The Kings Game

Chapter One - The Invitation

There are certain points in your life where you have the thought -'Oh, this is bad, shit, why did I do that?' To say this was one of those times would be nothing short of a horrific understatement.

The school day had started the same as always. The first group of students to appear through the classroom door walked briskly; their conversations echoed at a volume that meant one could hear every word they said. They were the perky kids who didn't mind waking at the crack of dawn. Not that it was a bad thing. It was good for the social ecosystem. Their chipper voices spread joy through the populace like a gentle aroma.

The following mob was less energetic, nothing more than living moulds of fatigue and irritation. They didn't welcome the rising sun but had long ago accepted they had no choice but to rise with it. As they listened to tales from their more energetic peers, they would slowly feel their exhaustion recede.

Lumbering at the back as always, were the zombies. These were the students who could barely hold open their eyelids, their footsteps slow and heavy as they maundered for the better part of the day. Their time had been spent watching movies long after the clock struck midnight. No amount of excited storytelling would enliven their minds.

Noah found himself falling into the zombie category of late.

Or perhaps he was worse than those plodding laggards. As the day trudged past the halfway point, most would have perked up as the energy from the school canteen slop coarsed through their veins. But the mystery meat offered on a daily basis would never find its way into his system. That was a secret promise Noah had made to himself. However, it meant he remained a zombie.

So here he was, with the day coming to an end. The last zombie. It had its perks. Nobody bothered him lest they become infected. Even the teachers. Although being ignored by everyone wasn't so much of a perk when it came to hanging out outside of school. Especially when there's a birthday party that everyone kept talking about until he went and asked the host and she suddenly had no clue what he was asking about. The lying snake. He didn't want to go to her party anyway.

Noah's attention returned to the classroom where he was met with an unusual calm. The sudden lack of laughter or teaching became very noticeable. His eyes darted from side to side. The entire room had come to a standstill; every student frozen mid action, an eerie quiet like that of a graveyard ever present. The monotonous sounds of pens on paper, the small whispers between students--gone. They sat with their expressions unchanged, painted smiles paired with unblinking eyes, more like dolls than anything human.

Standing calmly near the front of the classroom, just beside the first row of desks. An unnerving stranger. He had just appeared; poof, one of those 'blink and you'll miss it' moments... well, not that anyone could at the moment. The Stranger was dressed in a large black cloak that draped down his sides; his face barely visible beneath a dark hood. In his hand an envelope. If it had been a scythe instead, he could have been mistaken for the Grim reaper himself. He stood at the front of the class as if ready to begin a lecture.

"You have been invited." the Stranger announced.

The words caused Noah to shift in his seat. His first attempt to speak was crushed under the weight of a firm lump clogging his throat. Wide-eyed and stiff as a board, he sat patiently, staring at the uncanny visitor.

Nathan Caldere was sitting calmly beside this ominous man. He was a familiar face; they had shared classes together for a few years but he was more of an acquaintance than a friend. Nathan was smart, popular and considered good looking by some and yet he always looked so bored of it all. Never a smile or frown. Always wearing the same uninterested gaze. Most knew him because he was a Caldere, and that meant richer than God.