Contestants

The air turned black around me. A horrible rotting smell making me gag. There's a sudden pressure coming in with the breeze, making me lightheaded and dizzy. The winds pick up and get furious around me. It picks me up, and the pressure gets worse all over my body. I shut my eyes and tense in hopes of helping my body do something.

It all lets up too suddenly. The shock of it going sends me to my knees. I heave and gasp for breath; my body shakes violently. I open my eyes, but shut them again after a wave of dizziness and pain spikes throughout my body.

My body settles to the best of its ability. I open my eyes slower this time. It’s not my bedroom anymore. I’m lying on cold concrete. The rest of the room is ruined and there’s cracks and plants growing from the stone. It’s stuffy and has a unique almost metallic smell to it. Ahead of me is a towering, medieval like wooden door. 

A pit grows in my stomach and my throat feels like it’s closing on me. I start to hyperventilate. Thoughts race through my head, and I can’t stop the oncoming panic. My body continues to shake. I repeat “What the fuck,” over and over to myself out loud.

A screeching, metallic sound echos over the room. My body stills and prepares for the worst.

“Hello!!” An overly chipper, feminine voice echos out, on what I can only assume is a hidden loudspeaker.

“The ten of you have been chosen for The Founder today! Consider yourselves lucky.” An over exaggerated giggle follows the sentence. “You each have five minutes to equip yourself and are ready to prove your worth as a chosen one.” they said.

“Have fun out there. Don’t be scared to be entertaining. And become the best you can be for The Founder!” The more they had spoken, the more I calmed down and listened. There’s an odd edge to their voice and an English accent I hadn’t heard before.

I get up and look around a little more. There's a camera in the top right corner in front of me. Behind me is a large wooden table with an assortment of weapons on it.

“Is this what they were talking about? Proving myself worthy?” \

I look over the weapons: there’s knives, guns and additional ammunition, swords, and some odd heavy looking ones. The realisation hits me - I have to kill to prove worthy. I gag, and run to throw up in the corner. The shaking starts up again. 

A bloodcurdling scream echoes throughout the halls. It feels so cold. I can’t move. 

Did someone just die? A second scream echoes, a muffled, disgusting gurgle follows it.

A metallic ring screeches out.

“One has been deemed unworthy! Don’t let yourself be the next.” The voice calls over the speaker system. 

“Deep breaths, deep breaths now. Come on Hazel, it’s gotta just be a nightmare.”

Someone violently knocks against my door, rattling the hinges. The door dangerously close to breaking. I stop breathing. They shuffle their feet impatiently. A few seconds later a gun cocks. 

I let out a pathetic whimper. Either I defend myself or let this happen. Shakily I reach for a handgun. I don’t even know how to use one. Is it even loaded? Shit, what do I do?

A deep chuckle comes from the other side of the door. The violent knocks come again. I attempt to figure out the gun in my hands. I’m not quick enough. 

A large man kicks in the old door, a large gun in his hands. I flip the table the best I can. Everything clatters on the ground. I duck behind it. Bullets fly fast from the man’s gun. He’s laughing like a madman, probably is one. 

There's a few muffled clicking sounds. The man grunts. Quickly I jump up and hope for the best. Pointing the gun at him and pulling the trigger. The shot rings out and hits the wall behind him. My arm throbs but I don’t take the time to dwell on it. I repeat the same motion as earlier and aim again at the man. He huffs and fiddling with his gun, but he seems ready to charge. So I shoot. It works, I shot him. The shot recoiled through my arm into a throbbing pain. He staggers and drops. Blood starts to pool under him.

My hand slaps over my mouth. A sob rips it’s way through me. Shivers and shakes take over my body with the sobs. My knees threaten to buckle but the metallic screech is back.

“Ding ding ding!! Two more down, seven contestants remain,” the voice giggles. 

I take a deep breath then look out into the hall. It’s bright, and there's footsteps constantly echoing through the halls. I turn myself away to face the back wall. If I don’t leave they will have to come to me. Maybe no one will even come to me? That’s too hopeful. 

