Game of Reality

CHAPTER THREE

Word count : 865.

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(POV Jason)

"This marks the end of level one!" The crowd cheered. The arena started shifting. Jason and Ravi grabbed onto each other again to try and stay upright as the ground started shaking and moving. The trees disappeared, replaced by tall rock formations. The ground changed from dirt and twigs and leaves to dry, thin sand. The previous darkness from the trees was replaced with a blinding light and the heat was immediately stifling. As they looked around, squinting, they could see other players, looking as unsettled as they felt.

Jason's eyes met the dark blue ones of that blond man who'd cut the line earlier. It was had to believe that this had only happened a few hours ago. The man's face was covered in splatters of blood that Jason could see from afar and it made the grin he flashed Jason as their gazes crossed even eerier. The voice spoke again. "Let's go for level two! The round starts now!"

The blond one started walking towards them confidently, predatorily, and they ran away, scared and not ashamed of it. That guy looked like he would eat them alive and laugh while doing it. They knew how to pick their battles. They found a cave in the rock formation and sat in it for a few minutes, in the shade where the heat was less suffocating and the light less painfully bright.

Gradually, their faces lost the terrified expressions and hardened into a focused, blank mask. They had to complete the level and move onto the next stage of the "game". They walked out of the cave and looked around, trying to figure out which way to go. All around them was dark golden sand and red-ish rocks; the other players had disappeared, maybe hidden, maybe dead. They weren't going to dwell on it. Suddenly, Jason smacked Ravi on the arm with the back of his hand and hurried away.

"Dude!" Ravi called out quietly.

Jason didn't answer and stopped a few steps away from him, dropping to his knees. Ravi followed.

They lifted a big rock together, gaping when it revealed itself to be hollow despite its weight and was hiding a gleaming axe under it, with a handle covered in black leather stipes, and a shiny grey blade.

"Wow," Jason breathed. "Here, take it," he added, holding the axe out to Ravi.

"What? No! You found it. Plus, I already have the sword."

"Come on, man, that sword sucks. Just take it."

"I'm not taking the axe, Jase."

Jason looked at his friend for a while before he realized that, as much as Jason never would have taken the sword after Ravi found it, Ravi wasn't going to accept the axe. He sighed. "Fine. But we'll trade off later."

Suddenly, Ravi plastered himself against Jason. "Did you hear that? Was it a snake?!"

Jason laughed. "Is that my cue to ask how you can be scared of snakes even though you're of Indian descent?"

"I can't believe she said that to me," Ravi groaned. Jason was still laughing and he pushed his shoulder to make him stumble. "How can someone so beautiful be so dumb?"

"I ask myself that every day when I see you, honey."

Ravi mocked an affronted gasp and got Jason in a headlock that ended with both of them flat on the ground, covered in sand and laughing.

Eventually, they stood up and picked their weapons up off the ground. As nice as their little pause had been, they couldn't forget where they were, why they were there. They could already feel the heat getting to them, making their visions swim. Their mouths were dry and their heads ached. But, they also knew that there was nothing they could do about it, besides hoping the next arena would be less stifling. They walked away, and hoped they would stumble into easy but deserving targets, and they would pretend the guilt wasn't there.

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(POV Matty)

Matty had stayed down, hiding and quiet until the ground he had been laying on started moving. From a forest, hiding in the foliage, he found himself on hot, burning sand, exposed to view. He jumped to his knees and looked around, pushing the sand back and forth to find his wire. When he found it, the blood had started drying and crusting in the creases between the thin metal strings that made up the twists of the wire. He felt close to tears. This had never been what he had wanted, he just wanted to go home.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head. The other players were as exposed as he was, and he could see some of them eyeing him. He got scared and was running before he'd even fully stood up. He just needed to find somewhere to set up his trap, and then he could lie down, somewhere hidden, and get away through the stories in his mind.

*

"N00Bslayer37 is qualified!"

"C4LLmeG0D is qualified!"

"desertred is qualified!"

"BigBro224 is qualified!"

"mizzwizz is qualified!"

"mattrichards81 is qualified!"

*

"Hey Jase. It's me again. You also missed your "checking Nate is still alive after school" text. Guess you must be having a lotta fun with Ravi, huh? Anyway, I finished my homework. When should I call for the pizza? Call me."