Lyn sat in her dimly lit room, the soft hum of her old computer filling the air. The screen flickered occasionally, but it didn't bother her—she was used to it. She wasn't playing anything new today, just the same online game she'd been hooked on for months. The bright, pixelated world of adventure offered her a brief escape from the routine of school and life at home with her grandmother.
Her grandmother, a frail woman with silver hair and a warm smile, sat in the corner of the room, knitting as usual. The house was quiet—peaceful, in its own way.
Lyn's eyes stayed focused on the game, her fingers quickly clicking through menus and quests. But then, a strange sound cut through the peaceful silence: a soft ding from the corner of her screen. She didn't look up at first, assuming it was just another ad or notification from one of her friends. But when she glanced at the corner of her monitor, she froze.
"You've been selected. Enter the Code: L9 for your chance at the game of survival."
The message wasn't anything like what she'd ever seen in the game. It wasn't a pop-up, and it didn't seem like a friend's message either. The words stood out—bold and uninvited—right there on her screen.
Her fingers hovered over the mouse. Part of her wanted to ignore it, dismiss it as a weird spam or scam, but her curiosity tugged at her. After a few moments of hesitation, she clicked on it.
A new page opened, but it wasn't anything she had expected. It was simple—just a series of strange, unsettling questions:
"Do you believe you can survive any challenge?"
"What are you willing to sacrifice for victory?"
"What would you do if you were pushed beyond your limits?"
Lyn frowned, scanning each question. It felt odd. Too strange. And the way the text was formatted made it feel too… official. But there was no way she was about to fall for some scam. She shrugged and answered the questions half-heartedly, rolling her eyes as she typed. She didn't take it seriously, not at all.
Finally, she reached the last question.
"Do you dare to take on the Game?"
Lyn leaned back in her chair, staring at the screen. She didn't know why, but she typed out: "Yes."
The page blinked once—then the screen went black.
Lyn stared at the empty screen for several moments, waiting. Nothing happened. No confirmation, no follow-up. The cursor just blinked, empty and unanswered.
"Great," she muttered to herself. "Probably some hacker trying to mess with me."
She closed the browser and leaned back in her chair, shaking her head. Her grandmother called from the kitchen, reminding her that dinner was ready. Lyn sighed and pushed the whole thing out of her mind.
The next few days passed without incident, just like any other. She didn't think about the message again. Life continued as normal. Her grandmother continued to knit in the evenings, and Lyn spent her time either playing more games or catching up on schoolwork. It wasn't until several days later that the unexpected happened.
Lyn was sitting at the kitchen table, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine, when she heard the sound of a letter dropping through the mail slot. She got up, her curiosity piqued, and walked over to the door. The envelope was plain, with no return address, just a small label that read:
"For Lyn, Participant #L9."
She frowned as she picked it up. Her name, but no other identifying marks. Her stomach churned. She didn't need to open it to know where this was going.
"Must be a scam," she muttered, even though her hands shook slightly as she tore it open. Inside, there was a single card, no letter, just the text:
"Meet us at 47E, Pinewood Road. 7 PM. The Challenge begins at midnight."
Lyn stared at the card. It was almost identical to the code from the message on her computer. The same cryptic language. Her heart raced, but her first instinct was disbelief.
"Okay, this is definitely too far," she said aloud. "It's a joke. A scam. Someone's just messing with me."
She tossed the card on the table and walked back to her seat. But despite her attempts to brush it off, her mind kept coming back to the words on the card. The Challenge begins at midnight. It wasn't something she could just forget.
Lyn stood up again, pacing the room. What if this wasn't a scam? What if there was something real behind it?
"No," she muttered, shaking her head. "It's just some prank. There's no way I'm going."
But even as she spoke, her thoughts were already moving in the opposite direction. What if I went? Just to confirm it's fake. I'll go, see for myself, then forget about it.
With a deep breath, she grabbed her jacket, stuffing the card in her pocket. She had to know, even if it meant proving to herself once and for all that this was all a lie.
Her grandmother called from the kitchen, unaware of the strange tension rising within Lyn.
"I'm just going out for a bit," Lyn said, her voice steady. "Don't wait up."