Tournament of Trials

by J Niessen

  *****

  Watching Garrison walk away I can only hope he’s able to get the two rings and bring them back, so I can leave this horrible place. Benson took mine and Charlie’s entry pieces. I can’t leave without reclaiming at least one. Otherwise I could be trapped here forever in this halfway realm. “Good luck!” I wish Garrison as he walks away and out of my life.

  The codename for this simulation is Purgatory. A strange development between me and Opal is happening. We’re engaged in this project together, whereas generally it would be either she or I that is in control. Maybe it’s because of our joint eagerness to get what we want.

  The way this room works is, the system enters into your thoughts and forces you to dream. As you’re put into a dream state, the things you see are broadcast thoughts created by the simulation’s programming. That’s how images appear real when you’re in here. Your body functions as though you were awake, so the floor is lined with treadmill tracks.

  Based on the military work I’ve done on beta projects, I know that when you die during the dream phase, it takes a moment for you to wake up. In that moment of transition, dreaming still continues. This in-between phase is called Limbo. It’s when your brain cycles and the system can’t bring you back. Some test subjects would never snap out of that in-between phase.

  Those participating in the Purgatory simulation will influence your experience. Each individual is kept separate from the others by a “tank” we each are assigned to. The exception is when someone requests you, by using the wrist device. Then the two join to occupy the same tank. When the warehouse replicates a contestant, that character may be generated into physical form, rather than used as a mental picture, along with the objects or weapons they control.

  The program is so powerful that despite all this insightful information I am aware of, there comes a time when I’m unable to recall these details because of the program’s influence.

  Charlie and I are making our way out of the rice paddy field where we landed, and are heading into the jungle when Opal insists putting Charlie to rest is the best way to remove him from the legalities of this exercise. Opal takes control of the situation as we’re deep in the heart of the jungle. I watch from in a back seat of my head. I’m fearful of what’s happening at first…

  “No, wait, why would you push mud into his face and make him suffocate on it?” I anxiously question my lifelong accomplice.

  “For now he needs to sleep peacefully,” Opal answers, but then I understand and finish the sentence…“because I love him so much that I don’t ever want him to be lost away.”

  The jungle is growing dark. A haunting presence watches from the expanding shadows. I take Charlie’s entry piece, the ring worn on his right wedding finger, and slip it into the side pocket of my fatigues for safekeeping. It’s nearly identical to the one I keep on a gold necklace around my neck. Our two rings physically fit together to form as one. “I’ll be back to get you,” I whisper in his ear, followed by a peck on Charlie’s wet, muddy cheek.

  I need to put distance between me and where my fiancé’s body lies.

  A man’s monstrous roar leaps out at me from the jungle. It’s Benson!

  I manage to slip away from him for a moment. My hope is to get through to Garrison for help, by getting a message out to him. I’m hurrying through the jungle, trudging in mud and sprinting past tall trees when I’m suddenly struck in the head. Flashing lights dazzle in my field of vision from the concussive blow. In a daze of confusion I deduce I hit a tree branch from not paying close enough attention, while using part of my focus to stare down at the wrist monitor. Staggering backwards my legs give out from beneath me. A large cut tree dangles in the air above, held from each end by a rope of vines. It’s a trap that I’ve sprung. My muscles won’t work. I’m powerless and I am shown no mercy by our rival that needs to be taken out: Benson.

  Circulation to my brain cuts off by the grip of his powerful hand around my neck as he lifts me into the air. A bleak grey fog surrounds my field of vision. The darkness thickens as it closes in. I’m near to blacking out when crystal-clear clairvoyance strikes. In this brief moment of lucidity I recall the knowledge I’ve gathered from working on prototypes of the Purgatory. Glancing at the stains on Benson’s fatigues incites mind-numbing horror--the program’s been altered. This is not a protective dream state we’re in. Murders are being allowed to happen.

