The Games We Used to Play
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:43 am
Day 1, July 13, 2018
In a house situated along the coastline of Rockport, Massachusetts, seated on a hill overlooking the dunes and edge of the Atlantic Ocean, five people were seated at the alter they came to time and time again. They were men and women in their mid-thirties, all dressed in fine, casual wear one would expect to find on a summer holiday. They sat on leather couches, velvet armchairs, and one patterned ottoman, and stared at the large screen television hanging on the wall. Four of them kept their gaze on the news report; the fifth merely typed away at his laptop.
The television depicted a local news anchor telling the same story that had been running all day. Survival of the Fittest had returned, taking over 150 students from Chattanooga, Tennessee to fight to the death on an unknown island. Reports of a bot had spread over the internet, and now it was clear those students were truly fighting for their lives on an island somewhere. Well, were fighting for their lives. The group had known the footage was shot earlier, compared to their youth when it aired live.
As the anchor continued her speech about President Canon’s response, opinions from various pundits and critics, and even interviews with families of students abducted in the six previous games, one person broke the silence. The one with the laptop stopped typing and spoke to the group.
“Okay, I found the footage,” he said. “Let’s cast it onto the TV.”
The man seated closest to him grabbed the television remote and pressed a few buttons. The man with the laptop clicked away, and soon, everyone in the room could see what was on the laptop. Before them, in high definition, was a website that hosted all the streams of Survival of the Fittest. With just a click, they could view any student's time on the island, and get up-to-date death counts.
“Man, I can’t believe the luck that we would get to watch this again when we're all on vacation together,” the man with the laptop said.
“Yeah, I can’t believe you found it, Reed,” the man with the remote said.
“Don’t doubt me, Norman,” Reed said. “You know I’ve always been the most capable person.”
“Of course, Reed,” Norman replied meekly.
The red-haired woman on the couch next to Norman shifted around a bit in place.
“Are we really going to watch this?” she asked. “I mean, I sort of thought we’d just spend the next few weeks drinking and kayaking. Not seeing kids fighting to the death.”
“Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport,” the woman on the armchair said, flicking her wavy, black hair over her shoulders. “You used to love this sort of thing.”
“Yeah,” the redhead said. “And I’m not saying I wouldn’t enjoy revisiting this. I dunno. Maybe my tastes have changed with age. I'm not as excited to view this again.”
“I agree with Shanna,” the gangly man on the ottoman said. “Do we need to watch this?”
“Well, I think we have a majority-rule,” Reed said. “Norman, Celestine, and myself want to watch it. Shanna, Amory, you can leave the room if you don’t want to.”
“Nah, I’ll stay,” Shanna said. “It’s just…”
“Just what?” Reed asked.
Shanna shrugged.
“I don’t know. I thought we put this sort of event behind us in college.”
Reed chuckled to himself.
“Come on, Shanna. You watch the Superbowl every year. You watch the Oscars. What’s wrong with watching one of our favorite sports and engaging in some of that good-ole nostalgia, for old times sake?”
It had been quite some time since Shanna had willingly watched Survival of the Fittest, but she understood what Reed was suggesting.
The year was 2005. Shanna was in her final year of her undergrad at Harvard. She and her friends had been busy with finals and grad school applications, when Reed one day approached the group and asked them if they had been watching the new show on television. It was called Survival of the Fittest, and soon, everyone was talking about it. The quintet had gathered around the television in Reed’s apartment and had been gripped by the drama. They watched it religiously, the television in Reed’s place never going cold. They had to attend classes and deal with other matters during this, but they always returned, excited to see the next twist and the latest drama. It wasn’t until Adam Dodd reigned victorious that the group had felt content to have seen the entire spectacle unfold.
The following year, to their surprise, the series returned. Yes, there had been talk about how the show was a terrorist attack and the people who died were real teenagers abducted and murdered. And yet, the five of them gathered again at Reed’s apartment to watch when the series found itself on their airwaves. They placed bets with one another, they chatted on message boards, and they shared artwork and pieces they found on the internet. Even the finale had some personal drama, as Celestine had shown up dressed as Mariavel Varella and squared up to Norman and his Bryan Calvert fanboying. The fight soon subsided when Bryan prevailed, but it meant Norman and Celestine wouldn’t be talking for a while. And they didn't, not for the next three weeks.
