---The Games---
The Games are a yearly event where five randomly selected eighteen-year-olds are required to compete for survival. The theme varies from year to year, but the conclusion of the Games forever constant. One player remains alive, the others having failed to prove themselves worthy. The fate of this final contestant rests in the hands of the masses. If they acted with noble intent and provided worthy entertainment, they are crowned victor. If not, they are banished to the outerland, a fate far worse than death.
---Prologue---
My name is Kimberly Pink and today is my eighteenth birthday. In an ideal society it would be cause for celebration. But the world we live in is far from perfect. Becoming an adult means that my name will be entered in the drawing for the Games. If my name isn't selected, life will go on as normal. If it is, odds are I will be dead within a few days. It may a depressing view of the future, but it is the only one I have. It is also the cause for the life-changing decision I made yesterday.
I don't want to die a virgin. This simple concept was what drove me to take my boyfriend up on his long-standing offer. He was also in the drawing for the Games and neither of us wanted our lives to end before we could consummate our relationship. Yet there we sat, both struggling to step out of our comfort zone, yet both unable to do so. The looming uncertainty of our future was simply too much for us to bear.
"Do you want to watch the drawing?" I asked after the umpteenth failed escalation.
Karo nodded. He must have come to the same conclusion I had. Even if one of us was selected for the Games, we would have plenty of time to say our farewells before we were escorted to the Tower, the building where the Games are held.
My family wasn't rich, yet I still had a television in my room. It was tiny and had no color, but it sufficed as the only time I ever used it was to watch the public service announcements. Still, it flicked on as soon as I pressed the power button. It took a few seconds, but the image finally appeared.
The drawing had already begun. The game master—the man that ran the Games—was halfway through picking the third name. Neither of them were familiar to me. One look at Karo told me he didn't know them either. That was good. I knew how painful it was to lose someone close to you. Last year I had lost my best friend. But I try not to think about it because I usually end up crying.
I held my breath as the third name was selected. I was a boy. I didn't recognize the name, but the image that soon appeared on screen looked familiar to me. We both went to the same school. We had never actually spoken, but I had seen him around school often enough. He seemed like the kind of person I could be friends with.
The fourth contestant was a woman. I didn't know her, but I instantly felt sorry for her when her image appeared on the screen. She was so thin I feared she would die of starvation before the start of the Games. In a way, that would have been better.
There was only one name left to pick. This meant my boyfriend and I couldn't both be selected. But that didn't mean we were safe. One of us could still be chosen. We held hands as we waited for the final drawing.
It seemed to take forever, but the game master finally pulled his arm out of the drawing jar. Clenched between his fingers was a thin strip of paper. He slowly unfolded it and read the name that adorned it. After a few seconds, which I have no doubt were inserted for dramatic effect, he spoke.
"Our fifth and final player is—"
He never finished. Before he could, the lights went out, followed shortly by the television screen. It took a few seconds for me to understand what had happened. The power was out. Such occurrences weren't unusual in this neighborhood, but never before had one unfolded during the drawing. And right before the final name was announced, no less.
Karo and I sat there in silence. Neither of us spoke. What was there to say? For all we knew, one of us had been selected for the Games. It would have made sense for us to proceed with our plan, just in case these were our final moments together, but neither of us was in the mood. We simply sat there in silence, waiting. For what? I don't think either of us really knew.
Time lost all meaning. I felt a stiffness growing in my lower back. I was considering shifting positions to rectify my posture when I heard it. Barely perceptible at first, but then louder. Footsteps. Approaching footsteps. Someone was coming up the stairs. Moments after I figured this out, my bedroom door was kicked in and men in uniforms came pouring in. One look told me they were no ordinary sentries. Their black uniforms and crew cuts told me they were game sentries. Their presence could only mean one thing. One of us had been selected for the Games. But who? I glanced at Karo, and the sadness in his eyes told me all I needed to know. The fact that the sentries had come to my home and not his only confirmed it. They were here for me. I was the final player.
