The smell of old grease still stunk up the house, but I didn’t have time to open windows less I forget to shut it closed. Everything had to be in order for when the agent came to my home to sell it, though the cash would never be fully spent. A dusty relic of the remnants of my life, if one’s and zero’s on a computer screen could be considered either, as it would never be spent if all went as planned. A quarter until two. Some time to still prepare, and the remnants of my bacon sandwich would be abandoned on the counter as I carried my feet across the kitchen.

It was a final glance at home. I’d spent a good chunk of my life here, and everything was so painfully nostalgic. The brown paneling of some tacky, tasteless, interior designers feeble attempt to cut costs, and maximize profits; the carpet that connected to it, still covered in the faintest fades of stains, where maybe I’d spilled grape juice one morning or the cat had an accident, as he was prone to do with a weak bladder. I almost felt a pang in my heart if that were the case - the cat, Greggory, was the first to go. Giving him away was one of the toughest things I had ever done, but I couldn’t well leave him in the house - even if I weren’t selling it, nobody would take care of him.

If someone were to shampoo that carpet, proof that we lived here would go with it - a little erasure that made that bitter pit in my stomach grow.

The rest of the house was in a similar condition, though most things had been packed up now. It was all worn with age and little streaks of our existence. Holes in the wall, more stains, a yellowing mark on the ceiling above the plastic wrapped couch where my mother once smoked, and more odds and ends like it. Square markings and tiny holes where pictures once lay made themselves known across the walls, now placed into boxes below their once home, had been my mothers collection; before the divorce, she took all sorts of pictures.

After, and especially once she got sick, there were less.

Stopping the dark thoughts before they claimed me and clouded the rest of my day, a throb in my left hand made someones arrival clear. The three black marks that writhed beneath the flesh acted as a good warning sign, but the slam of the car door outside made me all the more aware. A leather jacket, discarded onto the empty floor, caught my attention; I considered leaving it, but the snow outside made me think twice, and I swooped to grab it on passing as I made my way to the front door.

Before the knock even came, I opened it up. “You’re late.” I lied through my teeth, staring at the figure adorned in white. In some mockery of a suit, and a scientists lab coat, stood a familiar face. He was the same age as me, though taller by an entire foot - acne all but cleared, with only the faintest scars remaining. Black hair tossed by the snow, and brown skin and eyes being the only color that he was allowed, I reflected on days in school where he had been so much different, so much shorter. The year had done his body more good than it had done mine, and I imagined his bank account reaped even more rewards.

“Hannah, you look good - could use a hair cut, but good. You have everything situated?” Abe spoke up through the sharp wind, and it reminded me to pull on my jacket. Abraham had been a good friend of mine from school, something of extended family - when we were eight years old he would visit every day, and that remained up until last year when he received his first, and likely last, job at the facility.

The facility called to all youth that had dreams of grandeur, and it called to me all the same - though instead of the gallon of blood it had taken from Abe, it was asking a pound of flesh from me. The mark on my hand throbbed again, as if to remind me. “Don’t try to flatter me, come on - I appreciate this, by the way Abe. Taking the bus would drive me crazy…. You sure you won’t get in trouble? Thought you were supposed to be impartial.” I muttered as a gust cut into my clothing, piercing through with heedless abandon.

“I will, but it’s peak season y’know? They need all of the help they can get. The number of people participating in area’s like this are high, and the number of people that would rather sit at home and watch are even higher. I’ll be scolded for favoritism, be barred from seeing you again, but it’s the least I can do; not like I would be seeing much of you anyways, hm?” Abraham chuckled, and the voice so much deeper than mine was quickly more apparent. Where I aged one year, it was like he had aged five; likely the facilities doing, no doubt. Hannah, still in her teens, and Abraham, the youngest adult.

I smirked at the thought and joined his side, only stopping to turn and shut the door behind me. No point in locking it, I thought, knowing that I’d never return. The movers would take the boxes, the agent would sell the house, they’d get their cut, and the rest would sit in my bank account to slowly deplete from the storage units auto-pay. If I were gone ten years, and I miraculously returned, I’d be rich anyways; and if I didn’t return then nobody would care if the stuff was sent to the dump. A perfect solution for a problem I didn’t care to tackle more thoroughly.

“How’s it looking?” I asked to probe for information. Abraham couldn’t give me much, but he’d give me what I wanted, and together we walked to the car. It was long, sleek, hovering suspended off the ground by three round glowing blue orbs, two in the back and one in the front. First class tickets, compared to the masses that were piling up at bus stops now.

