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NOTHING HAD CHANGED on Second Earth since I’d left. The atmosphere still reeked of dying hope and forgotten mysteries that cowered away in their little corners, afraid to ever step into the light but longing for a moment to be noticed. Jayde and Jaaspar stayed close to me as we marched through a dark and narrow hallway. I assumed the lights weren’t working properly in this section, because a bit further ahead, the level was illuminated to the brightness of the sun. This sometimes happened on Second Earth. Sections of particular floors had outages or inconsistent electrical circuit problems that were never going to be fixed.
“Spooky,” Jaaspar whispered.
“Scared of the dark, are you?” Jayde asked as she nudged his shoulder.
“I am,” I said, a bit embarrassed. “More scared of what I can’t see.”
“You have a good point there,” Jaaspar said. “We’re all scared of things.”
“Oh yeah? What are you scared of?” Jayde asked.
“That’s a secret.”
We took a small flight of stairs to the level above the courthouse on level eighty-one — an all too familiar sector. On Second Earth, any level above ninety-three was restricted for ordinary civilians, including me. They belonged to the game makers of the Exogames — at the discretion of the High Judges.
The gazer leading us through each of the floors paused in front of a black double door and waved his hand over the control panel. It split open into two pieces. He stood to the side and held his arm out, guiding each of us to enter the room.
The lights turned on automatically and revealed a giant board embedded into the wall. It listed everybody’s name in the order we had entered the games. The lower half of the board had the names of the players from Mars, with Jayde’s at the top of our half and mine at the very bottom. A hologram of Second Earth orbiting its namesake appeared in the centre of the room, and the text ‘Exogames 99’ spun around it. This year must be the ninety-ninth Exogames. The games didn’t start until a few decades after humanity escaped to Second Earth; it took a while to adjust to the new normal back then.
I’d never seen Second Earth from the outside before. None of us had. It looked much smaller than I had imagined; it was approximately half the size of the moon. The lower the levels were on Second Earth, the smaller they became. It was roughly the shape of an upside-down pyramid with abundantly more jagged edges and concave openings.
The door opened once more, and eight strangers walked in, presumably the other players who would be joining us in the games — five women and three men. They varied in age, like those of us from Mars. The oldest one in the group looked to be in her fifties. She tied her hair back behind her ears and left it frizzled and messy. Her wrinkles showed every time she moved a facial muscle, and her skin was much paler than the rest of ours. She was the outlier of the group. The other four young women talked amongst themselves and didn’t seem to feel the need to meet the rest of us.
I noticed Thebe, one of the players who joined from Mars, introduce herself to the older woman, but she was quickly shut down. I didn’t know if it was because the older woman was nervous or if it was her regular personality, but neither option was good to have in the Exogames. Alliances needed to be formed because the games were far too difficult to complete alone. Thebe awkwardly joined Jaaspar, Jayde, and me to shake off the embarrassment.
“Are you all scared shitless like me?” Thebe asked, not even introducing herself to the rest of us. It might have been easier for her to jump right in at the deep end and skip all the pleasantries.
“I was, but we seem like a pretty cool bunch. I was more scared of the other players joining us than the games themselves,” Jayde said, surprisingly. She had initially seemed to be the toughest of all of us.
“I was pretty much the same,” Jaaspar added.
“So, how old are you all?” Thebe asked as she fanned air onto her naturally tanned face.
“I’m twenty-two,” I answered.
“Same,” Jayde said.
“Twenty-four,” Jaaspar said as he wobbled from left to right.
“Wow, you guys are much older than me. I’m only seventeen,” Thebe said as she tied up hair that was brown at the top and blonde at the bottom.
I widened my eyes and dropped my jaw. She didn’t look seventeen. I would have guessed at least twenty-one. Her confidence was much higher than that of most teenagers on Second Earth. For a seventeen-year-old to be sentenced to Mars and then to join the Exogames, she must have committed a terrible crime. I didn’t want to be the one to ask her what it was; those types of questions were too invasive.
