"No!!!!!! I don't want to play...." A few voices protested, their eyes filled with fear as they stared up at the sky.
They waited for the reply from the AI voice, but no response.
The group exchanged nervous glances, the silence occupied the entire place, and the weight of the reality of their situation settled over them.
"Game? I thought it was a prank," the crew-cut hairstyle man murmured in disappointment over his words.
A woman in an office dress, her voice hesitant, broke and quiet. "Time limit? What does that mean? What happens if we don't arrive on time?" The woman questioned while watching the timer still displayed 60:00 in the sky.
"We don't know," another replied in the same confusion, watching the timer.
"Such a brave little soul..." the young man's voice cut through the tense environment, watching the old man with a casual one-wink, flashing a crooked grin, spreading on his lips. "I am Dean. I think I'm already popular because this old dumbass... but, hey, introducing myself is good manners, Mom always said so." Dean moved towards the old man, stretched his whole body lazily like a cat in front of him. Then turned and mockingly smirked at Danny, remembering the last night. "Well, this sounds easy enough. A walk in the park—or, I guess, the desert."
Danny shot him a sharp look, his eyes narrowing in anger because of Dean's last night moment. "You annoying jerk! " he hissed, his voice low and deep. "You think it's a joke? This isn't just a walk. It's a damn game. We have no idea what happens if we lose! Have you ever even played a game before?" he roared.
"Game!!!!" Dean laughed, his laughter echoed entire place mockingly. "Are you a kid?" he teased again.
The timer sound interrupted their conversation with a sharp beep.
Beep... "59:57"
Simultaneously, A sharp metallic sound crackled behind, and the big box of parcels came out from the sand behind them.
Everyone turned towards the sound. "What was that?" someone gasped, stepping back from their standing place.
A knowing smile spread across Dean's lips, and he jumped towards the big box in excitement. "Water!" he screamed, his voice surprising and playful. "Stop acting like you're in a horror film," the voice already told water is coming...." He opened the box with a casual shrug and coolly, without any fear.
His eyes widened in cheer when his gaze landed on a water bottle that sparkled like a diamond in the sunlight. He grabbed without hesitation and chugged the full bottle in one sip. A let out deep relieved breath, "It's refreshing! I never thought I would love water this much." He exclaimed as he took another bottle in his hand and returned to his place.
Then, with trust, everyone took their bottle one by one without any fight or argument.
"I never thought water had this amount of taste," someone murmured, sipping their water bottle in the heat waves streaming under them, and walking towards another player.
At last old man who had been beaten by Dean last night walked near the box. His wrinkled eyes widened in shock watched the box; it remained empty." Water.... No water bottle," he whispered to himself as he checked the box, flipped the velvet clothes.
But remains nothing.
Danny, while sipping the water, noticed the empty-handed old man, and his gaze shifted to Dean, a flicker of irritation in his eyes struck towards him. "This asshole" he murmured as his jaw tightening. He walked towards him, who was casually flirting with other girls and making a cringeworthy joke, and laughing. "Hey, Dude..." he called out, his eyes narrowed in anger, but he remained calm.
Dane was still laughing, and he rolled his eyes at the sound of Danny's voice. Then he turned back casually and gave a dismissive wave to the girls. "One second, beautiful ladies... wait for your king, " he flirts towards them. "Excuse me? " he murmured with a casual shrug. "Do you need any help, my little boy?"
"Little boy? "Danny smirked with exasperation as his eyes fixed on Dean's arrogant face. "Hey, man, that bottle in your hand belongs to that old man. Can you just hand it to him?" he demanded nicely, pointing his finger at the old man.
"What?" Dean cackled maniacally, balancing his hand on his hip in mockery. "You are hilarious, man." He teased as his eyes shifted towards the old man, then back to Danny. He let out a deep breath. "What if I don't? You gonna punish me or kill me?" His voice was deeper and scarier than before.
