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The game.

I peek around a corner. Another empty hallway. Great. Just what I need. Keeping low, I track across it, making for the corner of an intersection. I peek around that, scanning for threats. None seen, I traverse down that hallway, holding my crouch for fear of being sighted.

The game.

I check my map, and it shows another two rights and a left before the boiler room. I lean against a locker. Who the heck makes a school this big? I keep making my way to my current objective.

The game.

Entering in, I search the boiler room for the "on" switch. Finding it, I push it up, turning the boilers on with a massive whoosh. A roar is heard, not too far away, and I stiffen. Not good. I sacrifice stealth for speed as I get out of there as fast as possible.

The game.

Once a few hallways away, I slow down, catching my breath beside a broken water fountain. Some of the lockers here are marred with gigantic gashes in the metal, caused by something big. I shudder, and keep moving, consulting the map as I go.

Welcome to the game.

It seemed innocuous enough, being just a game. A flyer on every telephone pole, advertising "mad money" to anyone who could beat it. Eric just had to bet I wouldn't, in front of Sarah, no less. Fricking Eric. Of course I had to.

The game.

As I navigate the twsting hallways, I start to hear a click-clack of footsteps. They aren't mine. As I peek around the corner, I notice him, standing in the hallway. He walks down away from me, turning to the left. Good. I'm heading right. I don't head down the hallway at all, instead continuing down my current path, taking a longer route for sake of stealth.

The game.

The footsteps recede, and I look at my map once more. I'm headed for the electrical room next, which isn't too far. That in itself is a miracle, because this place is fricking massive. Why is it so darn big?!

Welcome to the game.

In a room filled with other people, I was adressed by a man in a suit whose face I couldn't make out, thanks to the distance. He proclaimed a sum of one hundred twelve thousand, eight hundred and twenty-four dollars would be given to the first person to beat the game. The entry fee was four dollars, he said. Eric gladly paid up.

The game.

Reaching the room, I flick the light switch. Nothing. I look at the breaker. Fried. Fricking trash! I rummage around, looking for some spare fuses. Finding some, I replace the ones that look the most busted and try the power. It slowly flickers on with a fluorescent buzz.

The game.

I peek out, and checking both ways, crouch-run down the hall. I look at the map, and turn it over to look at my objectives. Turn the boiler on. Check. Turn the power on. Check. Open the electronic locks in the Chem Lab. Okay, where's the lab? I see it's location on the map, on the very opposite edge of the school. Damn.

Welcome to the game.

He flew us all to a compound in Texas or something. We all stayed a few nights, each getting a message to participate. Mine came four nights in. I packed what little I had and went in.

The game.

Sneaking throughout the hallways, I hear a tearing of metal. I curse under my breath, and avoid it completely, taking the outskirts. As I near the corner, the lights in the halls start to flicker. It adds to my already racing heartbeat, my hyperactive mind, and my jittery nerves.

The game.

I turn a right, and see him standing there. He's a ways down, so he's a speck, but a speck that starts getting bigger nonetheless. I turn and bolt down the way I came, heart thumping in my throat. I huff and puff, cornering sharply to save precious time.

Welcome to the game.

The man in the suit told me that I would have to complete specific tasks in an arena while being chased by a person. If that person caught me, he said, I would be out and would lose my prize money. He also said something a beast. I didn't catch what it was, though, because he ushered me right into the next room.

The game.

I slide through a classroom door, barreling through without taking stock of what I see. I swing around, and go into the conjoining classroom, slipping behind the teacher's desk, out of sight. I fine-tune my ears for something, anything to tell me where he is.

The game.

I can hear him enter the first classroom. He flips desks, cackling angrily. "Come now, Abel, you can't hide from us. Oh, you can run, but even the past catches up eventually." His crazed panting only heightens my adrenaline rush.

Welcome to the game.

He wished me good luck, handed me a map, and then walked back into the first room. Before I could say anything, he locked a huge steel door behind him, so I couldn't follow back out. I was in the game.

The game.

He walks through the doorway into the second classroom. "Oh, you're hiding. What fun! A game before dinner. We love games, don't we? I guess..." he trails off as he walks towards the closet in the back of the room. "The closet!" He stabs straight through it, splintering the wood, getting his knife in through to the hilt before pulling it out and hacking wildly at it, opening a sick gash in the door.

The game.

I slip out the way I came as he rips at the compressed wood of the closet door, his screams of ecstacy reaching a fever pitch. "Come here! Come to your brother, Abel! Come to Cain!" I get out, into the hallway, and sneak away until the crashing becomes a wounded echo in the halls.

Welcome to the game.

I walked around for about a minute, until I noticed the blood. I didn't expect blood. Not from a game. No, but there was blood. About enough to fill a person. On the floor, the lockers, even little splashes on the ceiling. The lockers were smashed beyond repair.

The game.

Finding the Chem Lab, I open the door and look for the locks. I don't find lock so much as I find a safe. A giant, panic-room looking, bulletproofed, glass safe. Inside, my next objective: Grab the Door Key and escape!

The game.

I move closer. It seems to be a keypad, with a six-digit code. Where am I supposed to find the code? I scan the room. Nothing of interest, so I check the teacher's desk. A sticky note on the computer screen catches my eye. "If you forget the safe code, ask the janitor."

Welcome to the game.

I soon saw the chaser. Not so intimidating. At least not until I saw the knife. It dripped with blood, same as his red-toothed smile. His voice was like gravel in a ceramic salt-shaker. He cooed to himself as he finished licking the blood off the blade.

