God, why do people have to be so noisy? Can't I… Justin opened his eyes, realizing he was face down in the middle of the quad. Everyone stepped around him, as though it wasn't odd for someone to be sleeping in the middle of a path, and chatted like normal. Justin got up, but nobody seemed to notice. It was as though he was invisible. Ok, I've woken up in the middle of campus. Nobody can see me. "Nobody can even hear me!" Justin screamed. Not a single person turned their heads. "What else can go wrong?" As if in answer, his phone chimed. He checked it and noticed he had received a message, which read: Welcome, Players, to Day 1. Your mission is to reach the bookstore. If you don't get there in 60 minutes, you'll be erased. Good Luck! Justin checked his pocket, finding a small variety of pins. Finally, his left palm stung, as if he hit a sunburn. A timer, set to 60 minutes, was counting down.
"Please don't tell me this is what I think it is," Justin pleaded. To answer, three strange frogs, with hind legs made of tribal tattoos, appeared. "Oh, shit!" Justin said, running. The frogs gave chase, ignoring the random people, which didn't seem to acknowledge them, and gaining on him. He didn't care where he went, just so long as he could escape the frogs. Then, his run came to a painful stop as he slammed into a young woman.
"Ow," she managed.
Justin recovered fast, eager to escape the frogs. "Can you hear me?"
"Y… yeah?" the girl was still a bit dazed and confused.
"Then make a pact with me," Justin ordered.
"A pact?" the woman asked, picking herself up.
"Just ay, 'I accept'," Justin commanded, not explaining. The frogs were closing in, and moving to surround them.
"Ok? I accept?" She said, not understanding. The words allowed the pact to be formed, and Justin smiled.
"Rule number one," he said, a lot calmer, "Don't die on me." As the frogs closed in, Justin and the young woman were pulled into separate worlds. Justin looked at the three frogs with a smirk. "You three messed with the wrong Player." With that, he lunged at the frogs, his arm acting as a blade as he swung at the frogs.
The young woman, ran in fear as the frogs jumped at her, narrowly avoiding their attacks. Suddenly, one vanished, and she stopped with curiosity, which allowed one of the others to kick her aside. Then, that one vanished, and then the last. Before she knew it, she was staring at the back of the young man she had made a pact with.
"You ok?" Justin asked
"Wha… what were those things?" she asked, starting to really freak out.
"They're called noise. They were after us because we hadn't made a pact, but they shouldn't bother us anymore," Justin explained. "Sorry for rushing things earlier, and running into you. I needed to get away from them and wasn't paying attention."
"Can you explain what's going on here?" she pleaded, "And just who are you?"
"I'll be glad to answer all of your questions, but after we get to the bookstore," Justin replied. "After we get to the bookstore I will explain everything. No lies, no deception. Just the full complete truth. Deal?"
"Alright, deal," she agreed, "but this better not be a trap."
Justin nodded, hoping the same thing as he ran toward the bookstore. The timer on his hand a firm reminder of the penalties for failure.
"Can you slow down a little?" the girl pleaded. "What's the big deal about getting to the bookstore?"
Justin did slow down a little, but only to a brisk walk. He held his left hand to her, showing her the timer. "We have a time limit to get there. If we don't, it's game over. And the life we lose, is our own."
"Wait, what!?" the girl asked in a panic. Justin started running again, and she ran after him. When Justin slowed again, it was just before the door to the building the bookstore was housed in. A young man with wings that looked like tribal tattoos, similar to the frogs' legs, a red hoodie, and blue jeans, stood next to the door. The girl continued running, holding her hands out to push the door open, and slammed into a barrier.
The winged man looked down at the fallen girl. "Normally, you ask me to clear the wall before you enter. But, I guess you can always try charging it. Doesn't work though."
"How do we clear this wall?" Justin asked.
The man looked over them. "You have to make a pact, which you already have. So, wall clear." The man waved toward the door and started to walk away.
"Hey, wait!" the girl called out to the man, but Justin continued inside, and she followed him, confused as to why they could get in now. When they reached the entrance to the bookstore, the timer on their palms vanished, and a wave of relief washed over them.
"Alright, we made it to the bookstore. As I promised, I'll answer any and all of your questions," Justin said.
"Why could you get in the door but I couldn't?" she asked, a bit ticked off.
"The Reaper by the door cleared the wall before I opened the door, whereas he hadn't when you first tried."
"Reaper? Wall?" she asked, confused.
"The man with the tattoo wings. He's in charge of clearing the walls that block the way. Different walls have different requirements. The walls act as a barrier that prevent us from accessing areas we aren't supposed to go to or are an obstacle to our mission."
"Our mission? Is this some sort of game?" she was really getting ticked off.
"Actually, this is a game. It's called the Reaper's Game and we are the Players. The Reaper's Game lasts seven days, and we get one mission per day. Each mission has different criteria and time limits. Today was day one, and our mission was to get here within an hour."
"What happens if we choose not to play? And why can't anyone see or hear us?"
"The Reaper's game is played in a separate world. I know it as the UG, or Underground, whereas everyone else is in the RG, or Real-ground. We're from the RG, but we were pulled here to play the game. People in the UG can interact with the RG, but the RG can't interact with the UG. And, if you get killed by the Noise, or if you fail a mission… you get erased."
"Erased?" she's a bit shocked, but she doesn't fully understand.
"You won't exist."
"What!?"
Justin didn't say anything.
"Just who are you, and how do you know all this?" she demanded.
"My name is Justin Paura. I know of the Reaper's Game because of a video game I played. I never imagined that the game would be real. But, so far, what we're going through is a lot like the video game. Just a different setting and real."
"Why am I playing this game? I didn't sign up for this!" she was starting to panic.
