I woke up as usual with the bright sun rays hitting my face, passing through the glass wall. Except, this wasn't any other day; it was D-Day. Today, we were finally entering the game. I went to the wall, looking at the sunrise. The sun rays fell over the sea waves, glistening and making the water look like liquid gold. Then I heard a knock at the door. It was Hemma, making sure I was awake.
"I'm already up, Hemma, getting ready," I replied.
Karun and I decided not to run today since we were starting early. I went straight into the shower. The warm water woke up every cell in my body. I put on my black jeans and a fitted black top, perfect for agility and comfort. I laced up my sturdy combat boots, grabbed my gear, and headed downstairs to eat. Karun was already there, the nervousness of the day evident in his eyes. He barely touched his food, his gaze locked on me, following my every movement.
"Stop worrying, will you, and eat up," I said, trying to sound casual. "At this rate, you'll fall even before you enter the game."
"I'm not worried," Karun said softly, but his eyes told a different story.
"Eat," I insisted, stopping the tears that threatened to come. Seeing Karun like this made me emotional, and I knew showing it would only worry him more. Hemma, who joined us, patted Karun on the back and encouraged him to eat.
After a brief breakfast, the chairman called us, his display projected on the TV in the living room. Marcus was beside him, smiling politely, but there was a small worry I noticed in his eyes. Damian and Aiden, who came to pick us up, also joined the call with us. We seated ourselves on the sofa before the TV as the call started.
"Good morning, team," the chairman greeted us. "Today marks a significant step in our journey. You have trained hard, and now it's time to apply everything you've learned. Remember, this is not just a game; it's a test of your skills, your teamwork, and your determination."
Marcus added, "We've monitored your progress closely, and we're confident in your abilities. Stay focused, communicate, and most importantly, trust each other. This final level is the most challenging one yet, but I believe you can do it."
"We're ready, sir," Damian responded confidently.
The chairman nodded. "Good. Gibbard and Ryan will be with you, ensuring everything runs smoothly. Remember, the points you earn in this level will be crucial for upgrading your weapons and gear for the upcoming challenges."
As the screen went dark, I looked around at my team. We were all nervous but determined. Today, everything we had trained for would be put to the test.
"Let's do this," I said, my voice standing up.Hemma bid us farewell, wishing us luck. As we headed out, a maid suddenly bolted out of the house, running to Karun and wishing him luck.
"Okay, she wasn't on the list. So why'd she come again?" I asked, puzzled.
Karun snickered, "Aaah, must be my sinful charms. Ladies just keep falling for them."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Like seriously, dude?"
Aiden, laughed out loud. "Kathy, you know your face speaks more than you do."
Damian nodded, laughing. "Yes."
I touched my face. "Oh really, so I can make faces too? Haha. But anyone would make one if not Karun bragging about his charms while we're driving down to our awaiting death sentence."A momentary silence followed my words, and so did the journey to the camp. Everyone was nervous. The daily path to the camp seemed even longer. I broke the silence, and Aiden eased up the mood.
"So, anyone else getting that 'first day of school' vibe?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.
Aiden chuckled. "Yeah, except instead of worrying about forgetting our lunch money, we're worried about... well, surviving."
Damian grinned.
Aiden spoke "Remember when we thought running those obstacle courses was tough? I'd take that over this any day."
Karun laughed. "Speak for yourself. I almost broke my leg on that last one."
"Only because you were trying to show off," Damian teased.
Aiden shrugged. "Hey, gotta impress the ladies."
Everyone laughed, and the tension started to lift a bit. Aiden leaned back in his seat. "See? We're already a team. We've got this."
As we continued down the bumpy road, the conversation flowed more easily, the camaraderie among us helping to ease the anxiety of what lay ahead.
When we reached our destination, Astrid, Damian, Daisy, and the others received us at the base camp set up at a distance from the doorframe. The entrance, which had looked fun in the former days, now seemed like a death door inviting us. But I wasn't panicking. Maybe it was because I had been in this mode for too long, or perhaps it was the confidence I had gained from the training. Somehow, I felt calm. The pressure was pumping through my veins, but my mind was calm and serene from all the earlier outbursts.
I was more anticipating than nervous about the second level we were going to enter. While I was lost in these thoughts, I felt a sharp blow on my neck and stumbled a few steps. "I swear I'm gonna kill this guy," I cursed in my mind, turning around to look at Ryan, who was always on edge when it came to me. During training, he often nagged that I wasn't taking it seriously, but why wouldn't someone take this seriously, knowing one single mistake and you're done for?
Ryan just doesn't know when to stop. He's that one stern guy you find in a group of friends who prepare for small football matches with other high school guys. Liam helped me up, asking, "Did it hurt?"
"I'm more angry than hurt," I hissed in pain. "You could have told me before to brace."
Karun rolled his eyes. "We did. It's you who's always daydreaming."
Before I could start bickering back, Daisy interrupted, speaking sharply, "Wrap it up, guys. We don't have all day!"
Daisy's voice put us at ease. She started explaining things laid out on the table before us. "These buds are comms, and we will also be fixing an extra pair in these necklaces. Within it, we also fixed a mini camera," she pointed to the raven dark locket.
Ryan spoke up, "Just so you know, there are people who went in before, so we faced a surge of electromagnetic fluctuations that put off our comms. We've upgraded them, but we got a view of the entrance here," he showed us a soft copy of a blurred image. It was just as Damian mentioned during our training—it looked like an abandoned, broken city.
After the little lecture, we were sent to get changed. As soon as I got out, Liam came to me with a syringe that was too large for comfort. He said, "Sit still, and it'll be over in a second," before thrusting it into my back. I yelped in pain, tears welling up at the corners of my eyes.
"God, what's that?" I cursed.
Astrid, who came to help, soothing the pain by massaging the spot, spoke, "The embedded tracker."
"Tracker? But how can you track us when we're inside the game?"
Damian replied, handing a jacket to Karun, "Guess what? With this, we can. We might send help if you're in need."
Just as we were done, Daisy rushed to us holding a checklist. "Keep it short, Daisy," said Liam.
Daisy nodded and just checked out the main course:
Comms? - Check.
Deneutralizing suit? - Check.
Food bags?
"What food? Won't we come back by evening or tomorrow? I could manage that! Why food?"
Aiden and Damian, who came back with heavy backpacks, spoke, "According to the entrance options, the second level must be a long game."
"Like how long?" I asked in surprise.
Liam replied, "We couldn't say for certain, but we estimated it might be 2-3 days."
I felt like my patience had already run out hearing the numbers. What kind of maniac would develop a three-day-long game? I stared at Daisy's checklist once again to find something I wasn't expecting.
Weapons?!
This time Astrid explained, "Yes, weapons. We don't know what might happen in there. It's better to carry some real-world weapons too. Don't stress; it's just a safety measure."
Astrid came forward, opening a sack. "So, what do you choose?"
Karun chose an arm gun, and I chose a dagger. I wanted to choose other things, but Astrid stopped me, saying the game wouldn't transport much, so there was even a chance that our limbs might be cut off if the weight increased. So I carefully rechecked my food pack that conserved a three-day-long supply.
Done with Daisy's long checklist, we started for the entrance.