“You all seem like a solid bunch,” one of the male players from the Second Earth prison said as he squeezed into our group. “The name’s Neon.”
He was a buff kid with styled spiky hair and soft hazel eyes with yellow undertones. I would have guessed he was around twenty years old. But knowing my history of guessing ages, I was probably wrong.
“I’m Fate,” I introduced, then went around and stated everyone’s names in order of where we stood in a small circle. “Jayde, Jaaspar and Thebe.”
“Nice to meet you all. These games are going to be a huge event,” Neon said.
“So we’ve heard,” Jayde said.
“That’s what Kuiper told us back on Mars.” Jaaspar pointed a thumb towards where Kuiper was talking to another prisoner from Second Earth.
“Ninety-nine doesn’t sound like a special number to hold an eventful Exogames,” I said.
“If you’ve read about the history of the games, which clearly you haven’t,” he began as he rolled his eyes, “there was an Exogames before the first. So technically, these games are the hundredth.”
“An unofficial Exogames. Thank you for your input,” Jayde said to shut him down immediately.
“Let the games begin.” Neon smiled intimidatingly.
“Confident much,” Jaaspar said.
“Hey, we’re all criminals here.”
“I think there is a massive difference between criminals and prisoners,” I said as I stretched my back straight and stared at him directly in his eyes, not blinking once.
Neon backed away and vanished behind the hologram.
The lights dimmed and the hologram disappeared. All of us bunched into the centre of the room and awaited further instructions from anybody in charge.
“Players of the ninety-ninth Exogames, welcome to your briefing,” a deep voice echoed over the loudspeakers in the ceiling. It wasn’t robotic like all the other announcements in Second Earth; it was human.
A new hologram appeared, and we spread out like cockroaches fleeing the light. The hologram projected an array of videos of past games in a repeating compilation.
“The sixteen of you have chosen to play a game of life or death,” the voice announced.
Again, I counted one more player than the amount stated. Eight from Second Earth and nine from Mars. I checked the leaderboard, and my name was numbered sixteen with nobody underneath me, but I was too preoccupied to figure out who was missing. Nobody was allowed to leave the games once they entered; that was the rule the man in the suit had stated. It was a contract we verbally agreed to.
“The Exogames were created two hundred years ago to give every criminal an opportunity to win their freedom back. It serves as a reminder of your actions in hopes that the survivors are cleansed of their impurities. I am one of the game makers this year. Call me ‘Moirai’ to shorten things up. Now, the games will test every cell inside your body. A total of five rounds, each varying in difficulty and skill. All will be timed events, some based on speed, and some based on skill.”
This information was predetermined, but I understood why he had to explain it. It was probably a legal requirement or a script he had to follow.
“Tonight, we will host a dinner for all of you. I know that the majority of you haven’t eaten a good meal in quite a while, so this will be our treat to you before the Exogames begin.”
My stomach rumbled at the thought of it, and by the looks on everyone’s faces, it was loud enough for them to hear. The food on Mars was terrible, and I hadn’t realised how much I missed the food on Second Earth until we arrived back here.
“As many of you know, if you have watched prior Exogames, some players will be given various advantages throughout the games. This is a recent rule implemented ten years ago, and the advantages will be granted at random. The advantages depend on the current game and the number of players remaining. None of you will know the game before it has begun, so sharpen your skills and prepare for one of the best Exogames Second Earth has ever seen. We look forward to seeing you tonight,” Moirai concluded.
The lights brightened gradually, and it took a second for my eyes to adjust. A gazer, without a helmet, rounded us all up and moved us into a medical room at the end of the hall.
“All of you need to be examined,” she said as she pushed the heavy door forward. It was the only door in Second Earth I ever saw that didn’t disappear into the ceiling. “The doctors here will check your vitals and determine if you are all fit for the games.”