“You’re in the last group, Zeta-Forty-Seven. Most have arrived now, so you’ll be among the stragglers- your housing is set up to a close approximation of your standards. Unfortunately it’s a bit out of the training facility, so you’re in the danger zone. Are you sure you don’t want to just stay in the dorms? It’d be safer.” Abraham prattled on his concerns, and even opened the door for me - sliding it back so I could climb into the white leather-like interior, onto a cushioned seat far too soft for my liking. When the door closed, Abe joined on the other side - the ‘drivers’ seat, even if he didn’t need to drive.

“I’ll be fine. If there’s any trouble I’ll just run into the safe zone.” I muttered the response as I leaned back into the seat, pressing a button on the arm rest to removed the black tint on my window. In a foreign, harsh sounding, language Abe would get the car to vibrate to life; virtually silent, and instantly gliding along the road.

“I just worry about you. They say this one’s gonna be bloody…. A few sacred seals have already been found scattered across the country. Rumor has it there’s one in your city.” He responded with a press of a button, and two bottles of water were dispensed from the central console.

“Well then I have a protector don’t I? A hero that will fight off the baddies and save little old me.” I replied, thick with sarcasm.

“I wonder. He could try to get rid of the competition, before holier than thou restrictions start limiting his power plays.” Abe fired back, after sipping from his water and I could only offer back a grunt.

The town rushed past in a blur, and I wagered we were hitting upwards of two-hundred miles an hour after a few minutes of travel. No cars filled the roads, all evenly parked; barred from driving on this day, our district enforced to stay home due to the traveling participants. In the blurs I could see old things I’d miss - Alabaster high, the bright standing central building of the three, built in brick that seemed so pristine and red that it could have been built yesterday, yet it’d been standing for six-hundred years, if not more if I had my math wrong, a place I’d almost miss if it weren’t for the stern teachers that lectured me from coming into classes late.

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Down the road, the forge that I worked at on days I could afford to miss classes - my hands were still calloused in places, even if it had closed for the entirety of winter, such places barred from running during the pre-season. Employee’s got paid, bosses got paid, the factory raking in money from the government and then some to sponsor participants, and it left everyone happy except for those who died for it.

Would I be sponsored by them? Probably. Me and the boss didn’t much get along, Mr. Hendrick being a fat slug of a man who liked us workers to over-achieve on things that weren’t necessary. We didn’t much get along, but he at least understood my circumstances, and allowed me to work for what was unfortunately minimum wage. Still, despite our lack of relationship, I knew he’d be on television if I did well; we were likely best friends, he’d say. The daughter he never had. It made my stomach turn, but at least I’d receive some allowances for having even a single sponsor, and that was more than I could say for the rest; and pass the rest we did.

A bus stop, full of crowds. There had to be at least thirty-thousand crowding the building, the parking lot, the side walks, and the city around the bus stop; though they knew better than to get in the road. It was a relief that I didn’t have to be among them, fighting for a good seat or even to get onto the bus; I’d have to thank Abe with some kind of gift later, if I got the chance. As we passed the crowds, ugly glances were thrown our way; and I smirked at that much, bemused at their anger. Sucks to suck, idiots - that’s what I thought, despite knowing I pulled the lucky straw in who I knew.

“Got a game plan?” Abe cut the silence by speaking up, not taking his eyes off the road despite his minimal control over the vehicle.

“Not particularly. We have a year- I have a year. I figure I’ll take broad scope magical applications, learn some tricks to survive.” I responded, mulling it over.

“You’ll likely rank very low among the contestants. You’d do good to at least make a name for yourself, maybe find a few sponsors- could open up a store, once you leave this world? Old fucks love watching the day to day life of a clerk, and their zany misadventures.” Abe said, and the sarcasm was enough to make me snort.

“No, I’m not very zany. I’m not looking for adventure, but just to survive- I don’t harbor any dreams of winning, but I’ll run out the clock if I can.” I said, and the grim reality set in once again.

The car ride was mostly silent, but Abe would occasionally offer conversation and snacks- it was a three hour ride, even moving twice as fast as the shuttle buses. I was thankful at least when the drone of the car and the pedals of snow eventually brought me to doze, and enter a restless sleep for the duration of our trip.

----------------------------------------

“Come on, we’re here.” An elbow startled me from sleep. Abraham had been kind enough to shut the hell up as I napped, but not kind enough to wake me gently. Through grog and grunts, I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and flinched at the scene we were approaching.

