It was past midnight and an old, deformed man was sitting alone in a hovering chair, tinkering with some string and long, metallic pieces. He was using an ancient style of knitting to make either a woolly neckcloth or the longest handkerchief in the world. The motion made him hum in peace, doing patterns and working in a tranquil environment until the atmosphere changed abruptly. A visibly tired, lanky man, with dishevelled hair, entered the room, stumbling around, trying to help his equally drunk partner to grab a seat.
He took a glimpse at them but continued to knit until the duo sat lying on the closest couch, head first into the comfy top, moaning in pain and complaining about the spinning room. The man then looked around and finally noticed the chair, then the old man-
-” Sam…Samuel, is that you? Did we really drink until the following day?”, he asked while doubting that claim.
-” Hello Robert, Alvara. No, no, no, it’s barely past midnight. I just felt more content doing some work here than at home. Do you two want the quick anti-drunk stuff or do you want the drowsing anti-hangover pills?”
-” I would like to continue drinking, so first one for me”, said the woman as she rose, with a bent back, and bleating as if she was rising from inside a coffin.
-” Ditto”, replied Robert- “ You’ll need some backup with how she is now. Alvara somehow managed to outdrink everyone at her Brand party”.
-” Tsz, party, it was more like a funeral. Well, and it was to be expecte…”, she stopped to try and keep in a stomach acid reflux- '' Whatever. Because the unemployed technically died before that weirdo, I was officially the first one to be eliminated from the race, so I’m going to drink as much as I want!”.
After the two swallowed the pills, they wobbled to the bathrooms and tried to reassure Samuel that they’d be back in 15 minutes and that he shouldn’t move anymore. The man only smirked a bit, shook his head, and mustered- “ Kids nowadays”.
During the quarter of an hour, three more people, cherry ones this time, exited the elevator with roars and loud cries, holding each other by their shoulders. In actuality though, Joni, who was in the middle, was carrying both Ellina and Zude by their shoulders, but the two were too euphoric to notice or to care. All of them were clamouring, and laughing loudly when Joni started to spin them around until he noticed Samuel, who was just waiting patiently for them to see him.
-” Oh, Sam. Sorry for the noise”, apologized to the man while accidentally dropping the two. They were still giggling like mad, and Joni tried to shush them, but Samuel waved his palm to let them be, and get it out of their system.
-” Had a good night you two?”, asked the old man.
-” You bet it! I didn’t come last place and got rid of that little pest”, answered Zude in a loud tone, close to shouting.
-” And my team is still in the competition so of course I’ve got something to celebrate about!”, added Elina.
All the ruckus made one of the pods open, letting an angry woman reprise them for their noise.
-” Shut the hell up, I’m trying to work here”. Priya had dark circles under her eyes, and it was the first time she appeared as tired as a worn-out shoe in front of everyone. Zude and Elina replied in a dazed tone:
- “ Oh shit, Priya’s overtiming it?” Before the situation could devolve even more, Samuel gave the newcomers the same choice as his first guests, with all of them choosing “more drinking please” as well.
Except for Joni, who admitted that he wasn’t at the point where he needed help yet. Priya, on the other hand, was weighing what she should do, and after a bit of pressure from both the old man and the big-jawed man, she went on a break with tons of alcohol.
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-” So is Milla also around?”, she asked.
-” No, she is…ugh…still sleeping. You know how she is, at her old age. But she is resting in one of the medical rooms.”, replied Samuel with a hidden bit of sorrowness. “ So I was bored sitting at home and I wanted to knit something where I felt more comfortable. What about you Priya?”
-” Same, honestly, but I’ve been doing some work for the Brand. You know, with me being the 4th rank CEO, I've tons of more responsibilities. And stuff.”, she said trying to imitate her usual smugness, but she didn’t come as confident.
-” In the virtual world? You know, I noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time there, even during our race viewings”, asked Joni while pouring glasses for him and her.
-” Thanks. Yes, it’s a secret project, but I’ve been working on something that will make your faces drop. But it’s not done yet, so I can’t tell anymore.”
Robert and Alvara then appeared from behind a corner, stretching and yawning as if they had just woken up from the most pleasant sleep they ever had. At first, they were surprised to see that the number of people increased but didn’t pry any further, at least not until they had some drinks in front of them. Joni entertained them with how he met with Elina and Zude by mistake while out, and the two were already plastered so they invited him to join them in their celebration.
Alvara got visibly annoyed and embarrassed that the two could be so happy with their little victory, especially since she felt like they would use it to gloat over her for an entire year.
-” Still, I think they both deserve a win once upon a leap year or so”, she added.
Speaking of the devils, the last of the unforeseen guests joined them as well, and the first thing that surprised them was to see the two figures in flesh and blood. “ Are those Robert and Alvara?”, whispered Ellina in Zude’s ear.
-” Yap. I only saw them once in their real bodies, but it’s them alright”.
The woman felt a bit embarrassed by this and shyly approached them as they were just meeting for the first time. This made everyone laugh at her childlike interaction.
-” Wait, you actually never meet us with our avatars…holy, it’s been that long?” Robert was unaware of how much had passed since he used his body and the realization made him stand up and try to do some exercise. “ Yap, stiff as a board, and everything is still in pain. Alvara?”
-” Same. My joints crack with each movement”.
The drinks were shared all around, and they each joked and talked in a circle, mostly gossiping about the managers and investors, making fun of their purchases or fashion choices, until the talks got to the subject of the race. They never brought it up until now, but each of them had some concerns about the way the current contestants were behaving.
-” We never had a united group that large until now, did we?”
-” Nope. But, Samuel, if you would have left my and Alvara’s line-up as we wanted, the Drums would have just stayed with each other”, said Robert with ire.
They all tried to shift the blame, but after a while came to the same conclusion. It all started when they brought the clone employee and the miner to the same facility.
-'' Hell, even our little watchdog is chummy with them”. Zude's little quip annoyed Joni, but he couldn’t say anything to rebuke that, but as reassurance: '' I've tasked the Commissary with guarding the control facility, just in case.``
-” So, what should we do about this?”
-” Well”, quickly intervened Priya- “ We could introduce an elimination rule at the mid-point. During my challenge.” The rest took a moment to ponder on her proposition, as until then they rarely let patients be just booted out and used a point-based system to figure out the champion.
-” I will agree, but on one condition”, replied Samuel. “ To make it fair for everyone who was removed, either the challenge will kill someone, or at the end, the one with the least points is executed. Agreed?”
Priya knew that the CEO would have added some condition of his own, but she hoped that her worst expectation wouldn’t have been met. She didn’t notice until now, but after he added his stipulation, Priya saw how both Joni and Robert were eyeing her attentively as if they were waiting to catch her. “ Are they on to me?”, she immediately thought, which put her in a tough position. But in the end, she couldn’t do anything but agree with Samuel, and after a vote, all seven agreed to the modification.
The fourth match will become a deathmatch, another novelty from the previous races.