This wasn’t a real medical floor; those were further down on levels fifty-two and fifty-three. I assumed that these doctors were professionally trained for the players in the Exogames. We sat in a random order and didn’t speak with each other because it was too uncomfortable. Jaaspar sat nowhere near me, and Jayde was a few seats over. I couldn’t find Anyma in the row of players, so I figured she was already being seen by a professional.
“Artemis. Fate Artemis,” a doctor called. “You’re with me.”
I followed the doctor, a thin woman wearing a loose white coat and glasses too big for her face, into a small, enclosed section away from the other players. She sat me down on the bench and asked me to remove my shirt. She proceeded to attach metal circles to my chest, lower back and the sides of my temples. An opaque force field then appeared, blocking my view of the rest of the level and the other players.
“Heart rate looks healthy,” she mumbled to herself as she examined the screen on the side. “Breathe deep and hold, then exhale,” she commanded.
I did as she asked, breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly through my teeth. I repeated this a few times until she placed her hand out for me to stop.
“Lungs are healthy,” she said as she clicked a few buttons on the computer that displayed my vitals. “Alright, Fate,” she said as she adjusted the metal circles on my temples. “Close your eyes for me.”
The room was sufficiently lit, so closing my eyes didn’t make the world completely dark; it just prevented me from seeing. I wished that everything would have gone back to normal when I opened my eyes back up, but it wasn’t ever going to happen, and I felt increasingly vulnerable the longer they stayed closed.
“Cognitive.” She paused as she clicked her tongue.
I didn’t open my eyes because I was scared of not following the rules. However, my curiosity grew heavier in those few seconds as she didn’t make any other noise. The cognitive test took much longer than the other vitals, but there was nothing I could have done to speed it up.
“Cognitive... looks good,” she said, slowly.
I opened my eyes to the doctor unsticking all the metal circles from my body and placing them back into the little glass jar she had initially pulled them out of. I slipped back into my shirt and jumped up with excitement. I didn’t know why I was excited; the Exogames weren’t something to be taken lightly. Although, there were inmates with shorter sentences who still joined the games for the thrill of it all.
“Artemis?” the doctor questioned. “That surname sounds familiar.”
“It’s not a very common last name,” I said.
“Have we met before?” she asked.
“I can’t say that we have.”
I noticed her eyes darting from side to side, trying to link my name to something she must have known. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t get them out. She turned to the computer and pulled up my medical history. There wasn’t much in there of concern; no broken bones or serious illnesses.
“That’s it!” She closed the computer. “Your father was Scorpius Artemis.”
“Yeah. Did you know him?”
“I examined his vitals for the Exogames he played. Just like you, everything was in good health.”
“He would have been. He really took care of his body when he was alive. He encouraged me to take care of my health too, but I haven’t really been focusing on it. I have a few days to get into shape before the games.”
“You really should listen to your father. Now more than ever, you will want to take care of your health. The games will test you, not just physically, but,” she lowered her voice and leaned forward ever so slightly, “the game makers like to play with everyone’s minds.”
“So I’ve heard. It’s not just a test of skill or physical ability.”
“Hence this pre-examination. I had, in the previous games, a player with poor heart health, and the game makers wouldn’t allow him to compete,” she said.
“But once someone has entered the games, they aren’t allowed to exit. Did they let him go back to prison?” I asked.
“No. You’re right, a player can’t go back once they have entered the games.”
“What did the game makers do to him?”
“They terminated him.”
I gulped and gasped at the same time, almost choking on the saliva that had decided my lungs were the best place to settle.
“They escorted him to the airlock and opened it. Poor thing was ejected into outer space like a shooting star. I was there for the whole thing, saw it with my own eyes,” she explained.
“Lucky my vitals were all good.”
The doctor leaned in again and cautioned as she spoke, almost hesitating before opening her mouth.
“Your cognitive test was inconclusive,” she whispered.
“What?” I said a bit too loudly.
“Don’t tell anybody about it because they won’t let you play the games. You’ll be executed before they’ve even begun.”
