Chapter 2: ??? Hour – A Countdown to MIDNIGHT [Half past]

??? POV

I am greeted by a stunning sight. It is a place built to impress. Sandy floors spread out in front of me, a wide beige sea that is ringed by thousands and thousands of wooden seats. It spreads in all four corners, a never-ending circle that makes me feel like I am trapped. A rat in a rat-run, a bull in a ring. I am an animal in a cage.

Trapped.

My breath hitches and I clench my fists, letting pain override the sudden fear that gripped my heart. Only then does my breath slow down and control return to my mind.

Control yourself.

I try to remember the moments before I entered the open expanse: waking up in a dark cell, trying to recall where I was and realizing my mind is blank. That horrifyingly empty moment when I couldn’t even recollect my own name.

And then the old door was scraping against stone as it swung open, interrupting my thoughts with the temptation of the outer world. For a moment it scared me, so wide and so dangerous I almost felt like retreating back into my little cubby-hole.

But something deep inside of me told me to move. That I had a purpose and staying here would achieve nothing. So I took a deep breath, the mustiness of the air energizing me, and took one shaky step towards the world in front of me.

It was a long dark tunnel, slightly brighter than that little jail cell but the length was unnerving. It made me lose sense of time and place, the winding steps confusing me until finally I halted at another steel door, bolted and locked. It was old, tarnished with age and rust, but imposing in the architecture.

I paused, scratching my head at what to do now. I had hit a dead end. What could I do? Turn around? But there was no other way back at the jail cell. Knock down the door? But it looked quite sturdy.

Suddenly, the door interrupted my thoughts with a simple answer.

A flash of words appeared, like computerized text swiping across the smooth surface.

Welcome, Thunder, it said in blocky words.

“Thunder?” I breathed, using my voice for the first time since I awoke and realized that perhaps this was my name. At least it was something to call myself. Something deep inside of me confirmed it and it warmed my heart a little, the tiny shard of information making me feel more human than ever. But underneath that small fragment of warmth, there was a deep chill, lodged deep like a bullet with a cackling little voice that made me shiver. I remembered someone saying my name with such amused maliciousness in their voice, it made me want to turn tail and run.

But the words interrupted my flashbacks.

Welcome, Thunder, it repeated itself, the words flickering once again, almost impatiently like a teacher trying to get a student’s attention. Player #1.

“Welcome to where?” I whispered, my voice somehow sounding magnified all alone in this tunnel. The words echoed, bouncing off the stone walls almost mockingly. Hidden between those sounds, I almost thought I heard a snicker. Perhaps it was just my imagination for there was no one around me.

I shivered, wondering what this all meant and what the hell I was supposed to do.

“Open sesame?” I said in a sarcastic tone, one eyebrow arched and hands wide open.

For a moment there was nothing, but then suddenly the door slid open with a creaky screech and plumes of dust. The opening blinded me for the light beyond the tunnel was bright, lit up by powerful flood lights that gleamed down on the sand.

Dazed, I took unsteady steps forwards into this new world. The old, musty stone tunnel melted away to be replaced by this old-fashioned world of varnished wood and blood-thirsty color.

It was all very roman I thought. Like those gladiator games, whatever they were called. Stone and sand combined to create this beautiful geometric lines and symmetry. It was very roman, but swaths of modern red fabric streaked across my vision, cutting a bloody path in my eye. It almost hurt to look at it. So stunned was I by the sheer size of the place that I didn’t even notice the slopes of sand beneath my feet till I nearly fell over. It took a moment of wind-milling arms to adapt, but soon I regained my balance, kicking up small dust storms in my haste.

Only once I was steady did my eye turn away from the majestic seating arrangement to the centre of the ring. And there, something caught my eye.

A person.

 “HEY!!!” I yelled loudly, waving one sore arm in my excitement to see another person. “Over here!” I shouted when I saw the person turn around, eyes focusing on me. His eyes seem to light up and he started jogging over. I did the same and we met in the middle where a giant grandfather clock stood, completely incongruent to the roman setting.

