ã€ŠSurvival Gameã€‹


 Prologue: A story about newbies

    He wakes up in a room that has no windows. There is nothing but concrete walls and a light overhead. In the room were 4 doors with one on each wall in a room perfectly square shaped. That seemed rather odd to him. Should he get up and check them perhaps?

    On his left he sees an unconscious young woman with glasses. He thinks she must be no more than 15 or 16 by the looks of her. Her modest clothes and innocent face while she sleeps on the cold concrete gives her the look of a young angel who just happened to fall out of the sky and forgot her halo.

    On his right is a man he would guess is a bit older than him; perhaps 30 and in a fairly inexpensive business suit. Though young, he is already starting to bald and slightly overweight. He smells of alcohol and fast food.

    Suddenly a green window display pops up in front of him

    *Congratulations on entering the game! We wish you the best of luck! For more instructions see the help menu and to see your status see the status screen*

    Had it really worked? He was sure it was a joke and simply typed the phone number in to see if there would be some odd answering message or if there was some sort of phone game show. He never expected to be brought here. The message said ''see status screen'' but as he tried to touch the screen his hand went through it and it disappeared.

    He didn¡¯t know what else to do so he figured why not try saying it out loud to see if anything happened. He said ¡°status screen¡± and suddenly a screen popped up.

    NAME: WILLIAM MITCHELL TAYLOR

    AGE: 27

    HT: 5¡¯10

    WT: 175

    SKILLS: NONE

    CLASS: N/A

    HP: 20/20

    MP: 0/0

    LV: 1

    STR: 15

    INT: 10

    DEX: 15

    WIS: 10

    STA: 10

    CHA: 10

    Points: 5

    Would you like to spend any points at this time or see point option screen?

    He looked at it for a moment not knowing what to make of it. It was his name and height and weight¡­. He was sure he was 170 not too long ago. Did he gain some? Well no point worrying about that right now. He guessed from his past game playing experience the stats were for strength, intelligence, dexterity, wisdom, stamina and charisma.

    What were the points for though? Should he use them now and how would he even use them? Put them in strength or intelligence he supposed? Before he could think more about it the young girl and the man in the suit began to wake up. They looked around confused and then just stared into the air looking puzzled. What where the looking at exactly? He had an idea and figured why not ask.

    ¡°Hello are either of you hurt?¡±

    They both replied they were okay and looked at him then looked back into the empty air.

    William followed his hunch ¡°Are you both by chance looking at some sort of status screen or a congratulations message?¡±

    ¡°Yes I am, you can see it too?¡± The young lady kept looking at him and toward her status screen.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see yours but I do see one of my own. I take it then that you can¡¯t see mine then?¡±

    She looked to him and at the air above him and shook her head.

    The man in the business suit joined their conversation ¡°do any of you have a clue what is going on here¡±

    After he told them what he had done to see his status screen both said ¡°status screen¡±. He could tell it worked for both seeing their faces react to the change and the way they were reading.

    Before they could talk more a red messaged appeared

    *Thank you for playing. It''s time to begin to the game. Please select difficultly of game by picking levels 1-10. Remember that the higher the difficulty the more points. This challenge is a mental game. If you have above 25 points in intelligence or wisdom you get double points for completion*

    A second message appeared below it

    *At least one new member is in this group. Groups with new members cannot pick a difficulty higher than 5. Please select difficultly level and remember no member can pick the same difficulty level 2 times in a row*

    A screen was floating in the air that had all the numbers 1-5 on it.

    The young girl asked ¡°has either of you ever done this before?¡±

    ¡°No this is my first time."

    The man in the business suit said the same thing.

    After thinking about it William thought of something ¡°Since this is all our first time doing this I guess it makes sense to pick the lowest level of difficulty don¡¯t you think?¡±

    The guy is the business suit said ¡°Well there might be some good reason to pick higher difficulties, Maybe if we win the award will be bigger?¡±

    William did think about it and said ¡°I would guess that is true but even if so how much? Is it really worth it?¡±

    The girl simply sat there silently watching them both talk, William looked at her curled up and oddly thought she reminded them of a cat in the way she huddled in a corner. He thought it looked a little cute but then he reminded himself she was obviously way too young for him.

    William turned to her and said ¡°What do you think?¡±

    She shyly looked at the screen and said ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I''ll go with whatever you two decide¡±

    The guy in the suit looked back at him ¡°Even though the reward may be bigger I think you are right and we should probably stick with level one."

    William said to the screen ¡°level one¡± but nothing happened. He tried again ¡°Select level one?¡±

    *Level one selected. Points for game will be level squared multiplied by players. Points available for this game are determined to be 3 which will be divided to all players who pass the game rounded to the nearest whole number. Difficulty for game set to level 1. Please enjoy your game!*

    The guy is the business stratched his head ¡°So I guess it''s more points for each level. I wonder how much harder each ;evel gets. If we selected level 2 it looks like we would be playing for 12 points instead of 3 though¡±.

    William nodded. ¡°Yes but this all just seems very odd. I think playing it safe was for the best¡±. Suddenly a screen popped upThe tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    *Doors game will now begin. Bonus for selecting easiest difficultly: Instead of only 1 safe door there will be 2 safe doors and only 1 question of an unknown category. Rules: Each player may answer a single question from each door. If answered correctly the door will display if safe or not safe. To win points exit though a safe door. If you exit through a wrong door or in any way attempt to help another player answer their selected question you are out of the game. Players may choose to exit through different doors if they so desire. Time to completion no more than 10 minutes; the countdown will start now!*

    A clock appeared in the air with a green status screen. It read 10:00, 9:59, 9:58¡­. It appeared they would need to answer questions in a timely manner but there would be no real rush.

    They all read it very carefully. The girl looked concerned ¡°so we just need to answer questions and if we get them right we get to know if a door is good or bad. I wonder what it means by out of the game. Does it mean you just don¡¯t get the points?¡±

    William rubbed his chin ¡°I''ve no idea. I guess we just need to play and find out¡±. He hoped she was right but for some reason he thought this would not be the case.

    All 4 doors had a green box in front of them and they all had something different written on them. The green boxes in front of the doors read math, science, geography and unknown. After reading them carefully William said ¡°So I guess we all pick a category now. Does anyone have a category they would like to answer?¡±

    The main in the suit said ¡°I''m very good at math so I am sure I could answer that question so that is the one I¡¯d like to do¡±.

    William turned to the young girl and asked ¡°how are you are math?¡±

    She shook her head ¡°honestly it''s my worst subject in school so I¡¯d rather not do it. I guess I¡¯d be okay at geography but I can¡¯t promise to get it for sure. Science could be anything really though¡±.

    William looked to the man in the business suit ¡°how are you at geography and science? The odds are this being level 1 I can probably answer this math question too. If you think you can do either of the other ones well that would probably be more helpful¡±.

    The man in the suit shook his head ¡°I would just like to do the math question. It be best to just nail that one down for sure¡±.

    William thought he may just want to answer the question cause it was probably relatively easy and he was not thinking about the group and the challenge overall as much as he should have been. He decided not to say anything. He thought if need be he could answer science but like the young woman said¡­ science could include a lot of questions. It was a huge subject.

    William said ¡°okay go ahead.¡±

    The business man walked to the door and tried to touch the green status screen. His hand went through it. After thinking a moment he said ¡°select math¡±

    *confirmed player Tom selects math*

    William said ¡°So your name is Tom. I guess we should have done introductions. I¡¯m William¡±.

    He turned to the girl who said ¡°I¡¯m Lisa¡± then shyly tucked her body closer to itself.

    The question appeared on the screen.

    *What is 4 cubed minus 8 divided by 2? Remember order of operations*

    William rolled his eyes, that was easy. He knew for sure he could answer it and figured even young timid Lisa could too.

    After taking longer than he thought needed to be taken by a man who was so confident in his math skills Tom said ¡°60 is my answer¡±

    *Answer correct! Well done player Tom. The door will now reveal itself as red for bad or green for good*

    The door turned bright red.

    William thought Tom looked much too pleased with himself. William said to him ¡°Good job but we are not out of this yet. If your door was green it wouldn¡¯t matter if we didn¡¯t get a single other question right. We still need to get 1 more correct or we will be at best guessing at 66%

    Tom turned to him with a satisfied look saying ¡°Well, that is on you. I did my part¡±.

    William thought to himself ¡®yeah and you got the only question that could definitely be answered if you just took your time and knew basic math¡¯. He didn¡¯t say this out loud of course.

    William looked to the clock and saw there were 7 minutes and 49 seconds left. He turned to Lisa and asked ¡°you feel most confident in geography right?¡± She nodded her head slowly.

    William said ¡°Well I¡¯ll pick science or the unknown then¡±. He felt he had a good handle on science and the unknown worried him. Still he knew science could mean anything. He decided it wasn¡¯t going to get easier as time went on and he wanted to leave as much time for Lisa as possible. He walked to the door and said ¡°select science¡±

    *confirmed player William selects science*

    *What tends to be bigger in a human, white or red blood cells?*

    He had no idea. He was hoping for animals or maybe the solar system but he wasn¡¯t up to date on biology. He figured at worse he had a 50/50 shot. He knew white blood cells ate viruses and viruses are really small even compared to red blood cells right? He figured he wouldn¡¯t know for sure so he guessed ¡°red blood cells are my answer".

    *Answer incorrect! The door will stay unrevealed, better luck next time!*

    William shook his head. Maybe he should have taken the unknown question. He saw out of the corner of his eye Tom shaking his head. What a jerk, if we was so confident he should have let me have the math question then. He decided to only say ¡°Well, sorry guys. I just took a guess¡±.

    Lisa slowly stood up and walked to the door that said geography. She said ¡°select geography¡±

    *confirmed player Lisa selects geography*

    *What is closer to Egypt; Greece or Kazakhstan?¡±*

    Tom was high on himself. He got his question right and acted like he knew the other. Maybe he did know. In any case he slowly walked next to William and said ¡°that¡¯s okay man. You did your best I am sure. Me and Lisa will get ours right and this will work out. This one looks pretty easy too. I mean aren¡¯t Egypt and Kazakhstan both in the Middle East and Greece is in Europe. Seems pretty obvious to me¡±

    William thought of replying Egpyt is actually part of Africa but before he was deciding if he should or shouldn''t...

    *Altert, player Tom has attempted to offer assistance to player Lisa before she has answered her question. This constitutes a violation of the rules. Player Tom will now be eliminated from the game*

    Tom said ¡°What? I was talking to Will though. It isn¡¯t my fault if Lisa heard me. I think this is a bunch of bull-¡°

    Just before he could finish saying bullshit his head exploded. He was now out of the game

    ¡°Holy fucking shit!¡± William screamed. Tom¡¯s brains were now covering him and Lisa and the blood pumped out from his neck jetting all over the floor. His heart hadn¡¯t stopped beating yet William thought. What a morbid thought to think at a time like this.

    ¡°Lisa was against the wall screaming¡±. William wanted to calm her down and have her answer the question. The clock read 5:34 now. He knew now what would happen if they didn¡¯t pick the right door. He wasn¡¯t sure if it would be considered helping but he felt he had no choice.

    ¡°Lisa!¡± he grabbed her ¡°Lisa, please calm down. Listen to me, do you see that clock? That clock right there is counting down. I think if we are not out of this room by the time that happens both of us are going to look like Tom. Please you need to get a hold of yourself and try to answer as best you can!¡±

    She cried a bit more through her now stained black hair and started to stop when she glanced at the clock. It indeed was going down. Now it said 4:55 and was dropping lower all the time. Nodding her head she turned back towards the door.

    She then said *Greece is closer to Egypt is my answer*

    *Answer correct! Well done player Lisa. The door will now reveal itself as red for bad or green for good*

    The door showed itself to be red as well. Tom got depressed for a moment and then perked up. ¡°Well now we know where both bad doors are right? I guess we can pick either of the other ones we want now and they will be safe."

    Lisa nodded silently ¡°I''m sorry I freaked out before. Listen, I don¡¯t know you but I am really scared. Would you mind just holding me for a few seconds right now?¡±

    William looked at the time 4:21 left¡­ he would rather be out of this room now but he figured he had time. He went to Lisa and put her in a a tight hug up against him ¡°It is okay now, you''re safe. The game is over and we can leave¡±.

    Lisa said to him ¡°Well, the game isn¡¯t actually over until the time is up¡±. William then felt something cold and hard go in his throat. William wasn¡¯t sure of what happened but before he could inspect it with his hand it was out and he was coughing up blood. Then he felt the same sensation in his chest. He looked down and Lisa was smiling as she sunk the knife into his heart. She pulled it out and push him to the ground.

    Oddly William thought ¡°where was she hiding that?¡± Then he thought no more.

    Lisa wiped the knife off on Toms cheap suit and exited through one of the safe doors.

    *Congratulations player Lisa Ann Heart. You have passed the game, as the only player to complete the game you will receive all 3 points due to status bonus this will be doubled to 6. Players Tom and William had 5 unused points each; would you like to receive their points as well?*

    Lisa said ¡°I would very much like to receive their points¡±.

    *confirmed, a total of 16 points will be awarded to Lisa.

    Lisa said ¡°status screen¡±

    NAME: LISA ANN HEART

    AGE: 16

    HT: 5¡¯3

    WT: 127

    SKILLS: ASSASSIN, DECEPTION, INSPECT, POINT STEALER, STRATEGY MASTER, DARK MAGIC USER,

    CLASS: WITCH

    HP: 153/153

    MP: 20/20

    LV: 14

    STR: 45

    INT: 73

    DEX: 55

    WIS: 57

    STA: 43

    CHA: 45

    Points: 43 + 16 = 59

    *Would you like to spend any points at this time or see the point option screen?*

    ¡°Not, right now; I think I deserve a break. Status screen off¡±

    She knew she could decide what to do with those points after exiting the game. Maybe she would use some on her stats or save a bunch of them to buy a truly special skill. In any case there was no rush to decide as such things could be done outside the game.

    "I wish to exit the game"

    *Confirmed, player Lisa is now exiting game. At this time all magic skills will be disabled. Status points and other skills will still be optional. Thank you for playing and we hope you play again soon!*

    The game arena as well as the 2 bodies were twisted into non-existance.

    It all went dark and then she was back in her bedroom. She said to herself "16 points isn''t much but that was a fairly productive night. I hope I get more points next time though". She then feel soundly asleep dreaming of all the fun games she had played and would play in the futue.

