Chapter 5 #3
He didn’t even have a chance to connect, because within a second, I was on my feet and the arm Kyle had aimed in my direction was in my grasp. I held tight and twisted his arm so it was now forced up behind him, and then I shoved him forward so he was pressed over the back of the sofa.
Kyle was almost exactly my size, and I knew he was a strong dude who could hold his own against me, but my retaliation had taken him by surprise.
Kyle’s comrades didn’t attempt to stop me. I thought it might be because they were just as stunned as Kyle was, and Tyler merely watched with amusement. I knew he’d been hoping Kyle would receive some sort of consequences, and he was finally getting it.
I leaned close to Kyle’s ear and practically growled my warning at him, and I made sure my voice was loud enough that the other guys could hear, too.
“If you ever touch me again, or if you ever say anything disrespectful about any of the women again, I’ll break this arm.”
I already had his arm locked into a death grip, but I gave it an even harder squeeze so he’d fully grasp the message.
“Do you understand?” I asked.
At first, Kyle said nothing, and he grunted in anger as he finally processed what was going on and began to struggle against me. Unfortunately for him, I’d gotten him into a pretty awkward position, so it’d be near impossible for him to break free now.
He still hadn’t answered as he continued to grunt and struggle against me.
Damn, he was strong.
Even at the weird angle, I could feel the force behind his resistance.
“Do. You. Understand?” I said each word slowly and enunciated each one.
“Ugh-- y-yes,” he finally grunted, and his struggling stopped. “Fine.”
I released him and took a couple steps back.
Kyle straightened up, and he remained still for a moment while he calmed down and caught his breath. He rubbed at the arm I had restrained as he glared at me, and his face was all red.
Though, I wasn’t sure if that was a product of the position I’d placed him in, or more due to embarrassment.
It was probably a bit of both.
For a second, he looked like he was going to attempt to hit me again, and I readied myself to take the blow, but just then, the women began to wander in.
Annabelle was the first one to approach, and she paused in the hallway’s entrance when she noticed our stances.
“Um, is everything okay in here?” she asked, though her tone implied that she didn’t actually care.
I glanced at Kyle, and he looked like he was still debating assault.
I gave him a look and tried to convey a specific message in my expression.
Do you really want to continue our fight and risk me beating you again in front of the women?
He got the message, and he backed down.
But he didn’t look particularly happy about it.
I reclaimed my spot on the sofa, and Kyle and his group moved back to their spot across the room.
Pretty soon, the rest of the women came filtering in, and they all made their plates and sat down.
Annabelle and Clarisse chose seats near Kyle, Martin, and Zade, while Claire, Sadie, and Parker all picked spots near me and Tyler.
Tyler and I made polite conversation with the women while they ate, and I couldn’t help but notice Tyler seemed to pay particular interest in Claire, and she seemed to really enjoy his attention.
I secretly hoped they’d match up, they’d make a good pair.
If the match thing was even real. It was barely day two, and I still had yet to see an actual match happen.
And what happened when a match was finally made? Did those contestants win the game? And what happened to the losers?
The voice had made it sound like we had to do a bunch of things and earn points first, but I wasn’t sure how we did that exactly.
The women finished their meals, and as soon as they’d set their plates down, the disembodied voice made an announcement.
“The second round will begin in ten minutes,” it said. “Please return to your rooms to get ready.”
This time, none of us hesitated as we all stood up and returned to our bedrooms. Similar to the day before, when I entered my room, I found a fresh stack of clothing neatly folded on my bed.
I examined the items, and this time I was surprised to find a loose white t-shirt and what looked like a pair of powder-blue swim trunks.
Along with the two clothing pieces, there was also a pair of sandals, a pair of goggles, and a large, blue beach towel.
Were we going to a swimming pool?
Immediately, my brain envisioned aggressive sharks swimming around a water park like something straight out of a bad horror film.
I didn’t have much time to think about the gruesome possibilities, though, and I quickly shucked my bodysuit off and pulled the t-shirt and swim trunks on. Then I slipped the sandals on and grabbed the goggles and towel before I exited my room again.
Regardless of where we were going, I wasn’t too thrilled about the sandals. I didn’t like the idea of wearing anything that I couldn’t easily run in. Especially when I didn’t know what was coming.