“Hey…” he huffed, skidding to a stop as I did the same so that we both stared at each other, the clock standing in between the two of us. We both paused, regaining our breath and discovering we were more tired from that short exertion than we realized. It was like our bodies were completely out of shape.  As I caught my breath, my eyes raked over his body, examining him and comparing him to my own self.

Like night and day, there was a stark difference between the two of us.

We were both dressed in the same grey shirt and loose pants –inconspicuous clothing. But whilst I wore worn out sneakers and kept shaking my long hair out of my face, the man in front of me stood up straight with a posture you had to be born into. Stick-straight and well-mannered, he held out one perfectly manicured hand and I saw a glimpse of a ring, shiny and gold on his finger. Reluctantly I returned the shake with my own calloused palm.

“Seungho.” He said a little uncertainly. “Or at least that’s what my door said.”

“Thunder.” I returned the favor, feeling more comfortable with the name like it was second skin. “I would say nice to meet you…but that seems a little inappropriate considering the time and place.”

Seungho let out a nervous chuckle. ”Yeah.” He agreed. “Do you have any idea where we are?” he glanced at the arena-like location around us, taking in the overly-bright reds and the plainer browns of the background.

I shook my head regretfully. “No.” I followed his gaze, but mine stopped as I suddenly saw three more people. My eyes widened. More people! I jumped up and down, waving hard. “Over here!” I yelled, attracting their attention and they began their own dogged but determined jog over.

We all stopped in the centre and for a moment we stared at each other warily, eyes tracking the others movements like wild dogs where every second counted. It was Seungho who then stepped in.

“Seungho.” He said by way of introduction, his voice courteous and a slight bow his reflex action.

Suddenly the tension melted and the other three seemed to soften fractionally. “Mir.” said the first. He was small with sleek brown hair and inquisitive eyes. He looked like the type to get up to no good, but at the same time there was an approachable quality about him; like he genuinely wanted to help you out.

I couldn’t say the same for the other two. “G.O.” The older man said, nodding curtly. He seemed tougher to talk with, his eyes still retaining their unaccepting glassy gaze.

The last one though was the worst. He stared at us all when we turned to him. “What?” he spat and took a step backwards as if he didn’t want to associate with us.

“Come on.” Seungho tried to encourage the man. He was like a feral dog, unwilling to reveal any information for fear that the slightest unraveling would unwind him completely. “We’ve all said our names. You too.”

He gave Seungho a deeply suspicious glare, but finally relented. “Lee Joon.” He grunted and crossed his arms, forming a barrier between us all. It was a start.

Then everyone turned to me. “Thunder.” I said, clearing my throat. “Um…so does anyone know anything?”

The fierce guy – Lee Joon – gave me a deeply irritated scowl. “Of course not idiot.”

“Shhh,” Mir hushed him, but in an amicable manner. “We’re all in the same situation. No need to inflame it.”

“What are you talking about?” Lee Joon shot him down. “We’re in a strange place with no memories and we’ve just been forced together. Doesn’t it all seem a little suspicious to you?”

“Of course it is.” I frowned, disliking his attitude instantly. “That’s why I’m asking.”

Lee Joon turned to glare at me, his eyes like hot pits of coal which burned and glimmered. I suppressed the desire to take a step back and instead rose to meet his gaze.

“You two, cut it out!” Seungho stepped between the two of us and shoved us apart. “We need to cooperate!”

“Cooperate?” It was G.O’s turn to sound skeptical. “I don’t even know you guys.”

“None of us know each other,” Seungho growled and I could tell his patience was wearing thin. “I don’t remember anything. Do you?”

He turned to look at each of us in the eyes. I shook my head quickly, willing to aid him because it would help us all. Mir too seemed eager to work together. However, dragging an answer out of G.O and Lee Joon felt like playing tug-of-war with an African elephant. Not fun.

Somewhat reluctantly, they nodded as well. It was as if they were unwilling to reveal anything at all. I wondered what sort of people they were.

And if I could trust them.

“So no one knows anything?” Seungho sounded defeated all of a sudden. His shoulders slumped – his perfect posture faltering – and he bit his lip.

I frowned. Was he giving up already? We hadn’t even begun!

