• Darkness.

    That's all I saw when I first woke up. I had no idea where I was, the last thing I remember is that I was walking home at around midnight, but this didn't look, or smell, anything like my room. It smelled of the forest.

    I looked around, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could make out the faint shapes of trees. I shifted, I was on grass, my hands ran across the cool turf then landed on my jeans.

    I sighed, trying to clear my mind and remember what exactly happened.

    -----

    I was walking from a friend's house. It was around midnight. I had stayed at their house to study and it had gotten late.

    As I was walking, I had the vague feeling of someone following me. I stopped at
    the corner to take my cell phone out of my bag to check the time. In the tiny screen, I saw a shadow.

    I turned around to see who, or what, it was.

    The last thing I remember thinking was 'Ow.'

    ~~~~~

    I sat quiet in realization that I had been captured and put here.

    I searched around me in the dark for my bag. Once I found it, I started searching blindly for my cell phone.

    Notes. No.

    Eyeliner. No.

    Gum. No…maybe later.

    I finally felt the smooth texture of the folded up phone and flipped it open.
    The dim light blinded me for a few seconds but once I could see, I found that I had no signal, a new text message, and it was only two am….great, at least five more hours of complete darkness.

    I opened the text message, it was from my boyfriend,

    Analice
    Im srry I cdnt call u
    I was busy unpking
    Bt ill try 2 call u tmrrw
    Nico

    I felt a stab of love in my heart, I missed him. He had moved a few states over last week and we have yet to talk for more than a few minutes before he had to get off.
    I closed the message and the screen flickered back to the main screen where a picture of Nico and I kissing decorated the background.

    I turned my cell phone around so I could examine my surroundings. Like I thought,
    I was in a forest, the tall trees making it almost impossible to see the sky.
    There was a pile of items next to me with '174A' written in almost computer-like handwriting. The pile of items included a bag full of food, a small medi-pack, a pistol, a small sack of ammo for the pistol, a rather large hunting knife, and a black screen-like device.

    I assumed, wherever I was, that I was labeled as 174A.

    I continued to search with my phone until I found a body, at first, I wasn't sure weather it was a boy or girl, the short red hair threw me off. But once I rolled them over, I recognized them.

    She groaned, opening her acidic-looking green eyes, "What the hell?" She looked over to me, "Analice? What happened?" Her name was Alex Whittney, she was in my homeroom at school. She was one of my friends.

    "I don't know, Alex. I woke up a while ago and I just found you." I shook my head and looked next to her, she had a pile, too. Except hers was slightly different.
    She had a bag full of food, a screen device, a pistol, ammo, a medi-pack, but instead of a hunting knife, she had a katana. And she had a map! Now, how was THAT fair?!

    I picked up her back of food and read the number printed on it.

    '168A' was printed in the same handwriting as mine.

    We looked at each other and thought the same thing.

    We're gong to have to-

    "Welcome everyone!" A voice said from our screen devices, we picked them up.
    A man was on the screen. He looked about twenty-something. He had black cut hair and devious brown eyes that were hidden behind thick black glasses.

    "Since everyone is now up, we can begin." He said, smiling. "First off, you can call me by 'T'. And I suspect you're wondering where you are. Well, I can't tell you that but just know that there is no way out." His smile turned to a grin. "You are currently with your classmates in homeroom 308, Mr. Burton's class, and you are in a game."

    Alex looked to me in confusion, I shrugged.

    "The objective of 'the game' is to outlast the others in your class. You will have to do anything to survive, even if that means to kill them. Only one person will be left alive."

    "You all have the supplies you will need to survive. A week's worth of food, if you run out there is plenty of game for you to hunt, a firearm and ammo, a knife or sword, a medical pack, and a communication device I will use to tell you the things you need to know. Oh, and a select few of you got something extra." I assumed he meant the map.

    "The rules of this games are simple, kill or be killed." His grin widened. "Of course, you don't HAVE to play. But you can't leave either. And every day, a section of the area you are in will become a 'danger zone', and if you are in said zones, you are advised to evacuate as quickly as possible or you will die."

    "And before I bid you adieu, a little useful advice, if you find someone, kill them or they will kill you!" He laughed. "Well, bye for now, I'll be back in twelve hours to tell you the people who have been killed. Have fun!" His grin grew even wider, if possible, showing sharp, perfectly aligned teeth and the screen went black.

    "This is a nightmare, this HAS to be a nightmare…" Alex muttered, horrified.
    I gave her a hug, rubbing her back soothingly.

    "I want my brother…" She said hollowly. Alex's only living relative that she knows of is her older brother, who was her mom, dad, and everybody.

    I, myself, was an only child and my parents were both alive but were never home. ('Business, dear' was the only answer I got whenever I asked them where they went.) So, even if I did die, which I would make sure never happens, no one would miss me while I was gone.

    I let go of her "Well, we could play or die a horrible death by the hands of someone we went to school with…" I said putting my medi-pack and food in my bag I still had with me and my pistol in the front of my, now grass stained, jeans. I kept my knife in my hand.

    "B-but…I go to school wit them…I can't!" She said, dazed.

    "Well, at least come with me to find a way out." I snapped back, getting up and putting her medi-pack, ammo, and pistol in the food bag. I handed it to her and she too it. I put her katana in her belt loop. "Keep a hand on or near it at all times, we still don't know who all is 'playing'"