The White Games

1) Chapter One

#23 Nora Lemori - Day One – 12:00 PM

When my eyes flicker open, I find myself staring up at the leafy branches of trees far above me. Thin bands of flickering yellow sunlight stream through gaps in the canopy, shining across the smooth bark of the slender trees that grow all around. Birdsong fills the air, giving off a cheery impression. But...

Where in the world am I?

My elbows scrape against dirt as I prop myself up, fallen leaves scattering across the ground as they slide off my chest. I blink in confusion, my eyes scanning the trees that surround me on all sides. The thin undergrowth that billows in the light wind, the small animals that scuttle around between their roots. Is this...a forest?

No. No, that wouldn't make sense. Why would I be in a forest? How could I be in a forest? I was just lying in my bed last night, slowly drifting off to sleep...How can this be?

My body aches and cracks as I lift myself off from the forest floor, stumbling forward almost the instant I'm on my feet. A sharp pain shoots through my head. It's so intense that I almost black out, falling forward and grabbing hold of a nearby tree.

I can't remember anything about how I got here, or even where here is. I can't remember anything that happened after I fell asleep. Is this a dream? No. I've never had dreams like this before...it feels too real.

I let go of the tree and slump back to the ground, deep in thought. This doesn't make any sense. No sense at all. How could I have gotten from my bedroom to this forest? I don't think there's even a forest within miles of my house!

So how'd I get here?

As I sit here on the forest floor, desperately trying to recall even the slightest memory of how I wound up here, I finally notice something clamped around my wrist. It's metallic and silver, a bracelet-type thing that seems to hold an opaque empty screen in the center of it. Looks kinda like a phone screen. Maybe it's some kind of hands-free device for phones. But...why is it on my arm? I don't own one of those. Instinctively I move my hand to tap the screen.

Before I can, the screen flickers on.

A man dressed entirely in white shows up on the screen, shocking my senses with his sudden appearance. The man himself is nothing special to look at; tall, thin, with an angular nose and skinny neck. His shiny black hair is oily and slicked-back, the only part of him that isn't completely white.

Everything was white. Suit. Pants. Shirt. Tie. Shoes. Socks. He even wears sunglasses tinted white, a bizarre fashion choice that I have never seen anywhere else before. What is going on?

Suddenly the man speaks.

His voice is somehow simultaneously unnaturally loud, yet also smooth. Calm and collected, but eager and and excited. A small smile plays on his face as he throws his hands out towards the screen. "Welcome Challengers! Welcome to the White Games!"

White...Games? I stare blankly into the screen, wondering what in the world this man is blabbing about. Before I can collect my thoughts though, he continues.

"You all may be wondering just where you are and how you got here. Both perfectly reasonable questions, I assure you. I'd be wondering the same thing!"

"Wait, a moment!" I find myself speaking aloud as I stare at the small screen. "You know what's going on?" But the man doesn't answer, and I realize that this is just a video.

"Now, before I tell you exactly what is happening, I want to make something very clear." The man gazes into the screen solemnly, his tinted white sunglasses covering his eyes. "The twenty-four of you have no choice but to do exactly as I have said. I have taken all of you away from your homes and countries to play a little game. The White Games, to be exact."