Striker

They gathered as usual and started to play, taking advantage of the empty stadium. As time passed, they felt the stadium starting to fill up. At first, they thought it was just the usual children waiting to play after them, but then they realized that the situation was different.

The stadium was almost half full. The usual weekend events had turned into a real atmosphere this time. When they decided to leave the field, another team from the same age group offered to come and enjoy the atmosphere. Eight teams of five players each emerged. They were going to have a tournament. The winner would win the right to play freely for longer in the coming weeks. Even though they were tired, they accepted the offer because they thought they were the best team in the neighborhood.

It was too much pressure for free play. The growing euphoria in the stadium was in stark contrast to the heavy rain pounding against the transparent dome. Just a few minutes before the second half of the match, Captain Angelo witnessed the concern on the faces of his teammates. 'No matter how tired we are, we will win this match and the pitch will be ours,' he said. But he realized that the anxiety on their faces was not just about winning. He, too, could not understand why there was such an atmosphere, why they had to give so much effort.

The match had started. The truth was revealed when a tired teammate asked to leave the field. A man they didn't know told them that they had no option to leave the field and that substitutions were not allowed. There was no such thing until the final match, where did it come from?

Roberto, who could no longer walk or run, protested, but the man pushed him off the pitch with a violent gesture. The whole team was surprised by this behavior. They started to react to the situation. This time the man pulled out a gun and pointed it at them. From different parts of the stadium, lasers were on them. Their desire to win, their fatigue, and their inability to make sense of it, began to make sense and gave way to fear. The second half had begun. After a while, Roberto couldn't take it anymore and tried to leave the field, and another truth was revealed. The gunmen had shot Angelo's teammate without hesitation. He had to continue with the shot leg until die or win if he can survive. Roberto crawled back pitch with his last energy and courage. Hit was not that bad as he thought. When he was back, the fans greeted him with excitement and applause. The final was not a simple game, but life or death. The players were pawns in a twisted game organized by an anonymous identity.

The rules were briefly explained to the players. The winner would be released and their wish would be granted. It was no longer just a game of the desire to win, but a game to save thousands of lives because the next goal scored would not only decide the survivors but would cause a bomb to explode somewhere in the country simultaneously. Any attempt to not score would be punished and a draw would be the end of both teams. His ears no longer heard the echoing cheers, but the terrifying teammates and screaming victims. The stadium kept filling and the shouts of the crowd waiting for the score echoed from all sides.

The game intensified. The air trembled with tension with every missed opportunity. Then, a miscalculated tackle by a defender sent Angelo running towards another goal. Time slowed down. The roar of the spectators became a distant hum. He saw the agony on his opponent's face, a reflection of his pain. Snipers were locked on him. Any mistake in this position would be the end of his life and cost the lives of his teammates but winning would kill the other team. Everything in his life flashed back to him, his family, his teammates. The heaviness in his heart could not stop him from scoring and he scored...

He realized with the high volume of spectators that the stadium was already full and wildly joyful. Confetti rained down; it was the irony of cruelty in the world. Nevertheless, the game went on. After the goal, the screen showed something that all the fans were cheering. The screen was split into two. Half the screen showed the first showed the last goal, and the other half showed the bombs exploding simultaneously with it. Then the first two goals appeared on the screen. Unlike what is said, two other explosions were done. This scene shocked the players and made them stop again but it taught them another rule of the game. If you stop, your loved ones will be humiliated, tortured, and broadcast live on the screen.

This desperate game ended with 1-2. They won the game but half of the team, three cities, couldn't last until the end. The price of winning was high.

The "winners" were promised a wish. Angelo was completely numb and his eyes were filled with a chilling emptiness. He had two wishes. One is to stop this craziness and he was thinking of the other one but his pain, fear, and feelings were too destroyed to decide. He didn't wish to stop this game but no more games for his team and to force the remaining teams to play in a new tournament.

Angelo's spirit was completely exhausted. He looked at the news feed. His regular games had become a symbol of barbarism. Even if his family and his team were safe, his decision would lead to more deaths. He knew the struggle was not over. He and the other survivors had a choice - to succumb to despair or to find a way to break this twisted game, to fight for a future where victory would not be the price of extinction. The stadium was cleared of confetti for the new game, but not the blood-stained country. The real game, it seemed, had just begun.