“What are you doing?!” I snapped, feeling irritated at his admittance of defeat. His head shot up to stare at me. In fact, the other three were also staring with wide eyes as if shocked at my sudden outburst. “Are you giving up already?” I asked in an incredulous voice.

Seungho’s mouth fluttered open and closed, but words failed him. Lee Joon took up the mantle instead. “Of course not.” He retorted. “Do you think I’m just going to lie down and die?”

“But we have nothing!” Seungho yelped, his head flicking back and forth between me and Lee Joon. His expression was one of absolute disbelief.

“So?” I raised an eyebrow. “That’s just on the surface. We haven’t even started exploring yet.”

Mir decided to chip in his two cents. “But we don’t even know where we are or what this place is.”

Lee Joon swung around to face him. “So?!” he spat. “I’m finding a way out if that’s the last thing I do.”

“But! It might be dangerous!” Mir’s eyes flew wide open. “I think we should sit down and work it out first. We need to be cautious here. It’s unknown territory.”

“Unknown territory my .” Lee Joon scoffed. “You’re just scared.”

“No!” Mir protested, his face reddening with anger.

“Stop it.” G.O stepped in, his eyes two shards of ice. “Stop it-“

But Lee Joon wouldn’t stop. “Why should I? You’re not my parents. You don’t control me. If I want out, I’ll get out and if any of you get in my way, I’ll just cut you down-“

[STOP IT]

Everyone froze where they stood. My head twisted in the slowest of movements to turn in an attempt to locate that strange voice.

“Who…was…that?” Mir said, his small mouth open. “That wasn’t us was it?”

[NO IT WAS NOT]

It was the voice again. For all my preparation, I still jumped at the voice. It was loud and static, like electricity filling the air and crackling like live wire. It made the hairs on my arm stand up and a shiver run its way down my spine.

“Who said that?” Seungho demanded, eyes warily casting about the arena – which was completely empty.

[I DID] said the voice again. It sounded faintly amused.

“Show yourself.” Lee Joon raised his voice, eyes glinting angry. “Show yourself you coward. Stop hiding!”

[OH?] The voice seemed unnervingly close, but as desperately as I searched, I could not see any other human present for miles. [BUT I’M RIGHT HERE]

Suddenly the grandfather clock next to us flickered. We all jumped back, greatly shocked at the visual show of lights that came out from the centre where the clock could be seen. The long hand was pointed directly downwards to the 6 mark. Half past.

Then a figure filled the air. It floated five meters off the ground, forcing us to all look up at the ‘creature’. I would like to say he was human based upon the masculine voice alone, but the features described nothing. It was like a shadow standing in front of me, dressed in a blood-red cape and satin top hat. In one hand, the shadow gripped a curled whip and the other rested on his hip. He flickered every few seconds, telling me that this figure was no more than a projection – an illusion. He was a hidden masquerade, but he was our only link to information.

“Who are you?” I asked this time, my voice shaking slightly and I cursed myself for that.

A snicker reverberated in the air. [I AM THE RINGMASTER] it declared confidently. [AND I WELCOME YOU ALL]

The Ringmaster took off his top hat, revealing a shadowy outline of cropped hair and bowed regally.

“Welcome to where?” Mir asked in a small voice.

The ringmaster stood upright and replaced his hat. I swear I could almost see a Cheshire cat smile curve on his face.

[WHERE?] He mockingly echoed Mir. [WHY, YOU ARE IN THE COLISEUM]

“The…coliseum?” I couldn’t help but repeat his words. As I did, I felt a wave of dread crash over me.

[THAT IS CORRECT] the Ringmaster smirked. [WELCOME TO THE COLISEUM. YOU ARE THE LUCKY FIVE PLAYERS CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLOODY CARNIVAL GAMES]

Bloody Carnival Games? I didn’t like the sound of it.

[CONGRATULATIONS] The Ringmaster said in a smooth voice. [AND NOW, YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO ESCAPE.GOOD LUCK]

How was that for a chapter? It's still a little slow, I know. But bear with me. We must get the finer details and their meeting out of the way first~ Action soon!!!