Chapter 4
I inhaled a sharp breath through my nose, and I could hear the other contestants as they gasped or screamed behind me.
Then there was that stupid, robotic voice again.
“Do not wander outside of the game’s boundaries,” it announced. “Those who violate this rule will face a penalty.”
Penalty.
Why not be more clear about the realities of everything?
Those who violate their rules will face execution.
I glanced at Sadie, who was only a few feet away from me. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing was uneven, but other than that, she held herself together pretty well.
“Are you okay?” I mouthed the words at her.
She nodded weakly.
The robotic voice continued to speak, and by then, everyone had gotten over the initial shock of the attack. We all listened tensely and silently as the voice explained the rules of the first game.
“The rules of today’s game are as follows,” the voice said. “Order something from the menu, then the females will take a seat at their own individual tables. The males will choose one of the females’ tables, and they will sit and talk until they hear the buzzer.”
Was I seriously hearing this correctly?
“When the buzzer goes off, the females will remain seated,” the voice continued. “While the males will move to the next table on their left. This pattern will continue until every male and every female has had a chance to speak.”
So… speed dating?
That couldn’t be right.
I waited to hear the catch.
“Be forewarned, the games will be recorded live and broadcasted to the audience.” the voice said. “Line up to give your order.”
What the fuck was happening? There was no way in hell that two people were killed because they didn’t want to participate in games like speed dating.
Not to mention… What the hell did the voice mean by ‘the games will be recorded and broadcasted to an audience?’
Who exactly was the audience?
The city? The aliens?
Nobody moved, and I could tell they were all as wary as I was.
“Line up to give your order,” the voice repeated.
I sighed and began to move toward the counter, where the little robot waited, but I was abruptly shoved aside.
Kyle.
I guess he hadn’t wanted to look bad by having me, once again, be the one who was brave enough to go first.
He stomped up to the counter with that stupid little grin on his face, and I let him.
I didn’t have anything to prove, and clearly he did.
I shook my head at the ridiculousness of it all.
A few of the other guys, who had quickly become Kyle’s designated cronies with the way they seemed to follow his every movement, hustled up in line behind him, which left just me, Tyler, and the women.
I waved Tyler forward, and since there didn’t appear to be any immediate threat, I stepped aside and let the women go in front of me as well.
My mom raised a gentleman.
Sadie and Parker hung back and let the other women get in line before they took their own places, with Parker directly in front of me.
“Are you alright?” I asked in an attempt to make conversation while we waited.
“You mean besides the part where we watched two strangers get murdered in less than twenty-four hours?” she half-joked.
“Yeah, besides that part,” I agreed.
She gave a low chuckle that only seemed partially genuine.
“I’m as well as I can be, I guess,” she finally said with a little shrug.
“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” Kyle complained loudly, and it pulled my attention away from our conversation.
Kyle was still standing in front of the counter, and the robot was still motionless on the other side.
He’d been so eager to be first in line, but he didn’t even know what he was doing.
Not that I knew what I was doing, either, but I felt in this case the instructions had been pretty clear.
“Uh, try ordering something?” I suggested, and though I tried, I couldn’t quite keep the sarcasm out of my tone.
Kyle shot me a glare, but then he turned back to the counter.
“Give me a triple espresso,” he demanded.
Immediately, the little robot seemed to spring to life as it busied itself making Kyle’s order. Within just a couple minutes, there was a fresh espresso steaming on the counter by the register.
Kyle grabbed his drink and stepped out of line to wait for the women to be seated.
One by one, everybody ordered their beverage of choice, and all the men stood to the side while the women sat down alone at the tables.
And then finally, it was my turn to order.
I stepped up to the counter and glanced at the menu.
I’d never been a huge coffee guy. I usually tried to just get enough sleep at night, and if that couldn’t be accomplished, then I’d typically just throw back a couple energy drinks to tide me over.
So, as I stared at the menu, I had no idea what all the different drink names meant, and I just focused on the words I did know: salted caramel, chocolate, cream.
I liked all those things. And if I was going to die in these insane games, I didn’t want my last meal to be a bitter cup of black tar.
“I’ll have a Chocolate Salted Caramel Mocha Latte, please,” I said to the little robot.
