The Price of Life

[Neobullseye]

((OOC thread: http://roleplayerguild.com/showthread.php?t=154687))


The sun rose over the city, spreading its warmth and light as usual. One of the many buildings that was being shone upon was a dusty, low-key hotel. You propably would never find the hotel if you didn't knew where it was, seeing as it was barely marked as being an hotel in the first place. As a result the hotel was on the edge of bankruptcy. As if to mock the bad state of the hotel, some spider had woven its web in the corner of a window. If one would bother to look through the dusty window of the hotel, they would see that eight humans were lying on the ground in the hall. Each one of them had a collar around their neck, each one of them seemed to be unconcious.

Each one of them had to either kill someone else before the month ended or die themselves.


Soon after, the eight slowly started to come to, likely to be confused about how they got here. "Lucky" for them, an explanation would soon follow. A television that until now was only transmitting noise sprung to life, revealing a faint figure. The figure simply stared at the camera for a few seconds before speaking up.
'Good morning, everyone.' the figure said -- its voice seemed to be male, but of course one can easily change his voice with modern technology -- 'Good morning to all of you. I hope you had a good rest? I mean, you better have had a good rest, seeing as you'll need all the energy you can spare in the upcoming month.
You're probably wondering what I'm talking about, right? Well, I hope you're all wide awake, because I have a very important message for all of you. You better listen up, because I really don't like to have to repeat myself. Is everyone paying attention? Good, here it comes; each and everyone of you has been chosen to... play a game against eachother. Not just an ordinary game like Monopoly though, that would be boring.
Before I go on, I would like you to feel around your neck. You should feel a thin metal collar. Harmless, no? No. This collar has been rigged with explosives and will disconnect your head from your shoulders if you choose to disregard the rules of my Game.
Now, let's move on to the rules of the Game, shall we? The rules are actually very simple.
One: No escape. If you try to leave the city boundaries, the collar will explode. You'll get a warning if you get close to the boundaries. For the record, trying to remove the collar counts as trying to escape.
Two: No guns, seeing as those make for a very boring game. Other obvious weapons like kitchen knives, axes and such are also banned. You are allowed to weaponize tools, but I'd prefer it if you'd just made good use of your powers, which I'll get into shortly. Again, breaking of this rule will lead to collar detonation.
Three: You must complete your objective - which I'll also get into momentarily - within 30 days. Failure to do so will lead to mass collar detonation, seeing as everyone would break it at the same time.
Now, I'll say what aforementioned "objective" is. You'll have to kill one specific person in this room.' The voice fell silent for a second to let the message sink in. 'That's right, I'm asking you to either kill or die. I don't care if you have to kill a man, woman or kid, as long as you make it look interesting - and as long as you comply with aforementioned rules.
Now, you may be wondering: "If I can't use weapons, then how am I supposed to kill anyone at all?". Well, it's simple; each and everyone has been given a special power. If you would be so kind to check your pockets? You'll find the following: A wallet, a tarot card and a cellphone.
The cellphone will have a message on it stating what power you have, along with some other useful information. You'd... probably want to keep it private. Oh yeah, it also has my number on it, in case you have any questions - or just want to chat with me.
The tarot card will be your most important possesion in the upcoming month, seeing as it is both the source of your power and the mark that allows your hunter to know you're his target. As a result, it's even more private than your message.
The wallet, as small as it may seem, actually has an infinite amount of money in it. Before you ask any questions as to how this is possible, remember that it game from the one that kidnapped all of you without the world noticing and gave al of you superpowers.'
The voice fell silent again, both giving people time to think about their situation and allowing the speaker to think if he was forgetting about anything. 'Oh yeah, one more thing: Who are you? Ah, trick question! You don't know who you are since I wiped your memories. These will be given back to you when you win the game. Oh, and to give you one last incentive to play the game: Whoever wins the game will get one wish granted. And with that, I'm off! Remember, I'll be watching you...'
The signal to the TV failed once more, leading to it once again only showing noise.

DATE: 01 JUNE, 2012
TIME: 07:00 AM (07:00 on a 24-hour clock)
DAY 0 - THE GAME HAS BEGUN

[Amethyst]

Sparkle heard what the TV said, and then sat, staring into space, her mouth agape. I don't want to fight or kill anyone! I just want to stay an innocent child. As in, thinking that talking back to my parents would be bad, and killing a grasshopper would be bad, but not even thinking about murder! She stood up and pulled out her tarot card. she read it quickly, keeping it tipped so no one could read over her shoulder. Tucking it back into her pocket, she glanced at the older 'contestants'. Stifling a sob, sparkle turned and ran through the motel, looking for the door.

Out the door. Through the semi-destroyed apartments. Running. Running. Running. She ran until her legs hurt and her head spun, then Climbed a tree in the park and hid in the leaves. What am I going to do? I can't kill, physically I'm too small, mentally I'm too weak, and emotionally I'm too pure. She was sobbing, rocking the tree as her body shook, *her tears running down her face and meeting the leaves. "What am I going to do?" she cried.

