A man raised his brows in confusion in the crowd wearing baggy pants. "Level 1? " He muttered, his voice incredulous.
"Huh? Gamers," the short girl questioned, glancing at the remaining crowd.
"I thought it was a dream." A tattooed girl pondered
An old man with a bloodied lip and bruises on his face stood up, dusting sand off his torn clothes. He stood after hearing the noise.
Again, a familiar AI voice rang out, calm and mechanical, breaking the uneasy silence. "Welcome to the Land Game." The group froze, the voice cutting through the desert air like a knife.
Everyone listened and followed the AI voice with sort of confusion.
AI continued. "You are in the Land Arena Game. Your target is to reach the endpoint of this desert circle.
Rules:
- Gamers can start wherever they want.
- Each person is provided with one bottle of water.
- The desert is 1 kilometer wide. Gamers must reach the end within one hour.
Your game starts in two minutes.
If Gamers reach the end endpoint, the Game is clear. " The voice announced, then a digital timer displaying "60:00" appeared, floating in the clear blue sky on every side of the desert, and then the voice disappeared.
"No.... I can't play," a woman requested, looking at the sky, her voice echoed entire place. "I need to go to my home... My son will be waiting for me," her screams echoed entire desert.
"No!!!!!! I don't want to play...." a few voices protested, their eyes scanning all around. A cold, uneasy feeling crept down their spines as they looked up at the sky, pleading for help.
They waited for the response from the AI voice. Watching the empty blue plain sky.
But no response.
The group exchanged nervous glances, their eyes lost their spark, focusing on the ground or looking away blankly. Now the silence occupied the entire place, and the weight of the reality of their situation settled over them.
"Game? I thought it was a prank," the crew-cut hairstyle man started, a heavy sigh escaped, deflating over his words.
A woman in an office dress, her voice hesitant, broke and quiet. "Time limit? What does that mean? What happens if we don't arrive on time?" The woman questioned while watching the timer still displayed 60:00 in the sky.
"We don't know," another replied in the same confusion, her eyes darted around the timer and other players.
"Such a brave little soul..." the young man's voice cut through the tense environment, watching the old man with a casual one-wink, flashing a crooked grin, spreading on his lips.
Everyone's attention drifted towards him.
"I am Dean. I think I'm already popular because this old dumbass... but, hey, introducing myself is good manners, Mom always said so." Dean said, moved towards the old man, stretched his whole body lazily like a cat in front of him. Then turned and mockingly smirked at Danny, remembering the last night. "Well, this sounds easy enough. A walk in the park—or, I guess, the desert."
Danny shot him a sharp look, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits because of Dean's last night moment. "You annoying jerk! " he hissed, his voice low and deep. "You think it's a joke? This isn't just a walk. It's a damn game. We have no idea what happens if we lose! Have you ever even played a game before?" he roared.
"Game!!!!" Dean laughed, his laughter echoed entire place. A mocking, dangerous smirk spread across their lips. "Are you a kid?"
The AI sound interrupted their conversation with a sharp beep. "Game Start"
Beep... "59:57"
Simultaneously, A sharp metallic sound crackled behind, and the big box of parcels came out from the sand behind them.
Everyone turned towards the sound. "What was that?" someone gasped, stepping back from their standing place.
A knowing smile spread across Dean's lips, and he jumped towards the big box in excitement. "Water!" he screamed, his voice surprising and playful. "Stop acting like you're in a horror film," the voice already told water is coming...." He opened the box with a casual shrug and coolly, without any fear.
His eyes widened in cheer when his gaze landed on a water bottle that sparkled like a diamond in the sunlight. He grabbed without hesitation and chugged the full bottle in one sip. After drinking, he let out a deep, relieved breath, "It's refreshing! I never thought I would love water this much." He exclaimed as he took another bottle in his hand and returned to his place.
Then, with trust, everyone took their bottle one by one without any fight or argument.
Someone murmured, "I never thought water could have this much flavor," as they sipped from their bottle in the heat waves beneath them, enjoying each sip while walking towards another player.
