I open my eyes. The entirety of my surroundings is black.
It feels as though I'm floating, but I can't see my own body. There's only darkness. A jet-black emptiness, like I'm trapped in a never-ending void of nothingness. It feels like... I've been here before.
I know I'm dreaming... but what exactly am I dreaming.
There's nothing here, It's like I'm a phantom or apparition. As though I've become a manifestation of consciousness floating through the cosmos.
It's like I exist, but the only thing that does exist is my awareness that I exist.
I begin to panic and question where my body is. What's going on? Where am I?
Why does it all feel so real? Is this a lucid dream? An out-of-body experience? Sleep paralysis? I can't make heads or tails of this.
My thoughts begin to race and race to try and rationalize my experience. But they're coming up blank.
Thoughts come in and pass and I feel like they're forgotten the next instant. Is nothing real? Am I dead?
It's getting hard to focus.
How much time has passed? Does time even exist? What am I doing? Where am I? What's my name?
I can only describe my feelings as terror. But the word terrified feels as though it's lost all meaning.
I begin to repeat and chant the words:
"It'll be over soon." Over and over again, I tell myself "It'll be over soon."
I want to close my eyes and curl up in a ball, but I have no eyes to shut. Or if I do, there's nothing to shut my eyes from. Just an infinite void. There's no sound, no light, nothing.
After what feels like an eternity, a light begins to shine and move toward me.
The illumination of it completely envelopes my vision. When it shines, it feels as though I can see everything. There are no blind spots in my vision. As though I'm occupying a liminal space, it looks tubular, or tunnel-like. I can see everything within it, there's no backwards, or forwards, or up or down.
The light's shine begins to dull, and it moves closer to me.
The object leaves a trail of light tracing behind it, moving through the air. As it moves forward, it begins to shape into a familiar human-like appearance. But its hands and limbs are abnormal. The now amorphous light begins to take steps toward me. There's a human silhouette, but nothing else. There is no face. It's like a shadow if shadows were to be made out of light.
A man? A woman? I can't quite make out what I'm looking at.
It continues to get closer, and I hear a familiar deafening laughter.
If I had a body, I'd be tensing up in aggravation and fear. Or I would be running away. If I could avert my gaze, I'd be looking away.
I have no control over this space. I don't have the limbs to turn away either, it just walks towards me. Now silently, moving ever closer.
I'm trying to make sense of the situation when the figure begins to speak. But it lacks the vocal cords, it's as though I hear their thoughts, they're sent directly into my head. Whatever they want to convey instantly enters my mind. It doesn't sound like a man or a woman, almost like the two are mixed together.
"How is the life I've gifted been treating you, Daniel?"
What do they mean?
Without a pause, it speaks again.
"I mean, the life I've gifted you. How is it treating you."
They can hear my thoughts.
"Nothing escapes me in this space. You can just listen while I talk, I don't want to waste a lot of time. There are others like you I have to speak with.
Others like me. What does that mean?
They pause again, then let out a nauseating distorted laughter.
Then, their demeanor returns to calm in the next instant.
"Yes, just like you."
What am I then? How am I different?
"Right, right. You don't remember, I'll give you your memories in just a moment."
My memories?
"Haven't you been feeling rather amnesiac lately?"
I thought that was just from drinking and doing drugs. I don't remember a few weeks ago, but that was just a momentary lapse in memory.
"All of your memories you had; you are currently rewriting. I took them from you, so you had nothing to hinder your progress."
What does that mean?
"You'll know soon enough. Let's drop it for now."
I try my best to silence my mind, fearful of what this... thing could do to me.
"You accepted my terms, now I've come to claim what you owe me."
The ominous light unfolds its fingers, it remains in front of me. But its hand begins to stretch and malformed as it twists and turns, encroaching upon me.
"There, you have your memories. You understand now, right?"
It's all coming back to me. I remember.
"What a ceremonious reunion this is, isn't it?"
Now that my memories are coming back to me, I understand what it wants and only say:
"What did you mean by "agreeing to your terms?"?"
"So, you do remember, good for you. Now we can talk."
I remain silent.
"We had a deal. I'd give you back the life you've taken for granted; you can change all the things you did wrong. You really did make a difference, haven't you? But I don't do anything for free, now I'd like you to play a little game for me."
"It keeps us entertained; you see."
"Things become so boring here, but I can peer into those who accept my terms."
You never told me about what I needed to do, so let's get to the point.
"So pushy. Though you're right. I don't mind this side of you."
It stands in silence for just a moment.
"This is the game. Elimination, the rules are quite simple."
"You and others like you, are going to be pitted against one another."
What do you mean by elimination?
"Well, death. You know? You must kill to survive. You're not very bright, are you?"
"I find it so funny to watch you little things fight one another, and I've always enjoyed it."
"But lately, I've really wanted to be in control of it again. We all have."
I don't say or think anything, just listen.
"You and others we've chosen will have to fight and kill one another. It's simple, but there are some rules you need to follow."
"I've given you a second chance at life, you got to see your mom smile, build friendships. Maybe you even thought that you had found meaning in your pathetic little life."
"There was a reason for that. I needed to condition you to enjoy life, to be happy. To have something you've yearned for, to protect what you've built."
"But you can't have everything for free now, can you? I'm sure you remember just how pitiful you were last time, don't you?"
It pauses.
"If you want to keep this life, you have to accept my conditions."
"If you're capable of winning, rising up, toppling over your opponents, you can continue to live."
