CHAPTER 3

I waited for the pain. Waited for the bullet to pierce through me. Waited to die.

But nothing happened; instead, I heard a gunshot, followed by a loud thud.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. The doll wasn't staring at us with those empty black holes.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. We were alive. Somehow, we were still alive.

"GREEN LIGHT."

I didn't waste a second. I jumped forward and slammed my hand against the red door. The metal was cold and solid under my palm. Damien's hand hit it at the exact same moment.

We were both safe.

The door swung open on its own, and I stumbled through, my legs shaking so badly I almost fell. Other people were streaming in behind us, all gasping and crying.

I collapsed against the wall and looked back through the doorway. Hundreds of people were still out there, some were still frozen, while others were trying to reach safety.

A timer appeared on the screen above the doll: 30 seconds remaining.

"Run!" someone screamed from inside. "Just run!"

Some people did. They broke formation and sprinted for the door, but the doll's head whipped around.

"RED LIGHT."

Shots fired everywhere. The runners fell like trees. More screams. More death.

"Time's up!" the cheerful voice announced. "Congratulations to our survivors!"

I immediately saw red lasers sweep across everyone who hadn't made it through the door, and the door slammed shut, blocking out the view. But I could still hear it. The sound of bodies hitting the ground. The wet, horrible sound of fear.

I pressed my hands over my ears, but it didn't help.

"Follow the green lights to your dormitory," the voice said. "You have two hours to rest before the evening announcement."

Green lights appeared on the floor, creating a path. The survivors, maybe a thousand of us or more, followed like zombies. Nobody talked. Nobody cried. We were all in shock to do any of those.

The path led us through long corridors and finally into a massive room. It reminded me of a prison cafeteria mixed with a homeless shelter. Rows and rows of bunk beds lined the walls. Vending machines stood in corners. Bathroom doors were marked clearly.

And in the center of one wall was that giant screen, now showing only the survivors' faces in a grid. Each face had a number and the word ALIVE in green letters.

I found my square. Number 0007. My face looked pale and scared.

I claimed the first empty bottom bunk I saw and sat down. My whole body was shaking. I couldn't stop seeing it. The lasers. The blood. Thousands of people dead.

"Here."

I looked up. A woman, maybe in her forties was holding out a water bottle. She had kind eyes and wore the same orange jumpsuit as everyone else. Her number was 0156.

"Thank you," I whispered, taking the water.

"First time seeing death?" she asked gently.

I nodded. "That many deaths, yes. All at once."

"Me too." She sat on the bunk next to mine. "I'm Sarah. I was a teacher before... before this."

"Maya. I was..." What was I before? A wife? An ex-wife? A woman with a broken heart? "I was nothing important."

"Everyone is important," Sarah said. "Even here."

A shadow fell over us. I looked up to see Damien standing there, his orange jumpsuit still somehow looking neat despite everything. How did he manage that?

"Maya, we need to talk," he said.

"Not now, Damien."

"Yes, now. We almost died back there because we were talking. We need to set rules if we're going to survive this."

Sarah looked between us. "You two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," I said.

"We were married," Damien said at the same time.

Sarah's eyebrows went up. "Were?"

"Divorced. Two weeks ago." I took a long drink of water. "And I'd like to keep it that way."

Damien sat on the bunk across from mine without asking. "Look, I know you hate me. You have every right to. But like it or not, we're both here. And we both need to survive. So let's make a deal. We work together during the games. We watch each other's backs. And when we're not playing, we stay away from each other."

I wanted to say no. Wanted to tell him to find someone else to partner with. But he was right. We had a better chance together than apart.

"Fine," I said. "But only during games. The rest of the time, you don't exist to me."

"Deal."

More people were settling into bunks around us. Some were crying quietly. Others just sat staring at nothing. A few were already at the vending machines, getting food.

I noticed a young woman with bright red hair sitting alone on a bunk near the wall. She was rocking back and forth, her arms wrapped around herself. Her number was 2847.

"That girl doesn't look good," Sarah whispered.

The red-haired girl suddenly stood up and started walking toward the exit we'd come through. One of the masked guards stepped in front of her, and I saw a laser flash at her back.

"I want to leave," the girl said loudly. "I don't want to play anymore. Let me out."

"There is no leaving," the guard said in that robotic voice.

"I don't care! I want out! I didn't ask for this!" She tried to push past the guard.

The guard raised his glowing baton.

"Wait!" I started to stand up, but Damien grabbed my arm.

"Don't," he said quietly. "There's nothing you can do."

The guard touched the baton to the girl's shoulder. Blue electricity crackled. The girl screamed and fell to the ground, shaking vigorously. After a few seconds, the guard pulled the baton away.

"Attempting to leave results in severe punishment," the guard said. "Next attempt results in elimination. Return to your bunk."

The red-haired girl crawled back to her bunk, sobbing. Nobody moved to help her. We were all too scared.

"This is insane," Sarah whispered. "We're prisoners here."

"We're dead here," a man's voice said. I turned to see an older man with gray hair sitting on the bunk next to Damien's. His number was 0892. "The voice said we all died, remember? This is hell. Or purgatory. Or something worse."

"Don't say that," Sarah said. "We can survive this. We can win and go home."

"Home to what?" the older man asked. "If we're dead in our world, what's left to go home to?"

Nobody had an answer for that.

A loud buzzer rang through the dormitory, causing everyone, including tough Damien, to jump, looking around nervously.