 Chapter 1: Becky

    Becky sat in front of her monitor in the middle of another boring day at her boring job which was just another part of her boring life. She was 25 years old and still felt fresh out of college in many ways though that ended years ago. She barely made more now than she did as a waitress.

    She was in data processing but if she had to be totally honest with herself she was more of a glorified secretary. She went to college be a marine biologist but it just didn''t work out for a number of reasons. Now she spent much of her day entering in reports, reviewing documents and trying to make professional looking advertisements.

    Many of the people who worked there didn''t respect what she did but were polite enough to not voice so out loud. A few intentionally weren''t so subtle. She started thinking of her ex and maybe she should try to get back together with him. Yes he fucked around on her but it wasn''t like a lot of guys were knocking down her door.

    She wasn''t horrible looking in anyway. Just a few pounds overweight, a little more flat than she''d like, her butt could be a bit firmer, her teeth a bit whiter, her face a little less round, her skin a little better, her... her everything just a little better. She hated how easy the really pretty girls had it. Maybe she should get some work done. She thought she would never say that but it has been on her mind. If she could afford it that is...

    Suddenly she received an email which was rare cause it was her work account and that almost never got email. The description only said ¡°For Becky¡±. She thought of deleting it, maybe it was a virus or something? It didn''t have anything attached to it though so why not just read the text. It''s not like she would download anything. She opened it.

    *****

    Dear Becky, after careful vetting we have concluded you are eligible to play THE GAME. If this is something you wish to take part of please dial the following number xxx-xxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxx into any phone. When you dial we ask you be alone and available for a fairly lengthly period of time anywhere between 5 minutes to 1 hour. If you succeed in completing the game you will get various options for rewards. Details will be given once you decide you wish you play.

    Choosing to sign up to play is completely voluntary and details about your game and potential prizes are to be given upon acceptance to play the game. No money or personal information required!

    Sincerely, Game Master.

    *****

    Becky thought this had to be some sort of scam. Of course there would be some catch. They would try to make you give them a credit card number or something.

    She was about to delete the email but something about it just was so... odd. She couldn''t put her finger on it. Could it be some kind of game show? Probably not but what would it hurt to call? She certainly would not give any information about herself and if it seemed weird she would just hang out.

    She took down the number in her cell phone and went back to work.

    Later at home she decided to open a bottle of wine and make herself a nice diner but nothing too fancy. She couldn''t bring herself to put something special together when alone. She watched some TV but that phone number was always in the back of her mind. She was hesitating to call for some reason though she couldn''t really say why.

    When it turned 7:00 she was done eating and cleaning up after herself. She figured it was about time. What is the worst that could happen?

    She dialed the number and soon heard a voice message from a pleasant though slightly robotic sounding women ¡°Hello and thank you for your time, your call is very important to us. Have you dialed this number to play the game or was it dialed in error? If dialed in error please hang up. If you were invited to play the game please press 1.

    She pressed 1 and continued on.

    Welcome new player. We are happy you have called. If you would be interested in playing the game please speak into the phone ¡°play game¡± if you''re not interested then simply hang up with no further obligation.

    She really wanted to know more about the game and since hanging up would do nothing to help that....

    ¡°Play Game¡± she said.

    ¡°Thank you for choosing to play the game. We detect that you are alone and ready to play. For future games simple connect using status screen. No other phone calls will be required. Please enjoy your game!¡±

    Before she could ask what the hell all that meant she suddenly blacked out. The next thing she knew someone was nudging her. A mans voice saying ¡°wake up, are you okay¡±. She slowly came to and opened her eyes.

    Instantly she pulled back ¡°who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?¡±

    The man said ¡°I''m Patrick and we''re not in your house. Do you remember how you got here?¡±

    She looked around ¡°where are we? Do you know what is going on?¡±

    Patrick said ¡°I have no idea. The last thing I remember I was on the phone and then I was here¡±

    ¡°We''re in the game right now... God I hate newbies.¡±

    She turned to the young man ¡°Who are you and what do you mean game?¡±

    He said ¡°You made the phone called and asked to play the game right? Well welcome to it. You''re in it right now. Just wait a moment and the announcement will pop up very soon¡±. She looked around and saw another unconscious women coming to maybe in her 30s and another man who was the oldest in the bunch. She guessed he was maybe 40.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    She was about to asked another question but before she could a green screen popped up

    *Congratulations on entering the game! We wish you the best of luck! For more instructions see the help menu and to see your status see the status scene*

    She jumped and turned to the young man who spoke of the game.

    ¡°Did you just see that?¡± She pointing to the air in front of her.

    ¡°No one else can see your status screen unless you make a friend request. It''s part of the rules. I don''t plan to answer any more questions until everyone is awake. It will be the exact same ones so I''d like to do it all at once encase you 2 aren''t the only newbies here¡±.

    With that the young man sat in a corner and relaxed. The room only had one opening but it was currently closed off. She went to check the door but it was locked. The single overhead light was all there was. No windows existed.

    Other other 2 people came to for a total of 5. One of them was a newbie and the other was a vet like the young boy. The boy got up in front of the others to speak.

    ¡°Well by now you all got the congratulations for entering the game. You will not feel so good about that soon. If you want to see the status screen then simple say ''status screen'' and all of your data as far as name height, weight and stats are there. Also you should all have 5 points to start.

    I would suggest you spend them ASAP once you figure out what we''re are doing. You will want every edge you can get particularly the first few games. Soon we will start a game and there will be a time limit. The most important thing you need to know is this.

    You must follow the rules or you die. You need to complete the game in time or you die. It is very possible there will be some danger during the game. I suggest you check your status screen now but wait till you know the kind of game it is to spend your points¡±. With this he sat back down.

    Becky asked him ¡°so you have played this before right? What kind of game is it?¡±

    The boy said ¡°Yes I have played before. I have been through 8 of these. This will be the 9<sup>th</sup> time. As for the game I have no idea. It changes every time you play. If you survive you will need to come back in 2 weeks or less. That is a prompt it gives all newbies who win the first time. It even has a count down in your details page.

    Becky said ¡°I don''t know what is going on but someone has clearly kidnapped us! This is a crime and we need to call the police!¡±

    The boy said ¡°We can''t call the police. We don''t have our phones and even if you win there will be no evidence the game was ever played. You can find people who played if you want just to be sure you aren''t crazy; but there is no way to prove the game exist. Also if you make too much of a stink about the game I hear you are ''removed from participation'' as it calls it. So I wouldn''t go doing that¡±.

    Right before Becky was about to ask another question suddenly a screen popped up

    *Thank you for playing. It is time to begin to the game. Please select difficultly of game by picking levels 1-10. Remember that the higher the difficulty the more points. This challenge is a physical game. If you have above 25 points in both strength or stamina you get double points for completion*

    *At least one new member is in this group. Groups with new members cannot pick a difficulty higher than 5. Please select difficultly level and remember no member can pick the same difficulty level 2 times in a row*

    The boy turned to the vet whose name was Tyrone. He asked ¡°What did you pick last time?¡±

    Tyrone said ¡°I had to pick level 2. How about you?¡±

    The Boy in a huff answered ¡°I picked level one. I guess we need to go at least level 3...¡±

    Tyrone said ¡°level 3 with 3 new players? Jesus, I hope they don''t get us killed.¡±

    Tyrone went up to the difficulty and said to the newbies ¡°the smart thing to do is pick the lowest level difficulty. The lowest we can pick righ now is level 3. Since this is physical I suggest you use your points right now to level up strength or stamina¡±.

    *Level three selected. Points for game will be level squared multiplied by contested. Points available for this game are determined to be 45 which will be divided to all players who pass the game rounded to the nearest whole number. Difficulty for game set to level 3. Please enjoy your game!*

    Becky after reading that said ¡°status screen¡± and then out popped a green box in front of her.

    NAME: Becky Sue Davis

    AGE: 25

    HT: 5''5

    WT: 155

    SKILLS: NONE

    CLASS: N/A

    HP: 16/16

    MP: 0/0

    LV: 1

    STR: 10

    INT: 15

    DEX: 15

    WIS: 15

    STA: 5

    CHA: 10

    Points: 5

    Would you like to spend any points at this time or see point option screen?

    Becky asked ¡°what is the point option screen?¡±

    Tyrone said ¡°it is a place where you can use points to buy skills or money or all kinds of things¡±.

    The Boy said ¡°worry about it on your own time. You need at least 10 points to buy any skills and most 10 point skills are not all that good anyway. Nothing else you can buy right now will help you with only 5 points¡±.

    *Maze game will now begin. For selecting level 3 difficulty there will be only 1 bad entity to start

    Bonus: for not selected levels 1 or 2 bonus points, skills and rare items will be placed in the maze!

    Rules: Players who encounter a dead end may choose to attempt the task given or turn back. If task is completed the player may choose between a prize or short cut. If task failed a penalty will be given. Prizes and penalties posted at each dead end and may be read before acceptance of task. All players once the timer starts may go through the door and enter the maze. Players must find the exit to leave the maze. Time to completion no more than 1 hour; the countdown will start now!*

    Suddenly a count down appeared in front of all of them. Tyrone turned to the other vet boy and said ¡°what is your name by the way?¡±

    He answered ¡°Calvin. I hope we make it out of this alive.¡±

    Calvin turned to them all ¡°As you can see the countdown has started. When it hits 0 if you have not finished you are dead. Go in or don''t go in is entirely up to you. I would suggest you use your points on stamina or strength. Strength also helps you run faster so keep that in mind¡±.

    He looked at his clock again. ¡°I am going to go into this maze alone to hunt for items and extra points. I suggest you newbies all stick together and just try to pass. Until you build up some points these kind of difficulties are probably too much for you. If you see that so called entity just run¡±.

    He turned to Tyrone ¡°sticking with them is up to you but I plan to go alone from here on out. I don''t want newbies slowing me down or getting me killed¡±.

    Tyrone said ¡°I plan to go solo too and I will be sure to get to those bonuses first!¡± He turned to the others and said ¡°sorry, I just can''t be slowed down. I would like to help you but I don''t want to die for you either¡±.

    Calvin then opened the door and went into the maze followed quickly by Tyrone.

    Becky, Patrick and the other women were left in the room alone. Patrick turned to the other woman and asked ¡°what is your name dear? Sorry we were so rushed and just didn''t feel I had time to ask. She said ¡°Samantha.... Do we really need to go in there?¡±

    Patrick turned to Becky to see if she could add anything to this that may help. Becky said ¡°It looks like we do. I have no reason to not believe the things they told us and that timer is worrying me. I suggest we do as they said and put our points in stamina and strength then go together. Does anyone disagree?¡±

    Everyone nodded their head. Becky looked at the time and saw it said 59:13. She turned to the other 2 and said ¡°we really should get started; for all we know we may need every second to finish this¡±. They agreed and Becky turned to the open door. She took her first step out towards the maze.

 Chapter 2: Becky 2

    Becky took a breath and stepped through the door. Her foot clicked on concert in a well-lit hall with lights in the ceiling above that was about 10 feet high. The hall was about 10 feet wide as well giving it the look of a perfect square.

    At the end of it appeared to be a T intersection where she could choose to go left or right. Soon after she walked a few paces she heard the steps behind her of Patrick and Samantha. There was no sign of Tyrone or Calvin. It seems they were already well into the maze.

    Becky turned to her fellow new players and said ¡°well, first things first. I guess we should put our points in stamina or strength. I plan to put 3 in strength and 2 in stamina but do as you like. I don¡¯t think we should waste too much time debating on what is the best idea¡±.

    Becky turned forward and said ¡°I would like to spend my points¡±.

    *Status screen active. Please select the where you would like to spend your points by vocal command or selecting the plus key near the stats you wish you increase. For other options please see the point option screen *

    Again she saw her name, height and skills. What she was more focused on was where here stats. They read.

    LV: 1

    STR: 10

    INT: 15

    DEX: 15

    WIS: 15

    STA: 5

    CHA: 10

    Points: 5

    She saw her stamina was low but figured in this type of situation being able to run faster was probably better than being able to run longer. She had no idea how fast the things were that might chase her in this maze.

    She brought her STR up to 13 and STA up to 7 and said ¡°exit status screen¡±. It closed immediately. Behind her she heard Patrick and Samantha doing the same thing. She didn¡¯t ask what they used the points on or if they even used them. Frankly, she figured she needed to be worried more about herself right now.

    She simply turned back and said ¡°is everyone ready now?¡± They told her they were; but what to do now? Go right or left? Did it really matter?

    She asked them ¡°do either of you have any ideas of what we should do?¡±

    Samantha surprising spoke up ¡°Well, this is a maze right? To solve a maze usually you need to get to the center or the opposite side. I say we aim for one of those as they are probably our best chance¡±.

    Patrick said ¡°I think that makes sense too. We should probably aim for the center first as best we can guess. If nothing is in there we just continue on to the other side That is probably the best idea¡±.

    Becky said ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do that. For all we know we could have entered near the bottom or the top. This maze could also be a circle or triangle instead of a square. If we are going to aim for the center we should look to find the edges first. Once we do we can have a good idea what kind of shape we are in and where the center is¡±.

    Patrick and Samantha were not sure if this was true but it sounded like it made since. Becky to be fully honest wasn¡¯t sure either. They had to do something and having a goal as opposed to wondering around made more sense. Becky said ¡°let¡¯s go right, then keep going in that direction till we think we found the edge. Count our steps as we walk upward but not when we need to take detours. Then we will count our steps down in the opposite direction¡±.

    It seemed with this there was no more need to discuss. They were feeling restless about waiting any longer with the countdown. They went to the T section and all turned right counted their steps as they had no other way to measure distance.

    They all tried to walk about the same stride to keep their count the same. After about 30 steps they were forced to turn left and stopped counting. They were soon able to turn right again and continued their count. It was a bit tricky but all the turns looked to be 90 degrees. They had to back track a few times as well and subtract steps but on the whole where able to keep a good orientation just keeping track of turns.

    After a while they came to a smooth straight wall that was blocked on both ends. Patrick said ¡°is it the edge or not?¡±

    Becky said ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I count 1405 steps to get here just about. We should back track a bit and try to get around. If we can¡¯t go any higher we will assume this is the edge and work out way down¡±. After back tracking a bit they were able to turn in the same direction again but could get no higher than 1411 steps up before finding the same smooth wall that was blocked on both sides.

