Who's Playing Who?

It was a cold rainy day, but Sam’s dog wanted to take a walk like she always did. Sam jogged alongside Biscuit hoping she would get tired of the cold and rain quickly so they could go home. As they hit the edge of the park where the dense trees started, Biscuit started to slow down giving Sam some hope of returning to the warm dry car not too far off.

As he daydreamed, Biscuit began to dig and throw mud all over him, jerking him back to reality. He was about to yell when he noticed it. Sam froze.

Biscuit was digging up a hand.

“Stop, Biscuit!” Sam finally managed to yell in a hoarse voice.

Before Sam could yank Biscuit’s leash to stop her, Biscuit had dug up a torso and on top of it was a notebook and a large stack of money. He knew he should just turn away and call the police but that money was so tempting. Sam was in between jobs and needed the money desperately.

The money was in his hands before he could stop himself and was in his jacket in the blink of an eye. As he got out his cellphone he saw words on the notebook in bold sharpie.

READ ME

Shouldn’t he just call the police? What if this was a way for the person who murdered this guy to frame him? What if it’s all a trap?

Again, he had grabbed for something from this unmarked grave before even thinking about it. He opened the cover hoping it wasn’t going to cost him everything.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE GAME. READY PLAYER 6?

Sam practically threw the notebook out of his hands. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was the body a fake? What the hell was going on?

He picked the book back up, just in case the body was real. Sam knew that he’d already left his fingerprints on the notebook and didn’t want to be linked to this crime based just on that.

“Okay, we’ve just got to get away from here and figure this out,” Sam said to himself as he and Biscuit ran back to his car on the other side of the park.

He felt like he had a target on his back. Whether real or imaginary, it didn’t matter, Sam ran until he made it to the car.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Sam couldn’t help but panic as he realized the key fob to his car wasn’t working.

He could unlock the car manually with the key but that wasn’t fast enough. To top it off, he fumbled and was too shaky to get it into the lock on the first try. As he threw the door open, Biscuit hopped in happily, shaking her soaking fur and looking to Sam waiting for him to turn the heater on.

Sam jumped in and slammed the door behind him, quickly locking the door just for good measure. As Sam pulled the car out of it’s parking spot, he noticed someone under a nearby tree watching him. They covered their face with a dark hoodie as he looked over and walked away in the opposite direction of his car.

Maybe he was just panicking? Maybe this was a joke after all, right?

Sam got home and ran up the apartment steps like a bat out of hell. He was so paranoid now that everyone near him made him freak out. He was in his apartment when he finally took his first slow and even breaths since finding the crime scene.

The money and the notebook were suddenly weighing heavily in his jacket pockets. He had to know what this was about once and for all. Sam pulled the notebook out of his jacket along with the money and sat down at his kitchen table.

It looked like there was at least $50,000 in the ziplock bag. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the bills looked new, they still had the bank straps on them and none of the bill appeared wrinkled.

The notebook, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. It was dirty, frayed on the edges, and looked like a third of the pages had been ripped out. He was just as afraid of the book as he was intrigued by it. On the next page, he found more information and what looked like rules to this “game”.

YOU’RE READY? WONDERFUL!

YOUR FIRST TASK IS SIMPLE ENOUGH. STAY ALIVE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. YOUR TIME STARTED WHEN YOU PICKED UP THE NOTEBOOK. THE MONEY YOU FOUND SHOULD HELP YOU RUN, IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO, YOU WILL DIE LIKE THE POOR SAP YOU FOUND EARLIER.

SO, WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE, RUN OR DIE?

OH, BY THE WAY, IF YOU WANT SOME TIPS SO YOU LAST A BIT LONGER THE THE PREVIOUS 5 PLAYERS: DON’T BE OBVIOUS: THE OBVIOUS PLACES ARE THE FIRST PLACE I WILL LOOK.

I WILL FIGURE OUT YOUR NAME MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN YOU THINK… DON’T SLOW YOURSELF DOWN BY TRYING TO CHANGE YOUR NAME (LEGALLY OR OTHERWISE).