  I keep trying to remember what is truly going on. I need to focus and not forget. I find myself back once again in the jungle after completely blacking out. Benson could jump out from his hide at any moment. My plea to Garrison for help worked! I must be in his tank, and though there’s no sign of him, because of the system’s façade, physically he’s probably standing just out of arm’s length from me right now. A splitting pain ails my head, but it’s not from the trap I ran into. It’s from me trying to focus on what’s going on. Charlie and I have been separated, however I know the direction he’s running in and soon I’ll be able to cut him off.

  Checking my wrist monitor I notice a glitch has happened in the Purgatory.

  You have no idea how angry I am with myself right now. I want to scream out at the treetops of this jungle and silence every bird that sings! I find Benson has already left with the engagement ring set. But I still have to put Charlie to sleep. After that I need to tell Garrison what I’ve learned about the area he needs to travel to, before my knowhow on this simulator fades. If I were to eliminate him instead, it would trap me and Charlie in here for good.

  If I startle Garrison, then I could lose my train of thought. The best way for me to approach him is for me to manipulate the system’s code and drift through the jungle like a comforting breeze. Fear causes me to question if I’ll be able to find Garrison when the jungle scenery changes. New things transition with our surroundings. Someone’s controlling the scenario as our environment becomes a midnight burrows setting. It lasts for but a short time.

  A wild pig included in the scenario runs past, and Charlie follows after it, to come to me.

  Once Garrison knows what I need to share, and is gone through the doorway to face his next challenge, I use my reset. Opal seems nonexistent. Charles and I are together again…but we need to find a temporary way out, when the jungle setting shuts down. Charles is clueless as to the times Opal made him suffocate. “Technically, sweetheart, we lost the challenge.” I explain to my man, and recent fiancé. “But because it was an elimination exercise, we’re still able to advance. It’s necessary we press on, even without the entry pieces.”

  With seeking eyes I search deeply into his. I’m swept away by love’s spontaneous warmth. Radiance beams in my chest as Charles sweeps me into his arms. Hugging me tightly he shares a grateful kiss which I indulge in. I’m so thankful he isn’t forever sleeping…as I return the affection, uninhibited, with all my heart. Slipping out of my fatigues I reveal the dress worn underneath which he loves seeing me in, and the matching leg stockings for him to slip off.

  Later…I use my wrist device to read up on the situation and investigate a way out of our holding tank. There’s a single clue with a description that states: “They scanned the entire wall. The only place they didn’t check is the Grandfather Clock. And that’s because they planted it.”

  It’s placed against the wall, and is the only thing in this room that stands out. The lower half of the centerpiece is carved from hardwood and lightly lacquered with intricately carved columns that shape the corners of a tall slender gateway. A brass pendulum swings from behind the glass display panel. The clock’s face is mounted with the bodies of giant carved tarantulas. Their V shaped legs hold the circular glass, covering the face. There are no hands to the clock. The lower panel of the clock opens, revealing a dark opening. There’s an area big enough for me to step into. I questioningly stare. When my foot enters inside of it I’m taken into the void.

  I feel myself spi
raling into the darkness while Charlie peers down at me from inside a circular mirror-pane, high above. I grab a hold of the sides of the rocky pit I’m being pulled into. The strength in my arms is weak and depleting. My muscles feel like burning lava runs through them. I struggle to keep from giving up. My body stretches as it’s pulled. I am aware of the notion that I have claws, but they are tearing me inside. My nails are receded from the bites I’ve put into my fingers. The soft flesh of my nubs fails me, at my attempts to get out of this well. There’s a rope I could have grabbed hold of, I realize, but it is already too late for its use.

  My body is spiraling like a tornado as I lose my grip and descend from a newly entered, dreary blue sky. I’m standing on a rocky cliff overlooking the beach. On the shoreline below, there are two figures which are fighting. I can’t make out distinctive details. They finally give in to the other by rolling together. The ball becomes more compact like an enormous marble. Turning to see what’s behind me, I find there’s another great sphere…spinning toward me!