    Samantha said ¡°well, it isn¡¯t exactly the same but I guess that is to be expected. It isn¡¯t like it is an exact measurement. I say we call this about the top of the maze and then we go down to find the bottom¡±.

    They all agreed quickly and checked the time. They had 49:21 left. They would need to pick up the pace a little. On the way down they ran into a dead end. This time instead of just finding a cement wall there was a green box.

    *Congratulations, you found a bonus game. If you choose to play and fail ankle cuffs with a 1 foot chain will be attached to you for the rest of the game. If you succeed you will receive a 25 point skill unlock gift card redeemable for any single 25 point skill. Do you wish to play a game with gambling and calculation to try to unlock this prize?*

    Becky was puzzled. She assumed skill unlocks were part of the points option screen. She remembered hearing that spoke of earlier that you could use points to unlock skills. What kind of skill would 25 points give you? Of course it didn¡¯t matter. She knew she could absolute not afford to lose. With ankle cuffs on like she wouldn¡¯t be able to run if she needed to.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    She turned to both Patrick and Samantha and said ¡°I am not going to play this. You two do as you want but I am continuing on¡±.

    She turned to leave and they followed her. It seemed they agreed it be a bad idea or perhaps were just scared to be alone in here. She would be. They continued to walk downward. They found another dead end which had a bonus game for an item but again decided against it. After about 2000 steps from the top they reached another smooth wall that ran along the side. They doubled back and tried to go lower but could not.

    They sat together for a moment. Patrick said ¡°so it seems this is in fact a square or rectangle shaped maze. One side is about 2000 steps. I think we should just assume a square shape for now and with the theory this is 2000 steps high and 2000 steps wide. We are still pretty close to the wall we entered from so I say we try 1000 steps up and 1000 steps over. That should put us near the center. If we don¡¯t see anything near there we go 1000 more steps over and see if we hit a wall¡±.

    Clearly it was the right thing to do. There was a bit under 40 minutes left to find the exit. Even though about 1/3<sup>rd</sup> of the time had been used they were all pretty happy. They felt they had a strong handle on what to do and a good reason to do it.

    *Alert! Player Calvin failed a bonus game and created a new entity*

    All 3 were shocked. Samantha asked ¡°that idiot, why would he do that? That is such a stupid risk to take and he doubles our chances of dying¡±.

    Becky assumed it probably did. Maybe even more than double depending on what was created; clearly to take such a risk Calvin was confident he would be okay but showed no value for anyone else¡¯s life here.

    *Alter! Player Tyrone has encountered an enemy. Player Tyrone has been removed from the game. 4 players remaining*

    Silence fell over the group for a moment. Patrick asked ¡°do you think it was the entity Calvin created? What if it spawned right near Tyrone? But I guess it could have just been the original one too¡±.

    That idea terrified Becky. What if Calvin played such a game again and lost and something popped into existence right next to her?

    Samantha was going to say something but Becky interrupted ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now, he¡¯s dead and our chances of dying just doubled. The longer we are in here the worse our odds. You don¡¯t know if Calvin will do something stupid and create another entity. We need to move now and quickly.¡±

    She got up and began to walk in the direction they spoke of counting her steps. She was not going to die here. She wasn¡¯t in love with her life outside of this game but she wasn¡¯t just going to sit still and die. She was going to live no matter what. She was happy to hear them following her though. The pace had quickened.

    It was a lot harder to aim for a particular location in the maze then just a wall. They had to keep track of more and be careful with detours. More games were passes along the way. Before long they got to where they thought the center would be. It was just more maze.

    Patrick said ¡°So the end isn¡¯t in the center?¡±

    Samantha said ¡°Well, we assumed it was a square. It could be longer than high or some other weird shape. In either case we should look around more¡±. They decided to do so and searched the general area as best they could. They gave the area a good scan of 50 steps up and sideways in all directions but found nothing. It seems this was either not the center or the center wasn¡¯t where the exit was.

    Becky said ¡°Well it was worth a try. We should he half way to the other side of the maze though if we are right. We should get moving¡­¡±

    She was going to say more but heard footsteps coming. They clacked against the cement like hers did but they felt lighter. Something was weird. It was like there was someone walking on the ground but also someone walking on top of maze too. It made no sense. They did sound like human footsteps. Could it be the acoustics playing tricks?

    As the steps rounded the corner she was shocked by what she saw. It was as if a nightmare was living and breathing in front of her.

    She saw a black paper thin square. It was the color stretched out almost liquid like. On it were legs just like tiny human legs. 2 legs walked on the floor, there was a pair on either side that walked along the walls in a perfectly casual manor like that was the way gravity was supposed to work and 2 legs walked along the ceiling all of them in perfect unison.

    On its surface of the square were dozens and dozens of long thin arms that she guessed had a good 6 foot reach in front or the entity. They were much thinner than her arms but she got the feeling they were far stronger. The only other thing on the square was 6 large eyes and below each large eye was a large mouth.

    They had no particular order on the creature except each mouth lined up perfectly under its own eye. Some were facing straight in line with the square and some facing diagonal. There were wide empty spaces on it with no eyes or mouth and other parts where they appeared too bunched up. The mouths spoke in voices that sounded almost human.

    ¡°Look, you see food?¡± ¡°Yes, they look tasty!¡± ¡°Me hungry, can we eat?¡± ¡°Yes, we can eat¡± ¡°I want some!¡± ¡°I share, we all share right?¡± ¡°Yes, sharing good¡± ¡°Can I have leg?¡± ¡°I want arm.¡± ¡°I like fresh food.¡± ¡°They look fresh!¡± ¡°Yes, fresh is best!¡±

    It started to move towards them and though the legs still had a walking motion it was going much faster now. They all ran in the opposite direction.

    ¡°What the hell is that thing?¡± Patrick said

    Becky said ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, just run¡±.

    Samantha started to cry ¡°I just wanna go home¡±. Samantha ran quicker in a hysterical fear out pacing Becky and Patrick around a corner.

    ¡°Look food!¡± ¡°Yummy!¡± ¡°Tasty food is good!¡± ¡°Catch it.¡± ¡°We share.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± ¡°I got it too.¡± ¡°I hate when food runs.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t let food run away.¡±

    Samantha had just turned the corner to see the exact same kind of monster, It grabbed her, its long arms and bird like talon fingers wrapping around her arms and legs and neck. They closed around her so tightly they drew blood.

    ¡°Oh god, it hurts! Help me!¡± Samantha yelled as the arms dug into her soft body and pulled her forward towards the smiling mouths.

    ¡°Let her go!¡± Patrick said as he tried to stick at the hands. A few of the eyes stayed on Samantha but some turned towards him. The arms reached out trying to grab him. They scratch him a bit but couldn¡¯t get a good hold. He tried his best to pull Samantha out and to hit or break any of the dozens of arms holding her. The arms though were like steel. They were so thin but had no give at all.

    Becky yelled to Patrick ¡°you can¡¯t help her! You have to run. The other one is coming from behind us.¡±

    Samantha cried ¡°Help me, please don¡¯t leave. Oh god I don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    The creature¡¯s arms pulled her hand toward ones of its mouths and started to chomp down hard with its perfectly square teeth. Flesh seemed to simply disappear in clean chunks behind every bite. Blood splattered against the shape and other mouths with their long thing tongues licked it up.

    Becky in an odd moment of detached clarity thought ¡°but this thing paper thin¡­ where can the hand being be going?¡¯

    She realized it didn¡¯t matter. The hand was gone now and the wrist was being eaten one quick clean chomp at a time in a rhythmic machine like fashion. Other arms were pulling her other hand and legs to other mouths on the creature,

    She heard the other one behind her. She tried to pull Patrick away but he was determined to save Samantha. She turned and ran into an opening around the corner away from them. She heard Patrick get grabbed. The last thing she heard was screaming from both of them for her to come back and help. She cried and ran and cried and ran. It was all she could do.

    She stopped a moment tried to collect herself. She and checked the clock and saw 20:45 left. Even with all that turning and running she still thought she knew the direction she had to go to get to the other side.

    *Alter! Player Samantha has encountered an enemy. Player Samantha has been removed from the game. 3 players remaining*

    *Alter! Player Patrick has encountered an enemy. Player Patrick has been removed from the game. 2 players remaining*

    She almost forgot that would happen. She ran the back of her hand against her eyes to rid them of tears. She made a promise to herself in 21 minutes she would still be alive. She began to move.

 Chapter 3: Becky 3

    Becky now moved through the maze alone. After seeing what happened to the people she was with, she moved a lot slower and cautiously. She had to constantly remember to increase her speed. She knew if she didn''t make it out in time then not getting killed by those monsters would be pointless.

    She listened very closely. She now knew they could be heard before seen if she was quiet. Their footsteps were softer than a person''s but still loud enough to be heard around corners. Corners is where she had to be the most careful. She was confident she could run away from one in a straight line, but if they managed to grab her..... she didn''t want to think about it.

    She walked around corner after corner checking the time more and more constantly. 18 minutes. 17 minutes. 16 minutes. 15 minutes 14 minutes. It all looked the same. She thought she was getting close to the edge but what if the exit wasn''t there? What if it was on some other side of the maze or what if this was just endless?

    She missed having those 2 by her side. She didn''t particularly like them and it wasn''t like they could protect her. There was just something reassuring about having them there. Like if 2 other people agreed this was the right thing to do she would feel more comfortable doing it. Even if they had no good reason to base that on. It would have made her feel better all the same.

    She turned a corner and jumped back behind the wall. She saw something. Not the creature, something else. What was that black thing on the floor in the middle of the hall? She peaked her head out again cautiously. They were clothes. To be more accurate, they were Tyrone''s clothes.

    She walked over to them. She only met him a few minutes before all this started. That idiot Calvin. If he didn''t take that risk and summoned the other monster all 3 of the others might still be alive. She had to make sure he paid for that. After this she would go to the police or something. That was clearly some form of reckless endangerment.

    She knelt down to examine them more closely. They were bloody and ripped. She was about to get up but then she saw a gold card sticking out of the pants pocket.

    She pulled it out. She read it ¡°congratulations player. You have completely the bonus game! As a reward you have received a 25 point skill unlock gift card redeemable for any 25 point skill after the game. This may not be combined with any other cards or bonuses.¡±

    She remembered the game she turned down the first time. It offered a free 25 point skill gift card too. She remembered the price of failure being forced to wear ankle cuffs. Was his the same or did he gamble with the chance to potentially unleash another entity as well?

    She was about to drop it and move on.

    *Player Becky has found dropped loot! Would you like to claim loot?*

    Wait a second, she could have this? She didn''t know exactly what it would give her. She knew if Tyrone and Calvin risked there life for these cards and extra points it had to be valuable. There was no point not taking it.

    ¡°Yes, I would like to claim this loot¡±

    *Acknowledged. This card now belongs to player Becky. Congratulations!*

    She took the card and stuck it into her pocket. She would need to look into it later but getting out of here as soon as possible was the most important thing. She still hadn''t found the edge yet. Even if she did it might be a while until she could search enough of the edge to find the exit. Assuming it was on this side at all.

    Time was running low now. If it got too low she would need to take the risk and start moving much faster. There was only 10 minutes left now and she still hadn''t found the wall. She would wait until only 5 were left. If she still hadn''t found the wall by then she would start to run. She hoped she found it before that. If she had to ''exit the game'' it was probably preferable to get timed out then to meet that thing...

    She poked her head around the corner. It was Calvin! He seemed to be looking for the exit too. She didn''t want to see him and much less talk to him after what he did, but she felt she had no choice. She was about to call out for him but remembered those things may be near by. Could they hear? She may as well assume they could. There was no point taking a chance.

    She walked fast to catch up to him. For a moment she thought she might have lost him around the corners. She softly called his name ¡°Calvin?¡± And tried speaking in a different direction as loud as she dared ¡°Calvin, it''s me Becky¡±.

    He came around the corner with a small smile ¡°Becky, I''m glad to see you''re still alive.¡±

    ¡°Are you?¡± She asked

    Calvin looked angry and defensive ¡°of course, why wouldn''t I be?¡±

    Becky allowed her anger to bubble over. Something she told herself to avoid ¡°because of you one more of those things is in here and now 3 people are dead that would probably still be alive. How could you do something so irresponsible?¡±

    He laughed a bit at that ¡°maybe you don''t understand the situation. This is no simple game. This is life or death; usually death. In the end, if you want to stay alive you had better be sure to look out for yourself above anyone else. Some people wouldn''t have even given you an explanation of what was going on. My first time no one explained what was happening to me.

    They let us go out there and watched us die to test the game and see how it worked. It was the only one of the new players that made it. I''ve even seen players intentionally kill others to up their point total at the end of the game. All that and you accuse me of being the bad guy? Frankly, you should be on your knees thanking me for being so nice¡±.

    She looked at him with hatred in her eyes ¡°don''t use them as an excuse. You are trying to hide behind their actions to defend your own. That I something a coward does. That''s all you are. Nothing but a piece of shit fucking coward¡±.

    He grabbed her throat and pushed her against the wall. She felt her feet leave the floor and kick against air. She grabbed his wrist trying to hold herself up and relieve some pressure. It was hard to breath. He was so strong, unnaturally so. Was it because of the stats the game gave him? Lifting her appeared effortless for him ¡°coward?¡± He asked ¡°so you think I should have gotten us all together, tried to lead you to the end and risk my own ass with you all slowing me down?

    That happened on my 2<sup>nd</sup>. One vet tried to lead the 3 of us to the end together so we all could live. He tried to protect them. He failed. They ran like mice but not fast enough. They begged me to help. To repeat the mistake he made. I knew better than to do that. While it was busy with them I got away.

    He dropped her and she caught her breath ¡°let me give you one piece of advice. If you wanna live through this there is only one thing that matters. It''s not teamwork or love or hope or god or fear. It''s points. You get more point and you get stronger, you get faster, you get smarter and you get more skills.