I AM ONLY AFTER YOU, I DON’T CARE ABOUT ANYONE ELSE AND I PROMISE YOU THAT I AM NOT GOING TO KILL SOMEONE ELSE IN ORDER TO GET TO YOU.

IF YOU HAVEN’T STARTED RUNNING YET, YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE THE GAME IN ABOUT 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….

Sam was speechless. What could he do? He was in this city all alone, his only companion was Biscuit and what? Was he just supposed to leave her, pack a bag, and run? A knock at the door had him jumping.

He went to look through the peephole in the door, but found the hallway empty. In a daze, he decided that maybe this wasn’t a prank afterall. He found a backpack in his room and threw in some clothing randomly.

Where was he going to go? How was he going to get out of the apartment? What about Biscuit? A million things were running through Sam’s head as he went toward the fire escape window. Biscuit was right on his heels as he slid through the window out onto the escape, but Sam was too frazzled to know or care right now.

That’s when he realized he left the notebook and money on his kitchen table. It was just out of his reach from outside the window. As he climbed back through and retrieved it, a loud banging and cracking began at his door. As puzzled as he was, Sam knew he had to run, again.

When Sam and Biscuit got to the ground, Sam looked back up to see a faceless figure looking out of his apartment window. Biscuit was looking up too, and his hair was on end. He began to growl and then bark at the figure. As soon as it disappeared, Biscuit ran down the alley toward the parking lot where their car was located.

Sam groaned internally as he realized the car keys were still on the hook by the door. He whistled for Biscuit and she bolted straight back to his side. They sprinted to the nearest bus stop and Sam prayed the bus would be there quickly.

He was in luck, the bus pulled up just as they rounded the corner. As they jumped on the bus and found an inconspicuous seat, Sam tried to clear his mind long enough to figure out where they could go. Maybe the notebook had some clue or cheat sheet hidden further back in it’s pages. The next few pages only listed the next “challenges”, all of which got harder and worse the further into the “game” a player got.

He let the bus run through several stops before deciding to get off at the stop near ChinaTown. As he was going down the steps to get off he heard the bus driver say “can’t believe he made it this far in the game” to himself. When he was on the sidewalk Sam turned around to look at the driver inquisitively but the driver just smiled, closed the doors, and drove away leaving him standing there even more confused and freaked out.

Because of this weird occurrence, Sam decided to duck into the closest building. Maybe this was a safe bet for now. Afterall, Sam hardly ever went to ChinaTown and he had never been in what looked like a restaurant he just went into. He sat down at a table in the corner; far enough away from the window and prying eyes, but still close enough to the exit. A waiter exited the kitchen and walked toward him with a disapproving look. It was then that Sam realized Biscuit had followed him all the way here.

Sam hadn’t meant for that to happen, it just had. Just as he was about to apologize for his dog the waiter spoke.

“How do you like the game so far?” he asked cooly as if he didn’t even care that Biscuit was here.

“What game?” Sam asked, looking around for a T.V.

The waiter just smiled and walked away. Sam’s heart was in his throat. How could this man know? How could the bus driver have known? Before he could even react, the waiter was back with a ticket.

“But I haven’t even ordered yet,” he started to protest, but it didn’t matter the waiter laid it on the table and walked away again.

Sam scooped up the ticket hastily.

PLEASE WAIT FOR PLAYER 7, SHE WILL ARRIVE SHORTLY TO HELP YOU. YOUR TIME IS PAUSED UNTIL SHE ARRIVES. THIS MEANS THAT THE GAMEMAKER WILL NOT PURSUE YOU UNTIL SHE GETS HERE.

He was tempted to run, how did he know this wasn’t a trap? There weren’t very many clear rules to begin with. How could he know if this wasn’t where he would be killed, like a damn sitting peking duck. He decided he’d had enough of this madness, but just as he got up to run again, a woman came through the door and went straight to his table.

She sat down and pulled out a notebook that looked similar to his, but was in pristine condition. Before either got a word out, she opened her notebook to the first page.