Nearly an army awaited us, thousands of people of all ethnicity. White like me, Indian like Abe, and all things in between or around. Some people had colorful hair, nobles or families of prestige; blue typically indicated the family line was of some sort of mechanical magic, working with machines. Red meant they were warriors, who fought for sport and entertainment; I was relieved to see there were few of those in the immediate backing of the crowd, though taller than most figures stood out with their blazing hues of amber and scarlet.

The crowd was mostly facing towards one direction, some still shuffling off of the buses in which there were many - too many in fact, with a seemingly endless supply of people flowing out. Magics that expanded the interior of a set vessel were the most common, and I assumed even the car we road in had such an enchant; though we never graced the back seats, and the windows were tinted too dark to have been able to tell on a glance back.

Even in our approach, and parking in a faculty location out in the lot, no eyes turned our way. Instead all were focused ahead - at the entrance of a walled city that would be my new home, and training grounds, for the next year. Massive domed walls made of tinted blue glass, not exactly glass as in windows but instead a magical field to keep things out and people in, shrouding the massive white pillars of sky scrapers and an excess of buildings. Neighborhoods that expanded from the entrance out into the city, an urban hell scape that all convened at the massive dome-like structure in the center. From the dome a spiderweb network of long hallways would span out, as I’ve seen before- studying the architecture when I was young, a way of traveling from various points through-out the city, into the center.

The central building made up the center twenty-percent of the city. The rest of it could almost pass as a normal city. Population? Probably a million, maybe two, if I had to guess- the crowd outside was large, but not that large, meaning most were inside.

Abe did say I would be one of the last to arrive.

“Use this pass, you can skip most of the line - a last gift from me. I uh- y’know.” Abe stumbled on his words, and I got the meaning clear. As I pushed the button to slide my door open, I reached over and caught him in a one arm hug; and he returned it, the two of us misty eyed at the departure. I’d possibly never see him again; not before the game, and certainly not after, so it was a sentimental parting. He’d been my best friend for so long, and now he was sending me off to die.

“Thanks Abe.”

“Yeah, just- don’t die before the game starts. Don’t pick fights. If you’re asked for an interview, be respectful. All of this is to say: please survive, Hannah. You can do this.” Abraham’s voice cracked, and I didn’t have more to say - I took the pass from his hand as we separated, black with golden circuits of runes running along it, and I climbed out of the car.

He didn’t follow. My heart beat loudly as I moved amongst the crowd, avoiding bumping anyone and avoiding the large orbs that flew over head - camera’s that scanned each contestant, already live screening our arrival across the entire world, an opening ceremony of sorts for everyone to size up the young blood, though viewer-ship would only be just getting started. The ceasefire lasted three days after our arrival, and everyone had settled in- a time to make allies, a time to prepare, a time to see the competition, and a time to set up everything about us. Streams dedicated to our every activity, sans bathroom breaks and our sexual endeavors, if we so choose to sign a privacy clause- information about us, stat layouts and break downs on our abilities.

That was the nature of the game. A massive, global competition spanning tens of millions of participants. The city here was fabricated for us, to train in and prepare, to build up hype for the main event; it was a year long build up of an advertising hell-hole, where candidates popularity would give them minor boons, and interviews would be conducted nearly twenty-four seven on the top level of contestants. People would die here, too - murder was allowed, though heroes and vigilantes would band together to try to keep the streets clean, and boost their fame.

It was comparatively tame compared to when the game truly begun, after a year of hyping it up. Every surviving contestant would leave this world, together, into one as fabricated as the city - where it was a fight for survival, broadcast nationwide as before. Children would grow up watching their heroes take on Dragon’s, Black Market smut dealers would thrive on rapists and torturers, adult channels would find more sexually driven stars to focus on, and real world sporting events would be canceled in favor of wars and large battles, where old men would bet on young heroes who were in for their lives.

Last game, a grand total of one person survived.

The highest number to ever survive was three thousand.

This is why our world is so peaceful, a Devil made the rules and we followed - we enjoyed it, basked in it, as it commercialized strife and suffering. I smirked at that very thought, as my footsteps carried me through the crowd in my dissociative state, my coming to terms with my fate. We had no choice but to join - the mark on my hand said as much. Those who tried to run were simply imprisoned in the lead up to the game, wasting their year of grace period.

It wasn’t all bad however, putting aside the one in a million chance of survival. Those who survived the new world, made it to the end, escaped with their lives and were declared winners got the greatest gift of all: any wish they so wanted granted, with no limits. Riches and glory, immortality and the perfect life of one of the worlds greatest celebrities.

I harbored little hope of winning, but I did harbor hope. If she could hold on, for just a little longer, I would cure my mother - I would not let her sickness take her, that was my vow. If I died before then?

Well, I tried my best Mom. Love you.