I moved down the hall and into the lounge room, and I could already see that the wall leading to the transporter pad was open.
I stood just outside the room while I waited for the others to arrive. Soon after, Tyler joined me, then Martin, then Claire, and then pretty soon we were all positioned outside the room.
“Please step onto the transporter pad,” the announcer said.
We all stepped onto the huge metal plate, and immediately I could feel my body begin to hum and vibrate again.
I closed my eyes before the blue light could flash, though I could still tell when it happened when an excessive amount of light filtered through the skin of my eyelids.
Still, I wasn’t blinded this time.
Even though I knew the flash was over, I didn’t open my eyes again until the humming in my body fully stopped.
Then I took in my surroundings.
Even without being blinded, it took me a moment to process my surroundings. We appeared to be on a beach somewhere.
Where the hell were we? We didn’t have any beaches near the city, and this certainly didn’t look like any beach I’d ever seen before. It was too peaceful and too clean.
The blue-gray waves crashed on the shoreline and retreated, and it continued this motion in a steady and calm rhythm.
I could feel the soft, grayish-brown sand beneath my feet, and I both saw and heard the seagulls flying around in the distance.
I glanced up, and the sun was shining up above, without a single cloud in the sky. It looked like the perfect day.
Just like at the café yesterday, there weren’t any people around besides our group, though the beach looked like it had been set up to accommodate a crowd.
There was a huge volleyball net set up a few yards away from where we got transported in, as well as beach towels and umbrellas spread out across the sand for shade.
There also appeared to be a pile of… stuff, set up not too far from the makeshift volleyball court. Among the things in the pile, I could see sunscreen, suntan lotion, a few volleyballs, a sifter for looking for shells, and even a bucket and shovels for building sand castles.
The beach was devoid of any buildings save for two: a small Tiki bar and a slightly bigger building in the distance that looked like it might be the shower and restroom area.
It looked like the perfect setup for a potentially really fun day at the beach.
So, naturally, I was incredibly suspicious.
Yesterday might have been simple, straightforward, and relatively safe, but that didn’t mean every round would be. Especially because, typically in game shows, didn’t the rounds usually get more challenging the further along you got?
I wasn’t going to take any chances, and I kept a watchful eye out for any potential issues.
“Today’s round is a day at the beach,” the disembodied voice announced. “Enjoy the various activities and food and beverages provided, but do not wander outside the boundary line.”
For a brief moment, a bright blue, perfectly square grid appeared and seemed to surround the area, and I realized the aliens were showing us the boundary lines.
They stretched far out into the ocean, and in the distance on either side of the beach, and finally I saw that the fourth grid wall was a short distance past the bathroom building.
The grid stayed lit up for a few more seconds before it faded away again. The boundary was huge this time, and we’d have to do some serious walking just to reach it, so as long as we stayed relatively close to where we came in at, we wouldn’t have to worry.
“Spend this time getting to know your potential matches,” the voice continued. “For this round, we will also begin to implement a point system.”
Point system? My ears perked up. These had to be the points that were mentioned before.
“Your point status screen can now be accessed with your collar,” the voice continued.
Our collar?
I reached up and felt around the smooth material of my collar, but I couldn’t find any sort of hidden buttons. Maybe it wasn’t actually a button, maybe it just required a certain amount of force? I tried to smack my collar, but still, nothing happened.
I glanced around at the others, and I could see them all fiddling with their collars as well. This time, I tried to gently tap my collar.
Nothing.
Okay… maybe mine was broken?
I tapped it again.
Nothing.
Then I tapped it again, two quick taps.
Suddenly, a strange holographic screen appeared in front of me, and I stumbled back slightly in surprise. When I finally regained my composure, I studied the strange screen in front of me.
I stretched my hand out to touch it, but my hand went right through, and where the screen met my skin, the image seemed to warp to accommodate it.
So, so strange.
I stopped fiddling with the image and actually looked at the screen.
There were three bold words listed down the left-hand side of the screen: body, mind, and senses.
Next to each word was a line of ten, small, empty, vertical bars.
Well, almost all of them were empty. The first vertical bar next to the word ‘senses’ was filled in and glowing.