Mag-log inThe sound of an ambulance siren filled my ears before my body jerked awake. On instinct, my palm fell to my forehead in a tight grip as a slight headiness overwhelmed me. “Save my daughter,” I heard… That voice. Too familiar. Way too familiar. It jerked me up to my feet. “We are doing our best.” “Can’t you see it’s not enough…why does she look so crooked? Broken?” Those voices assaulted me, but looking around, I was in a dark hollow void. The hairs on my skin stood at ease like they were reacting to me being watched. “W–Who are you?” I croaked. And as if summoned, I felt the same familiar darkness my body somehow recognized latch onto my skin. A ghostly trail crawled up my neck, and I whirled around sharply. “Who’s there?” “It’s your damnation, little mortal.” I immediately clocked the voice, and my legs hurried backwards on instinct until I tripped and landed in a pool of black mist that hadn’t been there earlier. I hated that I could actually recognize this bloody murdere
The field’s riot narrowed in on my subconscious so much that I didn’t realize how many players had gone out and the few of us that remained.The school kids—only two walked out. Rick survived just at the last minute.Now it was my turn, and I was the last of everyone.“You know how to throw a punch?”I heard and didn’t even bother sparing him a glance.“Why do you care?” My tone was clipped.“I didn’t save your ass back there just to watch you get wasted,” he muttered. “Throw a punch if you have to.”My fists were tight at my side as I moved towards the raffle. The rain had subsided a moment ago. Only damp clothes clung to my skin as my bare feet soaked into bloody grass.I pressed the buttons. The balls shuffled, and one ball popped out.A small number, please. I prayed inwardly, my heart thudding as I slowly reached for the ball. The number eight glared back at me, and I felt my heart dip painfully.Number eight was at a diagonal angle. Sloppy grounds, yet close.I once played golf
Joke on us all, no one could live in the moment in a place like this.Everyone had to crave something…survival. So when black crows hovered in the air like smoke after poking out both eyeballs of the first player, beads of blood dripped into the grass and a curved blade decapitated the man yelling in anguish, I knew this wasn’t just golf.It was madness. I nearly screamed but clasped a palm over my mouth, trapping the sound as the man’s lifeless body crashed to the ground. Everyone shrieked, the atmosphere heightening with unspoken fear. “Pod ten, step forward.” Pod ten balked back as she wailed out loud. “Why me? Pod Two is meant to go next! This is unfair!” she protested but her legs still dragged out of the confines. My bleak gaze followed her, a timer ticking in my head at when the dice would roll to me. This game was cruel. It was keeping everyone on the edge, never foreshadowing who was next. The girl slammed the big red button on the raffle machine. The balls rolled fo
Boots crunched on rocky grounds, silent murmurs rolled from no one in particular as we all hiked our way through the fog in search of the game arena. The street was deserted, buildings dilapidated, the lamp posts bent and crooked, and in the air strange creatures flew, using the fog to their advantage. I clutched my arms around myself, dreading that the journey would end at all. Ahead of me, the Lucan guy and his group moved with calm agility like they’d been here long enough not to feel shaken anymore. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize we had passed through a force field. “Welcome players.” the same static voice from earlier chortled lowly. The low guttural sound of an air-raid siren, wailed through the atmosphere and everyone paused on their track. The elderly man amidst us spun around and jabbed his umbrella into what he thought was just air— until lightning flared through the arc shielding the atmosphere. A speck of light passed a paralyzing shock th
Tension strummed down my spine and my hair thrashed uselessly across my face, blinding my vision. The wind was picking up severely now and I jerked forward, almost losing my footing when the roofing of the building blew off into the sky. “Eight minutes, ten seconds gone” The static voice announced. My vision blurred for a couple of moments and my chest tightened as I stood there shaking like a leaf. Then that voice seeped into my head again. Voice all smoke and agitation. “Why aren't you moving, little mortal? Are you by chance tempting me?” “Get out of my head!” I screamed.“Then MOVE those legs. Now!” My chest tightened painfully from the harsh mannerism of his voice—it was close to a roar. A searing heat settled in my chest on the impact of his tone.“Bloody murderer!” I cried out and sprinted as fast as my legs could carry me. The voice had vanished from my head now. Relief washed over me for a couple of seconds but I guess I got too ahead of myself as my leg clashed wit
Ophelia. For a moment everyone stood back, watching as the realism of this game crashed down on us.The timer had begun ticking and looking over my shoulder at it— I saw it read nine minutes and thirty seconds. No one was moving yet and the time didn't care to pause along with us. The was a grave silence, one that mocked and dared us to make a move. The outstretched plank outside creaked softly and cold air whirled into the room.“Move boy,” a bald man stepped forward and tugged at the first guy in front whose whole body visibly shook with fright. The force of the push lunged him forward and once his feet touched the plank, it made a loud creaking sound.We all recoiled. The pressure in the air doubled over as I flattened a palm against my chest to soothe the erratic thump of my heart. The guy whimpered as he kept calm on the wood to steady himself and after a wait that seemed to drag on forever, he finally made a move. “He is moving. We should join.” One of those high school k






