The Game

by Scollins, Shane

  He didn’t understand the reason the Universe had for bestowing this reality on him. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do with these lives, or if he was supposed to do anything at all. He was but a helpless passenger to an unknown force that caused him to chase the same demon over and over.

  The house had a familiar smell but he couldn’t place it. It was musky, damp. Then the smell became obvious when a large German Shepard turned the corner and looked at him. It tilted its head curiously from side to side.

  “Good dog.” The new Craig backed away a single step. The dog advanced the same. The worst part about assuming someone’s identity was that it came with no memories or information relating to that person. He was just a body. He had no choice but to learn on the fly. It had made him an extremely quick thinker. Rapid adaptation by necessity had become his operating manual.

  He took a deep breath and tried to be confident. The dog had to trust him. “Hey, pooch.” He took a step towards the dog. “You know me, right?” He reached out and petted the dog confidently, and the dog responded in kind, driving its head into his hand.

  Lukas-temporarily-Craig turned away and started looking around the room. Then he saw the note on the floor. It was a suicide note. He had inherited a suicide victim, as he suspected. It wasn’t the first.

  The note went on to mention Cassie. Apparently, the old Craig Easton couldn’t live life without her. He also asked that someone care for his dog, Orion.

  The phone in his pocket streamed out a song he didn’t know. He looked at the call. It said Mom. He didn’t want to answer at first, but he did.

  “Hello?”

  “Craig?”

  “Umm…yeah?”

  “Oh my, we were so worried. No one has heard from you since yesterday, and Cassie called here worried about you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure? Honey, you haven’t been fine. I know it hurts. I know you love her, but this isn’t the end of the world. I’m old enough to know these things pass and you’ll get through this. I know it’s a cliché, but there really are other fish in the sea.”

  “I know, Mom. I’m fine, really. I just needed a few days to get over it…trust me, I’m over it.”

  There was a long silence on the other end. The urge was there to break it, but he didn’t. He’d learned it was better to say less and listen more. Finally, the woman on the other end spoke.

  “Well, okay, if you say so. But don’t be surprised if Cassie is at your door any minute now. She was on her way over there last I talked to her.”

  “It’s fine. I can handle it.”

  “Well, I have to drive your father to the dealership. The truck had to go in for a recall, something about the temperature sensor or something-or-other. I’ll talk to you later. Call if you need anything.”

  “Will do.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  He learned to distance himself from saying the words I love you. They meant almost nothing to him anyway, since it was always faked for their sake. He’d never said those words to anyone and meant it, as far as he remembered. Perhaps in the original life he couldn’t recall.

  “Well, Orion, guess it’s just you and me.” Then there was a knock on the door.

  He made his way out of the bedroom and down the hall of the modest ranch home. Through the glass of the door, he saw an attractive woman with long brown hair and expressive large brown eyes looking at him, feigning a smile. He opened the door.

  She looked tentatively at him. “Craig, are you — I mean, you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine.” He assumed this was Cassie.

  “Did your Mother tell you I was stopping by?” She confirmed it.

  “She mentioned it.”

  “Can I come in, can we talk?”

  “Sure.” He stepped aside, and she entered.

  She turned to face him, brushed her fine hair behind her ear on one side. “Craig, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

  He shrugged.

  “I just…” She started to tear up, pressed her knuckle to her upper lip.

  “Cassie.” He waited a second just in case this wasn’t Cassie by some stretch. “I’m fine. You had to do what you had to do. It is what it is.” He couldn’t think of any other clichés at the moment.

  She looked at him, cocked her head, and grimaced. He knew that look, it was the look of him not sounding like people expected. Of him saying things the person he was supposed to be would not say. By some miracle, they accepted how he looked. Though he looked the same to him, the world saw him as the identity he’d become. But how he acted and spoke wasn’t automatically adjusted.

  “Craig, are you okay?”

  “I feel fine.”

  “You just seem…” She looked him up and down. “Different.”

  “I’m fine, all good.”

  “You were devastated the other day. Don told me you were crying in your beer, literally. I was worried you were going to do something stupid. Now you seem…” She looked him up and down again.

  “I know, I’m a changed man, what can I say. I had a revelation. I can’t dwell on the past, I’m moving on.” He touched her arm and eased it towards the door. “Well, it was good seeing you again. I have a few things to do, so if you don’t mind—”

  She pulled up, looked at him oddly. “Craig, what are you doing?”

  “Cassie, I swear I’m fine. Don’t sweat it.”

  “You’re not fine. You’re acting strange.”

  He sighed. “How should I be acting?” He didn’t have time for this. Usually he would patiently learn what he could, but today, his primary concern was getting back to Morristown and somehow getting Candice out of that game. His own game was less important for the first time in his life.

  Cassie looked at him long and hard, then nodded. “I think you should make an appointment with Doctor Chernik. I know you think that makes you weak, but trust me, he can help. This about-face, is scaring me more than the massive depression I left you in two days ago.”

