The Game Chapter One - Part One *WARNING!!! THIS BOOK TALKS A LOT ABOUT SENSITIVE TOPICS AND USES SOME BEEPED OUT INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!* ┈ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_┈ First: You. Are. Here Next: Chapter One - Part Two https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1378082273/ Previous: This might be the first chapter, idk guys... ENJOY!!! ┈ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_┈ If anyone were to tell Rayne that they’d be spending their birthday in a giant, deadly, life-size board game surrounded by fog and evergreens—they definitely would’ve worn warmer clothes that day. But, on a summer morning where they expected the day to get hotter than the oven they used to bake cookies, a nice winter coat wasn’t exactly on their mind. Then they got the stupid letter that ended with them standing on a giant plastic platform in the middle of an evergreen forest and now they’re reconsidering their choices. The platform stretched out in what seemed to be a 20-by-20 ft square and it was similar to the dance floor Rayne’s dad rented for his wedding a few years ago. Ahead of them were duplicate dance floors of different colors spaced a couple feet apart. The strange, colorful path stretched into the fog and blurred but it felt like it probably led on forever. They were surrounded by evergreens that grew tall and menacing, and a small chill ran along their spine as a cool breeze blew through the loose tank-top and cargo pants they were wearing. Rustling branches and leaves filled the silence that had engulfed the strange area for a second. Rayne tried to advance forward, their combat boots made a clicking noise that filled their ears. They approached the edge of the first square but when they put their leg out to step out on the dirt between the two platforms, the world around them seemed to spin and melt, the colors blending together. In a split second, they were back in the same spot they’d been a few minutes ago, the edge of the white platform more than 10 feet ahead of them. They looked around, bewildered, and tried running to the next platform again only to be teleported back to the same spot. They tried again—maybe that saying third time’s the charm actually worked—only to end up back in the same spot. All the teleportation was making their stomach feel queasy and their throat burned as they swallowed the rising puke. “What the actual ****?!” They screamed into the silence. Rayne started pacing, trying to put together everything that could’ve led to this moment. Their pathetic life in Pennsylvania, their pathetic life in school, their pathetic life in general—everything didn’t make sense! Sure, they weren’t the most noticeable person, but isn’t that usually a good thing? They remembered opening that dumb letter. The envelope dressed in their favorite shade of blue, the wax seal so official with its little chess piece symbol. They thought it was one of those birthday cards you got from relatives who rarely remember your birthday. It was only after all the flashing lights, falling from the sky, and ending up in a bizarre forest like this did they realize it wasn’t. They kicked their boots across the artificial floor again, a squeak filling up the deafening quiet. The forest around them was dark. Properly dark. Not the kind where you have street lamps filling your windows with the tiniest sliver of light, or the light pollution brightening the sky so you could see maybe a foot in front of you. No, this was the kind that felt like the trees could swallow you whole if they wanted, shadows twisting in the thick fog. It was amazing they hadn’t tripped over their own two feet. Looking down, they realized now that the plastic beneath them was emanating some form of light. /It really is just a giant dance floor/, Rayne thought, rolling their eyes. They tried to walk off the giant square once more only to be teleported back again. Their brain felt fuzzy, like they just stood up too fast. Great… Finally, after a good couple minutes of pacing and getting nowhere, they sat down and begrudgingly accepted their fate. ┈ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_┈
┈ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_┈ Not even an hour had passed when a piercing sound cut through the silence, like the bell one would ring to alert a bellhop in a hotel. Confused, Rayne looked around the empty space for the source. That’s when it hit them. Literally. Their body thunked against the plastic as something large and heavy fell on top of them. Pain laced through their body and they let out a muffled sound that probably would have been at least 5 swears. The object on top of them shifted and made a weird groaning sound as it moved off of them. “Oh… my gosh! I’m so sorry!” The object, which from the voice Rayne determined was a girl, shrieked. “I didn’t mean to… fall on you?” Rayne sighed and heaved themselves off the ground. “Yeah, no, it’s alright.” They groaned and stretched their sore muscles. The girl that fell on them was short, with fluffy black hair tied in a ponytail. Her skin was practically white, reflecting the light the plastic was emanating. She was now pacing in a circle, tears in her eyes, hands waving around with her bracelets creating the only sound in the silence around them. “This can’t be happening… What- I was just- Where are we?” She turned to Rayne, snot dribbling down her soft features. Rayne groaned internally. They had dealt with their fair share of overly emotional girls. “No clue, that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.” She looked at them confused. “What? How? Have you tried leaving?” “Four times. We can’t leave this stupid dance tile. Every time I’ve tried, I get teleported back to the same spot.” They shrugged as they sat back down on the plastic. It was cold despite genuinely being a giant light bulb. The girl looked at Rayne skeptically. “Right, and I’m supposed to believe you?” They shrugged again. She just grunted in frustration, wiped her eyes, and tried storming off the plastic. In a whir of black and neon colors, the girl teleported right back in front of Rayne. They wore an expression that read ‘I told you so’. “Don’t give me that look!” She crossed her arms and sat down on the plastic across from Rayne. ┈ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_┈ A/N??? NO YOUR EYES DO NOT DECEIVE YOU!! IT IS FINALLY HERE YESS!! I've been working on this for a while- so when I finally finished the first chapter (while it's not perfect, i figured it's good enough for scratch) I was like YAYAYAYAYAYYY. Bc I also have the RotP chapter one to finish and then gotta figure out what I'm doing with T.U.H. Also, feel free to theorize in the comments and stuff!! Ur support gives me more motivation to write hehehehehee >:3 ┈ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_┈ Like what you read? Check out the official studio!! https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/51912518 AND maybe check out some of my other books? Rise of the Primordials (A PJO/HoO fanfic): https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/51912520 The Unwanted Heroes: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/51914701 ┈ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_┈
