Faceclaim (ONC 2022, Completed, Shortlisted)

4: Play Your Part

Overtaken with despair and confusion, Daniel fell back on the bed. He counted the lines in the ceiling as he evaluated his current situation.

He was locked in a room. That much he knew. That was easy for his brain to comprehend.

So what were his options for escape? The lock on the door could maybe be manipulated, but Daniel was hardly a locksmith, and there might be vents to crawl through. That was, after all, often how similar situations were resolved in movies. Although this was not a movie. This was real life.

Or at least something like it. The script in his hand told him that the line between fiction and reality was already somewhat blurred.

Considering this fact, Daniel decided to check the vents as soon as he was done processing with newfound peril.

Who could come to his rescue? His agent would definitely wonder where Daniel was if he didn't show up at their meeting. But considering his spotty records for such appointments, he wasn't sure if that would actually set off any alarm bells. Vanessa, his bossy agent, might just assume Daniel had blown her off once again.

Tina would definitely wonder about her brother's whereabouts if he didn't even call for Willa's birthday. But his sister was halfway across the world, so it might be hard for her to make the police take her reports seriously. They would probably tell her that Daniel was an adult, with a record for irresponsible partying, who had probably just gone off with newfound friends and would soon show up unharmed.

So if his chances for escape or rescue were slim, what were then his options?

Daniel held up the script in front of him. Perhaps the solution was right there. Perhaps he just needed to do what his captor told him. Perhaps he just needed to read the script. He'd read scripts before--lots of them even--so it shouldn't be too difficult.

Fifteen minutes later, his brain was about to turn into mush from reading too much gibberish.

Apparently, Prince Ramon was the noblest and most perfect creature who had ever existed in the magical kingdom of Valdonia--inhabited by fluttery fairies and fiery dragons, because of course it was. Such a Gary Stu. Not the kind of character Daniel strived to portray.

Although he supposed Captain Universe did have traits of perfection as well. The man did reign over the universe after all. He surfed the Milky Way on his commute to work and punched black holes out of existence.

Still, this was the worst garbage he'd ever read. Which said a lot, as Daniel had starred in Octopusnado. But that tale of twirling eight-legged sea creatures was obviously a parody, made to pander to the lowest denominator. This appeared to be a work of complete seriousness.

"What is this bloody crap?" Daniel exclaimed in a bout of disgust upon realizing Prince Ramon was about to go into another info-dumping monologue. He flung the compendium of pages across the room and into the opposite wall. The staples holding them together broke from the impact and white leaves of text scattered over the moss green carpet. "Who would read this?"

Daniel hadn't expected a reply.

But yet he got one.

"It has hundreds of reads on Wattpad," a voice said from a corner. The static quality of the sound made it impossible to tell whether the voice was male or female. "So obviously someone wants to read it, Daniel."

Startled, Daniel spun around. There was no one in the corner. Which probably to be expected, because he really should have noticed that when surveying the room earlier. But there was a walkie-talkie. Daniel had encountered the communication device before when he had a supporting role in a movie about 80s skateboarding culture. He still had scars on his knees from that role.

"Who the fuck are you?" he yelled into the square electronic box.

No reply.

Daniel realized he'd forgotten to hold in the speak button.

"Who the fuck are you?" he yelled again, even louder for emphasis. "What do you want with me?"

"I'm the author," the static voice replied. "And you're Prince Ramon. So I need you to play your part."

"What the fuck do you mean?" Daniel asked, in a not-so-collected tone.

"I need you to play out Prince Ramon's parts," the author explained, "in the way you would any acting role. I need to hear his words from your lips."

"And once I've done that, you'll let me go?"

"I'll let you go once you've played your part to perfection."

Perfection. That left a lot up to interpretation. Daniel needed more specific parameters. "And what does that mean?" he asked with a groan, in disbelief of the whole situation. "What exactly do I need to do?"

"You will read the script chapter by chapter. I will read the other parts and you will read Prince Ramon. The performance of the first chapter is in an hour, so you better study the script. Good luck!"

The line went quiet again. "Hey, I need to know more!" Daniel tried. "Come back!"

No reply. No static of further instructions.

With a sigh, Daniel put down the walkie-talkie on the bedside table. He looked around the room. The script was scattered like leaves in the wind.

"I guess I need to do this," Daniel mumbled, as he rose from the bed to gather the discarded papers. "It's just another script. I can do this. If I could do a sex scene in full bear costume, I can fucking do this!"

Author's Note: Sorry, I'm having way too much fun describing Daniel's various past acting roles.

And this just went full meta! (well full meta would perhaps be if I actually published the story of Prince Ramon as well)