2025-11-30 16:53:39As soon as the timer hit 00:00:00, the whole room stopped. A sharp chime rang out, and the system's voice filled the air like it was standing right beside us.
"Participants. Your alignment period has ended." The room shook once, and then the voice continued: "Welcome to Game Two." The floor ahead of us split open with a heavy metallic grind. One after another, tall booths rose from the ground, forming a circle around us. Each one had a door, two chairs facing each other, and just enough space to stand or move a little. The system didn't pause. "This Game is simple. Each booth will host one Participant from Red… and one Participant from Blue." A cold rush ran down my spine. Not just mine—Laura's grip on my arm tightened, Jude's jaw clenched, Blaire's eyes went wide. Everyone who had followed me to the Blue side froze for a second. We had all thought… that this would be about teamwork, about sticking together, maybe even surviving by helping each other. And now this. One-on-one. Face-to-face. Controlled by some twisted set of rules we hadn't seen yet. I could almost hear the silent calculations running through everyone's heads, the same thought moving through all of us: I don't even know who I'll be paired with. We were no longer a group. Each of us was about to become a single target in whatever nightmare the system had cooked up. The system didn't care, it simply continued. "Inside every booth are Cards placed at random. Each Card contains an instruction. Think of it as an engineered version of Truth or Dare, where the Dares are commands, and the Truths are... not optional." People started whispering. Someone cursed under their breath. Then the voice continued, almost amused: "Blue will read the instruction. Red must do what is written. If Red refuses to obey, Blue may press the shock button located on their seat. This will deliver an electric shock strong enough to force compliance." Laura's fingers tightened around mine, but the system wasn't done. "If Blue refuses to read the Card, Red is allowed to press the shock button on their own seat. The shock will be delivered to Blue." Voices rose. Some panicked. Some tried to stay calm. No one succeeded. The next part was worse. "Both sides may choose not to press the shock button… but only three times. After the third, mercy will no longer be allowed." My breath caught. Three mercies. That's all? "If either Participant refuses their role after three mercies… both will be terminated." Silence. Cold, heavy silence. Then the final line came, smooth and almost cheerful: "Booths will open in two minutes. Prepare yourselves." The booths clicked as the locks opened, waiting silently for the game to begin. And every single person in the room knew: This wasn't a choice. This was the system stripping us bare… one sick rule at a time. My Player ID blinked on my palm, along with the one I'd been paired with as it also showed up on the screen in front of us. P-123700FQ-M … and … P-450271AA-F. Laura's hand squeezed my arm. "Hey… you'll do just fine, okay?" I nodded, even though I didn't believe it myself. If I'm being honest, I had no idea how any of us were supposed to survive this next game. And judging by the looks of things, Red was the side I didn't want to be on. The booth had two lights on, Blue light on my side, Red across from me. I stepped into my side of the booth, keeping my eyes forward. My partner was already there—a woman with black hair, probably in her early forties, staring at me with wide eyes, like she was trying not to vomit. I glanced at the screen again. IDs ending with M were all male. Ending with F, all female. Laura was F. I was M. Easy enough. We both got in and sat down as the timer counted down the two minutes. Too long, but not long enough. She cleared her throat. "Hi… I'm Catherine." "Erwin," I said, keeping my voice steady. She gave a small smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm a lawyer. Back on Earth, I mean." I forced a small smile that felt like chewing glass. "Math Lecturer." "Smart, huh?" She tilted her head. I knew what she was trying to do. Make things feel lighter than they actually were. Fake a normal conversation in the middle of a room built to destroy you. Even though she was probably scared out of her mind, she wanted to act like she had a grip on something, anything. I nodded slowly, letting the silence stretch just long enough to let her know I noticed. It didn't make either of us feel any safer. I finally blinked at her, trying to measure her tone. "You… okay?" Her gaze dropped to her knees. When she looked back, a tear streaked her cheek. "Not really. I… I've got two kids. My husband's probably waiting for me to get back from court." I opened my mouth, but the system's voice cut through, sounding as mechanically mocking as ever: "Let the Game begin." I swallowed. There was no comfort here. Only the booth, the timer, and the cold realization that nothing about this was fair. I looked down at the box in front of me. Completely sealed, with only a single hole just big enough to fit a hand. My stomach tightened. I knew what it meant. I slid my hand in and pulled out a card. I froze the second I saw what was written. Catherine must have noticed too, because she leaned slightly forward. "W… what does it say?" I didn't answer. I couldn't. Not to her. Not to a mother of two, not to a woman whose husband was probably waiting for her back home. I dropped the card into the other box labeled "Drop Used Card Here." Because the words on it… word for word said: Blue to tell Red to strip. To take off their shirt. I swallowed as my mind spun. If that was the first card… I wondered what the rest had in store.