  “I know. It was hard, but I feel okay. Just give me a few more days to think things through. I’m in a better place right now.”

  “Why are you rushing me out the door?” She looked around the house suspiciously. “What’s going on here? Where’s Orion?”

  The dog came click-clacking into the room, his nails noisy on the wooden floor. Orion walked up to Cassie and rubbed his head into her leg. “Hey, fur-ball, I miss you, too.”

  “Cassie, everything’s fine.”

  “I just don’t want you to think I did this on a whim, Craig. I didn’t take throwing away five years lightly.” She started to cry. “This was really hard for me, and I tried to forgive you. I tried to wipe away the image of you and her, but I couldn’t. I tried to let it go and…but it hurt me. I don’t think I could ever trust you again. Trust is everything to me, you know that.”

  He felt horrible for her. Whatever Craig had done, he was an idiot. This was a fine woman here. “Cassie, I’m sorry. But I understand you had to do what you did. We all make mistakes, I made mine, and I don’t want you to second guess your decisions.”

  She nodded and petted the dog. Finally, she turned towards the door. “Okay. But please call me in a couple days. I don’t want you doing anything stupid. I know how you can let things weigh on you. I didn’t want to hurt you, you know that.”

  “I know. And I don’t hate you. I wish you the best.”

  She nodded and walked out. She took one glance back, but kept walking.

  He had no time to get used to being Craig Easton, he had to get back to Iron Stone and find a way into the facility. He couldn’t leave Candice in this mess alone.

  Candice was his first priority. He was more worried about h
er than anyone he’d ever known. At no time before had he ever left a life, and wanted to get back to it for someone else. He’d never cared about anyone like this before. Not entirely sure what love was, he didn’t dare say he was falling in love with her. But he was feeling something for her he’d never felt before.

  Lukas stood there. He was breaking new ground. This was normally the time he would dig into the new person’s life and learn all he could about them, to become them as much as possible, knowing he would need to dissect them in order to learn the next clue to his past. But right now he didn’t care about Craig Easton or his past. The only thing he cared about was Candice.

  Chapter 29

  Candice felt refreshed after some sleep. Right after Lukas dematerialized before her eyes, she felt so drained sleep came in a matter of minutes. She didn’t expect to be able to get so much rest, but as she considered it, she wasn’t entirely sure how much she’d gotten. She didn’t wear a watch because, in general, she kept a cell phone in her pocket. Or a computer was in front of her. There wasn’t much need for a watch in this modern gadget life. Right now, she wished for one.

  Owning a watch was not the issue, she had about five of them. Her Grandmother Laguna had given her several over the years, nice ones, but for some reason Candice didn’t want to wear them anymore. She wore no bracelets or rings. The only jewelry she wore was a necklace her mother had given her when she graduated high school. It was a silver cross on a silver chain. It was nothing fancy, but it suited her taste.

  The door to her cell buzzed and popped open. Candice stood with anticipation. A voice cracked over the loudspeaker.

  “Attention, contestants. Please proceed from your cells to the common room down the hall to your right.”

  The game was starting.

  Candice cautiously stepped out into the hallway. To the left was a large steel door, to the right, a long corridor that stretched at least three hundred feet. One by one, other girls appeared in the hall. She saw one familiar face, but it wasn’t the one she had hoped for.

  “Alexis.” The girl adjusted her black-framed glasses, Candice walked up to her. “Are you okay?”

  Alexis shrugged. “For now.” She looked past Candice. “Where’s Vince?”

  Candice wasn’t entirely sure how to answer that question. Vince was dead, but maybe he wasn’t. It was all very confusing. “I’m not sure,” she lied.

  “Did he come in here with you?”

  “We got separated.”

  Alexis frowned. Pronounced sadness took hold of her face. “That’s not good.”

  Candice just shook her head.

  They proceeded as instructed down the hallway until they came to a large white room that smelled of fresh paint. A massive television monitor dominated the far wall of the pristine room. The lighting was sparse but the room was cleaner and brighter than the drab gray that dominated the rest of the facility.

  The loudspeaker barked again. “Please direct your attention to the television screen.”

  An animated character appeared on the screen, a digital man with yellow hair and large blue eyes. He was in an industrial setting that slowly morphed into a natural setting, but then reverted to smokestacks and spinning gears. “Greetings and welcome to the first day of our game. We’re glad everyone out there on the Internet could join us. We’re streaming live from somewhere on Earth. This is the ultimate reality television game show. Welcome to the revolution. Welcome to Ultimate Reality.”

  Candice felt an uneasy swell fill her body. She didn’t know what to expect but something told her it was going to be even worse than her imagination might dream up.

  The animated character continued. “First, let’s introduce our contestants. Put your hands together for Missy, the leggy, green-eyed brunette. She’s a second grade school teacher who likes puppies and drawing.” A picture of one of the girls standing with Candice twirled in the screen. A nonexistent crowd cheered and whistled through the speaker system after each introduction.