    When you get those the game gets a little easier and safer each time. You can run faster, you can think better and quicker, you can use more abilities to help you out of tough situations. So that is what I¡¯m doing. I''m getting points. As many as I can, as fast as I can. If others die along the way then that''s just too bad. You can''t save everyone, and if you try you''re already as good as dead.¡±

    Becky said the only thing she could think of to that ¡°We''re probably going to die anyway in 9 minutes, so what does it matter?¡±

    He laughed ¡°you mean the exit? Well of course that''s the first thing I found. It''s right over there against the wall¡± He pointed in the general direction of where she was heading anyway. ¡°You really think I wouldn''t know where it was with my life is on the line? Don''t be silly.¡±

    Becky was shocked ¡°If you know where it is why are you still here?¡±

    Calvin laughed ¡°Are you kidding? This place is a fucking goldmine!¡± He pulled 5 gold cards out of his pocket. ¡°I''ve never seen anything even close to this. You''re lucky if there''s a game that gives you the chance to get just one bonus prize. They''re everywhere in here.¡±

    He put them back in his pocket ¡°speaking of which. I probably only have time to get one more, but only if I don''t waste any more time talking to you. You know where the exit is now so shut your mouth and just go there. We''ll be splitting the points for finishing this game two ways instead of five. You should thank me¡±.

    He walked to leave but then stopped ¡°You know, there are players you would kill you to split those points only 1 way. I could easily do that if I wanted. The way you talked to me with your uppity bitch mouth was not a smart thing to do¡±. He looked at her silently for a moment. Maybe he said it before as a joke or a passing thought. But he was considering it now. Why split 45 points two ways?

    Round it up and you only have 23.... If she was dead he could get all 45 himself. That was no small amount of points. She saw the wheels turn in his head. It was like she could read his thoughts in his eyes ¡°who would know? There''s no one here but us. People die in this game all the time anyway. I leave people to die and don''t care if I put them in danger. Really, when it comes down to it, what''s the difference?¡±

    She thought of running but she knew he''d catch her. He was so much stronger and faster. Who knows what other skills he had gain since he started playing? She felt like a mouse in a corner frozen in fear facing a snake. He felt in his thick pocket the bonus cards already there. He gave that pocket a quick glance and then a smile broke on his face. ¡°Just kidding! You know I wouldn''t ever really do that don''t you?¡± He walked around the corner looking for another bonus game.

    She exhaled. He wasn''t kidding. She knew her life hung by a thread in that moment. She stopped to think ¡°if he hadn''t already gain so much today with those cards would he have been in such a generous mood? Would he have found that extra 22 points too tempting to turn down for her measly life?This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    She thought she knew what the answer was. Let him keep his cards and play his game. She was getting out of this hellish maze. She walked in the direction he''d pointed. She hoped he was telling the truth. She figured he probably was since she was confident the thought of killing her or intentionally or sending her to her death didn''t occur to him before that last moment.

    5 minutes left. She found the wall but no door. She doubled back a little and found the wall again. This time she saw the open door. She wanted to run to it full speed when she saw it but there were too many open entrances for the monster to be hiding in. She walked slowly looking around them carefully as she made her way to it. Finally she was inside.

    *Congratulations player Becky. You have completed the game with 3:42 remaining! Please stay in the safe area for the remainder of the game. If you leave this area the game will register you as uncompleted again until you are back inside. The game will end once the status of all other players still in the game is accounted for.*

    She guessed that meant she needed to wait for Calvin to get his ass in the room. Then she could finally get out of here and go home. She took the card from her pocket. She tried to use it to see what would happen but it wouldn''t work; the game was not officially over.

    She sat and waited watching the time tick by. She was sure he would be back before 2 minutes. Just how close was he going to cut it? Did he get lost? What was the hold up. He had to have a close eye on the time at this points. 1:30.... 1:15... 1:00...

    She heard his foot steps coming towards her. Damn, he really liked cutting it close. She saw him across the hall now only maybe 30 feet away. He had a big smile on his face ¡°I found such an amazing bonus game! The best one yet. You won''t believe what it...¡±

    She saw a monster walk in between their line of sight. It turned to face her and then him ¡°me hungry¡± ¡°he look tasty¡± ¡°I want his eyes¡± ¡°eyes taste yummy¡± ¡°I like bone though¡± ¡°bone make nice crunch¡± ¡°I like soft meat¡± It moved towards him. He backed up and looked into air no doubt at his timer. She looked at hers... :44 seconds left.

    He yelled ¡°Becky, you need to come out of there and make it come towards you. If you do there is a section here that I can use in the maze to get around him but hes too far up.¡±

    Becky was about to go out to do it... but she stopped just as she was about to leave the room. Not out of fear or cause she saw another monster near by. She just stopped and looked at him and then at the time.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He yelled ¡°Please Becky, there''s no time.¡± He paused ¡°is it that joke? Come on. I wasn''t serious. I just have a weird sense a humor¡±. He laughed ¡°please Becky hurry!¡± 24 seconds left. He said ¡°Listen, I got some great cards here. I''ll give you one.... two of them!¡± She said nothing ¡°I''ll give you all of them!¡±

    Becky stepped backward deeper into the room watching. ¡°I could have killed you! I let you live! If you leave me to die you are way worse than I am! You may as well just kill me yourself!

    She heard him run towards her. Maybe trying to dodge the monster or get around it. She saw it grab him. She heard his screams ¡°Oh my god! You god damn murdering fucking cunt! I swear you''ll pay for this! Someone is going to do the same to you and I hope it hurts! Oh god it''s eating me!¡±

    She saw the time tic 3.. 2.. 1..

    *Time is up. Thank you for playing!*

    It was not like it just disappeared exactly. It was like an old TV that turned off and then had a white line down the middle that turned into a dot and then faded away.

    *Congratulations player Becky Sue Davis. You have passed the game, as the only player to complete the game you will receive all 45 points

    Would you like to spend any points at this time or see the point option screen?*

    Before she could say yes something else popped up.

    *Alert! for gaining 10 more points you have been granted level 2*

    *Alert! for gaining 15 more points you have been granted level 3*

    *Alert! for gaining 20 more points you have been granted level 4*

    She thought for a moment. Why did it stop there? She gained 45 points so it should keep going shouldn''t it? If she did the math then adding 10 points, then 15 more and then 20 more for 45 right? That must be it. It was 5 more each time to go up in level. So if she got 20 more next game she would reach level 5 then? It didn''t really matter for now. She pushed the thought aside.

    Becky continued with what she was doing with the point option screen ¡°Yes, I would¡± she said in response to the question before the alerts.

    NAME: Becky Sue Davis

    AGE: 25

    HT: 5''5

    WT: 155

    SKILLS: NONE

    CLASS: N/A

    HP: 30/30

    MP: 0/0

    LV: 4

    STR: 13

    INT: 15

    DEX: 15

    WIS: 15

    STA: 7

    CHA: 10

    She saw plus arrows by the each stat. How should she use her points though? Should she just save them all for the start of next game or use some now? Not to mention her gift card for a free 25 point skill. She noticed her HP was up too. Did it have to do with adding points to strength or stamina? Maybe it was her level. She tried to see if there was a way to know.

    She clicked on the STR button It lit up and a help screen popped up.

    *Strength ¨C A stat which increases both physical strength and speed! A stronger body also benefits from higher HP! Your physical muscle definition will increase but the increase will not be proportional to the strength increase as the strength this stat grants can exceed human level.*

    Mmmm, she would need to know what side bonuses every skill had before she made up her mind. She clicked on them all one by one until getting to CHA.

    *Charisma ¨C A stat that has to do with ability to influence and lead. You will find yourself also to more witty and able to navigate social dynamics. You''re appearance will improve as well as you raise your charisma.*

    That was odd. She read it again. What did it mean by improving your appearance? She never really liked the way she looked but was this really okay? Why not just test it. She put one point in CHA.

    A box came up.

    *Charisma increased by one. Physical appearance will now change as a side effect.*

    She wanted to see herself but she was still in the safe room. She asked the system if she could use points after exiting the game. The game sent her a message saying a player may use points but not special skills outside of the game. She exited the game and was back in her house. She ran to a mirror to take a look at herself. She didn''t see much change but her skin maybe did look a bit better. She felt around her stomach. Did she loose any weight?

    Looking in the mirror she used 14 more points to bring her CHA up to 25. An alert popped up.

    *Charisma has increased a large amount. While the leadership and social effects will take place instantly the physical effects to avoid suspicion must be done over a period of time Time until charisma is fully in physical effect due to number of points used will be 45 days. Effects will include: weight loss, skin clarity, growing a slight amount taller, toning of body, improved facial symmetry, larger bust, whitening of teeth...*

    The list went on.

    Well there was no point putting in anymore points till it was done. She looked at the 25 point skill card in her pocket

    See said ¡°point option screen¡±

    The game gave an options of skills or items. She selected skills. There were 10 point skills 25 point skills 100 point skills and 1000 point skills. What kind of skill would 1000 points give you?

    She clicked on 25 point skills and looked through the options. There must have been near 50 of them. She wondered if there were that many 1000 point skills or if there were more or less skills the higher up you went. She''d guess it be less but more powerful skills the higher you went, but she had no clue.

    As she was reading it she saw things like Point Stealer which looked interesting. Dark Magic user did too. She thought it would be best to pick something that would help keep her alive. Living was the number one priority. She had no idea what kind of game she may face next so she didn''t know what would help the most for sure. Some skills could help certain things but she wanted something that be good for any game she may be in. She saw something that looked interesting and clicked on it.

    *Summon Fairy Companion ¨C Fairies as among the most noble and good creatures. They can offer minor healing and be an adviser on your journey. They can create light in the darkness and give knowledge on all sorts of thing related to the game. A trusty ally to have and totally loyal to their master. Their life is joined to their master so as long as you live they will live also.

    Would you like to learn skill?*

    It didn''t look all that powerful but the minor healing was good for defense. Giving tips and knowledge for any game you were in would be great. She couldn''t think of a way it wouldn''t be useful for her in nearly any situation no matter what the game may be. There was no way to know except to try. She said ¡°learn fairy companion skill, apply gift card for purchase¡±.

    She purchased the skill and then figured she may as well save the rest of her points until she knew what the next game was. It has been a long night and she was very tired with everything that had gone on. She crawled into bed and off to sleep.

    *****

    2 months later.

    Becky walked into work a little late. She would''ve never dared to do so before but now showing up 5 minutes after her shift started was not seen as a grave sin but a minor forgivable hiccup. She wore professional but form fitting clothes and a skirt to show off her body. She had started to get use to the looks men gave her when she walked past them.

    She had trimmed down. Her skin was clear and healthy looking. Her hair had a natural, lush and shined when the sunlight it hit. She still wore make up but not nearly as much as before. She wasn''t desperate to look ''good enough'' anymore but only to look slightly more impressive. Her lips were full and blood red. There were no more bags under her eyes. Her teeth looked pearl white.

    Her bossed walked up to her. She still half expected him to be an asshole. ¡°Hey Becky, how is your morning going so far? Looking really nice today

    ¡°It''s going well and thank you¡± she said not looking at him but getting her station ready. ¡°Anything I can help you with?¡±

    He flustered ¡°Well, I just want to say you are doing really good work lately. I''m thinking of putting your name in for a promotion¡±. She had increased her intelligence too but her work had always been worthy of promotion. At least compared to the other incompetent shit heels that worked here.

    She smiled at him ¡°that would be so great if it happens! I''ll just keep doing my best and hope it works out.¡±

    He laughed ¡°well, keep it up and you won''t need to hope... Anyway, we are all getting together after work to have a few drinks. Would you like to come along as well? We could also sit down and talk. Maybe I would buy you a meal too as a celebration and...¡±

    She interrupted in ¡°you know, I would really like to but I just can''t. I have a date tonight¡±.

    She looked closely at his face delighting in the disappointment in hearing she was going out with someone and it wasn''t him. She smiled slightly more when she saw it. He said ¡°oh, okay. Well the offer still stands. Maybe we will all hang out some other night. Have fun on your date¡±.

    She said ¡°I will, thank you!¡± She sat back down at her desk. She really should get a new job. This was always beneath her anyway but particularly now. She would probably make more learning to so something else and working for herself. She could easily learn how to run a small business or just do tech freelance work.

    She looked around to be sure no one was looking and then said ¡°status screen¡±

    NAME: Becky Sue Davis

    AGE: 25

    HT: 5''5.5

    WT: 133

    SKILLS: SUMMON FAIRY COMPANION, POINT STEALER

    CLASS: N/A

    HP: 80/80

    MP: 0/0

    LV: 9

    STR: 29

    INT: 31

    DEX: 19

    WIS: 23

    STA: 15

    CHA: 35

    Points to spend: 13

    She smiled to herself. Yes, she had a date with her favorite game tonight!

 Chapter 4: Mike 1

    Mike sat on his bed in his mother''s basement and was playing video games as an escape from his dreary life. At 21 years old he already felt like a failure. He was held back during his freshman year of high school; a lot of things sucked about being held back. The greatest of all for him was how it utterly destroyed his social and dating life.

    All the friends he had grown up with in his youth were separated from him and actively tried to avoid him. Trying to get a date as the held back ''dumb kid'' was nearly impossible. He was the only one held back in his entire high school and there was no escaping that stigma. He had hoped when he finally got his GED and went to community college things would be different.

    No other kind of college would accept him. His goal was to get good grades and then transfer to a 4 year school. Sadly, getting good grades was never his strong point. After a year of frustration and going through a chunk of his savings he earned while in high school he saw the writing on the wall. It was the same writing on the wall everyone else saw.

    He dropped out of college and looked for a job. Something that he could get paid decently for and no one would care about his inability to do complex math, write a good English paper or remember a bunch of stupid science facts that didn''t matter. The best fit he found was a janitor. Honestly it wasn''t that bad a gig. The pay, as far as low skill jobs go, was okay. He got to pick his shifts a good amount of the time too.

    He preferred 1<sup>st</sup> shift with a couple 3<sup>rd</sup> shifts thrown in. People didn''t tend to bother you on 3<sup>rd</sup> shift and at this point he had gotten use not talking to people much. Once he managed to get 30K in the bank he would move out of his mom'' house and find his own place. Not that his mom wanted to kick him out. He just couldn''t stand to see the sadness in her eyes. She loved him but he knew she had larger aspirations for her son.

    His father wasn''t in the picture to be disappointed. Mike figured he was already disappointed by the prospect of being a father. It did have the bonus of taking pressure off of you with one less parent to be a failure of a son for. So Mike continued with his usual night of playing video games before soon going upstairs to eat and talk with his mother over dinner.