"I don't know why you're playing. But, we each had an entry fee to play. We'll get it back if we win, but if we don't, we're erased."
"There's an entry fee? What was it, like five bucks?"
"Actually, it's whatever you held dear to you. Speaking of which, would you mind taking my picture and showing me?"
"Why?"
"I'll explain in detail, but it might help me figure out what my entry fee was."
"Alright," she pulled out her phone and took a quick picture. She then turned the screen to show him. Justin was of average height, with a slender build. He had long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a black jacket, a black shirt, blue jeans, and gray/black tennis shoes. He wasn't very muscular, and his long jacket sleeves only hid the muscles he did have.
Justin sighed, "Well, still no clue what my entry fee was. It's possible for your entry fee to be your appearance. Other possibilities include your memories, someone else's memories, other people, and the list goes on. It's supposed to be something you valued most. Like, if you valued your individuality, your memories were your entry fee."
"Could you take my picture then?"
Justin pulled out his phone and took a picture. He turned his phone around to show her. She had long, light brown hair, and sapphire blue eyes. She was a little shorter than average, and just as slender as her partner. She was wearing a Halestorm t-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. "So, is the person in the picture really you?" Justin asked.
"I think so. Yeah, it is."
"Alright, so, mind telling me a little bit about yourself?"
"Oh, that's right. My name's Selina. I obviously have no idea about the game, or why I'm playing," she pauses to think. "I'm not entirely sure what my entry fee was either."
"It sounds to me like it was your memories," Justin interrupts.
"I'll get them back if we win, right?"
"That's how it works. Pay the entry fee, play the game to get it back, go on living. Anyway, we've got some time to kill. Do you know how to fight the Noise?"
Selina shook her head. "The Noise was what again?"
"Those frog things that attacked us earlier were Noise. Sometimes we'll have to fight them for the mission. And, as much as I hope they aren't here, there may be hostile Noise. For the most part, Noise won't attack us since we've made a pact."
"Ok, so how do I fight the Noise?"
"Check your pocket, there should be some pins. Each pin has its own psych, or an attack you can use."
Selina reached into her pocket and found the pins. The black pin with the white skull, the Player pin, and six basic pins. "Which one should I use?"
"You can use up to three," Justin thought for a bit. "How about we face some Noise and you can see which ones you can use and which ones you like," he suggested. "If you can't handle things, I'll step in and help."
"I guess that'd be alright. Just so long as you can guarantee I will not be erased."
"Well, if you get erased, I'm as good as dead. It works the other way too. My point is, I've got nothing to gain by letting you get erased, and I don't plan on getting myself erased."
"Alright then, I'll trust you. So, if the Noise doesn't attack us, how are we going to fight it?"
"I'll take care of that part. Just let me know when you're ready." Selina looked over her pins and put two on, and started to put on the Player pin. "That pin's a bit unique. It doesn't have a psych, but it's a very important pin."
"What is it?"
"It's called the Player pin. It's only given to Players and it can do a variety of things. The first is scan. Scanning allows us to see the Noise, and read people's thoughts. The second thing it does is block off Player's minds. It prevents the Player from being scanned or imprinted upon, which is the third thing it does. You can imprint certain ideas, or memes, from your phone to people for a mission. If we ever get one, I'll show you how it works."
"Ok, so, this pin protects me?" She asked. Justin nodded. "And I can use it for the missions?" Justin nodded again. "Alright, I think I'll let you use it more, since you know how to use it." She put another pin on, and nodded to Justin.
"Ok, those three pins are Force Rounds," pointing to a pin with a strange fireball, "Shockwave," pointing to a pin with a crescent, "and Thunderbolt," pointing to a pin with lightning. "Force Rounds and Thunderbolt are ranged, whereas Shockwave is close range. I'll let you figure the rest out."
Selina nodded again and Justin flipped his Player pin into the air. A moment later, the two were pulled into different zones, each with three frogs.
Selina looked at each of the frogs with fear as they approached. One jumped at her, and she swung her arm instinctively, activating the pin and striking the frog. She did it again to the frogs erasing one. Realizing she actually stood a chance, she dodged the frogs' jumps, and held out her hand, trying to use her other pins, to no avail. She used Shockwave again, and erased another frog.
"Well, at least one pin works," she noted. She tried to use the pin again for the last frog, but it refused to work. "Wait, what? Why'd it stop working?" The frog jumped at her, but it was erased in mid-air. Shortly after, she and Justin were facing each other again.
"Where did you go?" she asked.
"To fight the Noise," he replied. "They exist in two zones. I fight them in one, and you fight them in the other. We have to fight them in both in order erase them. It's why you need a partner to fight."
"Ok, why didn't my pins work?"
"I guess you just can't use those pins," Justin shrugged. "I don't know the full details on it, but a lot of people can't use every psych. I can't even use all of them."
"Ok, but why did my pin stop working?"
"Stop working? Oh, your psychs actually have limited uses before they have to recharge. Some need to charge before you can use them."
"Alright then, I'll try out these other three. Then what?"
"God, you two are boring!" a male voice shouted.
Justin turned fast, but couldn't see anyone.
"Consider yourself lucky I can't touch you until Day 7," the voice mocked, from a different direction.
Justin turned again, seeing a Reaper with a wicked smile, red eyes, and jet black hair. He was dressed in black jeans, black shoes, a black shirt, and a black trench coat. "Let me guess," Justin quipped, "you're here to erase us and grab some points."
"Name's Zerick, and yeah, I think erasing you sounds like fun. I already erased two other players today, but I'm already feeling bored. Too bad we're out of time."
"What does he…?" Selina started to ask, but she and Justin both fell unconscious.
"I'll see you two tomorrow," Zerick laughed, walking away.
