“Good afternoon, contestants!” was the first thing Ella heard as she opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to take in her surroundings.

The world around her was unfamiliar, more reminiscent of a virtual reality experience than the realistic environment she had shared with Cal. She found herself on a couch in a high-rise apartment, overlooking a city bathed in blue and purple hues. A television screen dominated the room, with a small computer workstation tucked in the corner.

Ella tried to move but quickly realized only her head and hand responded.

‘What the hell, why can’t I move?’ she thought, panic fluttered in her chest, but she forced herself to stay calm. She turned her gaze to the TV where an alien-like creature with pale skin and oversized beady black eyes was speaking.

“We’re thrilled to see how many of you willingly joined this year's competition,” the creature announced. “We currently stand at 1,218,998,012 contestants. A new record for simultaneous contestants in a single season and over 2,000 more than we originally planned for. Well done!”

Ella’s fingers twitched as she tried to move more, frustration mounting. The creature continued, “We plan to get you into the contest as soon as possible, but first, we need to cover a few guidelines and explain what's expected of you. For that, I’m going to pass the ball to our contest liaison.”

The screen flickered, and a youthful-looking alien with green and yellow-tinted skin appeared, her smile wide and eyes bright with enthusiasm. “Welcome, everyone! I’m kt’astsk, but you can call me by my earth name, Katie. Today, I’ll go over some basics about the playing field and a few ground rules.”

Ella strained against her immobility, her mind racing. Katie’s expressive tone filled the room. “Approximately one thousand Earth years ago, the first galactic peace treaty was signed.

We lived in harmony until the Luminari discovered civilizations like yours on the edges of our reach. The Three, as they’re known—Krull of the Draconians, Draxis of the Serpentines, and Angit of the Luminari—formed a group to explore, research, and attempt to integrate these planets. After several failed attempts, the Initiation games were created to test potential new members of our society.”

Katie’s smile widened. “This season, we’re celebrating our 20th attempt at integration with a bang! This year’s theme is a history of Earth, and we’ve broken the contest into four zones. I won’t spoil the other three, but we’re kicking off with the Great Pyramids. Get those grave-robbing shovels ready!”

Ella’s eyes widened, her curiosity piqued despite her situation. Katie continued, “We’ve pre-assigned you into groups of four. That’s 304,749,503 chances for your planet’s survival. You have to like those odds! Starting soon, you’ll be dropped into a simulation space with your group, where you’ll have 30 minutes to plan before diving in.”

Katie’s tone turned serious. “Each group must complete a unique quest before crossing the bronze gate. All surviving members must cross the gate within the allotted time, or the entire group will be eliminated. Try not to worry too much about that now, more will be explained as the session unfolds.”

The alien glanced off-screen, then back at the camera. “For now we have a few quick rules: No murdering your team members—doing so will result in immediate termination.

Also, you may not stay in a safe zone for more than one hour, or you’ll be terminated. Safe zones will be clearly marked and are completely safe from harm.”

Ella chuckled softly, remembering her time at JJ’s Diner. “Nowhere is safe,” she whispered to herself, “Not with it around.”

Katie wrapped up, “At the end of each day, you’ll have five paused hours to reach out to loved ones, eat, and rest. Use this time wisely. Our new AI, Aegis, will provide more information as the contest unfolds. Good luck out there; we’re all rooting for you to succeed.”

The room swirled around her, bright, vibrant colors covering a spectrum of light her brain couldn’t fully comprehend. Unable to stop the spinning, she closed her eyes tightly, remembering a similar dizzying sensation from her 21st birthday. After what felt like an eternity, the spinning ceased, and she cautiously opened her eyes to see where she had landed.

The apartment was gone. Instead, she found herself sitting in a small diner, its walls adorned with vintage posters and electronic displays. One side of the diner featured a row of red benches running the length of the wall, while the other side boasted a wrap-around bar with metal stools, each topped with soft red cushions. Behind the bar was a window that likely connected to the kitchen, and next to it, something caught her eye.

It was a black chalkboard with a red border, displaying the "Burger of the Day": the Judy Garlic Burger for $5.95.

‘Oh god, did he remember me?’ she thought.

Maybe the plan had failed. Why else would this room have a Judy Garland reference if Aegis hadn’t specifically put it there? Her palms grew sweaty, and her lips began to tremble.

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As if out of thin air, another person suddenly appeared in the room with her. A white male with bushy, unkempt brown hair and a beard sat in the booth opposite her. She studied his movements, trying to determine if he was real. She racked her brain, trying to recall any shows or movies with this diner scene and his character, but she drew a blank.

At first, she thought he might be a chubbier version of Leonard from The Big Bang Theory with his nerdy Wolverine shirt and jean jacket. However, she dismissed the idea quickly. The other characters, like Ron Swanson, were exact replicas of their television counterparts. No, this man must be real.