    The nights had started to blend together at this point. As he was playing his video game online he received a message to his account in-box. After he was done with his session he check it to see what it was. It surprised him to get a message from any player as he had no friends at all. Not even online.

    *Dear Mike, after careful vetting we have concluded you are eligible to play THE GAME. If this is something you wish to take part of please dial the following number xxx-xxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxx into any phone. When you dial we ask you be alone and available for a fairly lengthy period of time anywhere between 5 minutes to 1 hour. If you succeed in completing the game you will get various options for rewards. Details will be given once you decide you wish you play.

    Choosing to sign up to play is completely voluntary and details about your game and potential prizes are to be given upon acceptance to play the game. No money or personal information required!

    Sincerely, Game Master.*

    What the hell kind of joke was this? Why was the phone number that long? He had never seen one that long. Was it outside the country? It had to be some kind of scam to get his credit card information. Not that he even had a credit card. What a stupid thing to do. Then again, he didn''t have anything else to do tonight and he had to admit it sounded pretty odd and interesting.

    He put the number in his phone. As he called it he heard from upstairs ¡°honey, dinner is ready!¡±

    ¡°I''ll be there right there ma!¡± he yelled as he walked up the stairs. He heard a pleasant but clearly artificial voice on the phone.

    ¡°Hello and thank you for your time, your call is very important to us. Have you dialed this number to play the game or was it dialed in error? If dialed in error please hang up. If you were invited to play the game please press 1.¡±

    Mike pressed 1 as he opened the basement door to get ready for diner.

    ¡°I''m sorry, your call can not be completely at this time. Please reread the rules on calling the number and try again when you have enough privacy. Thank you for your call, it is important to us.¡± The call hung up.

    That was odd. Did it give out this phone number and send this message as an elaborate joke? What was the point? He put his phone in his pocket and decided to forget the whole thing and sat down with his mother at the table. It was pan cooked hamburgers and fries from the oven. His mother wasn''t a very good cook. Neither was he, so he had no right to complain. If dinner was left up to him it would probably be Kraft Macaroni.

    ¡°Thanks for cooking ma¡± he sat down across from his mother.

    ¡°You''re welcome dear, so how was your day?¡±

    ¡°It was okay, I mean, saw you it. I played video games and went to the gas station. Then I watched TV and played more video games. Now I''m eating with you¡±. He hated answering this question. He never had a day worth talking about. He thought if he told to truth and kept sounding like the failure he was she may stop asking this silly question.

    ¡°Well, I hope your games were fun.... Mike, I wanna ask you something. Have you given any thought to going back to college or maybe looking into some kind of internship job training?¡±

    ¡°Can we not have this discussion again ma?¡±

    ¡°I just want what''s best for your sweetie.¡±

    ¡°And I want to not have this conversation again.¡±

    ¡°Maybe now that you are a bit older, school will be easier and you can get a 2 year degree in something.¡±

    ¡°School will never be easier for me. You just need to accept the fact your son isn''t that bright. That''s a tough break, but hey, at least I don''t have down syndrome right?¡± He laughed a bit at that inappropriate joke.

    ¡°That''s not funny Mike.¡±

    ¡°No, but it''s true. Can''t you just be thankful for the son you have? I mean, I don''t go around committing crimes and I don''t drool down my chest or hear voices in my head. I''ll never get a fancy job or wear one of those white collar shirts to work. But is that really the worst thing in the world? If you just accepted that like I did, you''d be happier.¡±

    ¡°I''m thankful for you Mike, you''re a good son and I am proud of you no matter what. Just I hate to see you waste your potential.¡±

    ¡°I''m fulfilling it. This is my potential. Some people are just born to be janitors. Sorry you got stuck with a son like that. I won''t be cruel and make you look at your disappointment while you eat your meal.¡± He grabbed his plate and walked towards the basement.

    ¡°Don''t be like this Mike! I just want to help you.¡±

    ¡°I know, thanks for dinner. I''ll wash my plate and be up later.¡± Mike closed the door behind him and walked down the basement stairs with his plate. He knew he was being a jerk to his mom but what else could he do? He had to get it through her head this was the son she had. He didn''t want to waste any more time and money on useless school when he could work shifts and save up. There was just no point.

    He sat down to play video games again while he ate. He needed to take his mind off that conversation. The burgers were just a little burnt but pretty okay. He played games and vegged out to let all the stresses and disappointments disappear. His phone poked him in hi pocket uncomfortably. He pulled out it to place it on the table; but there was a text on it.

    ¡°The line you called previously is now open if you wish to play!¡±

    What the hell was this about? Why was it open now? He put down his controller and called the number again. He heard the same voice as before and pressed 1. He was welcomed as a new player and asked if he wanted to play the game. He spoke ¡°play game¡± into the phone as instructed. This was just too damn weird and he had to get to the bottom of this.

    ¡°Thank you for choosing to play the game. We detect that you are alone and ready to play. For future games, simply connect using your status screen. No other phone calls will be required. Please enjoy your game!¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Couldn''t he get the option to talk to a real live person on this line? Suddenly he blacked out on his bed.

    He felt a hand pushing him. That was such an odd dream about the game. It was a sign he needed to lay off that gas station nachos probably. The push became stronger and her heard an insistent ¡°wake up... wake the hell up already!¡±

    ¡°Ma, I told you I have my own schedule now. You can''t just come down here and tell me to wake up.¡±

    ¡°Do I sound like your fucking mother? Now get your ass up! We need to figure out what the hell is going on!¡±

    He opened his eyes sat up with a jolt. In front of him was a big 40-something year old man. He was about to ask what he was doing in his room. Only then, he realized they were not in his room. He saw another person huddled in the corner. Before he could ask what the hell was going on a powerful flash of bright light filled the room.

    Like lightning, it came down in a flash then was gone. Where the flash had been now lay an unconscious girl. She was beautiful, but too young for Mike. At least he thought so. She didn''t look a day over 16 at most. She had an innocent face and the look of an angel as she slept. Oddly enough, the way the light in the room caught her hair which seemed to puff in the back, the shadow she cast on the wall looked to have horns.

    The guy who was trying to wake him up quickly turned from mike and went over to the young girl. He was a bit too excited to see her for a man his age. Mike noticed the places the man pushed her to try to wake her up were closer to some questionable locations on her body then were needed.

    Suddenly, in front of him he saw a green window display

    *Congratulations on entering the game! We wish you the best of luck! For more instructions see the help menu and to see your status see the status screen*

    Mike didn''t know much in this life but he knew about games. Maybe if he was smarter he would have over thought all this and asked a lot of questions.

    ¡°Status Screen¡±

    MICHAEL PHILLIP THOMAS

    AGE: 21

    HT: 5¡¯11

    WT: 160

    SKILLS: NONE

    CLASS: N/A

    HP: 20/20

    MP: 0/0

    LV: 1

    STR: 12

    INT: 7

    DEX: 15

    WIS: 15

    STA: 10

    CHA: 5

    Points: 5

    *Would you like to spend any points at this time or see point option screen?*

    Damn, he really needed to put on some muscle. He should have been talking to everyone else about their situation but he was too absorbed by all of this.

    ¡°point option screen¡±

    The game gave option for skills and items. When he checked skills he saw the lowest level skills cost 10 points. Well, he only had 5. No point looking at that for now. Items were the same as the lowest priced ones started at 10 points. This was a dead end for him at the moment. He saw the girl on the floor was coming to. He probably should walk over to check on her, but he wanted to keep checking this system out.

    ¡°help menu¡±

    A different menu popped open in front of him. He saw a list of of things he could choose to look at. Game settings was an option. He gave it a quick look over but it didn''t seem to have much that was useful. He could customize his status screen but not too much he noticed beyond that. He checked the help tab with a list of command short cuts for other options. Then he checked the game play manual. It was long so he just scanned over the table of contents for now.

    The guy sitting in the corner gave him a weird look ¡°what exactly are you doing there? Do you know what''s going on?¡±

    ¡°No, I have no idea what''s going on. I''m just looking through the menu options to see what all this is about. It really is just like being in a game. Have you checked it out at all?¡±

    ¡°Only my status screen¡± the guy sitting in the corner of the room said. ¡°It''s just so odd that I can''t get my head around it all.¡±

    He seemed like he was about to say more but Mike interrupted ¡°I want to try something with you if you''d be willing. It seems we can form parties in this game if we choose, but I need your name to do it. Would you like to try that with me and see what happens?¡±

    ¡°How the hell do you know all this?¡±

    ¡°It was in the help menu and under short-cut commands. So what''s your name?¡±

    ¡°Bill...¡±

    ¡°Send party invitation to player Bill.¡± Bill looked above his head to see a green box pop up. It was the first green box Mike saw in front of anyone else. He read in the menu each player can only see their own boxes and ones of their party members. He guessed this green box counted as both of theirs for now. Bill accepted the party invitation by clicking yes.

    Mike went to the Party screen and found a single name on there. He clicked it.

    WILLIAM CHARLES DAVIDSON

    AGE: 23

    HT: 5¡¯7

    WT: 145

    SKILLS: NONE

    CLASS: N/A

    HP: 20/20

    MP: 0/0

    LV: 1

    STR: 10

    INT: 13

    DEX: 10

    WIS: 10

    STA: 10

    CHA: 10

    Points: 5

    Well this was interesting. He could see Bill''s level and stats. It looked much the same as his. Bill had nearly twice the points in intelligence compared to himself which was annoying; but it seems they were in pretty much the same boat.

    ¡°So your name is William Charles Davidson huh?¡±

    ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°Once we join a party I can click your name and have access to your information. If you want you can probably do the same to mine.¡±

    The 40 year old man and the young girl were now on their feet ¡°what the hell are you two going on about? We need to find a way to get out of here! Someone has obviously kidnapped us or something. Can''t you see how scared this woman is?

    Mike thought she didn''t look all that scared, just quiet. Also, a 40 year old man calling a girl her age a women didn''t seem right. He decided it wasn''t important though.

    ¡°Have either of you played this game before?¡± Mike looked at both the 40-something man and the young lady. He knew William hadn''t obviously. He had almost the exact same beginner stats as him.

    ¡°You think this is some kind of game you little shit? We were kidnapped! How the hell can you call this a game?¡±

    Mike wasn''t sure why he was angry at him. It wasn''t like it was his fault they were here.

    ¡°Well, I dialed the phone to get here. Did any of you 2 do that? I mean it has to be the reason we were all sent here right? We dialed the phone to play the game. Or am I mistaken?¡±

    The middle age man looked like he was about to explode. ¡°What the hell does that have to do with anything? You think they gives them the right to take us out of our homes?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then what the hell does it matter?¡±

    ¡°It''d just be nice to know more I suppose. Speaking of which, it might be a good idea if both of you joined our party. There could be some benefit to doing it and probably no negative effect for not doing it from what I can tell.¡±

    He grabbed the girls arm and protectively pushed her behind him as if Mike was some maniac about to pounce on her.

    ¡°You''re fucked in the head kiddo. We''re not joining your party or having anything to do with you. Hey you! William right? If you have anything to do with this guy we don''t want anything to do with you either!¡±

    Mike thought he was being a moron and trying too hard to show how protective he was of the young girl. Mike was bored of this guy already. But the young, pretty, angelic looking girl behind him was another matter. She never said anything. She never made any unneeded movements.

    It was like she was happy to be a prop in the background and just let everyone else do all the talking. Mike for some reason didn''t get the impression it was shyness. Something about her and they way she acted seemed off to him. Mike wasn''t the smartest guy in the world but he did notice people pretty well and notice when they acted weird. Something was very weird about this girl.

    ¡°What''s your name young lady. If you don''t mind me asking?¡±

    The old man clearly was annoyed he dared to ask her anything. Mike saw she hiking about if she should answer at all. There seemed to be a lot of calculating going on behind her eyes. He didn''t like that much thinking being done over deciding if she should answer a simple question or not.

    ¡°Lisa.¡± She then allowed herself to be steered away by the older man.

    ¡°Don''t talk to that boy, he''s nothing but trouble and only interested in one thing I bet!¡± Lisa became silent again and tried to fade into the background by looking at no one and keeping quiet.

    A red messaged appeared in front of everyone.

    *Thank you for playing. It''s time to begin to the game. Please select the difficultly of the game by picking levels 1-10. Remember that the higher the difficulty, the more points you''ll win. This challenge is a mental game. If you have above 25 points in intelligence or wisdom you get double points for completion*

    Another messaged appeared below

    *At least one new member is in this group. Groups with new members cannot pick a difficulty higher than 5. Please select difficultly level and remember no member can pick the same difficulty level 2 times in a row*

    Mike didn''t talk about it with anyone. He knew the obviously move. Just as discussion broke out over what level they should pick he selected level 1.

    *Can not select level. No player can repeat the same level twice*

    ¡°What the hell do you think you''re doing? We haven''t even fully discussed which level we should pick yet!¡± The middle aged man was about to blow his top.

    ¡°I tried to select level 1 and it wouldn''t let me.¡±

    ¡°Do you know why it didn''t let you?¡± William was curious. He still was having a problem accepting the situation. Thinking about how all of this was even possible. But this seemed important.

    Mike asked the older man and young lady ¡°has either of you ever played this game before?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Do I look like I''ve played this before? I still want to know what the hell is going on.¡±

    Mike asked Lisa if she had played before. She didn''t say anything but shook her head no and seemed to try to hide more behind the middle aged man.

    Mike sighed ¡°well, you can all try selecting level 1 if you want. It didn''t work for me. If not then we may as well select level 2... seeing as we are all new. the easier we make this, the better.¡±

    They all seemed to try to select level 1 but it didn''t work for any of them. He figured they all got the same message he did. In the end William was the one to select level 2.

    Right after William selected it he got a text screen message from Mike. With them being in a party, it was a way they could communicate and no one else could see.

    ¡°One of them is lying and has played this game before I think. That''s the reason we couldn''t select level 1.¡±

    William looked at Mike and texted back

    ¡°Why would they lie about that though?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know, but we should be careful.¡±

    *****

    The 40 year old man was talking to Lisa about how it would all be okay and he would be sure she got home safe to her family. Lisa Ann Heart was more interested in what the hell the 2 guys were messaging each other back and forth. She couldn''t see the damn party messages. This Mike guy didn''t seem that bright, but he caught on quickly to the situation.