At last old man who had been beaten by Dean last night walked near the box. His wrinkled eyes widened in shock watched the box; it remained empty." Water.... No water bottle," he whispered to himself as he checked the box, flipped the velvet clothes.
But remains nothing.
Danny, while sipping the water, noticed the empty-handed old man, and his gaze shifted to Dean, a flicker of irritation in his eyes struck towards him. "This asshole" he murmured as his jaw tightening. He walked towards him, who was casually flirting with other girls and making a cringeworthy joke, and laughing.
"Hey, Dude..." he called out, his eyes narrowed in anger, but he remained calm.
Dane was still laughing, and he rolled his eyes at the sound of Danny's voice. Then he turned back casually and gave a dismissive wave to the girls. "One second, beautiful ladies... wait for your king, " he flirts towards them. "Excuse me? " he murmured with a casual shrug. "Do you need any help, my little boy?"
"Little boy? "Danny smirked with exasperation as his eyes fixed on Dean's arrogant face. "Hey, man, that bottle in your hand belongs to that old man. Can you just hand it to him?" he demanded nicely, pointing his finger at the old man.
"What?" Dean cackled maniacally, balancing his hand on his hip in mockery. "You are hilarious, man." He teased as his eyes shifted towards the old man, then back to Danny. He let out a deep breath. "What if I don't? You gonna punish me or kill me?" His voice was deeper and scarier than before.
"I think I need to teach you a small lesson," Danny murmured, raising his brows. Before Dean could react, Danny delivered a quick, precise kick to Dean's ankle, aiming to knock him off balance.
Dean, however, moved with surprising speed, jumping back and escaping the kick.
The girls scattered, stepping away.
"Not bad...." Danny murmured, his voice challenging as his hands were attacked to punch him in a karate stance, ready to strike. Dean, with a causal, smug grin on his lips, balanced each of Danny's attacking moves, a fluid counter to every blow with quick reflexes.
"This is not your fucking problem" Dean roared when the Danny hit became deeper he understood he's stronger than him. He tries to kick his leg, but Danny blocks his kick with his fast reflexes.
Every strike and movement was perfect in fighting. A blur of motion and quick reflexes brought them to the edge of the inner circle. Dane's eyes noticed the border. He stopped.
"Okay... I give it to him," he shouted, his eyes widened in sudden chill swept over him after watching a border line. His one leg was on the inner circle, the other floating on the outer, and struggling in the air.
Danny immediately grabbed his shirt with an attitude wink; he noticed Dean's heart racing against his ribcage faster. "Do you want to test this game first?" he challenged, his voice a low threat as he pretended to lose his grip slightly, making Dean fear and teach a lesson.
Wait....Wait! " Dean stammered, his voice trembling when Danny's grip loosened and his eyes drifting between the line and Danny. Without any delay, his hand threw the bottle towards the old man. "Look... I did what you said. Now your turn. Be a gentleman's agreement." He pleaded, his face telling his dread, and the sweat fell across his face.
The silent threat and chilling tension raged in their eyes
Suddenly, a sharp cut off their tension. "Stop this fucking fighting? "Time is already running out," the braided girl yelled. "Are you guys serious?" She raised her brows in question and crossed her arms.
A cruel smirk replaced Danny's lips, and he realized Dean was not worthy. Then he tightened his grip and left Dean with force and dragged him towards the inner circle.
"Don't judge anyone," Danny warned and walked towards the crowd.
Dean's jaw clenched tightly, aggressively adjusted his crumbled shirt. "Motherfucker… You're gonna pay for this soon," he vowed silently to himself.
The other's gaze remains on time and the vast desert which is now displayed." 49:56"
With the timer ticking every second, the environmental tension increased across their faces, and individuals gravitated into small groups with agreement on their own plan, urgently mapping out their next moves.
"I think we should hold our hands and run towards the south side direction, maybe we can finish it within time." The skinny woman proposed her idea to a small group.