*Ding*
A notification on my phone reminded me about Angela. She got back home, safely. Jasmine was on her way back, and I was already in the dressing room behind the ginormous stage that I had built. The wardrobe women picked out a golden-orange suit that looked like it was on flames to match with the backdrop of the auditorium. My reflection looked handsome, but the question was did I really look handsome? I called the wardrobe woman over and asked her, "Hey, do you think that I look handsome in this?"
She stuttered as she caught my question by surprise, "O-of course! Your eyes contrast the flames perfectly!"
I looked at her intimately and said, "Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Thanks! You can go now." She hobbled away. It was weird watching a grandmother blush at me because I was probably older than her, but she couldn't see that. Oh well, I pranced through the crowds of producers and makeup artists. I skimmed through my speech and threw it in the garbage because I was going to go off the paper. It was my day. It was the day to shine with a new idea. Today was going to be the unprecedented day that sets the course of the next decade.
I stood in the center of the stage, but a theater curtain hid me from the thousands of eyes that would stare. I looked at my watch just as the curtains began to part. I walked forward with a kingly stride. I was right; there were thousands of eyes on me. They were all nervous or filled with joy. The anticipation of the games was finally over. I myself was overwhelmed with the amount of attention that was given to me. The silence descended like a blanket over a sleeping child. That was a weird analogy,
I peeked at the crow to spot so many different people; there were old and the young, there were the rich and the poor. There was an even proportion of women and men, which was surprising because the previous games were not as diversified. A spotlight from the other side of the room shined its way towards me. I was lit up by the light and the eyes of the thousands were intensely looking at me. I cleared my throat and started.
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Vincent POV:
All three of us were stuffing our faces with all the food that we could shovel into our stomachs. There were millions of new flavors that I have never tasted before. All the richness, the sweetness, the robustness of everything melted into my mouth. With my peripheral vision, I could see George and Bill doing the same thing. We even pocketed candy bars, dried foods, and other caloric-dense substances to satiate our hunger at later dates. We even threw a whole, baked chicken into one of our bags. We'll see how long that lasts.
After we all had our fair share of sustenance, we crawled out of the elevator and dissolved into our seats. Our mouths were covered with a mess of melted chocolate and steaming hot sauces. We had food bellies protruding out of our abs as we all turned our massages on. We looked like potbellied wolves that had just feasted on a plump pig. Suddenly, we saw Micheal Grey pop out of the curtains. He strolled into the middle of the stage, and the spotlight brought shimmers to his fire-endowed suit. He looked stunning in a sea of mix-and-match individuals. The nanobots zoomed in on him. He cleared his throat and started to talk, "Hello ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls, the old and the young! We are all gathered here today for one, and only one reason: The Evolution Games!" Claps roared out of the sea of seats. "The Evolution Games, this year, will have a little twist. After all, that is why we gifted all of you twenty thousand credits to participate. You will all be glorified guinea pigs." A wave of uncertain murmurs flooded the people. "But! Be assured, that this experiment is in no way dangerous. To be honest, it will be the same as the previous years, until it's not. I will only be making subtle changes like...Giving each and every one of you one evolution pill." Cheers rang out in the crowd. "We want to try something new by giving all of the participant's fairgrounds to play on. For example, the only drugs which can be used are the ones that players will find on Ceandor Island." Mixed feelings erupted from the crowd.
George chimed in, "Usually, the rich kids carry dozens on evolution pills that help them blitz to the top ten positions. This time, talent will be measured, not a privilege." He licked the side of his mouth. I nodded my head and continued to listen to Grey.
"The next thing that we'll be changing is...players with an aptitude of over fifty percent will have to play solo." This also erupted many insults and harsh criticism.
I looked at Bill for an explanation. "Aptitude is how well your body can react with the drug. There isn't necessarily a huge disparity between the rich and poor in this context, but the rich can buy other drugs made to enhance the aptitude. They cost even more than the evolution pill, and they don't have much of a chance of working. The percentage...well, you should know where the percentage comes from." I nodded my head again.
"Now, now. I know that all of you are either very happy or sad or plain angry about these changes. But, I want you to remember that this is MY event, and I have the authority to do WHATEVER the HELL I want. That will be all thank you." Grey left the stage and disappeared in the curtains. The whole auditorium was filled with whispers and variations of 'I want an explanation'. I just looked at George and Bill. They looked back at me.
*Creak*
In the quiet auditorium, an insignificant creak gasped under one chair. Soon, the entire room was growing in the noise. "What's going on??!" I heard people say.
"Is this part of the event?"
"Is that man going to kill us?!"
"Everyone! RUN!"
As everyone was about to dash out of their seat, the creak became louder and louder until the whole floor disintegrated. That also included the balconies. I looked down right before we fell through. All I could see was a black abyss filled to the brim with darkness. Then, the one-seater sofa dropped.