    She was hoping to save up enough points to afford a 100 point skill today. With a level 2 game and 4 players this game would be worth 16 points. Add in her intelligence double bonus and she would get 32 points. Even if this game didn''t have any bonus mini-game to get points she would have enough to get the skill as long as no other players finished the game. She wouldn''t let some upstart newbie fuck this up for her. Maybe she should try to get rid of that troublemaker Mike first...

 Chapter 5: Mike 2

    Mike kept messaging back and forth with Bill. Bill insisted that Mike was worrying too much about and that there was no reason to doubt anyone here. He did think the middle age man was potentially a bit of a scum bag but nothing out of the ordinary. In the end he promised he would keep an eye out, mostly due to Mike''s insisting. Right after sending that message a box appeared.

    *Level two selected. Points for game will be level squared multiplied by players. Points available for this game are determined to be 16 which will be divided to all players who pass the game rounded to the nearest whole number. Difficulty for game set to level 2. Please enjoy your game!*

    Dollars game will now begin. Rules: All players start the game with 3 dollars. During the course of the game you may bet any amount of dollars you have on any of the 10 challenges you attempt. If successful, you double your dollars bet. If you fail, you will lose all dollars bet. At the end of the game any player who has not bought a 10 dollar ticket to enter the safe room will have failed the game. During the game, bonuses or items to assist a player may be used if purchased.

    Players are allowed, if they so wish, to gift other players their own dollars. If at the end of any round a player has zero dollars that player will have failed the game. Once a player selects a challenge that player must receive no help. If you try to help a player you will be eliminated from the game. The time limit for this game is 45 minutes. The countdown will start now.*

    Mike looked up and the countdown started... 45:00, 44:59, 44:58. A wall in the room they were in lifted up and granted them entrance to another room. What was the most unnerving thing about it is how silently the wall rose up and how seamlessly it went into the ceiling. In this new room were 10 small pillars, each with a box on them. Mike looked them over. They all listed some different challenge on them.

    In this room there was something like a vending machine with several options with various dollar ranges.. 5 dollars for a 10 point skill gift card. 10 dollars for a 10 points. 15 dollars for 20 points. 3 dollars for eliminate 2 random multiple choice answers. Some of the more expensive items seemed particularly amazing.

    There was also a door in the wall and a ticket dispenser by it. It read ¡°put 10 dollars insider here to buy a ticker. With it you can open the door and wait in the safe room. Anyone who doesn''t hold a ticket will not be able to enter. If you try to enter without a ticket you are eliminated from the game. If multiple people try to hold on to the same ticket and enter they will be eliminated from the game. Remember, the best games are the ones you play fairly!¡±

    Mike wasn''t sure what do to at this point. Questions and mental challenges were certainly not his specialty. He could at least do basic math though. He would need to get at least 2 questions right to get out of here and that is if he risked his very life on one of them. If we messed up he would need even more questions to come back. It seemed impossible they would all pass considering the situation unless they somehow got every question right.

    ¡°Listen up everyone, I have an idea.¡± Will seemed to be pretty excited with it. ¡°I know this seems tough but I know how all of us can pass. We''re allowed to gift dollars aren''t we? How about this? All of you give me 1 dollar and I''ll bet those and one of my own If I get it right, that gives us 8 dollars. That be more than what any of us could win just betting the dollars we only have ourselves.¡±

    ¡°That''s a good idea, but if you lose we''ll be in a horrible spot. Why should you get to answer it and not me?¡± The 40 year old man seemed annoyed. Mostly cause he didn''t think of this idea first.

    ¡°Well, someone has to do it. If anyone is supremely confident answering any question or completing any challenge I invite them to step up and give it a try. As for myself, I see one I know I can do. If anyone else wants to bet on it I think it be a great chance to pool our resources and get a lot of dollars.¡±

    ¡°What if you decide not to give them back after we give them to you?¡± Lisa said this quietly behind the 40 year old man. Bill didn''t see why she would say this. It would just cause doubt between them when it was clear they all needed to work together.

    ¡°I promise, I''ll give any winnings that belong to you back. If we don''t do it this way then it''ll be very difficult for all of us to get the points we need. It''s up to you to decide what you want to do.¡± William seemed to be done talking and was waiting for their decision. He had an eye on the count down and was not in the mood for long conversation. They would either do it or they wouldn''t.

    Ever since this style of game was announced Mike knew he was going to be hard pressed to get any dollars. He quickly read every single challenge on the boxes when he first came in and decided there were very few of them he would even dare to attempt. But he did have a good feel for people and knowing if a idea was good on not.

    ¡°How sure are you that you can do this challenge Bill?¡± Mike wanted to get a measure of his confidence before he decided if he wanted to give him any dollars.

    ¡°I''m 100% confident. You saw the challenge that said to solve a rubix cube in 5 minutes right? I''ve done there for years. It will be no problem.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then I''ll give you two of my points if you''re sure you can do it.¡± Mike handed over 2 dollars. He might have done all 3 but he wasn''t sure if that would count a him having none by the end of the round so he decided against it.

    ¡°Why two? I think one is fine. Why do you want to risk so much on one question. If I mess up you only have one dollar left and if you lose the next challenge you play then you''re out of the game.¡± Bill thought talking anyone into one dollar would be hard. Mike may very well be betting his life on this right now.

    ¡°You said you could do it for sure right? In that case why would I hesitate when the next challenges may not be as easy? It seems to me it may be just as big as a mistake to be too careful than too risky in this situation.¡± Bill thought maybe he was right. He just couldn''t get his head around how someone could risk so much in a single game. It wasn''t like he knew him that well. Wasn''t he worried that his dollars may not be given back or that he was lying?

    It seemed like too big of a risk and Bill himself wouldn''t dare take it. Of course he would give him back the dollars but how could he really know for sure? Did Mike trust his read on him that much? Bill kept thinking of all the risk and things that could go wrong. That kind of risk averse thinking was smart in day to day life, but this was not day to day life. They were already in a risky situation. All that fear would have made him hesitate in the same situation and lose track of the fact that this was a very safe bet for a large return. Mike didn''t consider this that deeply though.

    In the end the middle age man gave no dollars, Lisa gave one after careful examination and hesitation, Bill bet one of his own dollars. Mike gave Bill 2 of his to bet. Bill walked up to the box and put 4 dollars into the slot. There was a click and the front end of the box fell down. The sides flipped open and the top and back fell toward the back of the cubed shaped pillar. On a stand stood a mixed up rubix cube and a timer. 4:59. 4:58, 4:57...

    He quickly grabbed the cube and frantically went about solving it. Slowly he began to make the familiar cross shape on all the sides. He kept looking over to the clock which slowed him down a little. He would have done better if he had just solely focused on the cube. As it turns out he solved it with 1:25 left. It was a little worse than he expected but not too bad.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Congratulations. You''re a winner!*

    He now had 10 dollars total to his name. The 2 he didn''t best and the 4 he did bet which now was 8. The thought crossed his mind that he could walk away right now and no one could stop him. If he stayed he might actually die. Wouldn''t walking be the smartest thing to do in this situation even if it was cruel? In the end he couldn''t do it. It was never really a serious thought anyway. Why panic so soon? They had 9 challenges left and plenty of time.

    As it stood now Mike had 5 dollars, Bill 4, Lisa 4 and the middle aged man 3.

    There was a break in the action now in which everyone studied the challenges carefully one by one. In this down time Mike took the chance to look more into the gaming system to see if there was anything in there that could possibly help him. He had nothing else to do at the moment until someone else wanted to pick a challenge. As he looked around his status screen he again noticed his unused points again.

    It didn''t occur to him until now he could have added them into his intelligence. He tried to do so now but it wouldn''t let him do it. It seems it was only something you could do before a game officially started or after it was over according to the notifications that popped up.

    Can not spend points to level up your stats 5 minutes after the game started.. Once the 5 minute grace period has passed your stats are locked in for the remainder of the game*

    It had been just a bit over 5 minutes since this game started! If only I had looked closer or caught on faster. He still believed one of the other 2 players had lied about this being their first time playing. If that is the case, why didn''t they encourage me to spend my points? Could it really be they want me to die or didn''t care at all if I did?

    Lisa stepped forward to one of the boxes. This challenge was called ''count all the triangles in this shape''. ¡°I can do this one very easily I think. If any of you want to give me a few dollars we can earn a lot on this challenge.¡±

    Mike was the only one hesitant to do so. The middle aged man was quick to hand over a dollar. Mostly because he probably had a thing for much younger girls, Mike assumed, but part of it might have been he wasn''t particularly smart himself. Maybe he already read all the challenges and didn''t think he would do well at them himself. Bill had an extra dollar already and felt more relaxed about handing over 2 instead of 1 at this point then he may have been had he just 3 instead of 4.

    Mike decided to hand over two dollars. He figured even if she did plan to betray them somehow she probably wouldn''t do it too early. She probably wanted more of their dollars and planned to wait for a better chance if that was the case. Right before she started the game she quickly glanced at the vending machine with the bonuses and items inside it. He noticed her do it a few times since they''ve entered the room. He got the feeling there might be something she wanted to get that was inside it.

    She took 2 of her own dollars and 5 from the other players for a total of 7 and inserted them into the slot. The box opened just as the last one and they saw a piece of paper with a drawing on it that looked like a pentagram. It had 5 dots with each dot connected to the every other one in a perfectly straight line. Below it was the writing in plain text ''find every triangle in this shape''. The clock started at 3 minutes.

    Mike instead of trying to count himself took a look at Bill and the older man. Bill was clearly trying to count them as well. Not that he would be allowed to help of course. If he did there was some sort of penalty. The older man tried to count them as well but he seemed to be having a tough time. He eyes fell on the young girl''s firm ass in the fairly tight outfit she had on. Mike wasn''t new to seeing a guy check out a girl but the pure deliberateness of his look made him feel uncomfortable.

    Mike turned his attention to Lisa now. Not the triangles or her ass. He walked around a bit to get a better look at her face and eyes. She looked young but something about her eyes seemed beyond what should be seen by a 16 year old as she counted. It was like they pierced through the paper and dissected the drawing into clean chunks. Her eyes had a very methodical movement as she examined.

    Whenever Mike had a lot of numbers to keep track of he had this habit of moving his mouth. Her mouth never even twitched. He got the feeling any information she was gathering was being easily and precisely locked away for quick access in the future. He expected Lisa to take near the full 3 minutes just to double check. After all these puzzles could be tricky at times.

    She looked at the multiple choice options of 25, 30. 35 and 40. She pressed 35. The machine gave her 14 dollars back for correctly answering the question. It took her 54 seconds. Was that normal? It seemed a good deal faster than most people would do it. After all, there were still over 2 minutes left. Plenty of time to double check just to be sure.

    Congratulations. You''re a winner!*

    Bill and the older man both complimented her. She acted bashful and shy as she gave them each back double the amount they gave her.. When she walked over to me I held out my hand. Her smiles have been small and reserved all this time. For the first time she showed a bit of her clean sharp teeth as she extended her hand with 4 dollars in it.

    Her eyes were locked on mine. Her manner was completely friendly and relaxed. Yet for some reason I felt like to stick out my hand to take the money was like sticking out my hand to a poisonous snake. I instinctively pulled back.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± Her face had a look of concern but the eyes were examining. As if trying to look into my mind. That fake smile didn''t touch her eyes in the least.

    ¡°Yes, of course. Good job by the way.¡± I quickly took the 4 dollars in her hand. An extra fraction of a second past in which I felt like a lamb being stalked by a wolf. A wolf who was considering if now was the time to pounce or not.

    The fraction of a second passed and she looked away and went back to a corner of the room. The older man heaped flattery on her. As of now I had 7 dollars, Bill 6, Lisa 6 and the other man 4.

    The next 3 games played out. Of those Bill played one, Lisa played one and Bill played the last one. Most everyone bet 1 dollar on each game. The only person who bet more was Lisa who bet 3 on herself instead of 1 on herself and me who bet 2 on Bill in a challenge he was confident in. When asked why she bet 3, she simply said she was confident she could complete the challenge and the extra dollars may come in handy if someone came up a bit short.

    This brought sequence brought me to 11, Bill to 9, Lisa to 11 and the older man to 7. I gave one dollar to Bill to bring his total to 10 along with mine. I tried to be as subtle as possible as I sent him a text message over our party feature.

    ¡°We should both go buy our tickets now and wait in the safe room.¡±

    ¡°Why should we do that? What if they need our money to gamble with?¡± Bill seemed to think we should all wait till we could exit together.

    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this. If they win the next game that is enough for everyone to leave. I have a bad feeling about waiting that long. I can''t explain why, but I don''t think one of them is going to want us to leave. They may be in on it together for all I know.¡±

    Bill wasn''t hiding his typing well and it was noticed by Lisa whose face was turning angry. ¡°together in what? You''re being paranoid. Just relax, we''re almost done here. We have plenty of time.¡±

    ¡°What are you two messaging each other? You look pretty angry about it Bill, is everything alright?¡± Lisa''s eyes were fixed on me. Something was definitely off about her. The more I saw her the more I became convinced she was the one who was a problem. For a moment it looked like she was about to pull someone out from under her shirt.

    ¡°He is just getting a little spooked and wants to get out of here is all. It''s fine. Don''t worry, we aren''t going anywhere. We''re all getting out of this together I promise you!¡±

    Right as they were talking the older man decided to bet 2 dollars on a game. For the first time Lisa showed an emotion besides shyness or mild happiness.

    ¡°Why did you decide to play that game!¡± She walked to him in anger.

    ¡°Why do you think? I need 2 more dollars to make 9. If I get this then you can give me 1 dollar and we can get out of here. It'' okay. I think I can do this one.¡±

    It was written on her face for everyone to see. The old man saw it as her being worried and angry that he tried to do this alone without letting them share the risk. Bill saw it as her being annoyed that one of the not smart crowd was going to gamble and maybe get himself in a hole that he and Lisa would need to get him out of.

    I read the situation differently. Lisa saw the old bastard as fucking up her plan. He was blowing dollars she wanted and wasting a challenge that she could use to increase her dollar amount. Lisa never intended to let any of our dollars be spent on tickets for the door. With the messaging between me and bill and the older man using dollars on a game himself she felt things were going out of her control.

    Mike could tell Lisa wouldn''t stand for that to happen. He looked at the count down for the game clock that started at 3 minutes. He felt confident now that if he wasn''t in the safe room at the end of those 3 minutes he wouldn''t be getting in at all.