There’s a faint spraying sound coming from somewhere in the room. Frantically I look around. Some kind of needle looking thing came through the bottom of the camera. It seems like some kind of gas is coming through it. Adrenaline spikes through me again. I ran from the room and down the left hall. All I did was run, I didn’t pay attention to where.

I come to a stop, gasping for breath. The feeling in many parts of my body is gone. I’ve stopped thinking and have just kept moving.  The metallic screech rings out again. It causes my head to pound.

“Another poor soul down. Six remain, who will be the worthy chosen one!!” They sound way too happy.

I barely register what they say anymore. I just have to keep going. I can’t let any of it get to me until I’m out of here. If I get out of here.

Gunshots echo off the halls. The air bites at my lungs as I pant for breath. My head is pounding, but I keep walking. Heavy footsteps just barely catch my attention. Just up ahead.

I stop to look for somewhere to hide. The hallway continues for a good twenty feet but the footsteps are getting louder, closer. There’s a smaller side hallway on the left, nearly ten feet away.

Quickly, and as quiet as I could possibly manage, I make my way over to the opening. I’m hidden away enough, but I stay ready to run or shoot at any given moment. A slim, frail looking woman passes across the opening of the main hallway. She’s creeping around with a longer looking gun pointed and ready. As she passes the entrance of the hallway she points gun first to look around. I hear her exhale slowly. 

I stand frozen, waiting to hear her footsteps leave. I don’t know what I’m going to do once she’s gone. The gun in my hand feels heavier. Like my body wants me to use it. Even the thought of using it again makes my head spin. 

‘Deep breaths, and clear your head,’ I think to myself. The more I suppress, the easier it will be to just keep going. Once I’ve cleared my head and double checked the woman from before is gone, I walk out into the hallway. 

It must have been hours before I heard another announcement. Or even seen another person.  I had been weaving through halls and hiding where I could to rest. The screech ring out again. The sound of it makes me jump and send me into a panic. Who’s died now?

“Hello again my lovelies! It seems like you’re all being shy. No need for that now. Where’s the entertainment? The flair? My, my I guess I’ll have to help you all along.” 

A violent rumble rips through the building. It starts to shake beneath my feet. Chunks of the broken walls tumble off, and the moss and vines follow. Cracks start to form on the floor. 

“Oh god!” I shout. My legs try to make a run for it, but they don’t get far. 

The floor falls in and I drop through. I get caught on what remained of the floor before, but my weight makes it drop faster. I hit the ground. Pain spikes everywhere once again. My vision goes blurry, and focusing seems impossible. A huge weight drops on top of my legs and another close to my head. I can’t hear properly anymore. It’s all too much. Dark spots cloud my sight, and I’m out. 

Gunshots and yelling wake me up. They sound so far away, but once I open my eyes I know it's from damage to my hearing. It takes me a few moments to settle myself down. My sight clears along with it. I do my best to stay calm when I remember what happened. Along with the realization that this wasn’t some cruel dream all this time. 

I’m covered in dust and there’s dried blood in some spots. And my legs are pinned from fallen rock. There’s no way to get out of this alone. People around here shoot first, though it’s understandable as to why. Defending myself isn’t an option anymore. The gun I had was dropped somewhere in the fall. I accept my fate here. Laying on the ground waiting for someone to come kill me or for my body to just give up.

A dark, feminine giggle comes from above me. There’s a girl standing where it came from. 

“Looks like you’re the chosen one my dear,” the tone in her voice sends shivers down my spine. Her grin wide, and scars continue from the ends of her mouth to her ears. I didn’t have anytime to see anything else on her before I was knocked out. 

All I knew from then on was endless pain. I can’t think for myself anymore. The pain is so much so often that I only feel numb. I end up just another chosen one. Just like the girl over the speaker. Another silhouette in a robe. 

This is our prize for winning. An army of chosen, lucky soldiers. Who were all once contestants.

I clear my throat. Press the speaker for the mic connected to the loudspeaker. 

“Hello my dears. You lucky ten have been chosen to prove yourselves worthy of a spot with The Founder!” My voice strains from the chipper voice I put on. The scars burn along with my cheeks from the grin.

“I think you will all enjoy yourselves. Begin!”

The life of a winner is an absolute joy!