WELCOME TO THE GAME, PLAYER 7. ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN?

“Who are you? How did you get this?” Sam asked quietly, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

“I’m Suzanne. This was in my mail yesterday morning. I’m on task 3… You’re task 3.”

“What’s task 3? And what does it have to do with me?”

Suzanne flipped to the next page and read it aloud, “Congratulations on finishing task 2. For your next task you will team up with Player 6 and keep him alive for his first 24 hours of the game. Failure to do so will result in you losing the game... and your life.”

“How is this possible? I thought I found Player 5 when I started the game… Doesn’t that mean he only uses one player at a time?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, you started the game when?”

“A few hours ago.”

“Like I said I started yesterday. That must mean that there are at least, what... 5 others out there maybe more?”

“I don’t know,” Sam said, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Sensing his distrust, Suzanne turned to task 3 and said, “Look it’s right here. Why would I even want to team up unless I had to… If you don’t make it to 24 hours, then I’m done too and I really don’t want to die,” the last part sounded sincere enough to Sam, so he agreed to go with her.

“Alright, what do we do? How have you made it this far?” he asked gravely.

“First things first, we’ve been sitting here way too long. We’ve got to keep moving if we’re going to make it,” she said as she headed toward the door.

The two spent most of the afternoon going to random places in town on the bus, by cab, or walking/ jogging. Mostly they were trying to keep their locations random. Suzanne suggested that they take Biscuit somewhere, so she wouldn’t slow them down anymore as she had stopped several times to sniff things.

Sam reluctantly agreed. He knew it was risky to go back to his apartment, but that was the only place he could think of. He had no relatives in the area, the closest person was his mom, and she was 4 hours away by subway and taxi. They were careful. Suzanne made them shop for different clothing that wouldn’t draw attention to them if they went back to his apartment.

By the time, Sam took Biscuit home he was wearing an oversized black hoodie and baggy jeans with some off brand sneakers. He pulled the hood closer to his face to cover his hair and took Biscuit in the main entrance. Suzanne refused to go with him, saying she would keep watch from across the street and call him if she saw any suspicious activity.

Sam tearfully said his goodbyes after leaving extra food out. He made a mental note to leave a message in the lobby to get a hold of his mother. She could come and get Biscuit. Before he left the apartment he made sure to grab his car keys this time.

Making sure no one was following him to the parking lot, he made his way to his car at what he hoped was a normal pace. He felt like eyes were watching him and before he could unlock the door, he heard something whizz by his head. A bullet?

He jumped in in a mad dash and threw the car in reverse. Before he got out of the lot a stray bullet went through his windshield missing him by less than an inch. He cut off a driver in the opposite lane before stopping to let Suzanne jump in. She didn’t even shut the door before he was slamming on the gas. Sam was racing down the highway outside of town in minutes.

“Slow down! We can’t get pulled over by the cops and arrested, if we do we’ll be an easy target,” Suzanne screeched.

“Sorry,” Sam mumbled half dazed. “I didn’t realize I-” he couldn’t think straight, what were they going to do now?

“We need to go somewhere with crowds. Where is somewhere that’s busy on a Saturday?” Suzanne said, pulling him out of his head.

“Uh… the movies, the grocery store, I don’t know,” Sam answered.

“No, those are too enclosed. We need somewhere that has places easy to hide and run through,” Suzanne said deep in thought. “I know! Go to the zoo.”

“What? Why there?”

“Because it’s open enough that we can run if we need to and it’s got several places where we can blend in and hide easily.”

Without another word Sam drove them to the zoo. He was still skeptical of his “partner”, but she seemed harmless enough. Worst case scenario, he would have to get rid of her or kill her if it came to that. Before buying their tickets, Suzanne guided Sam to the gift shop and bought both of them zoo shirts, hats, and sunglasses.

They had just gotten in with the last tour group for the day. The tram was still really crowded, so that was a plus. Sam wanted to keep his mind off the stupid “game”, but how was he supposed to. Someone, anyone, could be waiting for them to come to a spot and BAM, they would be gone before anyone had time to blink an eye.