The game.

I peruse the map for a janitor's closet. It shows up in the middle of the building. I immediately start moving in its direction. No time to lose, not with my life at stake in this twisted game. I don't know if the footsteps I hear echoing are in my head or in real life.

The game.

I come across some chairs, all bent up and wrecked, in the middle of the hallway. Something put these here. Not someone, as these are way too random to be someone. No, these were put here by force, and excessive force at that. Deep ruts in the floor send shivers down my spine.

Welcome to the game.

He stood up, still cooing. "Another? Yes, another. And his name shall be Abel, for he will be slaughtered in cold blood. Yes, we'll like that, won't we?" He spoke to his knife like an obsessed lover, letting the light play over its features.

The game.

The janitor's closet is small and constrictive. I search the room, coming across a small black book. I open it up, and read it. After a minute, I see the safe code: 967412. Good. Now to continue to avoid everything and everyone.

The game.

On my way back to the chem lab, I hear a voracious bellow from behind me. From the clarity of the sound, I can tell it's not too many hallways behind me. Very, very scared, I pick up the pace, not wanting to become mincemeat like I'm sure others have.

Welcome to the game.

I ran. I booked it out of there, with his mad laughter following me. "Run, Abel! Run! I love a feisty meal! And when you're done, I'll have my fill of more!" I couldn't hear the rest as my fevered breathing took over my hearing.

The game.

I peek down another hallway fleetingly before crossing it in my dogged pursuit of freedom. I no time at all, my primary objective has switched from completion to survival. If there's any way I can get out alive, I will do it.

The game.

The Chem Lab is still empty, and I skirt over to the safe, entering 967412. It beeps with a green glow, and the door unlocks with a heavy ka-chak. I swing it open, and look around inside it for a key. Nothing seems to catch my eye, and I search rapidly as I hear the chaser's voice growing in the distance.

Welcome to the game.

When I calmed down, I knew I had to win the game. I couldn't get caught. I traversed the hallways, looking for a landmark to orient myself from. I eventually found a supply closet, which then helped me find where I was. I looked at my objectives, and headed for the boiler room.

The game.

I see a credit-card like object, and I grab it and turn it over in my hands. A key card! Of course! That's why I needed electricity. I speed out of the opposite door, and crouch outside it as the chaser enters the Lab. "Oh, a fast one, isn't he? Only one thing left to do."

The game.

I locate the exit on my map, and sneakily get out of earshot before rushing towards the exit. It's far away, as far as it could possibly be from the Chem Lab. All this running means more potential for failure. Failure means no me.

Welcome to the game.

I passed more blood, but this time arranged in clean streaks all down a hallway, looking like a modern-art display of brutality. I retched. This had him written all over it, the way each spray was cleanly ripped. A surgeon butcher, precise yet savage.

The game.

I hear a heavy thumping as I run. I don't want to turn and look, to see if he's following me, so I continue on. His hectic cackling reaches me, and it spurs me on even harder. I'm this close, I can't lose it now. I can't!

The game.

As hallway after nondescript hallway passes by, the thumping gets louder, along with the clatter of footfalls, both mine and his. I'm positively sure that the thumping is the beast. A blood-curdling roar confirms this, being way too close for comfort.

Welcome to the game.

I knew I shouldn't have done this. A psycho and a "beast" after me? Has to be a strong beast to cause this sort of damage, and has to be a truly insane psycho to do this sort of thing. This isn't a game at all, I told myself.

The game.

The exit comes into view. It's a simple straight sprint to the door, where I can already see the card reader. After that, I'm out. I'm free. However, I notice that the doorway, the floor, and the walls, as well as all the furniture, are strewn with blood. I shake my head and continue running.

The game.

I skid to a stop, my heart racing, as the chaser steps out of a hallway closer to the exit than I am, right in my path. He situates himself in the middle of the hallway, the thumping ever closer, overlapping with my heartbeat. He crows. "Come to your brother, Abel. Come to Cain."

The game.

I exhale lightly. "Nothing doing, chump." I blitz off to my left, down a conjoining hallway, but after a few steps, I double back and head down the right side, hoping I can juke him by making him think I'm going left. Blazing around, I hope my speed will give me enough time to get out.

The game.

As the right side of the card reader comes into view, I jump down the three stairs and land next to it. A black pillar with a sleek top, its flat surface makes an ideal scanner. I slap the card on it. I hear a voracious bellow come from the central hallway, but I dare not waste the time to look.

The game.

It beeps twice, and a red light flashes from under the translucent surface. I curse. "Come on!" I smack the card down again, and it does the same. The thumping becomes a rattle, shaking my very bones as I turn to see the source.

The game.

What must be about two tons of pure grizzly bear recklessly gallops towards me, steam and bits of spittle flying out of its mouth as it roars angrily. I take a few steps back as it approaches. No. No, no, no, this can't be happening.

The game.

To my left, Cain steps out. He chides me. "You made mama angry, kiddo. Eve's not happy." He fades back into the dark as the bear, now within striking range, rears up. As its shadow engulfs me, it raises a paw. Terrified, I can do nothing but hold up my hands and shut my eyes. As it bellows one final time, and it starts the lethal swing of its paw, I truly realize the game.

Welcome to the game,

No one gets out alive.

FIN

Inspired by: The Game- Bear Grillz & Figure