I woke up to a biting cold wind whistling around me. Dressed in cold weather gear I don't remember putting on, with a pounding headache I opened my eyes. I was surrounded by snow, and in the distance what looked to be some sort of building, a cabin maybe. Trying to remember how I got here only made the pain more prominent. Had I been drugged? I remembered going to grab a drink at McCaffery's down the road, but after that... Another stab of pain. Ugh, maybe later it will be easier. Right now I need to deal with the fact the bundles of clothing I have on aren't doing it for this weather, it has to be way below freezing out. The cabin looks like a viable option, they probably have a fireplace of some kind, and the walls will keep the wind out at the very least.

Trudging through the knee-deep snow is no picnic, but I start making my way towards the building. As I get closer, it seems like I was right on the fireplace; there looks to be smoke coming from the building. Maybe I can get some answers on where I am from whoever is living here. Walking in, I notice a gathering of three people around a tall redheaded woman who looks to be talking animatedly with them. Another figure stands behind her, wearing a dark cloak, but I can't make out their face. The cloaked figure stands so still you'd think she was a mannequin, and, with how little attention the others are paying to her, that may not be the worst guess.

"Great, looks like another person showed up." the woman said, looking up from the group as the door opens. "Any idea on why we are here? It's been the same story from everyone who walked in so far, no memory of what happened before waking up outside within visual distance of the cabin." She looked desperate for any sort of answer that seemed plausible.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. Any time I try to recall anything after I left home the pain in my head starts flaring up." Looking around the small room, I saw 6 other people aside from the speaker and the hooded figure made up the group in front of me. Three looked to be listening intently at our conversation, 2 men and a woman. These were the ones that had been in the initial group I had noticed walking in. Another was seated in a wooden rocking chair next to the fireplace but appeared more interested in filing her nails than figuring out our location. A burly man, possibly a bodybuilder or former soldier, looked out the singular window of the cabin into the fields of snow. Wandering over to him, I waved a hand in front of his face without any sort of response aside from blinking. The man was near comatose. Finally; in the corner a scrawny man crouched, muttering to himself while rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. He looked the worst off of everyone, dirty and dressed in rags that seemed barely appropriate for the weather. I turned back to the woman, who had been giving me the time to assess where I was before continuing, likely trying to figure out if I was going to break down like the other two.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Well, might as well introduce yourself, seeing as we all seem to be stuck here either until we can figure out how to call for help or find out where we are," the woman said. "There's a radio over there but it doesn't seem to have any sort of signal. And with the snow falling like it currently is, I don't fancy our chances of going much farther than a couple of miles before we start having issues"

"I'm Noah, Noah Landry," I said.

The woman introduces herself as Allison and then goes down the rest of the group. "Those three over there are Greg, Dave, and Emma" indicating the three who had been listening closely. Greg and Dave looked as if they could be siblings, and Emma was cute in a girl next door kind of way. All of them seemed to be around 20-30ish. Allison then indicated the aloof woman and introduced her as Luna. She looked familiar, but I didn't recognize her, although Allison appeared to know her. The other two no one had gotten names from. Wandering back over to the crouched man, I was determined to try and get something out of him. As I approached I could make out some of his mutterings.

"The words, why are they appearing? Am I being punished for my sins? A devil's trick... it must be. It has to be. No god would ask this of me."

This is a man who is not okay, and while it wouldn't be smart of me to mess with him, I can't just leave him without doing something. I crouch down nearby and put my hand on his shoulder. He starts and turns to look at me with panic in his eyes. "Are you also seeing the words?" he asks me hopefully. Lying to him might be worse than the truth here. I shook my head, and he sighed. "Just me then. I must be going crazy. Devils are speaking to me in my mind. Oh, I wish it would just stop. I would do anything to make it stop." I back away, far more concerned about his current state than I had been. Looking closer at him, he's far from his prime, and seemingly more than a little crazy, but if it came down to it I don't think he would pose that much of a threat without a weapon. Even so, I considered bringing up the possibility of sending him into the snow for our safety to the group.

"It appears a user's UI has updated before it should have" A slightly robotic voice comes from directly behind me. I turn around and it's coming from the hooded figure. They stood so still while we were making introductions that I had almost forgotten about them. Looking under the hood reveals no face, just a blank glossy gray sheen where a person's features would be. "I suppose now is as good a time as any to begin the explanation. Do not worry, you have become a part of The Games."