The Game That I Came From Novels & Stories

Before he could answer, I took my three children by the hand and walked out. Behind me, Jared was struggling against the guards holding him back. His voice grew louder and louder, shouting my name, but I ignored it. Pulling out my phone, I sent a message. [Thank you for inviting me. I’m sorry for ruining your competition.] The reply came instantly. [On the contrary. This incident gave us traffic and revenue. You’re the real queen of profit.] A huge transfer hit my account, followed by another message: [Your payment, and my gift. Nirvana is the perfect name. Congratulations on your rebirth. Can I attend your company’s launch event?] I smiled. [Mark, you’re always welcome.]

I deleted the message. The hotel room was silent. I packed, checked out, and took a cab to the airport. The terminal glass reflected my pale face, but I didn't cry. Maybe when the heart truly dies, tears stop coming. Before boarding, an unknown number sent me a message. [Eliana, Luca is looking for you. Where did you go?] I powered off my phone. As the plane lifted, Chicago's lights fell away beneath me. North Dock, Spade Casino, the lake house--all of them shrank into blurred points of light. I had finally left the game.

Zara mocked. “Tristan is way better than Liam,” Isla said. “But the goal history says otherwise,” Zara sneered. Isla became so annoyed that she could hardly contain her anger as she stormed away. “I hope he never comes back!” “He would come back and whoop your crush’s ass!” Zara shouted after her. Kiera wanted to tell her that he wasn’t going to come back, but she remained silent. As the third period of the game resumed, the players filed back in as usual while Zara gazed anxiously at the rink.

Natalie…" I walked past him and continued on my way. This time, he didn't follow. When I reached the intersection, Ivy sent me a message. "Ms. Lawson, we're playing a mystery box game at tomorrow's team-building event. Are you coming? I heard everyone's guaranteed to win a prize!" Looking at those words, I smiled and replied, "I'll be there." The next day, I drew a small card at the company team-building event. It didn't say, "Thank you for participating." Instead, it read, "Today's Lucky Winner."

I wasn't fast enough to dodge, and the glass pierced my eye. The pain brought tears rushing to my eyes, but what flowed down my face was blood. Still, he didn't stop. He sank his teeth into my hand. With all his strength, he tore away a piece of skin. "Get out!" I shoved him away as all the anger and humiliation I'd been suppressing finally exploded. He hit the floor hard, landing directly on the shattered glass beneath him. "I'm bullying your mother?" I laughed, but my tears only fell harder. "Owen, you're a bastard. You're the illegitimate child your shameless mother had with another man!"

I stayed beside her body and refused to let go. I waited two nights and two days, hoping she would somehow come back. She never did. Tears finally spilled down my face and touched her cold cheek. Then everything in my mind exploded at once. I collapsed from the pain. When I woke again, my real memories flooded back. My real name was Wayne Winters. Two years earlier, my father created a horror game modeled after me. While I was testing the game in the car, we were hit. My driver died instantly. I survived but fell into a coma.

"What Finn is trying to say is that it was just first game jitters. I'm sure we are going to get our shit together going forward, right guys?" The boys nodded, totally agreeing with him. "Oh, we better."I said, staring at each and every one of them. The thing was, I was still pissed as hell about what happened. Although we won the game but it was an absolute shit performance. We were crap from the start to finish, and I thought we were extremely lucky to get away with maximum points. We didn't deserve anything from that game. What pissed me off even more was the shit mentality of some of the guys here. Guys like Finn and his buddies who cared more about entertaining themselves than anything

Shane’s voice was steady, though his hands clenched tightly. “She looked out the window when the voice said not to. They don’t like it when you disobey.” “The what?” Shane didn’t answer her question right away. His eyes lingered on the girl with the rose blooming from her mouth, then slowly turned back to Farrah. “The ones who run this… whatever it is… they call it a game,” he said quietly. “But it’s not a game anyone wants to play.” Farrah’s hands clenched into a fist… “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

At last, my fingers flew across the screen, sending a message into the night. Staring at the white walls above me, a sudden flash of clarity swept through my mind. It was as if a weight had lifted. Born into a family like mine, with a father like him, I had always tried to save as many people as I could. What more could I expect in return? Maybe I was simply born to pay back the Chandlers.

I asked. He rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah. I have been here from the very beginning.” He turned around and started to walk away. “Tobi, wait.” He turned around to face me. “What?” He asked. “Can you give me a lift?” I didn’t want to ride a taxi or jeep because I’ll look like a fucking idiot. It’s very obvious that I just came from crying. He looked pissed but he still gave me a ride. “Thank you,” I said to him when I got out of his car.