In 2007, as Shanna was finishing up her MBA, Reed once again called the group over when the third game began. At this point, the whole ritual had taken form. Amory brought snacks, Reed provided the venue, Celestine kept the alcohol supply steady, Norman gathered the odds and predictions, and Shanna merely watched. She watched as J.R. Rizzolo won after committing horrible acts against various members of his class. Even if it disgusted her, she couldn’t help but continue watching. Not if the friend she had known since freshman year were so intrigued by it.
By 2008, when the fourth version came, the group was starting to stagnate. By now, everyone was in their mid-twenties and focusing on starting their lives. Shanna was to return to Florida after her year-long internship and work at her family’s business. Norman had started his Ph.D program, while Reed was close to finishing law school. Celestine was already talking about moving away from Boston to pursue new opportunities in New York City, while Amory barely saw the group. They all knew this would be the last time they could watch Survival of the Fittest, and that melancholic air hung over them as Kimberly Nguyen got her revenge on Kris Hartmann and managed to be the sole survivor following Ilario’s suicide.
Of course, the public opinion of the game had changed. The quintet had spent a good part of their youth watching the game when it was less taboo to watch. But by the end of Version 4, it was seen as tasteless, merchandise was being pulled, and the 30-plus survivors made it clear that society wouldn’t tolerate any open fans of the game. The group had their time to enjoy Survival of the Fittest as a televised competition, but society was moving on, and so did they.
Shanna had returned to Florida and dove into her family’s sugar business. She still kept in touch with the rest of the group, although her visits with them were sparse. She saw them at Celestine’s wedding when Shanna had to stand in a gaudy maroon dress as one of her bridesmaids. She had seen Reed and Norman when she returned to Boston for a work trip. She didn’t really get to see Amory. He had moved to teach at Notre Dame, and she rarely found herself in those parts.
Over the next ten years, Shanna was able to put the odd following behind her. She’d get messages from Reed asking if she saw Survival of the Fittest had returned in 2012, and while she did read the news, she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She had a business to run, so it was easier to ignore. It was much of the same in 2015 when the game happened again. She could offer thoughts and prayers to the victims and donate proceeds to the survivor funds, but there wasn’t much else to think of.
It wasn’t until last year that she ran into all four again. Reed’s father, who Shanna and the others had gotten to know quite well in their time at Harvard, had passed away. They all convened in Boston to offer their respects to Kabir Banerjee and to catch up. Shanna was surprised by how much the group had changed over the last seven years.
Reed had taken over his father’s place at the law firm of Banerjee, Horvath, and Marzano LLC. He had done outstanding work for local businesses and had carried on Kabir’s legacy quite well. Norman, meanwhile, was now a professor of statistics at Harvard, also having followed in his father’s footsteps. Shanna was also pleased to see Norman and his wife Dena had finally welcomed a baby boy into their family the previous year, so seeing little Aldo Shafer touched her heart.
Amory, meanwhile, had barely spoken about himself. He was still teaching music at Notre Dame and working on music projects, but most of his work was online. He did mention he had been living with a woman named Willa for the last few years, but he didn’t have much else to say. Celestine, meanwhile, had a lot to say. She had moved to Toronto a year after she arrived in NYC to marry a man named Yuri, and now they had twin daughters, Titania and Ursula. Celestine was living the high life as a Toronto socialite and philanthropist, so she couldn’t stop radiating happiness during the solemn funeral.
To Shanna’s surprise, once all five were in the same room, it was almost exactly like old times. They fell back into their old routines, asking if anyone remembered specific events, any school events they participated in, any pranks that were pulled, and they were making themselves laugh as they remembered their good ole college years. It was during this that Amory made an interesting comment.
“It sure is a shame we don’t see each other that often.”