Finally, she quit crying. Sparkle knelt on the branches and glanced up at the sky showing through the leaves.
For the first time in her life, Sparkle prayed.

[babbies123]

He sat up slowly, rubbing his aching head, and tried to take in the message while also trying to remember who 'he' was. Everything started to make sense as the message went on: Why he was in a hotel room, why there were 7 completely random people around him, why there was cool metal surrounding his neck, and why he was feeling a bulge in his pocket. Pulling out the phone, he was instantly glad there was no-one behind him, as it meant no-one else would be able to read his message. Pocketing the phone, and deciding that he could look at his tarot card later, and that the wallet was useless for now, pulled out the only other thing in his pocket. It felt hard, and large. In his trouble to pull it out of the cramped mass that was his front-left jean pocket, he manage to deduce a few things: One, that it had buttons, two, that it has a hole in the base, and three, that his pockets were far too small - he needed some new jeans.

While he couldn't actually get it out, he could clearly tell the thing in his pocket was a computer mouse. That seemed as good as anything to call himself.

Standing up, Mousey edged towards the window behind him. If one of these people was out to kill him, he'd rather have some distance between him and them. He saw a little girl run out of the door. She had the right idea. Managing to open the latch and vault out the window, he saw her running. Keeping his distance, he followed behind. When she climbed a tree, he hoisted himself up the one next to it, as quietly as he could. He didn't know why he was following this girl. What he did know that she was the only person in that room he wasn't directly scared of. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he just sat in the tree, and did the same thing as this girl; he prayed.

[Tcab96]

His eyes fluttered open, waking up just in time for, "You better listen up," another man said from the television. The man fiddled around in his pockets as the man on the television spoke, finding a crucifix, a tarot card, a wallet, and a cellphone, just like the man said. The video ended as he sat there in disbelief and staring off into space for a split second, but snapped himself awake. "The fuck? No, this is some fucked up joke." He said to himself, but eventually reached up and felt the collar around his neck a second time. As much as he wanted to say, "Fuck it," and take the collar off, he dared not to, but felt like a complete idiot with it on. Just then a little girl ran out the door, "What the hell is wrong with this guy? To go as far to include a child in this joke?" He wondered what the girl's name was. Actually, he wondered what his own name was. "Who the hell am I? What's my name? When is my birthday? Where is my family? What do they even look like? Shit, why can't I remember anything?" His mind went back to the man on the television, "That's right, he'll give it back to me when I 'win' this game." He scoffed at this thought, "I'd rather die than let someone control me or force me to kill someone." He felt he would drive himself insane with his own questions, he wondered if he already was insane. It was turning out too much thinking was bad for his health. He reached back into his pocket, pulling out the crucifix. He stared at it for a second, unsure why it was in his pocket. He looked around at the other people with collars on their necks, only fueling his anger, "Forget this sick joke. I'm out of here." He thought as he stood up.

The crucifix dangling from his hand swayed as he walked towards the door, he held it up to his face. He pushed open the door, the fresh air hitting him, he liked it. He breathed in, then out. "I have to find somewhere to stay." He began walking, but wanted to check something, so he pulled out his wallet. His wallet was filled with money, "No way in hell..." He pulled out a hundred dollar bill, holding it up to the sky, "Well, I can definitely find a place to stay with this." He continued to walk until he found a hotel, not just any hotel, but a nice one. He walked in, it was the type of hotel rich people went to.

He walked up to the front desk where a very pretty, young woman stood, "Excuse me. I'd like to pay for a room."

"Sure thing, Mister...?" He realized the woman was asking for his name, he hesitated, scanning his brain for a new name.

"Cross."

[Amethyst]

Sparkle, having calmed herself down, decided to go through her pockets. Her tarot card, phone, and wallet were easy to find, but she then found something else. A necklace with a crystal on it. Hm... A crystal. And I don't have a name, other than my tarot which I WILL NOT advertise. Hm....Sparkle seems like a good name, for a girl my age.

Sparkle decided to try to piece together what she could about herself, being that she couldn't do anything. My name is Sparkle. I don't remember my real name. I think I am between 7 and ten years old. My favorite color is... Frantically, she wracked her brain for the detail. I don't remember my favorite color. Purple is my new favorite color. Um.......my least favorite plant is an oak tree, because I'm sitting in one right now. Why can't I blink myself out of this strange, strange, world? Why can't I wake up on my own bed, in my own house?
Sparkle blinked out of her thoughts and listened to the wind. the wind? My tree isn't shaking like it would in the wind. Someone is in the other tree next to mine. Should I go try and become allies with him or her...or run away? Two heads are better than one, but (s)he might turn out to be my target or be my attacker. Hm...