"If you can't, well. It won't matter because you'll be dead. And dead things that are not useful to me, are worthless. You can speak, but I only want to hear one of two things. Either you accept, or you refuse."
"If you accept, that means you are a part of the game, the second option is to die. Tonight, in your sleep. This space will be your final memory as you drift into the ether of nothingness in your universe. Having never protected anything, or anyone. Don't you remember how you cried like a child during our first meeting, it will be just like that."
I don't know what's real right now; my head is being flooded with memories. I don't know what's true and what isn't. But I do remember dying, where my hopes and aspirations came from. Why I changed so dramatically?
"I'll have to kill people?"
"I said, acceptance, or refusal."
It feels like this isn't the first time this thing has done this; I have no choice but to accept. There's no other way. I don't want to die, I'm a coward. I've made real progress in my life; I didn't fall down the same path as last time. I won't ever fall down that same path.
"I accept."
It feels as though I'm dancing in its palms.
"Good. Very good, I'm happy you accepted. Truly, I am"
"People like you are always so much fun to watch. If you'd have said no, I'd be really disappointed, you know?"
It's almost like it's trying to tell a joke.
"Now, here are the details of my game."
"You, and many others like you will return to the world you've become accustomed to tomorrow."
"You are a player, I won't tell you how many of you there are, that would ruin the fun."
"You won't know who another player is, that's up to you to figure out. But you will be given a few indicators on how to find them."
"The first of which, is the sensor. It'll appear in your mind's eye whenever you come into range of someone else in the game."
"As the game progresses and fights occur and others lose, the range on the sensor will decrease."
"Meaning that when you awake, the sensor's range will be very large, and become increasingly smaller as time goes on and other players die."
"This is your first line of defense and works as a double-edged sword. Everyone within the game will have the exact same sensor."
I understand.
"Good. The second indicator is the mark. If you believe someone to be a part of the game, you can mark your target when they are in your field of vision."
"There are limitations to how it works, but you'll figure it out."
"If you mark someone who is a part of the game, it is immediately reported to them in real-time. This will give you, or the person you mark time, time to find you and mark you as well."
"If you mark someone who is not a part of the game, there is a lag between the next time you can send the mark and are limited to 3 per day."
"If you haphazardly use the mark all willy-nilly, you'll be penalized for it and not be able to use the mark at all until you kill someone else within the game, without the certainty the mark brings for targets."
"Marking someone will give you a more detailed sensor which will allow you to differentiate them from the general sensor, allowing precise movement tracking of them."
"However, if you can't reach the conditions of killing them within a week, you will die instead. And your mark will be removed from them, as the game progresses the second stage will begin. If you survive that long, we'll talk about it in more detail."
"Now, onto the rules. The primary goal of the game is to eliminate as many players as you can."
1. "You are allowed teams. If you find someone who is in the game such that you can them can come to an agreement or mutual understanding, whatever it is humans do. You can form an alliance."
"The maximum number of players per team will decrease as the game progresses, you'll figure it out."
"When an alliance is formed, they will no longer appear in your sensor as a player."
"Betrayal is not against the rules, you're free to kill other players so long as the conditions are met."
"In fact, you may be rewarded for it."
"Someone you've marked will not be allowed to join your team; the mark is final."
I remain silent.
2. "You can't be seen or caught killing by non-players."
"If there is a witness to your eliminating another player, they must die as well. There are extraordinary exceptions to this, however. The circumstances to not kill a non-player are just that, extraordinary."
"When a player dies, their body will disappear. And all the memories of their existence will disappear from everyone they know besides those in the game. I'll give you a small hint, if their body does not disappear, you've been seen by a third party."
"If you are caught, you will die of natural causes if the non-player does not die within the week."
So, it doesn't matter who's seen me? They'll have to die as well.
"That's exactly right. Everyone in the game is just like you Daniel, though their circumstances may be different. You understand what that means, correct?"
I don't.
It dismisses me and continues the rules.
3. "You can't tell anyone about the game who is not a part of it."
"If you attempt to go to anyone and tell them about what you're a part of, whether it be your family or friends who are not a part of the game and look for council from them or attempt to enlist them in eliminating someone, there will be penalties applied to you."
"This rule is slightly more complex; you'll understand more as you play."
The light transmitting from the entity begins to dull and fade.
"Looks as though our time is almost up."
4. "If you run away, disappear from the area of the sensor purposely for extended periods of time to avoid other players, all players within the game will be given your location within their sensor. You will also lose the ability to sense their presence within your sensor."
"Not taking part in my game after you've accepted my conditions is punishable, but I like to watch you... things squirm as you disobey me, I won't be the one to kill you."
"If you decide to run away, more points will be given to the individual who kills you, so it will be worthwhile to seek and destroy a coward who defies my rules."
What do you mean by points? You never mentioned points.
"Ah yes, that's more of an arbitrary term for the game, I don't see a reason to explain it to you now. Maybe if you survive long enough I will.
"That is the game, kill or be killed."
"You humans don't seem to understand that death is always waiting for you at any turn. And the fact that you're capable of surviving for so long with minimal adversity defies the natural laws of your planet."
"Quite frankly, it disgusts me. Watching you writhe and squirm and connive your way into destroying one another is so much fun for us."
"Don't you disappoint me, Daniel,"
The silhouette turns away and begins to take steps into the distance before returning to a ray of light again. The silhouetted figure disappears completely. I try to speak, or rather think. But my thoughts are like a snowy television's interference signals. No thoughts are coming to mind, just a dark visual.
And as quickly as the dream came, it went. I'm awake.