Much like a dam breaking after a heavy rainstorm, that was when everything fell into place. Reed, naturally, had orchestrated the entire plot. The next summer, the group would take two weeks to stay at the beach house Reed owned in Rockport. They’d spend their days drinking, reminiscing, and enjoying the beach. Everything would be provided for, so all they had to do was show up. Shanna, swept up in the thrill of the suggestion, agreed with the others. The dates were set, arrangements were made, and one-by-one, they all showed up at Reed’s home, ready for the five of them to have the secluded vacation they had all sorely been lacking with their lives.
Unfortunately, as they all arrived and unloaded their goods, the news came rolling in. Survival of the Fittest had returned. Now the fantasized days of drinking wine while watching the sunset on the beach had vanished, and the five had stayed in the house, keeping an eye on the news. Reed had mentioned he wanted to check something, and had gotten to work tracking the streams down on his computer.
Now, as they looked at the site hosting all the streams, they had to sit and wonder what to do.
“So, how many are dead so far?” Norman asked.
Celestine looked at her phone.
“Looks like just four,” she said, reading a web page on her phone’s internet browser. “Some boy named Abel started it off. A few more have died since then. Let’s see… Dante Valiero, Toby Underwood, and Violet Quinn.”
“So with 159 to start, we’re down to 155,” Norman said. “Interesting.”
“How so?” Shanna asked.
“Well, it’s not that interesting,” Norman said. “But it’s a good number.”
“Yes, a good number,” Reed said, stroking his chin.
“Yeah, I guess it’s a good number,” Amory said. “But I don’t see the point. I mean, we could watch people die horribly like we did back in school, but what’s the takeaway?”
“You’re right,” Reed said. “There is no takeaway.”
“Oh,” Celestine said. “Then should we find something else to do or-”
“So let’s make there be something to takeaway.”
The other four looked at Reed as he set his laptop aside and stood before them.
“You know, it’d be one thing to just watch the streams and comment on this all. But why don’t we make it more interesting?” he asked.
“How so?” Norman asked.
Reed smiled. “Do any of you play fantasy football?”
“I do,” Norman said.
Amory and the women shook their heads.
“Well, I played a sort-of fantasy league for Version 6,” Reed explained. “Believe it or not, there’s a lot of people who do that sort of thing, and it’s easy to find games online if you know where to look.”
“You were betting on the kids dying?” Amory asked.
“No, I was betting on which kids would live,” Reed said. “It didn’t work in the end. I put most of my stock on that Kao girl and my hopes blew up in my face. Just as much as that bomb blew up in hers.”
“Dude…” Shanna muttered.
“But you know, it’s one thing to play the game with a bunch of faceless strangers,” Reed continued, “but when it’s friends, it’s a lot more interesting.”
“It is?” Celestine asked.
“Yes. How about this?” Reed began.
Reed pointed at the screen.
“We can leave the stream playing here. That way, we’ll know each day who lives and who doesn’t. But we start playing now. We divide the 155 students among the five of us and keep a bank. 155 divided by 5 gives us 31 students each. Every day, we cross of the number of people who die each round. We can trade students with one another, but every morning, we update our numbers. If you run out of students, you’re out of the game. At the end, whoever possesses the winning student wins the whole game. If there is an escape and more people get out, then whoever possesses the most survivors including the winner is the winner of our game.”
“So why would we do that?” Norman asked. “We’re all pretty well-off, so unless we’re going to be bored, rich assholes who bet on weird sport like those Vegas guys from Rat Race-”
“Norman, we’re not like them,” Reed said. “I have an idea for the bet.”
Reed paced around the room.
“We’ll each bet one thing. It can be a possession, a favor, a secret, anything. We’ll write them down, seal them in envelopes, and lock them away. At the end, whoever wins will open the envelopes and reveal the four items they have won.”
“So we can risk anything we want? But why?” Shanna asked. “I mean, if there’s a 4 in 5 chance of losing, why would we want to risk anything?”
“Well, Shan,” Reed said. “I’m glad you asked. Don’t you want to know what I’d want to give up? Or Norman? Or Cel, or Amory?”