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Different Directions
We moved like ghosts after that, every shadow a threat, every echo a footstep. The timer bled down: 38:44:12.We found Mason and Chloe's second key target in a high-ceilinged chamber full of silent, suspended engine blocks. The pair holding it—a man and woman—didn’t surrender. They’d gotten their first key the hard way, and it showed in their wild eyes. They fought.It was chaos. Mason traded blows with the man, their struggle sending tools clattering from a workbench. Blaire and the woman grappled, a desperate, silent tangle.I was trying to get to Blaire when I saw the other man break free from Mason. He didn’t go for Mason again. He saw me, isolated, and lunged, a wrench raised high.I froze. The baton in my hand hummed, useless. My mind saw the equations, the angles, the force—but my body wouldn’t move. Hurt him or die. The logic was perfect. My will was not.“ERWIN!” Jude’s shout was raw.He barreled into me, shoving me sideways. There was a sickening thwack.Jude grunted, stumbl
Cost of Living
We’d become efficient. Ruthless in a bloodless, quiet way.Our strange pack of eight moved through the rusted arteries of the Asylum with a grim rhythm. We’d collected our first Keys. Mason and Chloe had their second target, LOCK-14G. Me and Laura, Jude and Blaire—we’d all scanned our first Locks. We’d even helped Lena and Sam get theirs. No one else had to die. Not yet.Our size was our weapon. We’d corner a pair, our group spilling into a room or blocking a corridor. Mason would stand front and center, crossbow not quite aimed, but not quite not aimed either. His face said everything: Compliance or carnage. Your choice. It was always compliance. They’d press their trembling palms to ours, hear the chime of their own death sentence, and we’d move on, leaving them hollow-eyed and alive.The timer on the distant wall glowed, a constant reminder in the gloom: 41:15:53.We had time. But time was just another form of pressure.We were walking down a wide access tunnel when Chloe broke th
The First Key
We kept moving. The metallic groans of the Asylum and the distant, muffled sounds of conflict were our only soundtrack. Time was bleeding away. 47:02:11.Jude was shaking. Not a lot, just a fine tremor in the hand that wasn't clutching his stained knife. He kept looking at it, then ahead, his eyes unfocused."I...I just killed someone," he muttered, not to anyone in particular.Blaire squeezed his arm. "You didn't see her die.""She's not gonna make it out with that wound," Jude said, his voice hollow. "She'll bleed out. She'll still die. It's still my fault."Mason spun around so fast it made Chloe jump. He got right in Jude's face, his own composure cracking. "What did you think was gonna happen, huh?" He shoved Jude back against a cold metal pipe. The clang echoed. Everyone froze. "They were gonna ask nicely? That guy aimed a pipe wrench at your fucking face. So get it the fuck together."I saw the rage in Mason's eyes—not just at Jude, but at the situation, at the blood on his own
Blood in the Rust
The heavy door sealed shut behind us with a final, hydraulic hiss. The sterile light of the prep room was gone, swallowed by the oppressive gloom of the Ironclad Asylum.We stood in a high-ceilinged corridor of rusted metal and stained concrete. Pipes snaked along the walls, dripping with condensation. The air was cold and smelled of wet rust and something faintly chemical. A giant digital timer was projected in the air at the far end of the hall, its numbers glowing a sickly green:47:55:43Forty-eight hours to become killers, or be erased.“This way,” Mason whispered, his voice all business. He led, crossbow raised, sweeping the shadows. We followed in a tight, nervous cluster.The sounds began almost immediately. Not the ambient groans of metal, but active, human sounds. A sharp cry echoed from a level above, followed by a wet, crunching thud—like a baton hitting something soft. Then silence.Chloe whimpered, clapping a hand over her mouth. “I… I can’t do this,” she breathed, her v
Poetic Punishment: Words Made Weapon
The morning light was a liar. It spilled into the room, clean and warm, pretending the night before hadn’t happened. Pretending I hadn’t lain awake for hours feeling Laura’s heat beside me, thinking things I had no right to think. She was already up, dressed in the dark, practical clothes from the wardrobe. She stood by the fake window, her back to me. She didn’t turn when I sat up. The silence was a third person in the room. The three-toned chime broke it, harsh and final. The TV flicked on. SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT PREPARATION PHASE TERMINATED. ALL PARTICIPANTS REPORT TO MAIN LOBBY. TRIAL BY ORIGIN COMMENCES IN T-MINUS 30 MINUTES. No “please.” Just a command. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. We walked to the elevator, stood in it, and watched the numbers descend in a silence so thick I could taste it. The lobby was different. The eerie social calm was gone, shredded. People stood in their obvious pairs, faces pale, eyes darting. The attendants were gone. The only
The Undoing
We spent the remaining hours of our rest period watching the attendants. It felt like a dead end. Every question, every accidental spill, every prodding comment just bounced off them. Their replies all tied back to the same loop: Your comfort. Your safety. Enjoy your rest.Before we knew it, it was evening. The last night before the next game.Back in the room, the silence felt heavier. I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to trace a path in my mind that didn’t end at a locked door or a timer counting down to zero.The bathroom door opened.I didn’t look over until she was halfway to the bed. Laura walked out wearing a shirt. My shirt. One of the plain grey ones the system had magicked into existence in the wardrobe.It was big on her, hanging off one shoulder, the hem stopping high on her thighs. My eyes went straight to the smooth skin there, then darted away, a hot flush crawling up my neck.“You’re wearing my shirt,” I said, my voice tighter than I meant it to be.She
