Ace || 𝑠. 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑦𝑎

Two

The more I walked, the more surreal it seemed. Going past building after building I hoped to see a light in a window or a person just as desperate as me. Call me selfish, but I didn't want to be the only one scared shitless in what seemed to be a horrifying and apocalyptic scenario. This felt like the first time I craved human interaction in my life; it had only been a few hours of wandering around, but the anxiety creeping into my skin and settling within the depths of me made me wish I wasn't alone in this.

The sun was now low on the horizon, painting the sky in a variety of warm tones, the clouds now reflecting different shades of peaches and pinks. If I hadn't been so worried about myself, I would have stopped to watch the sunset. I fished my phone out of my pocket, even though I had come to the realisation that it wouldn't turn on hours ago, and pressed the power button in hopes of a miracle that never came. 

I had enough. My legs and back hurt from the past few hours and I had walked so far away from home that I barely recognised the streets around me. Dropping onto the ground beneath me, I placed my hands behind me, resting my weight on my arms as I stretched out my legs in front of me. I didn't dare utter a word, worried I could possibly miss any form of human sound coming from the distance. 

A few stars twinkled in the pitch black sky. The sun had completely gone by now and the moon had taken its place, shining down on the city below, reflecting on the windows of buildings that now had no purpose. Breathing in the cool, night air I couldn't help but feel a little more at peace. I had somehow managed to shove my worries into the back of my brain, enjoying the rare view of a dead Tokyo, and appreciating the summery breeze that wasn't infused with the fumes of a metropolitan city. 

"What the hell is that?"

I squinted my eyes at the sudden bright light. A screen, on the side of a building not too far away, turned on, the white light catching my attention. I pushed myself off the ground, unsure about what this meant, but adamant I wouldn't ignore the first sign of life in the past hours. 

WELCOME PLAYERS

THE [GAME] WILL COMMENCE SOON

Players? Game? 

It all sounded like a sick joke. Is this what people considered a game? Whoever thought this was a good idea, was clearly some kind of sociopath or just plain idiotic. 

THIS WAY TO THE GAME ARENA 

An arrow pointed into the distance, a series of smaller screens turning on as I looked down the street it was pointing me towards. Well, whatever this was, the ones behind it must have had a big budget to pull off something so insane. 

I dusted off the back of my trousers, ignoring the little voice in my brain screaming for me to not follow the light. A few beams shining straight up into the sky gave me a clear idea of where I was directed, my feet moving faster than I thought I'd be able to. There had to be some kind of answers there, some type of explanation, instruction. Something.

People.

I watched as a small group of four walked a few hundred metres in front of me. They seemed to be chatting excitedly between themselves, one of them even displaying a bit of a skip in their step as they also made their way to the big glass dome in front of us. Were they also going to be playing a game? 

A sigh of relief left my lips. Although I had no idea what was going on, or what was about to happen, I knew I wasn't alone; there were others walking the streets of Tokyo and for now, that was good enough.