“Wouldn’t any of you like to think of what the others might find so worthy of gambling? These kids are risking their lives, so why don’t we do something similar? It’d be more exciting than just spectating and commenting.”
The others fell silent. Celestine then shrugged.
“I’m in,” she said. “Honestly, I’ve been pretty bored lately, and I think this might be the sort of vacation fun I need. Plus, it sounds like we don't have to do too much and can still make it interesting.”
Norman nodded. “Sure. I’ll play too.”
“Great,” Reed said. “Shanna? Amory? What about you two?”
Amory shook his head.
“Honestly, I don’t see the point. Like, what could I give you guys you’d want? And why would I even want to risk something I consider valuable?”
“That’s up to you,” Reed said. “But tell me, Amory, wouldn’t it bother you to not be included? To not have a stake in this? To watch all of us have fun while you’re in the corner doing nothing? Do you really want to be so alone on this trip?”
Amory fell silent.
“Fine,” he said. “I guess I can play.”
“Wonderful,” Reed said. “That just leaves Shanna.”
Shanna paused. She looked around the room at her old college friends, about to gamble on human lives and the misery. She thought about what they figured they’d all risk and what they’d want to offer up in exchange for the teenagers who were dying halfway across the world. After a few minutes, she let out a long sigh.
“Okay. I’ll play,” she said. “If anything, I just want to see you actually lose for once, Reed.”
“Hah. Good to know, Shan,” he said. “So, let me formalize the rules and we’ll get started."
After a few moments, the game was set. Reed found some notebook paper and wrote all the rules out, taping them on the wall near the television.
Rules
1. All five players will possess 31 students at the start of the game.
2. Every morning, the Game Master (to be decided each day) will tally the victims and remove them from the board.
3. Whichever player has the most surviving students each day will be the game master. If there is a tie, all players in the tie will be Game Master.
4. Game Master will possess the key to the prize box and will inspect it before each player that morning.
5. After the prize box has been inspected, trades and gifts may begin. Any player is allowed to swap with any other player or gift them a student to increase their numbers. Players may not swap or gift once they have five or fewer students left in their bank.
6. If a player runs out of students, they are out of the game. They are not allowed to receive any gifts once they hit zero. At the next prize box inspection, the losing player’s wagered item will be revealed to all players.
7. Whoever possesses the winning student will be the winner and will acquire all four wagered items of the other players. If an escape attempt occurs, the player with the most surviving students in their pool will win. The game’s official winner can count alongside any surviving students they have.
8. Trades and gifts can only occur at the morning meeting. Any deals outside that are forbidden. Discussion of trades and gifts to be performed at the next announcement is permitted.
9. Any player found breaking the rules is automatically disqualified and all their students will be divided evenly among the remaining players.
10. The Game Master is expected to adhere and enforce all rules. They may give up their daily game master privileges to one other player still in the game. If the Game Master breaks the rules and it caught, they are disqualified, and their remaining student will be divided among the remaining players.
Reed had also produced a box that required a key to unlock. He gave each person in the house a card and an envelope. They were instructed to write down the item they were betting, then place it in the envelope before it was sealed with wax. Once all five envelopes were placed, Reed sealed the box.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll be Game Master for today. Now, let’s divide the students.”
The process was simple. Reed read the name of a student from the list of abducted students he found online, and they’d call out if they wanted them or not. Reed didn’t offer any descriptions to avoid any attempt to pick based off who had kills this early on. After some time, all five of them had 31 names, etched onto a dry erase board Reed had brought in from his garage.
“Okay. Let’s see how this plays out,” he said. “Good luck, everyone.”
Norman laughed.
“Man, you were way too prepared for this,” he told Reed. “It’s like you knew this game was going to happen.”
“No,” Reed said, “but I had been thinking of it for a few hours, so I was just waiting for the right time to unveil it.”
“You have quite the crafty mind,” Celestine said.
“He is a lawyer,” Amory said.
“Well, anyways,” Reed said. “Let’s let the game play out. I’m sure we’re in for some surprises.”
Reed pressed some buttons on his computer, and the video started. And thus began the game that, for the next few days, would capture the minds of the five men and women in this house, and would forever change their relationships.
