Everything around me went dark. I didn’t faint or anything, all the lights had gone out. After a few seconds the roof light inside the car clicked on and the proctor now stared at me. The light shadowed his face in a way that made it seem like he was about to tell a scary story. Instead he handed me the clipboard.

“Please exit the vehicle and proceed forward.”

“I thought you said I would die if I did.”

After I took the clipboard the man turned back in his seat and stared forward once more. “You are only allowed to exit the vehicle in a garage zone. Any other time and you will be erased.”

I gripped the handle of the door and gulped. I opened it slowly expecting something to come out of the dark and drag me away, but nothing did. Opening it up further, I placed one foot out and was relieved when it hit solid ground. When I was all the way out, the door pulled itself from my grasp and slammed itself shut. The light from the car then turned off leaving me in pitch blackness. I reached for the door again, but my hand hit nothing. Taking a couple steps forward, I came into contact with nothing. The car was no longer there.

“What the hell is going on?” I yelled.

My voice echoed but there was no answer in return. With nothing else, I walked forward. I took my time walking, testing each step as if I was walking on a frozen lake that threatened to crack and send me to my death.

“Mr. Walker, will you please speed it up? I have many other appointments to keep today.” The new voice made me jump and drop the clipboard. I bent down to pick it up when the voice spoke again. “Just leave it Mr. Walker. I have a copy on my desk.” The voice sounded annoyed and out of breath. It reminded me of my mom after she came home from a long day of work.

“Who are you? Where are you?” I asked into the darkness.

“Over here Mr. Walker.” A light clicked on to my right revealing a small office set up, minus the walls. There was a wooden desk, with a lamp on one side and a potted fern on the other. Behind the desk sat a man similar to the proctor, except his polo shirt was bright red. He had a baseball cap with devil horns on it and wore the same kind of reflective sunglasses as the proctor. “Please, sit.” The man gestured to the empty chair in front of the desk.

As I sat, the man folded his hands on the desk and leaned forward. “My name is Solomon. I am in charge of briefing the Earthers who enter this realm.” Before I could ask any question, Solomon raised his hand. “I ask that you don’t interrupt me while I give you the rundown. It will make things go smoother on my end and will make sure that you are given the necessary information. Agreed?” I nodded.

“Good. Now it should be obvious that you are no longer on Earth. You are in the realm known as Nova. Think of it as another dimension outside of your own. You are here because you have agreed to give us your soul in exchange for,” Solomon looked at the paper on his desk, “your driver’s license.” He paused and then shrugged. “Well, others have been brought here for less I suppose.”

“I didn’t agree to sell you my soul,” I blurted out.

Solomon flipped the paper over and slid the one under it to me. “Is this your signature?”

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I looked at it. It was the paper that the proctor had me sign when he entered the car. “Yes, but that’s not what I thought I signed. I thought it was for the driver’s test.”

“Do you have a habit of signing contracts that you did not read?”

“No, but how did you even know about that? It was just a joke I told my mother.”

Solomon took the paper back. “Our methods do not concern you, the fact of the matter is that you signed the paper which clearly states the terms of the contract. You will receive a copy once our business is concluded.”

A thought popped into my head. “I’m under 18, and I’m not allowed to sign contracts without my mother’s express permission.”

Solomon threw his head back with laughter, almost knocking the hat off. “I just told you that we are no longer on your planet. Did you think that Earth laws applied here?” He took off the sunglasses and wiped away tears before putting them back on. “Nothing beats a good laugh. Now to explain how Nova works.”

“I thought it was called Wreckless Abandon. That’s what it said when…”

“This is why I say don’t interrupt me. Now,” Solomon paused. “Damn it, you made me lose track. Fine we’ll do this the quick way so we can move on. The realm is called Nova. There are nine floors. Complete all the floors you win. Get it. Got it. Good. Wreckless Abandon is just the name of the game itself. It makes it easy to differentiate the two when discussed. Do you understand?” I nodded again.

“Good now for the rules. Every player gets a basic vehicle to start. Each one is based on a design from their respective world and you do not get to choose what it is. Our system will give you one based on factors I don’t understand, nor do I care to. This vehicle will be everything to you. It will be your home and your lifeline. If it is destroyed, you are erased. If your entire body is placed outside of the vehicle, except in designated garage zones, you will be erased. On that note, any modifications done to your vehicle can only be done in garage zones. Do you understand this as well?”

“Yes,” I said, shaking at all the new information being shotgunned at me.

“Good. Other specialized rules will be explained when needed.” Solomon smiled. “Now. It is time. For the best part.” Solomon spoke like a game show host trying to build suspense. “Let’s see your new car.”

From the side a spotlight turned on and illuminated a frilly red curtain. From the darkness came a drum roll. Solomon joined in banging his hands on the desk. He looked at me expectantly as if wanting me to join in as well, but I just sat there and stared. Eventually the drumroll reached its crescendo, the curtains opened up and the music gave a loud da-da, all to reveal an ugly rusted out VW Beetle that looked like it had been fished out of a junkyard.

After a few moments of silence, Solomon sighed loudly. “Why do I even bother? Tooty, just tell him about the car.”

“Yes sir,” Tooty said. “Milo Walker, you are now the proud owner of a VW Beetle. It may not look like much, but throw on some paint and give it a machine gun or two and you’ve got yourself a death machine. What the basic model lacks in defenses and makes up for in speed. It even comes equipped with the ability Nitro 1. This gives you a three second burst of speed and can be used once every six hours. It also holds 14.5 gallons of gasoline, and gets almost 500 miles to the tank. Please be aware that use of the Nitro 1 ability takes up a quarter of your tank. But don’t worry, your car has already been filled, which should be more than enough to get you to the first major garage zone. Good luck.”

“I believe that concludes our business together.” Solomon stood up from his chair.

“Wait,” I said. “What happens now?”

“Get in the car and drive. Get to the first garage zone and you’ll be given instructions on how to make it off this floor. If you make it that far, we may meet again. Until that time, farewell.” Solomon clapped his hands twice and he and everything, including the desk, the chairs and lights disappeared.

With the chair gone, I fell and landed on my butt. The only thing left was the beetle which I was still somehow able to see even though the spotlight above it had disappeared. I didn’t get up right away. I sat there and thought of my mother. How she must’ve been freaking out and yelling at the poor DMV receptionist, neither of whom had any idea that I had been whisked away to another dimension. I knew that it wouldn’t take long for the police to be called, and that it wouldn’t make a lick of difference. At that moment all I could do was get up, get into that crappy car, and face whatever was waiting for me.