 Chapter 6: Mike 3

    Mike didn''t know much about what was going on, but he knew people. This situation was dangerous and he needed to act now. In his day to day life he never would have worried about this much smaller and weaker girl doing something to hurt him. This was not his regular life. He sensed some kind of odd confidence within her. Like somehow she knew none of them were going to be a problem.

    Seeing as she had played this at least one time before and maybe a number of times he could only guess what she may have up her sleeve. Mike at least knew. he had absolutely no tricks up his own sleeve.

    Lisa paced back and forth. She didn''t want to interfere while he playing as that would only make a loss more likely. She watched the older man like a hawk. Getting more enraged at his incompetence. The time ticked lower and lower. As the time ticked down she naturally got more absorbed in the challenge.

    Ever so slowly I took the tiniest of steps. I tried to keep the position of my body the same as I slowly slide across the floor. Whatever happened was going to happen after this game was over I was pretty sure. I decided it''d be best to wait until the final 10 seconds in the challenge to really make my move. I put my back against the ticket dispenser. I moved as little as possible, so as to not attract attention as I slipped the 10 dollars in.

    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± Lisa saw me pulling the ticket out. Realization dawned in her face as she learned I had just spent my10 dollars.

    I''m sorry, you''ve lost the challenge*

    She looked back at the older man who had just lost the game and the flashing of the box informing them of this. I took this chance and quickly opened the door and jumped through, ticket in hand. I quickly turned back wondering if she would make some kind of move on me or if I was really safe in here.

    The thumb and pointer finger in her hand ran across her eyes and stopped at her nose. She shook her head. ¡°Everyone is being such a fucking pain in the ass today. Can''t a girl catch a break?¡±

    ¡°Bill! Quickly, buy a ticket and get your ass in here! Something is very wrong with her. I can''t tell you how I know, I just do. You need to trust me.¡±

    Bill instead of following my advice, became enraged. ¡°Why did you go inside the room? Weren''t the four us suppose to be a team?¡±

    Lisa started to chuckle. The chuckle turned into a laugh as she nearly doubled over. This was just too funny. What a joke. ¡°We''re a team? When did that happen? Who said so? I never once thought of any of you as teammates. You think we''re all thrown in here and suddenly I''m suppose to be on your side? You sound like a child.¡±

    The middle aged man cautiously approached. ¡°Lisa, I guess you''re a little mad I lost the game. I know I screwed up. Maybe you could play the next game for me and give me your winnings. Then we can all get out of here.¡±

    She looked at him with a blank face. It only hinted at the slightest bit of interest. No more than you would usually see on a normal person''s face when they either watched a bird in a tree or a house being built. Nothing of real importance. Just another minor event that takes place which she will not care to remember in a week.

    ¡°I don''t feel like playing games anymore. I tend to like to do this at the end just to play it safe and be sure the game has no surprises. But now seems like a pretty good time to ends.¡± Her hand had the motion of pressing buttons in the air. I thought she had to be doing something to manipulate some kind of game screen.

    Once she seemed done pushing invisible buttons she reached her hand into the empty space and pulled out a dagger. It was as if she was pulling it out from behind an invisible wall.

    ¡°What the hell, where did that come from?¡± Bill was shocked during this time to see the change in her mannerisms but seeing the dagger appear from what was apparently nothing really set him on edge. It seemed like he still didn''t understand that normal rules may not apply here.

    ¡°It is a very special knife. You''re not allowed to bring any weapons from the outside world into the game. If you hold them then they won''t travel with you and if you put them in your inventory they''ll just disappear from it when you enter the game. The only weapons you can bring are items you bought at the game store. This dagger is very special. It can easily cut through human bone as if it were butter.¡±

    Before the middle aged man could say anymore her hand flashed across his vision. When he tried to ask her what happened blood spurted out of his mouth. He touched his neck and felt a deep gash across it. In a single flick of her arm with the dagger she has cut his head nearly 2/3rds of the way off. As he looked around he felt his own head have an unfamiliar looseness as he turned.

    His shirt and pants were getting drenched with blood as he became light headed. He took a step towards her but as soon as his foot hit the floor his knee gave out. He started to pass out.

    Bill seeing this scene ran to the ticket dispenser. He desperately tried to push his 10 dollars in to get his ticket. Lisa wouldn''t allow any more mistakes or potential prizes to get away. She wanted all the remaining dollars in her possession. While he tried to slip the money in he was stabbed through the heart. Just for good measure, she did it a few more times and then once more to the back of his head.

    True to her word, the dagger seemed to easily go through his skull and he fell nearly instantly. She picked up the 10 dollars he held in his hand. She looked to the air in front of her. ¡°Yes, I''d like to claim this money¡±. She said it as if the game asked her if she wanted to.

    *Alter! Player William has been removed from the game*

    *Alter! Player Donald has been removed from the game*

    The boxes seemed to flash both in front of me and her. I noticed she gave them a slight look but generally just ignored them. She walked over to the dead middle aged man on the floor. I guess his name was Donald. She took the remaining money off of him.

    She turned towards me ¡°You know, if it wasn''t for the bonus options you really would have ruined my plans tonight. I was looking forward to being able to reach a certain number of points today. It seems like I''ll be able to reach it anyway. Still, I hate seeing a fish get away.¡±

    She picked one of the games and bet 8 dollars. ¡°Now, I would asked you to be quiet. I want to focus on this. I still have a chance to make a few more dollars before the time is up.¡±

    ¡°You fucking bitch! You just killed Bill and the older man. How can you be so heartless. What the hell did they ever do to you? Do you even understand the value of a human life?¡±

    ¡°Silence. While I can''t kill you in here anymore, if you really piss me off there is nothing to stop me from trying to track you down in the outside world. Yes, it would leave behind an actual crime scene which could be troublesome, but I''m confident I¡¯m smart enough to not get caught.¡±

    Her game began and she had laser focus on it. It was clear by her tone she was serious about trying to hunt me down if I crossed her. With the way she felt about the lives of other people I wouldn''t put it past her to at least attempt it if she felt too annoyed by me. I decided it was best to keep silent while she played.

    I sat in the safe room and watched her. Who would think that such a young girl with a sweet angelic face could be so cruel and detached? She won her game and then instantly bet on another. She won that game as well. When she played the 3<sup>rd</sup> game, after looking at the vending machine decided to bet a lot. She lost that game but only slightly. It seemed to annoy her a great deal. I guess if she won that one she could tried for a really good prize.

    In the last game she bet only a few dollars to minimize what she could lose. She won this game and checked the clock. 4:32 left.

    She walked over to the vending machine. She bought a total of 15 point. She didn''t seem to care that she was still dripping a little of Donald''s blood even now. She put the cards and dagger in her inventory and walked into the safe zone.

    Congratulations players Lisa Ann Heart and Michael Phillip Thomas. You have passed the game, as the only players to complete the game you will equally split the 16 total game points due to status bonus this will be doubled For Lisa into 16 points. Player Mary; Players Donald and William had 5 unused points each; would you like to receive their points as well with the Skill Point Stealer? This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Yes, I would.¡±

    It finally clicked now. ¡°So you killed them just so you could get extra point?¡±

    ¡°If it makes you feel any better, they were probably going to die at some point anyway. They clearly didn''t have what it takes to play this game. You on the other hand, might have a chance to make it pretty far. Sure, you''re dumb as a rock but that can be fixed with a little spending on intelligence. People like us who have a good mind for games and are able to focus on the task at hand can last.¡±

    ¡°You''re just trying to justify why you killed them. You don''t know if they could have lasted or not. Even if they couldn''t last alone, if you had chosen to help them instead of kill them to take their points they could have lasted just as long as you have for all you know.¡±

    She laughed at my comment. ¡°You''re just talking more dumb crap. No one in this game will ever out last me. I have what it takes to survive here. I play the game without regret or restraint and better than anyone else. After all. If you''re the best player then you''ll almost certainly never lose no matter who you''re against.¡±

    ¡°You''re acting like it''s the players who are against each other and not this cruel game system itself.¡±

    ¡°But it is the players who are against each other in the end. You just haven''t played enough to realize it. That''s why I don''t mind telling you this. You may be able to survive this game for a while but I can see right through you. I know you don''t have it in yourself to beat me. That is why I don''t mind talking to you. I was a little pissed you lived. It has been a while since anyone I played with has. Now I am starting to feel a little more impressed than anything.¡±

    ¡°So what happens now?¡± I didn''t want to talk to her anymore than I had to. But if she was amused by me enough to give me information, there was no way I could turn it down.

    ¡°Well, you tell the game you wish to exit and then you are back were you started before entering the game. Any injuries will be healed. This whole place will disappear and it will be like nothing here ever happened. Wherever here really is anyway. Oh, don''t get too comfortable though. You''ll have to come back in a few weeks at the absolute longest. There will be a count down so keep you''re eye on that.¡±

    My eyes widened when she said I would have to come here to play the game again. She gave me a laugh and hit my shoulder. ¡°Not with me silly, well, probably not. It''s entirely random who you play with. I don''t know how many people for sure play the game. I know they tend to add new people all the time and I would guess besides them there are thousands and thousands of vets.¡±

    She put her hand on my neck softly and with her other pushed me against the wall. Not as to cause me pain. She had something else in mind. ¡°It''s so hard to meet people outside the game who really understand what it''s like. The exhilaration and the thrill of it. Nothing beats it. Knowing every time you come you bet your very life and that when you win you become closer and closer to something like a god.¡±

    She slipped her hand under my shirt. ¡°And the blood. The first time I saw it I was shocked. The 2<sup>nd</sup> time I was fascinated. After a while I started to see the beauty in it. The way life lives by a razors edge in here. Everything feels heightened and primal. Before I came here I never knew I had such a side to myself. It makes you feel alive like nothing else can. When I first came here I feared death. Now I fear going back. How stale and dead that world is compared to this one.¡±

    She undid my fly and rubbed me over my jeans. I felt her lips on my neck and her fingers pinching my nipples. ¡°You know, there are absolutely no consequences here. We can do anything we want. Be free from all the controls of society and really indulge ourselves.¡±

    She stepped back and took off her shirt. Her body saw so well developed for a younger girl. Everything looked tight and perfect. The black bra was clearly not needed to support her perky breast. Her stomach was tight and her skin was flawless. Her sweet and innocent face looked seductive and wild as she gave me a grin that put me in mind of a grin a lioness may have before her meal. She pushed rup against me. I could feel her chest pushing into mine and her hot bare skin.

    ¡°You like my body right? Believe it or not, before I came her I didn''t look like anything special. This place changed it for me. Now I am the sexy goddess every man wishes he could have even if he tries to tell himself i''m too young. I know if I told those old dogs to come they''d crawl for me. Every test in school has become a joke. Every physical active has become easy. There is nothing I can''t accomplish or get. Now I play only to see how high I can reach. What peaks are beyond these.¡±

    She kissed me and forced her tongue into my mouth. I tried to push her off but she wasn''t lying about her strength. It felt like I was pushing against steal. ¡°Ahh, don''t tell me you don''t want it. Are you getting scared? Cause I¡¯m so much stronger than you? Don''t worry, I can''t hurt you in here much. It''s against the rules. Don''t tell me you don''t want me. I know you do. I can see your breath and pulse have quickened, not to mention that bulge in your pants. You remember what I said about no consequences here? That''s true. No matter what we do.¡±

    Her mouth came to my ear ¡°You don''t even need to put anything on before I let you put it in.¡±

    ¡°You killed my friend.¡±

    ¡°You''re friend? You just met him. Don''t be such a little bitch. Look, all of that got me worked up and now I want to let off some steam. Do you know how many men wish they could be in your spot right now? You should be on your fucking knees thanking me. Now no more of this whining. You could just tell the game to let you leave if you don''t like it. We both know you want me. Just shut up and take off your pants.¡±

    Was she really so disconnected from reality Did killing those people really get her so excited? Yes, I''ll admit I was turned on by her looks and actions with me in this room. But I wasn''t about to be her murder celebration fuck.

    ¡°You disgust me. I would never be with a psycho like you.¡±

    She gave me a puzzled look. ¡°You''re actually turning me down? Me? Be serious. There''s no way.

    ¡°Exit game¡±

    *Confirmed, player Mike is now exiting game. At this time all magic skills will be disabled. Status points and other skills will still be optional. Thank you for playing and we hope you play again soon!*

    ¡°What the fuck do you think you''re doing? We''re not done he-¡± but he was gone. Twisted out of this existence before she could finish her sentence. Her was in utter shock. Did he really just leave her? HER? Who the fuck did he think he was? This little piss ant wouldn''t give her the time of day? Was he insane? That motherfucking ungrateful, rude, idiotic, limped dick boy.

    She kicked a chair in the safe room. It hit the wall and shattered. She leaned over another. Her breath coming quickly but not as quick as her rage. No one denied her anything. No one. This world was her play thing. She always got what she want now no matter what. Her breathing slowed and she stared at the wall. ¡°You little... I''ll meet you again. Somehow, someway I''ll find you. When I do... I''ll make sure to punish you nice and slow.¡±

    *****

    Make came to in the same spot he was before he left. He checked his clothes for blood. He thought when Lisa pressed up against him she may have gotten some on him. There was none. He smelled them. They didn''t have the scent of blood or her. He really was back home.

    He checked the status screen and game functions. It seems he now had 13 total points to spend and there was an alert and clock count down instructing him he had less than two weeks before he had to join the game again. It seemed this wasn''t optional. He figured if he didn''t join another game by then and let the count down hit zero.... Well. He could guess.

    He recalled what Lisa said about using points to make her smarter and more beautiful. He looked at his own 13 points and his status screen. Surely he should have at least some for next game but why not see if it was true. He rook the 8 points he just won and put then in Intelligence.

    MICHAEL PHILLIP THOMAS

    AGE: 21

    HT: 5¡¯11

    WT: 160

    SKILLS: NONE

    CLASS: N/A

    HP: 20/20

    MP: 0/0

    LV: 1

    STR: 12

    INT: 15

    DEX: 15

    WIS: 15

    STA: 10

    CHA: 5

    Points: 5

    *Would you like to spend any points at this time or see point option screen?*

    Immediately he felt a difference. He wasn''t a genius by any stretch but he found he was able to recall more information he had previously learned at will and think faster. He did some difficult math he would not have been able to do before in his head. He wondered how much more he could improve if he put the other 5 puts in intelligence. No, he knew that wouldn''t be good. He may need to use those somewhere else. Maybe now college wasn''t so impossible though...