In a house situated along the coastline of Rockport, Massachusetts, seated on a hill overlooking the dunes and edge of the Atlantic Ocean, five people were seated at the alter they came to time and time again. They were men and women in their mid-thirties, all dressed in fine, casual wear one would expect to find on a summer holiday. They sat on leather couches, velvet armchairs, and one patterned ottoman, and stared at the large screen television hanging on the wall. Four of them kept their gaze on the news report; the fifth merely typed away at his laptop.
The television depicted a local news anchor telling the same story that had been running all day. Survival of the Fittest had returned, taking over 150 students from Chattanooga, Tennessee to fight to the death on an unknown island. Reports of a bot had spread over the internet, and now it was clear those students were truly fighting for their lives on an island somewhere. Well, were fighting for their lives. The group had known the footage was shot earlier, compared to their youth when it aired live.
As the anchor continued her speech about President Canon’s response, opinions from various pundits and critics, and even interviews with families of students abducted in the six previous games, one person broke the silence. The one with the laptop stopped typing and spoke to the group.
“Okay, I found the footage,” he said. “Let’s cast it onto the TV.”
The man seated closest to him grabbed the television remote and pressed a few buttons. The man with the laptop clicked away, and soon, everyone in the room could see what was on the laptop. Before them, in high definition, was a website that hosted all the streams of Survival of the Fittest. With just a click, they could view any student's time on the island, and get up-to-date death counts.
“Man, I can’t believe the luck that we would get to watch this again when we're all on vacation together,” the man with the laptop said.
“Yeah, I can’t believe you found it, Reed,” the man with the remote said.
“Don’t doubt me, Norman,” Reed said. “You know I’ve always been the most capable person.”
“Of course, Reed,” Norman replied meekly.
The red-haired woman on the couch next to Norman shifted around a bit in place.
“Are we really going to watch this?” she asked. “I mean, I sort of thought we’d just spend the next few weeks drinking and kayaking. Not seeing kids fighting to the death.”
“Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport,” the woman on the armchair said, flicking her wavy, black hair over her shoulders. “You used to love this sort of thing.”
“Yeah,” the redhead said. “And I’m not saying I wouldn’t enjoy revisiting this. I dunno. Maybe my tastes have changed with age. I'm not as excited to view this again.”
“I agree with Shanna,” the gangly man on the ottoman said. “Do we need to watch this?”
“Well, I think we have a majority-rule,” Reed said. “Norman, Celestine, and myself want to watch it. Shanna, Amory, you can leave the room if you don’t want to.”
“Nah, I’ll stay,” Shanna said. “It’s just…”
“Just what?” Reed asked.
Shanna shrugged.
“I don’t know. I thought we put this sort of event behind us in college.”
Reed chuckled to himself.
“Come on, Shanna. You watch the Superbowl every year. You watch the Oscars. What’s wrong with watching one of our favorite sports and engaging in some of that good-ole nostalgia, for old times sake?”
It had been quite some time since Shanna had willingly watched Survival of the Fittest, but she understood what Reed was suggesting.
The year was 2005. Shanna was in her final year of her undergrad at Harvard. She and her friends had been busy with finals and grad school applications, when Reed one day approached the group and asked them if they had been watching the new show on television. It was called Survival of the Fittest, and soon, everyone was talking about it. The quintet had gathered around the television in Reed’s apartment and had been gripped by the drama. They watched it religiously, the television in Reed’s place never going cold. They had to attend classes and deal with other matters during this, but they always returned, excited to see the next twist and the latest drama. It wasn’t until Adam Dodd reigned victorious that the group had felt content to have seen the entire spectacle unfold.
The following year, to their surprise, the series returned. Yes, there had been talk about how the show was a terrorist attack and the people who died were real teenagers abducted and murdered. And yet, the five of them gathered again at Reed’s apartment to watch when the series found itself on their airwaves. They placed bets with one another, they chatted on message boards, and they shared artwork and pieces they found on the internet. Even the finale had some personal drama, as Celestine had shown up dressed as Mariavel Varella and squared up to Norman and his Bryan Calvert fanboying. The fight soon subsided when Bryan prevailed, but it meant Norman and Celestine wouldn’t be talking for a while. And they didn't, not for the next three weeks.
