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“Lanny! Lanny is that you?” I exclaimed, pressing the earpiece deeper into my ear as if that would improve the reception somehow.
“Of course it's me!” Lanny's voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Who else would be talking to you on a special earpiece, given to you by me? The Queen of Sheba?”
“Alright, alright,” I replied. “I just wanted to be sure.”
“Well now you know,” he hissed into my ear. “And stop talking! People are going to see you and get suspicious. Just listen to what I have to say. And for crying out loud, take your hand off your ear!”
Lanny's tone irritated me, but I did as I was told. Then to further alleviate suspicion I moved to a more secluded corner of the warehouse where I could listen to my partner's words more clearly.
“So this is how this game works,” Lanny began. “When a round begins, you and the other contestants will be placed in an arena of sorts, where you will attempt to hide from a clown. You will have no means of defending yourself from the clown, so your only option is to hide. If the clown catches you, you will die, and thus be eliminated from the competition.”
I cut into Lanny's speech at this point. “I'll die? Is that a literal death or a figurative one?”
I heard him give a loud and exasperated sigh through the earpiece. “Peter.... I don't know the answer to that. I've never played the game. But you're missing the point. I'm running things, remember? You're going to be invincible in there! You have nothing to worry about!”
“Okay,” I exclaimed defensively. “I just a little anxious that's all. Continue.”
“Alright,” Lanny replied. “When the round kicks off, I'll make sure that the cheats are emplaced into the server's code so that you are invisible. That way the clown won't find you! Then, when all the other contestants have been eliminated, you can sneak up and kill the clown! It's ingenious really!”
I heard him unleash another maniacal laugh through my earpiece and it sent chills down my spine. This guy was really disturbing.
“Hold on,” I said. “You mentioned something about me killing the clown!”
“Yes, yes what of it?” Lanny shot back. I could sense the irritation in his voice, but I wasn't going to let this matter slide.
“You never mentioned that I would have to do any killing!” I growled. “This isn't something that-”
“Peter!!” Lanny roared into the earpiece so loudly that it made my ear ring. “This is all just a part of the game! You need to just start unwinding a little bit and let me handle things! Okay!”
I didn't respond. I was too upset at this little trick that had been played on me. No one had ever mentioned any sort of violence that I would have to commit. I wanted no part of it.
“You know what Lanny,” I said. “I'm over this. You can fin-”
“Whoops! It looks like the game's kicking off!” Lanny cut me off mid-sentence. “Good luck in there, sport!”
Just as he finished speaking, the whole warehouse went dark, and it was then that I heard an evil sounding cackle echoing throughout the warehouse.