I wasn’t sure why I added in the please, the robots didn’t seem to be particularly intelligent.
Maybe I just felt better giving a request rather than a demand.
The robot immediately got to work on my drink, and I lingered by the counter.
As I waited, I glanced around the room again, and for the millionth time, I wondered where we were. The place certainly felt like a real café. There was even a half-filled tip jar next to the register--
Wait.
I leaned a bit closer to the jar.
Inside were several coins that had collected at the bottom, as well as several crumpled up bills.
But as I looked closer, I noticed something else, too.
Inside the jar, underneath the wads of cash, was something small and metallic. It wasn’t particularly large, but it wasn’t small enough to be a coin, and it was far too shiny.
I glanced around the café to ensure that nobody was watching, and then I reached inside the jar to retrieve the strange object.
I couldn’t immediately tell what it was just by looking at it, and I didn’t have much time to study it further because at that moment the robot had returned to the counter with my drink.
On an impulse, I slipped the metal piece into my pocket. I wasn’t sure what it did or what it even was, but something inside me told me to hold onto it and not to let anyone see that I had it.
I accepted my drink and moved to where the other guys were waiting. Then I studied my drink.
It certainly looked like it was safe to drink. Actually, it looked divine. The drink itself was a light, creamy, caramel color, and there was a massive pile of whipped cream on top along with a generous drizzle of chocolate.
I glanced at the other competitors, and I noticed several of the women and almost all of the men had started drinking their orders.
None of them had died from poison yet, and I didn’t see anyone acting like they were dizzy or drugged, so I supposed my order would be safe to drink.
I took a small sip.
And I was right. It tasted divine.
Why the hell hadn’t I drank coffee before?
The liquid had a thick, creamy texture to it, and the added coffee provided just the right amount of bitter to cut the sweetness from the caramel.
The salt crystals sprinkled on top added a nice touch of contrast to all the flavors, while the richness of the chocolate drizzle tied everything all together.
Damn, this was good.
I took another sip.
“What the hell are you drinking?” Kyle scoffed when he saw my order. “First, you choose the pink ring, then you order the girliest drink they have on the menu. Are your balls seriously that small?”
Kyle had said it loudly enough to draw the attention of everyone in the cafe, and I could feel eyes on me as they waited to see how I’d respond.
I let him and his two goons get a few chuckles in while I continued to casually sipped my drink.
Then I spoke up.
“First off, there’s nothing wrong with the color pink,” I said in a very matter-of-fact tone. “I have no idea where the stigma that it’s a girly color even came from in the first place, because it’s simply not true. Pink is a cool color, and any confident man would be able to admit that.”
Kyle was still smiling in amusement.
But I wasn’t done.
“Secondly, I’m not sure why you’re trying to come after my drink like that,” I continued. “You’re over there drinking what looks like hot sludge, while I’ve got something that tastes like a freaking candy bar. So, who’s the real winner here?”
Kyle opened his mouth to make a retort, but I was on a roll.
“And lastly, you boast about how much better you are at everything than I am,” I pointed out as I raised an eyebrow.
“Yet you’ve done nothing but watch me and nitpick at everything I do.
Is your life really so sad and pathetic that you have to latch onto mine?
Maybe if you focused on actually growing a pair of balls yourself, then you’d be less focused on mine. ”
Kyle was no longer smiling.
His goons were no longer laughing.
I glanced over at the other contestants, and Sadie and Parker were at their individual tables visibly struggling not to laugh.
I winked at them and took another sip of my drink.
Then I threw another casual glance at Kyle, and he was visibly red in the face.
He opened his mouth to say something and took a small step toward me, whether to yell, or punch me, I wasn’t sure, because he was interrupted by the robotic voice.
“Males, take your seat at a female’s table,” the voice ordered.
Kyle’s face twisted back into a smile again, although it was much less sincere and more forced than it’d been previously. Then he rushed to take a seat directly across from Sadie.
The prick.
He didn’t have the wit to best me in conversation, so he decided to deliver a different blow.
Sadie didn’t look particularly thrilled by his company, either, and I wondered how much time we’d get at each table.
I let the other guys take their seats first, before I finally sat down.
It didn’t really matter either way, because we’d get a chance to speak with everyone.