The Games: Part I

Welcome to The Games.

Contestants will battle for the chance to win $20,000. Six enter, only one can leave. A series of challenge rounds will eliminate contestants.

There is only one rule: Survive.

--

I promised him I wouldn't do anything crazy.

I promised that I would stay home and wait for him to return.

But he never came home.

His name became one of many among the long list of the incarcerated. He'd taken the fall for me, like he always did. I couldn't let him do it this time. Not again. Not anymore.

Bail was more than I could afford, more than most people in The Wastes would ever see in a lifetime. There's only one way to get that kind of money. The Games. The problem with The Games was that a lot of people went in. Very few ever came out and they were never the same, the ones who did manage to resurface. They never talked about it either, like they were sworn to secrecy. Once I saw a man who'd just won the games. He stared off into space with this dead look into his eyes as he fiercely clutched a small black notebook and I told Luca when I went into the games I wouldn't come out like that. I'd come out victorious. I'd come out bragging that I'd won. Luca knelt down in front of me then and gripped my arms so tightly I had bruises the next day. He looked me straight in the eye, not blinking, and told me never ever to enter The Games. It wasn't something to mess around with. I promised I wouldn't. But that was ten years ago. I was only a kid, age nine and thought I knew better.

Guess I still don't.

That brings me here with a ball and chain around my right ankle. The metal is orange with rust and flaking, yet still ice cold against my skin. The chain isn't too long, maybe three feet with a huge metal ball about the size of a soccer ball. We're in a murky and mildew smelling room. It's really more of a cellar that has stone walls stained with black mold and rust-brown spots from past Games. The only light comes from the singular bulb hanging from the ceiling by a thick cord.

There are five other contestants in the room with me. The man to my left is massive. He's got to be at least seven feet tall with biceps as thick as my head. Every inch of his exposed tanned skin is make even darker from black tattoos. Each one affiliated with a different crime or specialty. The big one on his neck tells me that he's part the largest gang in The Wastes. They never end up in The Games so he must have really fucked up to have them send him down here.

Next to him, there is a guy I know from the streets who is known for his skills with a knife; can peel a man's skin from his muscles while leaving him alive. A couple years back I got him locked up by exchanging some information for my own freedom. I don't think he recognizes me, but I keep my head down anyway. No need to draw a target on my back.

Directly across from me is a girl skinnier than a toothpick, looks like she can't be any older than fifteen and has bubblegum pink hair. When she notices me staring, she flashes a smirk with teeth filed into razor points.

I swallow hard, my blood turning cold. What have I gotten myself into? I'm not equipped to go up against these people. What was I thinking?

Clearly, I hadn't been. Somehow I thought this would be easy money. Somehow I thought I'd make it out alive. I should have heeded Luca's warning from all those years ago.

Hesitantly, I turn my head to the right to see the other two people. Next to the girl with the sharp teeth is a woman with huge tits spilling out of the top of her shirt. She's got enough make-up on that her that sweat is streaking through it and leaving chunky cake marks along her forehead and neck.

Then to my right is some old geezer. Head as bald as a baby's and covered in age spots. His beard is snow white and goes down to his chest, thick and curly. He looks thin, but not as unhealthy as the razor-tooth girl. And he's the only one here who doesn't look terrifying or terrified, like some mother fucking zen master. I hate him for that. We could die any minute and this guy looks like he's out for a morning stroll. Doesn't he know where he is?

As if answering my thoughts, a loud thud resounds through the room, echoing around us. The light goes out and a bright white box of light flashes onto the opposite wall as me.

Welcome to The Games. Flashes onto the screen.

A loud click comes before the screen changes like someone is changing out a slide. I've never been to the movies, because no one actually has the money for that, before but I heard that this is what they're like. Still pictures and some sad sod gets the pleasure of switching out the slides.

There is only one rule: Survive.

Another click.

Challenge One: Sink or Swim-Hidden in the room is a box containing the keys to unlock your chains

Click.

Find the box, figure out your key, escape.

Click.

Good luck.

The screen blacks out with no warning, drenching us in darkness. I wait for the room light to come back on but it never does. The musty air clings to my skin and I find it hard to breathe. Someone's chain clanks along the metal floor, but the echoing in the small chamber makes it near impossible to know which direction it's coming from and if they are moving closer to me. I attempt to shrink back, to crawl closer to the wall, but am jolted to a stop when the weight of the ball yanks on my leg. It's way heavier than I imagined it would be. It must be at least thirty pounds, if not more.

Razor-tooth girl shrieks from across the room, chains rattle.

I wonder if someone's already made a move to eliminate other opponents when I set my hands down and the floor is damp. I stretch out a leg and my socks become water logged.

Water is rising up from the grate in the middle of the room.

The name of the challenge, sink or swim, makes so much more sense to me now and a new found panic sets in. I jump to my feet. I can barely move, let alone swim with this ball and chain on. If I can't find my key, I'll drown.

The same realization hits the other contestants, chains rattling and splashing as they hit and shift through the quickly rising water. My feet are completely submerged and the water is swiftly rising to meet my knees. I reach out for the wall and nearly fall flat on my face when the ball stops me.

Bending down to grab the chain, I receive a face-full of water. The chain is cold in my hands and flakes as my fingers rub against the aging metal. Making sure I have a good grip, I yank and the ball rolls a couple inches toward me. I pull again, but the same results. My head is now completely submerged as I bend down.

I break the surface, gasping for air and the chain falls from my hands. It's still too dark to see anything around me, but waves hit me in small soft bursts. They must be ripples from people moving closer, nearer to the wall.

"I found it!" Someone yells from across the room. "I found it!"

There's a slash and plop and then a suctioning sound as something sinks below the surface.

"FUCK."

"Find the box!"

The water is up to my chest. The icy temperatures constrict around me, suffocating me like I'm trapped. Desperately trying to get closer to the rest of the group, I yank on the chain, pulling until my ankle is screaming, pulling until the metal cuts into my skin and it stings as the new cut drinks in water. The ball scraps slowly along the bottom, but I'm moving! The water is up to my chin and I tip my head back, trying to breath as long as I can.

It's coming up. . .

. . .up over my mouth. . .

. . .I take one final deep breath before the water bubbles up over my nose and swarms my ears and I'm left hovering in the dark with nothing but the rush of silence as the water settles around me.

To be continued. . .