A few moments later, Sparkle was tapping on the trunk of the squeaking tree.

[MisterGrey]

The fourth contestant in this "game" found himself slumped against a wall when he woke to the sound of a man speaking on the television. He ignored it at first, it didn't look like anything interesting was on, and took a quick glance at his surroundings. He was just about to ask the other occupants of the hotel who they were and just what the hell was going on when something the man on the screen said grabbed his attention.

"...I have a very important message for all of you. You better listen up, because I really don't like to have to repeat myself..."

He listened quietly to the whole thing, thinking it more and more ridiculous as the figure described his rules. What kind of a game is this? But then the figure dropped the bombshell. He looked around the room again, finding many of his fellows doing the same thing, unable to believe that he was being made to murder one of them.

The mention of superpowers was the last straw. The contestant groped at his pockets, pulling out the phone, wallet, and card, as well as a lighter he must have been carrying before. He read his tarot card and the message, and decided that there was no way this could be real. He stood, and would have left, were it not for the last thing the figure said.

Oh my God, it's true! he thought, panicked. I can't remember anything! And he did try, for the life of him. The last thing he was doing, what day it was, his name, anything! Nothing. Could this really be happening? He stared down at the items in his hands. Well, if he couldn't even remember his name, he would need one no matter what he did. He considered naming himself after his tarot card, but the figure said he'd want to keep that secret. But what else? If he didn't have his memories, he didn't have anything.

The lighter. Besides the clothes on his back, it was all he had that the figure didn't mention. Maybe he had it before he was abducted? Maybe it was related to his life somehow? But he couldn't very well call himself "Lighter". He decided "Flash" would do, and was done with it. He wondered what the others would go by, and how they were coping with the situation in general. He hadn't lost it yet, so he thought he was doing pretty well.

Flash put the tarot card in the wallet and placed it carefully, along with the phone, in his jacket pocket. He put the lighter in the other pocket and looked up once more at the gathering. Only one of them had found their words, and it was only to show disbelief. A few were already leaving. He decided that was probably the best way to go. He felt foolish about what he was about to do, but he had to test out his "powers" just to make sure that he didn't have them. He made for the inner city, to the buildings with high rooftops. If he could do what that phone said he could do, it would be best to try it in a high place.

[babbies123]

Mousey could never remember praying before, but then again he couldn't remember much of anything. He considered hedging his bets, and praying to every god he knew, but he didn't know any. Instead, he prayed to "Mr. God person". It wasn't his best idea, but hey. He had just had his memory wiped, and told to kill someone he didn't know. When he managed to work this out, he figured he may well cry a bit. But at the time, Mousey's prayers were interrupted by tapping on a trunk.

Seeing that the girl had noticed him, he acted without thinking. "Please don't hurt me!" He half-shouted, then, realising he was begging for mercy to a girl two thirds of his hight and about a third of his age, tried again, saying "If.. if you don't hurt me, I won't hurt you!" Resolving that this was good enough, he followed with "I guess you can call me mousey. I've been calling me it for the past 5 minutes." He couldn't tell what he was worried about more, this little girl attacking him or her running away and him being left alone.

[Amethyst]

"Uh...hi...um...I'msparkle." Sparkle got up from the fetal position that she had found herself in when he yelled. She hoped no one else had heard them. "I figured out that I'm seven to ten years old, I like purple, and I hate oak trees." she half-whispered. "And I don't like fighting. That's my tidbit that I remembered." Sparkle smiled and hoisted herself into the tree. "I haven't tried my power yet.....I don't actually know how......*Sorry, I talk alot when I'm nervous. Unlike when I'm calm..I rarely talk. Or when my adrenaline kicks.*So anyway. I'm not going to hurt you, and I'm 60% certain you won't try to kill me. Are we allies now?"*

[babbies123]

"I... I guess so..." Whispered mousey, trying hard to fathom the situation at hand. He had just made an alliance with a little girl to help defend each other in a city they can't leave because there's explosives strapped to their necks. No, there was no time to attempt to make sense of this. He might try later. For now, he was perfectly indifferent to just make decisions one at a time, and to take everything as it comes. He could find somewhere to cry later.

"So... I'll tell you my info if you tell me yours." He said in the same low whisper. He thought about his power. He seemed to be in a pretty good place to test it out, when he thought about it.

[Amethyst]

"Okay then. I'll send you a message so no pesky insects can hear." Sparkle tapped her ear, hoping he would get the message that people may be eavesdropping. "I'm going to go out and try my power."

Sparkle found a little stranglevine plant growing in the field. "Hm....Do I just....think and touch the plant?" She thought and thought, imagining the plant growing bigger extremely rapidly. Sure enough, when she opened her eyes the plant in front of her was larger than when she had touched it. "Mousey! Cone look at this!" she beckoned towards the tree.