In 2007, as Shanna was finishing up her MBA, Reed once again called the group over when the third game began. At this point, the whole ritual had taken form. Amory brought snacks, Reed provided the venue, Celestine kept the alcohol supply steady, Norman gathered the odds and predictions, and Shanna merely watched. She watched as J.R. Rizzolo won after committing horrible acts against various members of his class. Even if it disgusted her, she couldn’t help but continue watching. Not if the friend she had known since freshman year were so intrigued by it.
By 2008, when the fourth version came, the group was starting to stagnate. By now, everyone was in their mid-twenties and focusing on starting their lives. Shanna was to return to Florida after her year-long internship and work at her family’s business. Norman had started his Ph.D program, while Reed was close to finishing law school. Celestine was already talking about moving away from Boston to pursue new opportunities in New York City, while Amory barely saw the group. They all knew this would be the last time they could watch Survival of the Fittest, and that melancholic air hung over them as Kimberly Nguyen got her revenge on Kris Hartmann and managed to be the sole survivor following Ilario’s suicide.
Of course, the public opinion of the game had changed. The quintet had spent a good part of their youth watching the game when it was less taboo to watch. But by the end of Version 4, it was seen as tasteless, merchandise was being pulled, and the 30-plus survivors made it clear that society wouldn’t tolerate any open fans of the game. The group had their time to enjoy Survival of the Fittest as a televised competition, but society was moving on, and so did they.
Shanna had returned to Florida and dove into her family’s sugar business. She still kept in touch with the rest of the group, although her visits with them were sparse. She saw them at Celestine’s wedding when Shanna had to stand in a gaudy maroon dress as one of her bridesmaids. She had seen Reed and Norman when she returned to Boston for a work trip. She didn’t really get to see Amory. He had moved to teach at Notre Dame, and she rarely found herself in those parts.
Over the next ten years, Shanna was able to put the odd following behind her. She’d get messages from Reed asking if she saw Survival of the Fittest had returned in 2012, and while she did read the news, she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She had a business to run, so it was easier to ignore. It was much of the same in 2015 when the game happened again. She could offer thoughts and prayers to the victims and donate proceeds to the survivor funds, but there wasn’t much else to think of.
It wasn’t until last year that she ran into all four again. Reed’s father, who Shanna and the others had gotten to know quite well in their time at Harvard, had passed away. They all convened in Boston to offer their respects to Kabir Banerjee and to catch up. Shanna was surprised by how much the group had changed over the last seven years.
Reed had taken over his father’s place at the law firm of Banerjee, Horvath, and Marzano LLC. He had done outstanding work for local businesses and had carried on Kabir’s legacy quite well. Norman, meanwhile, was now a professor of statistics at Harvard, also having followed in his father’s footsteps. Shanna was also pleased to see Norman and his wife Dena had finally welcomed a baby boy into their family the previous year, so seeing little Aldo Shafer touched her heart.
Amory, meanwhile, had barely spoken about himself. He was still teaching music at Notre Dame and working on music projects, but most of his work was online. He did mention he had been living with a woman named Willa for the last few years, but he didn’t have much else to say. Celestine, meanwhile, had a lot to say. She had moved to Toronto a year after she arrived in NYC to marry a man named Yuri, and now they had twin daughters, Titania and Ursula. Celestine was living the high life as a Toronto socialite and philanthropist, so she couldn’t stop radiating happiness during the solemn funeral.
To Shanna’s surprise, once all five were in the same room, it was almost exactly like old times. They fell back into their old routines, asking if anyone remembered specific events, any school events they participated in, any pranks that were pulled, and they were making themselves laugh as they remembered their good ole college years. It was during this that Amory made an interesting comment.
“It sure is a shame we don’t see each other that often.”