‘He had to be one of my teammates.’, she concluded. ‘He doesn’t look all that athletic, but I guess having a big tall guy on the team can’t hurt.’

Before she had a chance to reach out, two more people appeared in the remaining space in her booth.

A young Hispanic man with a strikingly chiseled jawline and well-groomed features sat across from her. He looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, and his athletic build suggested he could be a valuable asset.

The other was a black woman who appeared slightly older than Ella. She was skinny, almost malnourished-looking, and the dark circles under her eyes spoke of a long period of sleepless nights, well before today.

Ella opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She watched as in her vision a large mute symbol popped up.

Aegis spoke up, “Welcome team! We combined everyone's social media and dating profiles and you four have been carefully selected to compete due to your high compatibility! You’ll need to work together in stage one, you’ll have 30 minutes to do quick introductions and then I’ll drop you in. Time starts now!”

Ella watched as the symbol in her vision dropped, voices of her team becoming audible. The larger man who resembled a chubbier Leonard spoke up first. “Why are we in a realistic Bob's Burgers recreation? Whoa, look at this detail! They even have the gum under the table! I would love to talk with the guy who made it.”

“Of course! Bob’s Burgers, I can’t believe I missed that,” Ella replied to herself out loud.

“Uh, Bob's Burgers? What is that, some game show?” the younger man spoke up, his tone skeptical.

“Bro, how have you not heard of Bob's Burgers before?” the larger man replied, his frustration showing.

The younger man sat up tall, lifting his shirt to reveal his abs. “Sorry, some of us don’t really have time to sit around watching TV all day.”

Ella found herself staring at the man's abs for a few seconds longer than she originally intended. She couldn’t imagine a world where she would choose to work out over watching television; it was her life. That said, she couldn’t argue with his results. In a competition like this, she was certainly happy to have him on their side.

“Not to change the topic,” Ella spoke up, looking at the clock on the wall, “but we only have 28 minutes to form a plan. Maybe we should start with introductions. I’ll start: my name is Ella, and I’m from Kansas City.” She pointed toward the woman across from her. “How about you?”

The woman didn’t reply, instead staring straight ahead, a look of fear and confusion stuck on her face. Ella could see her hands trembling slightly, a sign of the inner turmoil she was experiencing. The bearded man with glasses cleared his throat, an attempt to quell the awkward silence.

“I’ll go. My name is Cass, after the constellation Cassiopeia,” Cass started, pushing the rim of his glasses up to sit firmly on his nose. “My mother was an astrologist. Oh, and I’m from Toronto. Go Blue Jays!”

The younger man spoke next. “José, from Mexico. Guadalajara specifically. Do you all speak Spanish?” he asked curiously.

“No, I do not,” replied Cass.

“Then how do you understand me?” José asked, puzzled.

“The room we are in must be translating for us,” Ella said.

José chuckled, a smirk creeping up his face. “Well, your Spanish suits you well. You sound very pretty speaking it,” he said, looking directly into Ella’s eyes.

She blushed, pulling her hair back slowly behind her ear before remembering the situation they were in and tensing back up.

“Anyways, nice to meet you, Cass and José.” She looked over at the woman who still seemed lost in some terrible thought. “I’ll give her a moment,” she thought to herself. She tried to imagine how she’d have reacted without the early introduction from Cal. Probably not much different from her, to be honest with herself.

Cass replied, “Nice to meet you too. So does anyone know exactly what’s going on?”

The woman finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “Nicky, I’m from Oregon.” She seemed to be shaking off the remnants of a trance, her eyes still distantly staring off into the distance. It was as if she was recreating some scene over and over in her head, the trauma fresh and raw.

“Nice to meet you, Nicky. Are you alright?” Ella asked gently, her voice softening.

Nicky visibly collected herself, taking a deep breath and straightening her posture. “Yeah, I’m sorry everyone. I was just in shock. I think I’m alright now.”

“Of course we’re not alright,” José said, his voice rising in agitation. “They plan to kill us!”

“Shh. I’m not asking you,” Ella hushed him, her tone firm but understanding.

Nicky nodded, her eyes now focused and determined. “Thank you, Ella. I appreciate it. I’m just... processing everything. It’s a lot to take in.”

Ella reached out, placing a comforting hand on Nicky’s arm. “We’ll get through this together. We just need to stick together and come up with a plan.”

Nicky took another deep breath, visibly calming herself. “You’re right. I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

Ella felt a surge of relief seeing Nicky regain her composure. She glanced at the clock again. “Alright, we have 15 minutes left. Let’s figure out what we need to do and how we’re going to survive this.”