"You there!" a man in a suit said as Thomas turned to see him pointing at him. "Come up!"

Thomas looked right and left at the remaining eight people who had walked into the interview hall with him then walked up to meet the man on the platform.

"What is your specialty," the man asked with an instantaneous stare at him.

"I'm sorry but I think I shouldn't be here,"

"State your specialty," the man repeated and Thomas studied his serious countenance.

"I don't have a specialty," Thomas answered.

"I won't repeat myself the third time,"

"Come on! Are you even listening to me? I said I don't have a specialty…" Before he could complete his statement two huge men from nowhere walked up to him as they dragged him down the platform.

"Let me go!" he struggled to set himself free as one of them knocked him out.

'Wake up Thomas we need you… wake up!'

………..

Prior to the incident. It was nine o'clock on the night before Christmas eve and deep in the city was a young boy of about seventeen years old, he was seated on his bed inside his room in the second floor of a two story building with his eyes on the screen of his IPad.

"Damn it Thomas! Yesterday's game at school was so cool," his friend who he was having a video call with said over the phone.

"Yeah, sure," Thomas gritted his teeth with a slight smile displaying two small dimples on his fair skin. "I love the fact that we won the match when all hope was lost,"

"Yeah all thanks to you, you were brave out there, definitely the best at soccer," his friend said.

"Not really, we all did great," Thomas ran his right hand through his low black spiky hair.

"Woof… woof," his small hood dog which was beside his bed, backed aloud with its gaze towards the window by the right which was opened.

"What is wrong with Bolt?" his friend asked as Thomas glanced down at his brown skinned dog with little fur, which was still barking.

"I'm not sure, he had been acting weird since this night. It's raining heavily over here and I think he has a problem with the rain. Give me a moment let me close the window," Thomas answered then placed his iPad on the bed beside him as he walked down towards the opened window.

"Woof… woof,"

Thomas could hear his dog's bark get louder when he got close to the window.

He stared outside and downwards in case he could find anything suspicious but there was nothing except for the loud lighting and thunder strikes blistering in the night cloud while the heavy rain fell.

'Goodness, it's so cold. I wonder what it will feel like out there?'

Thomas gently closed the window as he covered the curtains then walked back to his dog who was still barking.

"It's alright Bolt, there's nothing outside," he stooped, patting his dog's head gently and after a while he sat back on his bed.

"Was anything wrong?" his friend asked immediately after Thomas picked up the iPad.

"No, it was just lightning and thunder strikes," he answered.

Knock!… knock!

Thomas panicked when he heard a knock on his room door. "Who is that?" He lifts his gaze towards the entrance as the door opens slightly and a beautiful girl sticks her head in. At sight anyone will know that she was his little sister. "I've told you to stop spying on me Ashley,"

The little girl of only ten years old made a cute smile as her bright eyes drifted to him. "I wasn't spying. it is time for dinner and everyone is waiting for you downstairs at the dining,"

"Okay, tell Mom and Dad I'll be there in a moment," Thomas said as Ashly closed the door and he looked back into his iPad

"I guess it's time to go," his friend said.

"Yeah, take care. see you on Christmas day," Thomas turned off his iPad, placing it on the bed as he left for the dinning with his dog

When he arrived downstairs everyone was already seated down. His elder brother and sister were seated opposite each other as were his parents so he walked down to the only vacant chair directly opposite Ashley.

"What kept you so long Thomas," his father asked when he sat down

"Nothing, I was just having a conversation with a friend of mine," He replied with his eyes on the bowl of spaghetti beside another bowl of fried turkey and a jug of milk which was on the dining table.

"That friend must be super important," his elder sister lowered her head gently as she took a spoon of the spaghetti their mother just dished into her plate

Thomas glanced at her as she winced her eyebrows. "Mom, tell Katherine to mind her business and stop nagging me," He furrowed his face.

"Come on Thomas, you know your elder sister was only joking," their mother said as she reached her hands to his plate and immediately after she dished in some spaghetti they heard a loud thunder strike and the lights went off.

"I can't see, Daddy, I can't see, I'm scared," Ashley sreamed as Their father turned on a torchlight and immediately the light was on, Ashley's arm was wrapped firmly on their mother's waist.

It's alright Ashley, it's just a thunder strike," their father said as he turned to Thomas. "You should check the fuse, in case the power failure was as a result of a disconnected wire,"

"Sure," Thomas stood up from the dining chair as he took another torchlight which was on the table then walked out of the house.

When he got outside he put on a raincoat as he strolled about twenty feet’s away in the heavy rain towards a small hut and getting inside he noticed that the fuse was badly wrecked and it would need an electrician to fix it up.

"Shit!" Thomas shook his hand when he was slightly zapped by an uncoated wire as the Thunder rumbled once more followed by a sharp lightning strike which punched straight to the roof.

He panicked, taking his gaze upwards as he could hear the lightning strikes get aggressive and louder.

"Dad! Mom!" Thomas screamed as he covered his ears with his hands but the thunder strikes weren't stopping and after a while a strong east wind blew off the roof of the hut.

"Dad!" he screamed again but his voice failed him. His throat knotted as he swallowed hard and his lips kept quivering in the cold.

Soaked in the rain his only chance to escape was to return to the house so he turned, running as fast as he could and in the process he was struck down by a lightning as he fell to the floor and the last sound he could hear was that of his barking dog.

……………

Some minutes later Thomas felt sticky movement on his face as he gently opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was his dog licking him abhorrently.

"Stop that Bolt….?" he muttered as he sluggishly sat up, rubbing his hand on his forehead and after a while he looked forward only to see a large deserted place which was filled up with white sands. There was nothing at sight but sand.

"Where am i?" he soliloquized to himself.

"Hello," He heard a voice behind him as he turned only to spot a fair skin coloured girl of about his age walk up to him with her bright blue eyes directly on his while her short hair dangled in the air.

Thomas gazed at her from her Orange t-shirt down to her blue Jean trouser and her awkward looking boot.

"I am Elise," the young lady said as she stretched out her hands to him.

"Thomas," He lifted his gaze to her. "I don't mean to bother you but where am i, because the last time, i remember that i was a few meters away from my home,"

"You have no idea, do you?" She blinked.

"Idea about what?"

"The Game," Elise said as Thomas squinted his eyes, then swallowed hard.

'I hope this isn't what I'm thinking?' he felt a strong cold creep up his skin at his thought.

"We were given 24 hours to reach the tower and get registered for The academy. If not we will face the elimination trial and I bet you won't want that," Elise paused as she parted her lips and her eyes spring wide.

Thomas watched her lift her hand swiftly then glanced at her wrist. "We have to go, we only have ten minutes left!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Thomas said and Elise grabbed his hand then turned the lower part of his wrist to him and on his wrist was imprinted a stopwatch.

"Once the stopwatch countdown to zero, we will face the elimination trial, and if we don't pass the test we will die."