    He decided to go upstairs to talk to his mother. He thought of the last conversation he had and realized how much he would hate if that was the last time they talked. He would never leave he on bad terms ever again. His life was no longer so certain to take such actions.

    *****

    3 months later.

    Mike was back in college. He had played the game a few more times. Mostly with noobs and even with his helped most died. Still, he managed to make a few decent like minded allies and now had 3 people in his Party. He could easily text with them over the game. They tried to synchronize playing by entering the game at the exact same time when they had to go.

    It usually didn''t work, but sometimes it did. He didn''t tell any of them about Lisa. By what information he''d gathered he figured her level was particularly high. That was one of the reasons he was determined to build his party and allies. He knew if he ever met her again he damn well better have some backup.

    While he still hated the game he needed to admit his life had improved. His intelligence was now at a very solid 25, his Charm was at 15 and his strength was at 20. He still had a few points left over but always saved some for the next game to help tilt that in his favor he he felt he had to. He would need to go again tonight. He had arranged to have a member in his party try go in at the same time to meet him.

    He said the same thing right before going in every time ¡°Please don''t let me see her again. Please don''t let me see her again.¡± It was unlikely. But not impossible. Especially if they both kept living which he very much intended to do and was sure she would. He prayed he wouldn''t come face to face with his greatest fear... or was it fantasy... again.

    He had to be honest and admit before he went to bed that first night he couldn''t help thinking of the things she did. They way she felt. Her smell. Her eyes. Her deadly smile. It took him 3 rounds that night before he could finally get the thoughts out of his head enough to go to sleep. Even that all being true he sincerely hoped he would never meet her again. As it so happens, about a year in the future that hope would not be realized. But that was only when thing started to get really interesting.

 Chapter 7: Dan 1

    Another day, another gym class, another humiliation. Daniel Kimp was sick of it all. Sick of being picked on. Sick of being fat and unattractive. Sick of the moronic alpha males at school who were only one step above monkeys that threw their shit at each other. He know what was coming next. It happened every day since grade school. Why should freshman year in high school be any different? He went to the boys locker room and mentally prepared himself.

    Rushing towards his locker he tried to change as quickly as possible. Sometimes if he did it fast enough he would be able to get out before they decided to have some fun at his expense. Not often, but sometimes. Today was not meant to be one of those times.

    ¡°Hey Dan, yeah I''m taking to you, you fucking fagot. Kimp the blimp, did you know you run like slugs fuck?¡± The main culprit of the group was a particularly nasty and large boy but the man of Craig Martin. He often had a few friends who joined in with his harassment. Most of the other students had learned to look the other way. One time a random kid tried to stand up for Dan. Craig kneed him in the groin and hit him in the head with baseball helmet.

    ¡°Oh look at that ''little piggy pout'' on your face. Are ya sad? Are ya gonna cry like a little bitch? Well if you do just take one of those fat folds and use it to wipe your tears away from your ugly face. Maybe being that fat will finally be useful for something.¡± While Dan admitted he could certainly afford to lose some weight he wasn''t all that bad looking consider. Craig seemed to have a much less attractive face on the whole objectively.

    ¡°Just leave me alone Craig. Don''t you have anything better to do?¡± Dan knew it wouldn''t help. He had started to think of ways to handle his interactions with Craig over the years. Craig had made Dan a personal project on and off since 6th grade. Dan knew if he said nothing Craig would only use violence to get a response. But if he insulted him or said too much back Craig would feel the need to respond even harder. He knew what Craig wanted to hear so he gave it to him.

    ¡°Leave me alone? Is that all you ever have to say? The same stupid lines over and over again. Fat, ugly and retarded.¡± It was intentional that Dan used the same lines over and over again. It made Craig surprisingly predictable.

    ¡°Can I go now?¡± Dan had finished changing. He had learned if he just tried to leave Craig and his friends would stop him or if they didn''t act fast enough they would just be that much more energetic at the next encounter. If he asked they would give him a hard time but would be pleased to have demonstrated their authority over him.

    ¡°Say, ''please, may this fat piggy go''. Then you can leave.¡±

    ¡°Please may this fat piggy go.¡± He said it as mono toned as they''d allow. If he said it too indifferently they would get mad. Too much emotion and they would see what else they could get out of him to amuse themselves over.

    ¡°God, your such a loser. Get the fuck out of here, you''re boring me.¡± Craig meant what he said entirely. The last part was the key. Dan did his best to be boring to pick on. It was all he could do. If he tried to fight Craig he would get his ass kicked. He tried before in the hope that if he stood up to him he would back off. It just made it worse.

    If he somehow kicked his ass then Craig would feel he needed to really crush him to gain back his manhood and respect. Also Craig''s friends would kick his ass too. Of course talking to teachers or parents would only make his situation worse. While Craig''s group gave him crap at least he wasn''t bothered by anyone else. Honestly a lot of his schoolmates felt bad for him.

    If he snitched even on a scumbag like Craig he knew breaking that unwritten rule would hurt those bonds. And he doubted it would stop him. Frankly, no one liked Dan. His father was a small time ex-con busy fucking around on the side and his mother was an alcoholic. Their family was poor and lived off the government. His father who was 20 slept with his mother when she was 16.

    She dropped out and he went to jail on and off over small time scams. When he was home he would get drunk along with his ''wife''. He often felt Dan didn''t give him the proper respect for all he did for them (which was very little). He smacked Dan around a few times when drunk but thankfully it wasn''t a regular thing. His mother saw it and instead of saying anything took another sip of cheap beer.

    They wouldn''t have cared even if he told them what was going on. Dan use to have something along the line of friends. Ever since Craig really started to give him shit they stopped hanging around him. Everyone around Dan also turned into a target. That was except for Alison.

    Alison lived 6 houses down from Dan. On the outside she couldn''t be any more different. She wore nice clothes. She was tall for a girl. Taller than Dan by an inch who was below average height for his age. She was thin and pretty. Not the prettiest girl in school but clearly a very decent catch in the looks department.

    Dan and Her had developed a very deep bond. She wore nice clothes but put in effort into find them at 2<sup>nd</sup> hand stores and Goodwill. Her mother was a single parent with a deadbeat father. She had 2 sisters, both of which were younger than she. They struggles to get by and also received government assistance like most people who lived on their road. There were no train tracks in this town but if there were they would have both clearly been born on the other side of them.

    Being a pretty girl she was immune to the bullying that Dan received from Craig. Another one of the unspoken rules. A lot of the guys ignored what Craig did to Dan. But if they could stand up for the Alison and get on her good side they''d jump at the chance. Maybe they''d get her to fall for them and it would lead to the hot dirty sex they yearned for in their young fantasies. Simply put, Alison had value and Dan did not.

    Craig wasn''t all that smart but he instinctively understood this. He had taken to only bullying Dan when she was not around so as to avoid her sticking up for him, which would put him in an odd situation. Bathrooms and locker rooms were always safe places of course. Honestly, perhaps the biggest reason he decided not to bully Dan in front of Alison is this. He wanted to fuck her.

    Dan knew this cause Craig specifically told him not to talk to anyone about the things Craig did or he would make him suffer 10 times worse than he has been. He especially better not tell Alison.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Soon it was lunch period. Dan sat on the edge of the table. Alison was beside him and across the table were the rest of her friends. Dan really had no other friends besides Alison at this point and her friends tolerated Dan at the table. He was quiet enough most of the time and allowed them to carry on their conversation.

    ¡°That''s a pretty small lunch Dan, are you trying to lose some weight again?¡± Alison had known Dan a long time and knew of his on and off again affair with dieting. He had never been thin since she has known him. At best he had been chubby.

    ¡°Well, I''m just trying to get back down to what I was at the end of last year. I''ll see where it goes from there.¡± In his brown bag which he often reused was an apple, banana and PB&J sandwich. It was smaller than the lunch he usually brought but he doubted PB&J could ever truly be called healthy. It was the kind of lunch his family with food stamps could afford. Alison''s was a bit better but not by much.

    Dan hated to be clich¨¦. But he knew what his relationship with Alison was turning into. After all, she was the only girl in class who gave him the time of day and was cute to boot. Of course he knew it was no doubt doomed to fail. He was trying to loose weight now in the hopes that if he did approach her with going on a date he would at least have a shot to hear a yes. Not a good one but a shot. His phone buzzed.

    Yes, even as poor as he was everyone had a smart phone. This was of course a very old model he was able to get for free and there was no way he could afford a plan. It could at least get email and wifi.

    ***

    Dear Dan, after careful vetting we have concluded you are eligible to play THE GAME. If this is something you wish to take part of please dial the following number xxx-xxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxx into any phone. When you dial we ask you be alone and available for a fairly lengthy period of time anywhere between 5 minutes to 1 hour. If you succeed in completing the game you will get various options for rewards. Details will be given once you decide you wish you play.

    Choosing to sign up to play is completely voluntary and details about your game and potential prizes are to be given upon acceptance to play the game. No money or personal information required!

    Sincerely, Game Master.

    ***

    What a crazy email. Also what kind of phone number was that? It was way to long. Did it go overseas? Seeing the confusion on his face Alison asked to see what was on his phone. After reading it she wanted it back.

    ¡°You should delete that. Maybe, it even has a virus in it.¡±

    That was the last thing Dan needed. His only electronic device getting messed up. He hurried to put it back in his pocket. Craig grabbed it out of his hand to look at it from behind him. ¡°Hey there buddy, so what are you looking at here? I saw your expression and just had to come and check it out. I thought maybe your friend Alison caught you looking at something you shouldn''t be if you know what I mean.¡±

    Craig was hoping it was some kind of porn and he could ''innocently'' give Dan a hard time for it. ¡°Give it back Craig, don''t be a jerk.¡± Alison still didn''t like Craig from all the picking on him that she saw him do in the past. She thought that was over now.

    ¡°Come on Alison, me and Dan as just having a little fun. It''s a guy thing. This email seems weird. You know what, I may call this number just to see what kind of crazy scam their trying to pull.¡±

    ¡°It will just be a waste of your time, but do as you like. Now give Dan his phone back.¡± She went back to her meal. Craig finished writing down the number on his hand and tossed the phone back on the table.

    ¡°So what are you doing this Friday Alison?¡± Craig leaned towards her and forced Dan to learn a bit back.

    ¡°I''m busy.¡± She ignored him.

    ¡°Yeah, doing what? Are you and Dan going to go out on a date?¡± He was annoyed of being given the cold shoulder so he wanted to get the attention off him and on to Dan and play it off like he wasn''t just rejected.

    ¡°No offense, but that''s really none of your business.¡± Alison started to get more annoyed.

    ¡°Well, I''m sure he''d love to go out with you. Do you think if you asked him out he would say yes or no?¡±

    ¡°I honestly haven''t really thought about it.¡±

    Craig seeing Alison''s hate of him dropped the pretense. He figured if she was never going to come around to him then he may as well ruined any chance this fat fucking pig had. There''s no way he was going to get with her over him. ¡°Well, let me in on a secret. I know he would say yes. In fact, I''m positive he has a very big crush on you.¡±

    ¡°Just ignore him Dan.¡± Alison turned further away from Craig.

    ¡°You act all innocent but you have to know he does. I bet you''ve caught him looking at you a few times.¡± Craig didn''t know any of this for sure. This Piggy never gave him any reason to think he had a crush on Alison but there was probably no way he didn''t.

    Neither Dan or Alison spoke. ¡°You know, since he wants to ask you out. If you don''t let him know you''d like to, isn''t it the exact same thing as rejecting him? I would think so. To bad there Dan. Better luck with the next girl.¡± Craig finally walked away.

    ¡°Just ignore him. He''s an idiot.¡± Alison went back to eating her lunch as nonchalantly as possible. She couldn''t help but blush a bit being by the scene he caused. Even though he was an idiot; Dan, Alison and everyone else knew there was a certain truth to what he said. If Alison said she was willing to go out with him. There is likely no way Dan would say no. Her not doing so in a way constituted an unspoken rejection.

    They ate their meals in silence, Even with Dan haven not eaten much that day he found his appetite was gone. The rest of the school day ended without much else happening. He and Alison got on the school bus and were dropped off at the same stop just like they had been since she moved onto this street over 10 years ago.

    ¡°Don''t worry about what Craig said. We both knows he''s an asshole, He''s a loser right now and always will be a loser.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that''s true. Then again. What he said isn''t wrong either. I mean, there''s no way you would say yes if I ever asked you out right?¡± He had no idea why he said it. It would have been better left unsaid.

    ¡°Dan, I just never thought of you that way. You''re my best friend after all. You''re just letting Craig get in your head.¡±

    Dan needed to do some big damage control before this became a bigger issue. ¡°Oh, I didn''t mean just you. I meant every girl I''d ask.¡±

    He saw she had both a revealed and hurt expression. He didn''t know what to make of it. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure someday you''ll find the girl that''s right for you. I guess you can do better than me after all. You probably fantasize about those clean cut blond girls who talk about what their daddies are getting them for their sweet 16 right?¡±

    Suddenly him acting like he didn''t see her romantically as any different than any other girl was taken badly. Alison was at the age where she was fairly insecure and just being lumped in with a bump of other girls didn''t make her feel good about herself.

    ¡°Just forget about it okay? I''m in a bad mood and being a jerk. Sorry. I''ll talk to you later.¡± With that he turned around and walked away. Nothing would help this conversation so it was best to just leave it. Alison didn''t say anything back and he quickened his pace.

    Walking into his house he saw his mother was drunk and passed out on the couch. His dad was out again and would probably not be back till near midnight, if at all. He went to his room to plug in his phone and play on the wifi. He was able to get the password of a local business and used it to get on the internet which his family couldn''t afford. While the connection wasn''t good it gave him something to do. He was also able to also use his phone to make calls while on the public wifi.

    He thought about the email he got again. It was so strange. Maybe he should give the number a call just to check it out. What was the worst that could happen?

    *****

    He woke up in a strange white room. He rubbed his eyes and felt a wall behind him. He sat up leaning against it.

    ¡°Well look who it is. Any idea what the fuck is going on here Piggy?¡± Craig was standing in a corner looking down on him.