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You woke up dazzled, drowning in a state of confusion. Your vision was blurred, and your eyes burned as they slowly adjusted to the bright lights above you. The room was cold, and even the tracksuit you wore couldn't keep you warm. Also… when did you have a tracksuit? You looked down at it, its greenish-blue hue contrasting the white lines. On your chest read the number 387.
Now with vision semi-normal, you scanned the room around you. It was more of a warehouse, to be honest, with stacks and stacks of beds lining the walls. Hundreds of people seemed to be waking up from their slumber, seemingly just as confused as you were.
Where the hell am I? You wondered, trying to recall the moments that led up to this. You remembered getting into a car… but why? Oh- wait, yes, for the game. You were promised a large sum of money if you won, that’s right. Still, something felt off about this whole thing. How did I fall asleep? Did they drug me?
“Hey!” A voice called, snapping you out of your thoughts. You turned to your right and spotted a man sitting on the bed beside you, legs dangling over the tower of beds beneath him. His hair was tied up in a half-up-half-down sort of way, and his jacket tied around his waist. You could see a tattoo peeking from beneath his shirt sleeve. Is he in a gang?, you wondered, but the more you looked at it the more you recognized it as the Marine Corps symbol.
He had quite a muscular build, contrasting his face which was soft and kind. Something about him allured you, and he seemed like a guy you could trust.
“Hello?” His voice rang again, bringing you back to reality. Right, he was talking to me.
“Hi…” You murmured cautiously, still anxious about the predicament you were in, “Sorry, I was just a little lost in thought…”
“Don’t worry, I totally understand. This place is pretty weird huh?” He chirped, scooting around on his mattress to get more comfortable.
“Yeah… I didn’t think so many people would be here.”
“Right? But hey, when you’re given the opportunity to win some money, would you really pass it up?”
“I guess that’s true,” You laugh, feeling the weight lift off you’re back ever so slightly. This stranger made you feel a bit more comfortable in this foreign place.
“Hey, did you realize our numbers? I’m 388, and you’re 387. That practically makes us a team. We should stick together for good luck, right?”
You looked down at your tracksuit again. That’s right, your number was 387. To confirm, you looked over at the man and saw the number 388 written boldly across his shirt.
“I didn’t even realize,” You smiled, looking up at him, “Yeah, I guess we’re meant to be.”
His face flustered a little, and you didn't realize how that sounded until a fat second later.
“Oh- ah wait, sorry, that’s not really what I meant-”
The man’s laugh interrupted your apology. His laugh was like a golden ray of sunshine, a genuine and pleasant sound that you didn’t think you’ve heard in a long time.
“No, I get what you meant! Don’t apologize,” He giggled, wiping a tear from his eye. He looked happily into your eyes, grinning from ear to ear.
Suddenly a large door opened in the center of the room. 7 guards in pink suits and black masks emerged, standing on the stage before the steps.
Player 388 tapped you on your shoulder to grab your attention, his goofy yet charming grin still plastered on his face.
“I guess it’s time for the games to begin!”
They were not games.
Whatever had happened was not a game.
It was supposed to be simple. A way to make some easy money. A child's game that you’ve played thousands of times before. Green light! People running, ignoring the crazy man screaming about God knows what. You made it halfway across the strange field before everything went downhill.
Red light!
The stumble of feet. A single gunshot. A body on the floor. A scream. People running. More gunshots.
Blood.
Blood.
So much blood.
You couldn’t move. The timer kept moving. You couldn’t speak. The doll kept speaking. Suddenly something moved you. You didn’t know if it was your legs or some otherworldly savior pushing you to keep playing. To keep living. You didn’t remember making it across the finish line, or leaving the game room, or lying down in your bed.
All you remembered were tears starting to form in your eyes, and how harsh sobs left your throat as you curled onto the thin mattress and sheets. Your body was shaking and it was getting hard to breathe. The room around you was fuzzy, and you felt like your head was spinning. I can’t do this, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die without ever saying goodbye to my parents, to my sister. Oh my God, my sister, she’ll never know what happened. I need to leave, I need to-
“387?”
It was that same voice from earlier in the day. That warm, gentle voice that eased your worries at the start. But you couldn’t dare look at him, your body wouldn’t let you. All you could do was continue sobbing. He must’ve understood that, because he slowly got onto the bed, rubbing your leg soothingly.
“It’s okay, shh, it’s going to be alright,” He cooed, continuously petting your leg, “You survived, you’re still here, you’re okay…”
You tried to stifle your sobs a little, but your body still shook vigorously. That was terrifying. You were terrified.
“I’m so scared, 388,” You cried as you shoved your face deeper into your arms. He moved closer to you and wrapped his arms around your body. It would’ve been weird in any other predicament, but this is what you needed right now.
You hugged him back, letting the warmth of his body flood into yours. His arms were tender, and you felt protected from all the danger outside of this embrace. His breathing was steady, and you slowly tried to make yours match his. The sobs quieted down, and only the occasional choke escaped from you as he tightened his hold on you.
Finally, you calmed down, and you gently released yourself from 388’s arms. His eyes were looking down at you, sympathetic and kind. There were specks of blood tainting his perfect skin, and his hair was coming loose from the ponytail in his hair. How did he look so beautiful in such a traumatizing situation?
“Thank you,” You breathed, the words leaving your mouth before you even had time to think. Your face then flushed, embarrassment trickling into your cheeks as you just realized what had happened. “You didn’t have to help me, y’know. There’s tons of scared players in this room.”
“I know,” he replied, fixing the hair framing your face. He didn’t seem fazed by your breakdown at all. His hands worked slowly around your face, touching you ever so gently as if you were made out of porcelain. He then looked at you, his sweet face so so close to yours. “Remember what I said earlier? We’re going to stick together.”
388 let go of your face, and you didn’t realize how much you craved his touch until it was gone. He grabbed your hand and squeezed it 3 times. You squeezed back. As you lifted your gaze to him, nodding as you wiped the tears from your eyes, his light smile made you smile right back. You remembered his words, how they felt like they were spoken years ago. How did so much change so quickly?
You then giggled a little as you recalled those stupid words you had said prior.
“I believe you. After all, we’re meant to be.”