[Prologue]

[APRIL 30th, 2017]

All is dark, I cannot see anything, I feel as if I'm drifting off. I don't know where I am. I hardly remember anything, just waking up now. My name is Gavin Daniels, I'm your average college student, living off of ramen and the usual sandwich. Well, I guess I was just an ordinary college student, until this at least. The last thing I can remember, is what happened when I got back in my dorm after my classes. The power went out, and then some smoke filled the air, I passed out.

Now I'm here, all I can see is darkness, I guess I'm not even fully conscious, then that's whe-

"H-HEY! WAKE UP!"

I'm violently woken from my half-awake state and I look up to find a girl sitting over me. My vision is blurry, so I can't make out much.

"A-Are you up yet?" she asks me, shaking me by the shoulders.

"Who...are you?"

I look around past her and notice my surroundings. It looks like some fancy party lounge or something. Although, it looks like it hasn't been used in years. The girl turns me back around, I'm staring right into her face now, and she does look familiar.

"Oh, okay, you are up! That's great! It's good to see you, Gavvy!"

She exclaims, yet she is hugging me so tight it's cutting off my circulation.

"H-Huh? How do you know my name?" I blurt out.

"Oh, you don't remember? It's me! Meg!"

I ask her to let go so I can breathe, and then it clicks. She had been my childhood friend, Meg Adata. She had moved away when we were just starting high school. Her father had been the founder of the famous company, ADATA Inc., and he had to move to adjust to his new job. I haven't seen her in years, which I guess explains why I didn't recognize her right away.

"Woah, Meg! Long time no see! What are you doing here, no wait, what are we doing here?!"

"Do you remember what happened before you got here?" She asks, a stern look on her face.

"Uh, no. All I remember is heading back into my room before some weird smoke appeared in my room, and I guess I passed out."

"Huh, same here."

"H-Hey, who are they?"

I point up towards the staircase, where it seems to be a group of people coming down, chatting amongst themselves. They stop once they reach the bottom of the stairs, just staring at Meg and I.

"H-Hey! More people! Do you know where we are?" An older man calls out from the group. He looks to be around his fifties.

A woman behind him answers,

"Hey, there's no need to be rude. They could be in the same position as us."

He looks from us to her, then back to us.

"Oh, so you were kidnapped too?" I ask.

"Why...yes, we all met up a room or so back, well, I guess it's good to meet some more survivors."

We walk up to the other 'survivors', and begin talking about our experiences on how we got here.

The Old Man, whom cannot remember anything, even his own name. He is about 5'9", and his hair has already greyed. He wears a large trench coat with trousers. On his wrist is a bracelet that shows the number "1" on it's face.

There's the Woman, who was out getting groceries for her kid when the white smoke entered the store and she passed out. She looks to be in her thirties, and is a little taller than I, about an inch or so. Her black hair is cut short, just above her shoulders, and she is wearing a yellow t-shirt, with some jeans. She too has a bracelet around her wrist, it has a "2" on the face of it.

A Guy who is nearly my age, whom was in a car accident last he remembered. He was driving home from school for spring break, and a man in a sports car had crashed into him. The driver got out of the car, and then threw something into his window, and the smoke filled the car. He has jet black hair. He wears cargo shorts with a green shirt with some designs on it about a band I'd never heard of. A bracelet is on his wrist too, with a "3" on it.

There's Meg, whom was kidnapped when she entered her bedroom and smoke started to fill the air. She says that she might've heard some sort of clicking noise, but she is unsure. She has light blonde hair that falls past her shoulders. She wears a jacket that has pandas decorated all over it, and some jeans. She has a bracelet with a "4" on it.

Me, whom also was nabbed when I entered my room, and smoke flooded the room. I'm nineteen, and I have short brown hair. It's usually always messy. I'm just in my clothes from school, a shirt I threw on earlier in the day and some jeans. Now that I look, I too have a bracelet with a "5" on it.

A Girl, who looks to be about seventeen, was walking home from school one night when a van pulled up beside her. She says they opened up the door, and asked if she wanted a ride home. She says no, and then she is grabbed from behind, probably from the bushes, and pushed into the car. She says she fainted after that. She has somewhat long auburn colored hair, and she wears a purple long sleeve shirt on, and a frilly skirt. She is also the sister of the guy with the "3" on his bracelet. Her bracelet has a "6" on it.

A Girl, who is in her twenties. She was working late, and then her boss had come down to ask if she could lock up for the night. She had agreed, and about twenty minutes later, there was a noise when a smoke bomb entered the room and she fell under. She has short blonde hair, and she is wearing a pink designer jacket, and white pants. Her bracelet has a "7" on it.

A Guy, in his mid twenties, who was reading in his home when he had heard a clicking noise, similar to Meg. He saw the smoke and he began to search for the source, when he saw a can on the ground with a red zero painted on the side of it. He is taller than me by quite a bit, but he's a bit skinnier. He wears a beanie and has glasses. He wears a blue shirt, with some brown pants. His bracelet has an "8" on it.

A Guy, who is about eighteen, was hesitant to speak about anything at first, but he says he was just in his room and he fell unconscious. He has light blonde hair, and he is wearing a brown overcoat, that looks to be a size too small for him, and some blue jeans. His bracelet has a "9" on it.

"Okay, so our stories, for the most part, are similar, so how did we end up here?!" I ask.

Just as I said it, a blaring sound came from an intercom speaker within the room.

"Hello, I assume you've had a nice nap. I am your captain, [Zero]. You have been gathered for my game.

The [Nonary Game]. You have nine hours to escape this ship, or you will all die on board.

You all have been applied with Bracelets that act as a transmitter to a tiny bomb inside your body.

Should you not follow the rules, or refuse to play, the bracelet will send a signal to the bomb inside you, and kill you.

There are only two ways to remove this bracelet;

1. You escape this ship

2. Your heart rate reaches zero.

I implemented the bomb in you hours ago, forcefully throwing it up is futile, as it has already passed into your small intestines.

There are 9 of you. I suggest you work together, for that will be the easiest way to escape, yet you can totally act on your own accord.

I will leave the decision up to you.

There are nine doors that are numbered throughout this ship, as you can see, two of them are in front of you.

As the Titanic sank under the ocean, this ship is also in danger of sinking.

There are 9 hours to escape, alive, water has submerged the [D Deck] of the ship.

To do so, you must find the door that is labeled [9].

There are rules when entering a door.

-Only 3-5 people can enter through a single door.-

-Only one door may be active at a single time.-

-You may only enter a door, if your teammates' number and yours adds into a [DIGITAL ROOT].-

-Example, Teammates [3], [5], and [9] may only go through Door [8] together-

{3+5+8=16}

{1+6=7}

-All teammates that open a door must enter the door, and must participate within the door.-

Inside each room...well, I'll let you figure that out for yourself. Good Luck."

We stared at each other at this announcement, speechless.

Will we be able to get off this ship alive?