Not everyone’s cognitive test was going to be positive. Some players had mental issues, and although it didn’t seem like any of our group had poor mental health, many inmates back on Mars did. If they failed their cognitive tests, they would be terminated from the beginning. Perhaps it was an easy way for the game makers to get rid of prisoners.
“Be careful, Fate Artemis. You don’t want to be playing with fire. This is a game of life and death. Play it smart,” she warned as she pressed a button that brought down the opaque force field. “Good luck, Fate.”
I nodded and proceeded to the other players who’d finished a bit earlier than me. Jayde smiled when she saw that I had also finished and gave me a thumbs up. Everybody else who was waiting hadn’t introduced themselves yet, and I wasn’t really in the mood to get to know more people. The more people I knew, the more I could lose in the games, and I wasn’t prepared for the emotional trauma.
“All good with your pre-examination?” I asked Jayde quietly to not draw attention from the other players or the gazers who stood on either end of where we waited.
“Absolutely. And you?”
“Same. Nothing to worry about,” I lied, hoping she wouldn’t notice.
“What do you say we explore this level a bit more?” she asked.
I don’t know... We could get in trouble.” I eyed the gazers nervously.
“As if they’re going to punish us. We’re already in the games. Isn’t that punishment enough?”
I chuckled and thought about it for a moment. The game makers would be able to penalise us if we were caught. But I agreed, realising I didn’t care so much about the potential consequences.
“Excuse me.” Jayde tapped on the gazer’s shoulder. “I need to go to the bathroom,” she said, looking at me to do the same.
“I will escort you there,” the gazer replied.
“No, you will not!” Jayde exclaimed. “I can find it on my own. I am a woman. How dare you!”
I waited a minute before asking to avoid drawing any suspicion. The gazer crossed his arms and widened his legs to the same spacing as his shoulders.
“I need to go to the bathroom as well,” I lied.
“Sorry, bud, but you’ll need to wait until the other girl comes back,” the gazer said.
“No, you don’t understand. I am busting so badly. You’re not going to want a mess to clean up,” I said, hoping it was convincing enough.
“Alright. Be quick,” he said.
I rounded the corner behind the medical room and caught up with Jayde.
“What took you so long?” she asked.
“I was only a minute,” I laughed.
We slipped past gazers who were patrolling some control rooms and stopped in front of a hallway without any lights.
“There is no way I’m going through there,” I said slowly, taking a step back.
“Come on, live a little. This is exciting,” she said.
She was right. After all, I needed to train myself with more fight-or-flight situations. I needed more adrenaline rushes because I didn’t want any surprises in the games.
As soon as we stepped into the shadows, a wave of eeriness passed over my entire body. My heart raced, and its beats were deep and heavy. I was pretty sure I could hear Jayde’s heartbeat as well, but she was much more skilled in hiding her fear.
A door clanked open just a few metres in front of us, and the lights from inside brightened our view. Jayde and I ducked down and hid in the most shadowed part of the hallway, but there was nothing to hide behind; it must have been hope that helped us become invisible.
“I’m coming back. Leave the door open,” someone said as they exited the room and walked into the abyss.
“I want to see what is in there,” Jayde whispered.
“No, it’s too risky,” I warned.
She completely ignored me and ran towards the door. I chased after her and pulled her to the side, slamming against the wall with little noise.
“We are going to get caught,” I said.
Jayde covered my mouth with her hand and whispered into my ear, “You are too loud. Shut your mouth.”
My body trembled, and I widened my eyes.
We stood on either end of the door and poked our heads in. It wasn’t a very large room; there was just enough space for two people to sit comfortably at the desks. My eyes were drawn to the flashing screens, which alternated between various locations and maps of Second Earth. There was a giant panel high up on the wall with all players’ names lit up, just like in the briefing room.
“Jayde,” I whispered, pointing at our names.