Suzanne pulled Sam off several stops before the end of the tour and told him they needed to find somewhere to hide for the night. It seemed like she didn’t think security would check all the buildings before closing up for the night. Sam was highly doubtful, but he didn’t have a better plan, so he kept his mouth shut.

They made their way to the aquatic tanks and buildings quietly just to make sure they didn’t draw attention to themselves. The announcement that the park was closing had been made a minute earlier and it set both of them on edge.

“Maybe we should just hide in a bathroom?” Sam whispered.

“No, that’s too easy. They’ll think of that,” she said as they moved to the restricted area of the aquatics section.

Sam sighed in response but followed her anyway. She came to a door that read EMPLOYEES ONLY. Suzanne tried the door, but of course it was locked. The park had just closed. She began to pick through her purse for something and then messed with the lock for a minute.

All of a sudden, Suzanne had the door open, pulled them in, and closed it quietly behind them. The room was dark and reeked of rotten fish.

“Where are we?” Sam asked, dropping all attempts of whispering.

“Behind the penguin exhibit in the food prep area. We should be safe here for an hour or so, but we’ll have to move again just to make sure we’re safe,” she whispered, moving along the wall to feel for a light switch.

“We should take a nap then,” Sam suggested, dreading the idea of shutting his eyes around her, but feeling the exhausting slowly seeping in.

“Good idea,” she whispered back, she flicked on the switch and found a chair to drop into.

Sam followed her lead and was soon in a deep sleep.

“Wake up,” a deep voice boomed.

Sam’s eyes snapped open immediately. A man stood before them in a security uniform. Both of his hands were on his hips in an annoyed stance. They had been caught.

“Come on. I don’t have forever, let’s go. If you follow me through the shortcut to the parking lot with no trouble I won’t call the cops,” he said, still very much annoyed. “Dumb kids,” he mumbled under his breath.

They both got up without a word and followed the man. Instead of exiting through the door they all came in, he went further into the building. There was a slight decline that led to what looked like some tunnels. Suzanne and Sam both stopped and looked back and forth between each other and the entrance of the tunnel.

“They run under the park. Easier and faster than walking a mile to get to the next place,” he explained out of what seemed to be obligation, or maybe he could sense their hesitation.

He turned around and started down the tunnel not waiting to see if they would follow him. This made Suzanne relax a little. She began to follow behind him and Sam followed up the rear. They walked for a few minutes before the tunnel turned into a fork.

The man walked confidently down the right one with no hesitation. They forked off a few more times before going up into another dark room. The man muttered about finding a lightswitch. Suzanne grabbed Sam’s hand in the darkness and they continued forward.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” she whispered to him.

The light flipped on and they could see a room with stainless steel freezers, a medical table, and medical equipment. At the other end there was a door marked exit. Sam squeezed Suzanne’s hand and then they were making a break for it.

When Sam flung the door open, he heard an outburst of laughter. Then he saw all the chain link fences. His heart dropped to his stomach. This wasn’t the entrance to the park. This was the big cat’s enclosure and medical area.

Sam turned around to find the guard at the door. He grabbed something from the back of his pants. A gun. He pointed with it motioning them to turn to the left. They did so unwillingly. The guard let the door click closed behind him. The sound echoed in Sam’s ears.

Suzanne ran back to the door, but it was locked, and no amount of yanking was going to magically make it open again. A click and some chain link rattling made them both turn to look at the guy. He had opened one of the cat enclosures.

“Get in,” he barked.

What choice did they have? Be shot or try to out last a big cat for the rest of the night? So, they did what was asked of them. The guard locked the gate behind them and chuckled as he walked away. His pocket dinged as a text message came in on his phone. He pulled it out quickly, knowing that it could only be from the “gamemaker”.

CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYER 8. YOUR NEXT TASK IS LOCATED IN YOUR NOTEBOOK UNDER #6.

BEST OF LUCK AND DON’T FORGET WE’RE WATCHING.