"I think I need to teach you a small lesson," Danny murmured, raising his brows. Before Dean could react, Danny delivered a quick, precise kick to Dean's ankle, aiming to knock him off balance. Dean, however, moved with surprising speed, jumping back and escaping the kick.
The girls scattered, stepping away.
"Not bad...." Danny murmured, his voice challenging as his hands were attacked to punch him in a karate stance, ready to strike. Dean, with a causal, smug grin on his lips, balanced each of Danny's attacking moves, a fluid counter to every blow with quick reflexes.
"This is not your fucking problem" Dean roared when the Danny hit became deeper he understood he's stronger than him. He tries to kick his leg, but Danny blocks his kick with his fast reflexes.
Every strike and movement was perfect in fighting. A blur of motion and quick reflexes brought them to the edge of the inner circle. Dane's eyes noticed the border. He stopped.
"Okay... I give it to him," he shouted, his eyes widened in fear, stepping out of the border, and his one leg was on the inner circle, the other floating on the outer.
Danny immediately grabbed his shirt with an attitude wink; he noticed Dean's heart racing, his rib faster. "Do you want to test this game first?" he challenged, his voice a low threat as he pretended to lose his grip slightly, making Dean fear and teach a lesson.
Wait....Wait! " Dean stammered, his voice trembling when Danny's grip loosened and his hand threw the bottle towards the old man. "Look... I did what you said. Now your turn. Be a gentleman's agreement." He pleaded, his face telling his dread.
"Stop this fucking fighting? "Time is already running out," the braided girl yelled, cutting off their fight. "Are you guys serious?" She raised her brows in question and crossed her arms.
A cruel smirk replaced Danny's lips, and he realized Dean was not worthy. Then he tightened his grip and left Dean with force, and dragged him towards the inner circle.
"Don't judge anyone," Danny murmured and walked towards the crowd.
Dean's jaw clenched in disappointment, aggressively adjusted his crumbled shirt. "Motherfucker… You're gonna pay for this soon," he vowed silently to himself.
The other's gaze remains on time, which is now displayed." 49:56"
With the timer ticking every second, the tension increased across their faces, and individuals gravitated into small groups with agreement, urgently mapping out their next moves.
"I think we should hold our hands and run towards the south side direction, maybe we can finish it within time." The skinny woman proposed her idea to a small group.
Other aged men nodded their heads, but the innocent, silent girl remained silent, her hands gripping her skirt tightly, and her mind was out.
Noticing her absent-mindedness, "Hey, Little one… Your name is Yumako, right?" the skinny woman asked, her voice softer.
"No… Yumiko. Mrs. Clara," She replied nervously, watching her sadly. I can't trust anyone, but I have no choice... Mrs. Clara seemed good... she thought as her hands were shaking and gripping her skirt in fear of being around people.
Clara scanned Yumiko from top to bottom. "Are you sticking with this plan?" she asked, doubting her disbelief.
"Yeah…."Yumiko nodded in agreement, facing down as she held the nearby man's hands tightly.
Glancing at the hologram timer before stepping outside the circle, the timer displayed "46 56".
"Okay… "Let go," Clara ordered as ten members tightly held hands and stepped one by one outside the circle.
"We are safe…." One man murmured, a whisper of relief. Within a fraction of a second, he dropped, sinking into the sand as if it were quicksand. Simultaneously, another person on the opposite side of the group also dipped into the sand, vanishing without any scream.
Everyone outside the circle froze as they stepped back into the circle, after no one made a single move, and Others looked utterly lost, their minds struggling to process the sheer absurdity of their situation.
"Hell no!" they screamed, their voice echoed throughout the whole place.
"I can't do this anymore," the girl hissed, as she grabbed her chest and fell.
Yumiko stood without any expression on her face, her hands were bleeding where the last man had scratched her hands before he fell. Her eyes widened in horror, and still processing the past incident. Her breath hitched when she realized the nearby people were dead. Everything remains silent as she loses her mind, and her leg loses grip on standing. Before she could slightly slit into sand, a man with glasses grabbed her and pulled her firmly back into the circle.