Much like a dam breaking after a heavy rainstorm, that was when everything fell into place. Reed, naturally, had orchestrated the entire plot. The next summer, the group would take two weeks to stay at the beach house Reed owned in Rockport. They’d spend their days drinking, reminiscing, and enjoying the beach. Everything would be provided for, so all they had to do was show up. Shanna, swept up in the thrill of the suggestion, agreed with the others. The dates were set, arrangements were made, and one-by-one, they all showed up at Reed’s home, ready for the five of them to have the secluded vacation they had all sorely been lacking with their lives.
Unfortunately, as they all arrived and unloaded their goods, the news came rolling in. Survival of the Fittest had returned. Now the fantasized days of drinking wine while watching the sunset on the beach had vanished, and the five had stayed in the house, keeping an eye on the news. Reed had mentioned he wanted to check something, and had gotten to work tracking the streams down on his computer.
Now, as they looked at the site hosting all the streams, they had to sit and wonder what to do.
“So, how many are dead so far?” Norman asked.
Celestine looked at her phone.
“Looks like just four,” she said, reading a web page on her phone’s internet browser. “Some boy named Abel started it off. A few more have died since then. Let’s see… Dante Valiero, Toby Underwood, and Violet Quinn.”
“So with 159 to start, we’re down to 155,” Norman said. “Interesting.”
“How so?” Shanna asked.
“Well, it’s not that interesting,” Norman said. “But it’s a good number.”
“Yes, a good number,” Reed said, stroking his chin.
“Yeah, I guess it’s a good number,” Amory said. “But I don’t see the point. I mean, we could watch people die horribly like we did back in school, but what’s the takeaway?”
“You’re right,” Reed said. “There is no takeaway.”
“Oh,” Celestine said. “Then should we find something else to do or-”
“So let’s make there be something to takeaway.”
The other four looked at Reed as he set his laptop aside and stood before them.
“You know, it’d be one thing to just watch the streams and comment on this all. But why don’t we make it more interesting?” he asked.
“How so?” Norman asked.
Reed smiled. “Do any of you play fantasy football?”
“I do,” Norman said.
Amory and the women shook their heads.
“Well, I played a sort-of fantasy league for Version 6,” Reed explained. “Believe it or not, there’s a lot of people who do that sort of thing, and it’s easy to find games online if you know where to look.”
“You were betting on the kids dying?” Amory asked.
“No, I was betting on which kids would live,” Reed said. “It didn’t work in the end. I put most of my stock on that Kao girl and my hopes blew up in my face. Just as much as that bomb blew up in hers.”
“Dude…” Shanna muttered.
“But you know, it’s one thing to play the game with a bunch of faceless strangers,” Reed continued, “but when it’s friends, it’s a lot more interesting.”
“It is?” Celestine asked.
“Yes. How about this?” Reed began.
Reed pointed at the screen.
“We can leave the stream playing here. That way, we’ll know each day who lives and who doesn’t. But we start playing now. We divide the 155 students among the five of us and keep a bank. 155 divided by 5 gives us 31 students each. Every day, we cross of the number of people who die each round. We can trade students with one another, but every morning, we update our numbers. If you run out of students, you’re out of the game. At the end, whoever possesses the winning student wins the whole game. If there is an escape and more people get out, then whoever possesses the most survivors including the winner is the winner of our game.”
“So why would we do that?” Norman asked. “We’re all pretty well-off, so unless we’re going to be bored, rich assholes who bet on weird sport like those Vegas guys from Rat Race-”
“Norman, we’re not like them,” Reed said. “I have an idea for the bet.”
Reed paced around the room.
“We’ll each bet one thing. It can be a possession, a favor, a secret, anything. We’ll write them down, seal them in envelopes, and lock them away. At the end, whoever wins will open the envelopes and reveal the four items they have won.”
“So we can risk anything we want? But why?” Shanna asked. “I mean, if there’s a 4 in 5 chance of losing, why would we want to risk anything?”
“Well, Shan,” Reed said. “I’m glad you asked. Don’t you want to know what I’d want to give up? Or Norman? Or Cel, or Amory?”
“Wouldn’t any of you like to think of what the others might find so worthy of gambling? These kids are risking their lives, so why don’t we do something similar? It’d be more exciting than just spectating and commenting.”