---Round 1: Losing My Virginity---
I sat on a white bed. Around it stood four white walls, two of which were interrupted by an equally pale door. One led to the bathroom, which was also white. The other led to the corridor, but it remained locked at all times. And even if it hadn't, two heavily-armed sentries stood guard outside it. Above me lay a white ceiling. Below, a white floor. Aside from the bed and all this whiteness, the room was completely empty. It felt rather fitting this would be where I would be spending the last few hours of my life.
I just sat there, staring blankly ahead. I had not cried once, though I was desperate for tears. They would have been a nice distraction. But no matter how hard I tried or how terrified I became, they would not come. In the end it was the past that came back to haunt me. I pictured my friend, the one who had died last year, sitting in this very room, worrying if he would see another day. The thought was too painful, so I quickly moved on to the events that led me here.
The sentries grabbed me moments after entering the room. I thought Karo would try and protect me, but he just sat there, too stunned to move. I guess I shouldn't really blame him. I didn't exactly put up much of a fight. Still, I did start to panic when I was dragged from my room and carried down the stairs. I half-expected my parents to be kneeling in the living room with their hands cuffed behind their backs. But there they stood, waiting for me. My brother was there as well. He was tall and muscular. He could have survived the Games, but he was a year older than me, which meant he would never be a contestant. The same could not be said for me.
I was allowed to say goodbye to my family, but I was in such shock that I barely heard a word they said. All I remember is their faces. My father looked worried. My mother was crying. My brother gave me one of his huge smiles. It was his way of telling me he believed in me. At least one of us thought it was possible for me to survive.
Once the farewells were complete, the sentries escorted me outside, where an armored vehicle was waiting. Within seconds we were speeding off. I looked back to get a final glance of my old life, but we were already too far gone.
We reached the Tower in less than an hour. At least I think it was an hour, but I was still too shocked to know for sure. I only know we eventually slowed to a stop and we were walking again. I had often seen the Tower on television, but this was the first time I saw it in person. It was in the upper class part of town and people like me were not allowed here. Unless they were picked for the Games, that is.
The Tower was easily a dozen times bigger than my house. And that was only the first floor. Nine more stood above it, creating a short, but imposing Tower. I soon forgot all about the building when I noticed another player being escorted in by a team of guards. It was the skinny girl I remembered feeling sorry for. But now that I saw her in person, I pitied her even more. The looked even thinner. Her eyes were sunken and her limbs frail. Her entire body shook as she cried silently. Her escorts didn't seem to care. They simply dragged here along, ignoring her pleas for help. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I actually felt relieved when she vanished into the building. There was just something about those shrill sobs that made it all seem real. And realism was the last thing I wanted right now.
I was also marched into the building, but the thin girl was gone by then. I had no doubt that would be the only time I ever saw her. Odds are she would be dead the next day. And I would follow the day after.
I was led down a series of corridors. We eventually came to a stop by a guarded door. The sentries stepped aside and I was unceremoniously shoved into the room. The heavy lock slid into place as soon as I was inside. I didn't even bother trying to open it. I simply walked up to the bed and took a seat. I'm not sure how long I sat there, staring at the white nothingness that surrounded me. It must have been a while, because my back was starting to ache by the time I finally found the will to stand. The first thing I did was try the door. Of course, it was locked. I then headed for the second door, but found nothing in the adjoining room but a toilet and a sink. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, I returned to the bed and waited.
The Games would officially begin tomorrow, which meant I had what remained of the day and the entire night to get ready. But how was I supposed to prepare for something I knew nothing about? The theme of the Games was usually kept under wraps until the actual start of the competition. But now that I was part of the show, would I be allowed to know the theme in advance? Or would I discover it along with the rest of the population? Not that it really mattered. My odds of survival were slim. The best I could hope for was to survive an extra day. But once the thin girl was dead, I would be the easiest target.