Chapter 7 #2
When had I gotten those?
I glanced around at the other contestants, and they all had their stat screens pulled up as well. Parker had two glowing points on hers, one in mind and one in senses, and I noticed that Sadie, Tyler, and Claire all had one point in the same category: mind.
Nobody else seemed to have any points at all.
How did Parker and I get two?
I thought about it, and I wondered if the new points had something to do with the storm yesterday. Parker and I were the only ones who really seemed to notice its approach, so maybe that was how we’d gotten the ‘senses’ point.
And then all of our group sought shelter, while those who stuck with Kyle didn’t. Maybe that was how we all earned an intelligence point.
I quickly tapped my collar to make my status screen disappear again. The last thing I needed was for Kyle to see my points and get even more competitive with me than he already was.
Once everyone else had minimized their status screens, the disembodied voice continued.
“Today’s game will begin in five minutes. Please move to the transporter pad.”
The walls to the transporter room slid open, and we all silently filed inside. I closed my eyes and readied myself for the humming and flash, but it didn’t immediately come, and instead the robotic voice kept speaking.
“You have each had time to get to know your potential matches,” it said. “Though, none of you have matched yet. Today’s game is solely for the males, and the females will sit out.”
We all exchanged nervous glances, and I had mixed emotions about what I’d just heard.
I was relieved because the women sitting out would hopefully mean they wouldn’t be in any sort of danger today, but I was nervous because it surely meant whatever we were going to face today would most certainly be dangerous, right?
“Today’s trial is simple,” the voice continued, and I was surprised because that was the first time I’d heard it describe the games like that: a trial.
I had a feeling we were about to see the games’ true, intended purpose.
“Each male will be temporarily assigned a female,” the voice went on. “And his task today will be to find his assigned female a gift.”
Find a woman a gift? That didn’t sound so hard.
So, what the hell was the catch? Because I knew it couldn’t be quite so easy.
“There are only a select few items that can be found and qualify as gifts,” the voice explained. “A diamond ring, an emerald necklace, a pair of sapphire earrings, and an amethyst bracelet.”
Okay, so we each just needed to find one of those things. It seriously didn’t sound too bad. But wait-- there were only four things on that list, and there were five of us…
“There are only enough items for a few of you,” the voice went on. “And the male who doesn’t find a gift item, as well as his assigned female, will be disqualified.”
Shit.
I really didn’t like the sound of that.
Was it too much to hope that when the announcer says ‘disqualified’ he actually just meant kicked out of the games and sent home?
Probably.
“Each contestant will also gain favor points based on which item they end up with,” the voice continued. “The diamond ring will grant four favor points, the emerald necklace will grant three points, the sapphire earrings will grant two favor points, and the amethyst bracelet will grant one.”
Okay, clearly not only was it important to get a gift so we wouldn’t be disqualified, but it also would seem that the gifts were tiered. The diamond ring was the best item, and clearly the one to get, and then so on and so forth.
But at this point, I didn’t even care about which item I got, as long as I wasn’t disqualified. Not to mention whatever poor woman my failure would drag down as well.
The potential disqualification thing certainly added a level of complication to the game, but it still sounded relatively simple.
Get assigned to a woman, and find one of the four listed gifts.
I was still waiting for the catch.
“I will now list off the temporary pairings,” the disembodied voice said. “Kyle Rodgers will be paired with Parker Rose.”
I saw Kyle’s wide grin as he glanced over at Parker, who looked less than thrilled by the match.
“Tyler Montgomery will be paired with Claire Pawns,” the voice went on. “Liam Davis will be paired with Sadie Truman…”
I glanced over at Sadie, and she looked incredibly relieved. I was glad I got paired with her, but at the same time, I was doubly stressed now because it wasn’t just my life on the line if I messed up. It was hers as well.
The announcer went on to pair Zade and Annabelle together as well as Martin and Clarisse.
Once everyone was paired off, the disembodied voice announced the game would begin in thirty seconds.
I felt a hum through my body, and I quickly shut my eyes before the flash. Inside my head, I repeated my tasks over and over again like a mantra.
Find a gift. Win the game. Find a gift. Win the game.
It was so very simple. I could do this.
The light flashed, and I opened my eyes once the humming stopped.
Then I felt my heart drop into my stomach.
I was inside the most enormous supermarket I’d ever seen, and it looked like a tornado had blown through it. Items were scattered everywhere, and I could see random foods among piles of toys and clothes.
The objects that were shelved didn’t look like they were in the correct place, and things were just absolutely everywhere.
Shit.
This was going to be so much harder than I thought.