The others fell silent. Celestine then shrugged.
“I’m in,” she said. “Honestly, I’ve been pretty bored lately, and I think this might be the sort of vacation fun I need. Plus, it sounds like we don't have to do too much and can still make it interesting.”
Norman nodded. “Sure. I’ll play too.”
“Great,” Reed said. “Shanna? Amory? What about you two?”
Amory shook his head.
“Honestly, I don’t see the point. Like, what could I give you guys you’d want? And why would I even want to risk something I consider valuable?”
“That’s up to you,” Reed said. “But tell me, Amory, wouldn’t it bother you to not be included? To not have a stake in this? To watch all of us have fun while you’re in the corner doing nothing? Do you really want to be so alone on this trip?”
Amory fell silent.
“Fine,” he said. “I guess I can play.”
“Wonderful,” Reed said. “That just leaves Shanna.”
Shanna paused. She looked around the room at her old college friends, about to gamble on human lives and the misery. She thought about what they figured they’d all risk and what they’d want to offer up in exchange for the teenagers who were dying halfway across the world. After a few minutes, she let out a long sigh.
“Okay. I’ll play,” she said. “If anything, I just want to see you actually lose for once, Reed.”
“Hah. Good to know, Shan,” he said. “So, let me formalize the rules and we’ll get started."
After a few moments, the game was set. Reed found some notebook paper and wrote all the rules out, taping them on the wall near the television.
Rules
1. All five players will possess 31 students at the start of the game.
2. Every morning, the Game Master (to be decided each day) will tally the victims and remove them from the board.
3. Whichever player has the most surviving students each day will be the game master. If there is a tie, all players in the tie will be Game Master.
4. Game Master will possess the key to the prize box and will inspect it before each player that morning.
5. After the prize box has been inspected, trades and gifts may begin. Any player is allowed to swap with any other player or gift them a student to increase their numbers. Players may not swap or gift once they have five or fewer students left in their bank.
6. If a player runs out of students, they are out of the game. They are not allowed to receive any gifts once they hit zero. At the next prize box inspection, the losing player’s wagered item will be revealed to all players.
7. Whoever possesses the winning student will be the winner and will acquire all four wagered items of the other players. If an escape attempt occurs, the player with the most surviving students in their pool will win. The game’s official winner can count alongside any surviving students they have.
8. Trades and gifts can only occur at the morning meeting. Any deals outside that are forbidden. Discussion of trades and gifts to be performed at the next announcement is permitted.
9. Any player found breaking the rules is automatically disqualified and all their students will be divided evenly among the remaining players.
10. The Game Master is expected to adhere and enforce all rules. They may give up their daily game master privileges to one other player still in the game. If the Game Master breaks the rules and it caught, they are disqualified, and their remaining student will be divided among the remaining players.
Reed had also produced a box that required a key to unlock. He gave each person in the house a card and an envelope. They were instructed to write down the item they were betting, then place it in the envelope before it was sealed with wax. Once all five envelopes were placed, Reed sealed the box.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll be Game Master for today. Now, let’s divide the students.”
The process was simple. Reed read the name of a student from the list of abducted students he found online, and they’d call out if they wanted them or not. Reed didn’t offer any descriptions to avoid any attempt to pick based off who had kills this early on. After some time, all five of them had 31 names, etched onto a dry erase board Reed had brought in from his garage.
“Okay. Let’s see how this plays out,” he said. “Good luck, everyone.”
Norman laughed.
“Man, you were way too prepared for this,” he told Reed. “It’s like you knew this game was going to happen.”
“No,” Reed said, “but I had been thinking of it for a few hours, so I was just waiting for the right time to unveil it.”
“You have quite the crafty mind,” Celestine said.
“He is a lawyer,” Amory said.
“Well, anyways,” Reed said. “Let’s let the game play out. I’m sure we’re in for some surprises.”
Reed pressed some buttons on his computer, and the video started. And thus began the game that, for the next few days, would capture the minds of the five men and women in this house, and would forever change their relationships.