't recognize anything. There were buildings, but they weren't buildings he had ever seen. Towering structures with strange architectural designs rose beyond a massive open square. Some seemed to disappear into the clouds. And the sky... Kairo stared. There were two moons. He blinked. Once. Twice. "Okay. Either I'm dreaming, or someone put something in my drink." "You're awake." Kairo turned. A young woman stood beside him, her arms folded across her chest. She looked to be around his age, with dark hair falling just below her shoulders. She didn't look particularly frightened. That bothered him. "Where are we?" he asked. "If I knew, do you think I'd be standing here asking you the same question?" Fair enough. Kairo pushed himself to his feet. That was when he noticed the crowd. Thousands of people. They occupied the enormous square, some standing, others sitting on the ground. People were shouting in different languages. A man was frantically searching through his pockets, while a woman nearby kept repeating something about her missing daughter. There were people of different ages, appearances and nationalities. Some wore business suits. Others wore casual clothes, uniforms and even pajamas. They all had one thing in common. Nobody knew how they had gotten there. "What is this place?" Kairo muttered. "That's what everyone's trying to figure out." The woman extended a hand. "Mira." He looked at it before accepting. "Kairo." Before either could say anything else, a loud voice interrupted them. "EVERYONE, LISTEN!" A tall, broad-shouldered man had climbed onto a raised platform a short distance away. "Can somebody explain what's happening? Because I'm getting really tired of this!" A few people shouted in agreement. "Maybe we're on some television show!" "Which television show transports thousands of people without permission?" "Perhaps it's a government experiment!" "Then where's the government?" The questions kept coming. Kairo slowly turned in a circle, studying the surrounding structures. Something was wrong. Not just the unfamiliar environment. There were no visible roads leading out of the square. No vehicles. No signs. No recognizable landmarks. It was almost as if someone had constructed an entire world and dropped them into it. "Look up!" A woman's scream cut through the noise. Kairo raised his head. Several enormous screens had appeared above the buildings. They flickered repeatedly before displaying a black background. The crowd gradually fell silent. A distorted sound echoed across the square. Then a figure appeared. He wore a black suit and a smooth, expressionless mask. There were no visible features on it, only two dark openings where his eyes should have been. He sat comfortably in a chair, his fingers intertwined. "Well, well, well..." His voice boomed through the speakers. "Look at what we have here." Nobody moved. "Welcome, everyone. I hope you've enjoyed your little journey." "WHO ARE YOU?" someone shouted. The masked figure tilted his head. "Impatient, aren't we?" A few nervous murmurs travelled through the crowd. "Now, I understand that you may be confused. You may have questions. You may even be frightened." He paused. "Unfortunately, I don't particularly care." Kairo frowned. The figure leaned forward. "Allow me to explain your situation. You have all been selected to participate in a game." Silence. Then laughter. Someone actually laughed. "A game?" "Is this supposed to be funny?" "Let us go!" The masked figure remained still. "This game consists of seven levels. Each level will be more difficult than the one before it. Your objective is simple. Clear all seven levels." He raised one finger. "That is your only way out." A man near the front stepped forward. "And what happens if we refuse?" For several seconds, the masked figure said nothing. Then his shoulders began to shake. He laughed. It started quietly before growing into something much louder and more unsettling. "Oh, you can refuse. Absolutely. Nobody is forcing you to play." He leaned back in his chair. "You may stay right where you are. Explore your surroundings. Make yourselves comfortable." His masked face tilted slightly. "But I cannot guarantee that you won't be killed." The square erupted. "What?!" "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" "WHERE ARE OUR FAMILIES?" "LET US GO!" The masked figure lifted a hand. The speakers crackled. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot something important." He paused deliberately. "You have thirty-five minutes before the game begins." A timer appeared on the screens. 35:00 "Use that time wisely. Make friends. Make enemies. Pray, if that's what you believe in." His laughter returned. "Because once the game begins..." He leaned closer to the camera. "...there will be no turning back." The broadcast abruptly ended. The screens went black. For a moment, nobody spoke. Then the timer changed. 34:59. 34:58. 34:57. The countdown had begun. --- "Did he just say we'd be killed?" Kairo turned towards Mira. She was staring at the screens. "Yes." "And you're just standing there?" "What exactly would you like me to do? Scream?" Kairo exhaled. "You're surprisingly calm." "I'm not calm. I'm thinking." "About what?" "About the fact that someone managed to transport thousands of people from different parts of the world into a place that doesn't appear on any map." She finally looked at him. "And whoever did it has enough control over this place to broadcast directly into our heads, or at least make it seem that way." Kairo stared at her. "That's your conclusion?" "Do you have a better one?" He opened his mouth, then closed it. Unfortunately, he didn't. A sudden commotion erupted nearby. A young man pushed through the crowd, looking furious. "Everyone needs to stop panicking!" He had a muscular build and a confident expression that suggested he was used to being listened to. "We don't know what this place is, but standing around screaming won't help us." A few people turned towards him. "Then what do you suggest?" someone asked. "We find an exit. We find whoever is responsible. And we get out." "Brilliant plan," Kairo muttered. Mira glanced at him. "Do you have something better?" "No. But at least I know when a plan sounds impossible." The young man heard him. "You got something to say?" Kairo looked at him. "Not particularly." "Then keep it to yourself." "Gladly." Mira stepped between them before the exchange could continue. "Both of you, stop. We have bigger problems." The young man scoffed before walking away. "Charming," Kairo muttered. Mira ignored him. Instead, she pointed towards the far end of the square. "Look." Beyond the crowd stood a gigantic black structure resembling a gate. It hadn't been there when Kairo first woke up. At least, he didn't think it had. Its surface was covered in strange symbols that shifted whenever he tried to focus on them. Above it, a small display showed the same countdown. 34:12. Kairo stared at it. "Do you think that's where the game begins?" "Probably." "Wonderful." He rubbed his forehead. He wanted to wake up. He wanted to return to his apartment, finish whatever he had been doing and complain about the rain. Anything would be better than this. Then something caught his attention. A small screen had appeared on his wrist. He hadn't been wearing a watch. He lifted his arm. A message glowed against its dark surface. PLAYER REGISTERED. NAME: KAIRO VALE STATUS: PARTICIPANT LEVEL: 01 He stared at it. "What the..." Mira noticed. "You have one too?" She raised her wrist. The same screen. The same message. Then another line appeared. WELCOME TO THE GAME. Kairo swallowed. For the first time since waking up, the reality of their situation began to settle in. This wasn't a prank. Whatever was happening, they were part of it. And somewhere beyond those enormous gates, something was waiting. The timer continued counting down. 33:41. 33:40. 33:39. Kairo looked at the thousands of frightened people surrounding him. Seven levels. An unknown world. A masked figure who thought all of this was funny. He had no idea how he was going to get home. But one thing was certain. He wasn't planning to die in somebody else's game. END OF CHAPTER ONE