The Death's Game

10. Game of Gifts

Percy woke up in a large, illuminated tube, wondering for a moment where she was. Her hands touched the cold, round wall that surrounded her on all sides. She wasn't claustrophobic, but being trapped in a small, undefined place filled her with anxiety. That's definitely not the place she wished to wake up in.

"Hello?" she yelled, wondering if there was anybody on the other side. Was it already The Game? Was it the first challenge – to find a way out of here? But how? She was closed in a tube. There was no door, no handle, no nothing. She started bumping with her hands into the tube, when suddenly the white light inside of it changed into blue.

"Players, welcome to The Game," said a nice, girly voice, however, Percy had no idea where it was coming from. She looked up, noticing that the tube was going endlessly up. It had no ceiling. "All ten of you were chosen to try your best in winning and getting a chance to have a second life. The rules are simple. You can do whatever you want to, but every choice you make will be judged in case of failure. Killing is allowed, as well as helping each other. There can be more than one winner. All winners will be granted the gift of being brought back to life. There are six levels that you must pass, each one with different tasks to finish. Failure in finishing the tasks will be punished with elimination."

"How to get out?" asked Percy, but the voice didn't seem to react in any way to her words. She was getting more and more anxious, being trapped in a round trap.

"Now, let's meet the players. Millie Queens."

Percy's eyes got wider as soon as she heard her best friend's name.

"Millie? Millie!" she started yelling and hitting the tube with her clenched fists, but nothing happened. "Millie, can you hear me?!" She desperately tried to break free from the tube, but there was no exit, and no possibility to climb up.

Every second seemed to last forever, when finally, the voice read another participant of The Game, "Ryder Agesandros."

Knowing that Millie was out there with some random dude made Percy even more nervous. She knew that she must've waited for her turn to be read up but waiting seemed like something impossible.

"Come on, my turn," she pleaded, looking up. "Let me out. Let me out!"

Percy sucked in the air to her lungs, when a strange scenery popped up in her head. For a moment, she felt as if she was in a completely different place, a completely different world from the one she knew.

She was someplace that reminded her of a deserted television station, filled with a million screens that flickered in the dark. Nature has made its mark on this place by pointing out that no one has been here for decades. Vines twisted around her legs and around every object inside.

"Let me out!" she yelled, looking around. But Percy in her head wasn't scared. "I've seen enough, now let me out! It won't change anything!"

"Percy Spring," the voice said, making her come back to reality.

The tube suddenly opened, and she almost fell out, getting her balance at the last moment. With a quick look around, Percy realized she was in a bright room with ten tubes arranged in a circle. Each was highlighted in a different color. She came to one of the tubes but couldn't see anything inside. Nevertheless, there must've been someone, since the only tubes that were now dark and opened were the ones of players who got read up.

There were some bright arrows on the floor that pointed to the only door in this room. Percy looked the last time at the tubes and walked to them. The moment she stepped through the golden line, the doors scanned her up from the head to the bottom, and opened with a quick, metallic sound.