  “And let’s hear it for Julia, a classic petite beauty reminiscent of a young Audrey Hepburn. She’s a hostess at a local restaurant who enjoys bike riding and ice skating.” The applause included some oohs-and-ahs.

  “Then there are the gorgeous platinum blonde twins, Sienna, a spunky co-ed with dangerous curves and a penchant for clay sculpture.” Catcalls went up from the simulated crowd. “And her sister, Sophia. She can’t get enough of social media and sharing her sexy picture with the world.” More cheers erupted, this time they were backed by some loud whistles.

  “And give it up for the sassy, punk-rock-fireplug Alexis, a raven-haired minx with blonde and purple streaks.” A burst of some generic punk rock music played.

  “And now folks, last but certainly not least, show some love for the smart and sexy beauty, the creative and athletic, Candice.”

  Candice felt something between excitement and fear.

  The computer animation continued. “As you can see, they are all beautiful, and over the next few days, they will all find out how strong they really are. They will be exploited in ways reality television has never exploited anyone before. People want sex and violence. This show will give them both. There will be drama, there will be tragedy, and there will be a winner.”

  An animated spinning wheel appeared on the screen. “I will now let fate decide which one of our contestants will be playing for her life tonight.”

  The girls all looked around at each other. Candice took a breath, then looked back to the screen. All their names spun on the wheel-of-death and when it stopped, Missy was the first one up.

  A tall girl with medium brown hair clutched her stomach, bent over and moaned. Candice immediately went to her side. “It’s okay. We’re going to figure this all out.”

  “Oh God, what’s he going to do to me?” Missy cried.

  Alexis came over and stood next to her. “It’s okay, hon, don’t worry. If we stick together we can get out of this.”

  The animated character returned to the screen. “Hello, Missy, You’ve been chosen to be our first contestant. Caleb will be hunting you.” A picture of leather-masked Caleb, even more menacing than usual, appeared on the screen. “You have one hour to evade him. You must make your way from this room back to your safety cell. Only catch is you can’t go back the way you came. If you make it to the safety of your cell, you will move on to the second stage, one-step closer to freedom. The others may help at their own risk. You, too, will make your way back to the holding cells, where a dinner of chicken and potatoes awaits you. Now viewers, you can save Missy if you wish, just text SAVEHER to 5553242 and Caleb will leave her be and choose another random victim. But if you want to see what happens to her, text GETHER to 5553242. The game officially starts…right now!”

  The character blinked out and the screen showed a schematic of the building.

  “What do we do?” Alexis looked at Candice.

  Candice stepped back. “Okay, okay…we can do this.”

  A teary-eyed blonde walked up to Candice. “I’m Sienna.”

  “I’m Candice.”

  Missy was gasping for breath. Alexis hugged her, standing on her toes to get close to Missy’s height but falling far short. “C’mon, we need to be strong.”

  Missy pushed her away. “Easy for you to say, your name didn’t come up on the wheel-of-death. Oh God!”

  Candice shook her head. “We don’t have time to argue.”

  Julia, the Audrey Hepburn-ish girl, started moving towards the only open door. “We have to go this way.”

  Sienna said, “Where the heck is she going? I’m not following her.”

  Candice looked around at the group. “Look, we’re all in the same boat here. We have to stick together.”

  A bell rang and a fake crowed once again cheered. They looked around at each ot
her. Candice looked at the ring of cameras around the room. It was very unnerving to know that whatever was about to happen, was going to be well-documented.

  Alexis said, “I’m with Candice. We need to stick together.”

  The lights started to dim, and dark music started to drone though the speaker system. “Let the game begin — please proceed into the maze.”

  The large door at the far side of the room rolled up with a churning rumble.

  Candice wasn’t afraid, she was mad. This lunatic was not going to have his way. “C’mon, let’s do this.”

  Candice led the way into the corridor. Everything looked the same. A sudden spray of water burst down from the ceiling, soaking them. The girls let out a collective scream.

  “Of course.” Candice pulled her tee shirt off her boobs. “Wet tee shirts.” All the girls had tee shirts and cut jeans or shorts.

  “He’s going to exploit us best he can.” Sierra pushed her hair out of her face. “This Angus is a sticky pervert.” Sophia mirrored her twin.

  “Angus isn’t the one we have to worry about,” Candice said.

  Missy let out an uncomfortable moan. “Caleb, he’s a sick bastard. He’ll gut you like a pig.”

  Candice stopped. “How long have you been here?”

  Sienna looked around at the others. “A few months, give or take.”

  They tentatively pushed on, deeper into the hall. The lights flickered; the music grew louder. Demonic laughter crackled over the music. Julia started to cry.

  Candice urged them to be alert. “Don’t listen to any of this, he’s screwing with us. We just need to stay together.” A sudden smell tickled her nose.

  The floor became soft. “Sand,” Candice said as she shuffled ahead.

  They came to a large open room, fifty feet square and white, with a red circle painted in the center of the floor.

  “What is that?” Sienna asked.