She looked confused, but slowly, I saw the pieces fit together in her mind. This was one of the control rooms for the game makers. I imagined there was a much larger one on another floor, but perhaps this was a designated space for other important parts of the games.
A man pushed a few buttons on the computer he was working at, and on his screen appeared the planet Earth as it remained beneath us.
“What are you two doing here?” The man who’d previously left had returned.
I was one hundred percent sure Jayde and I were both dead. There was no getting out of this, though Jayde was pretty smooth with her words.
“We... got lost,” she simply said. “We were looking for the bathroom.”
“Move it. Back to medical,” he demanded.
I was too stunned to speak or move. My limbs locked into place and my breath became heavy. Jayde grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the hallway.
“Did you see that?” Jayde asked, taking very small pauses between her words.
“The board with our names?”
“Not that, we saw that in the briefing room as well. I’m talking about Earth. Why was he interested in the planet Earth? Nobody has been down there in centuries.”
“Do you think it has something to do with the games?” I asked, trying to catch my breath from our half-jog.
“My guess, it does. Everybody’s name was on the panel, so that room definitely has something to do with the games.” Jayde looked around to make sure nobody was listening. “Some of us will get advantages. Remember from the briefing?”
“They are given at random,” I said.
“In previous Exogames, players wouldn’t work together, even with advantages. Players who had been given an advantage were selfish. We have to work together, at least you and me. We know now that they are planning something for Earth; that’s our secret. Whether it’s for the games or not, we can’t repeat it to anyone.”
“We have to tell Jaaspar. He trusts me, and I wouldn’t be in these games if he hadn’t convinced me to join. Definitely, you and I should work together, and we can get Jaaspar as well. We should get everybody in on this. It’s the only way most of us, if not all of us, can make it through all five rounds,” I said, hoping she would agree with me.
“Of course, I agree. But for now, we keep this between us. If word gets out that we were snooping, our heads could be on the line. That game maker already caught us looking into the room, and we are lucky there weren’t any consequences. We can’t risk any more until we know for sure.”
I crossed my fingers behind my back and agreed. Jayde returned to the medical room first so the gazers wouldn’t suspect anything, and I waited outside. This was news I couldn’t keep to myself. If Jayde really wanted to work together, she would have to include as many players as possible to give her the greatest advantage. I had to tell the others, but I needed the opportune moment to bring it up. Jayde was right that we needed to wait before we mentioned it to anybody else. She wasn’t someone I could trust just yet. My trust had been broken when I was sent to Mars. But if she warmed up to the idea of allowing more players to join our alliance, then perhaps I would have more confidence in her.
“Working together with Jayde, are we?” a voice said from behind me. I didn’t need to look to know who it was. I could recognise her voice anywhere.
“Anyma, it’s more complicated than it sounds. How long were you standing there?” I asked, turning around to see her appear from the obscured corner.
“I saw you two were caught having a glimpse around here. You mentioned you were working with Jaaspar. Not me? Fate, I joined the Exogames because of you. We are in this together.”
“I know. I mentioned that we’d work with all the players.”
“It’s more important than that, Fate. Every single one of our lives is at stake; get that through your head. You never wanted to join the games, and now you are planning some kind of rebellion?” She was exaggerating, but the disappointment was clear in her tone and all over her face.
“It’s hardly a rebellion. It’s playing the game smart. The more people we have on our side, the higher chance we all have of surviving the games and getting our lives back,” I explained. “You didn’t want to join the games either, and if you meant that, you wouldn’t be here.”
“Just.” She exhaled heavily. “Just don’t forget about me. I hope you know what you are doing.” She shrugged before she went inside to join the others.
I followed shortly after and sat with the rest of the players. Everyone had concluded their pre-examinations, and we awaited further instruction.
Jayde nodded at me without a smile but her eyes had a glint in them, almost as if she knew we were not on the same page about our alliance. But I didn’t join the Exogames to make friends. I joined to survive, and return to normality. I definitely wanted her in my alliance, there was no doubt about it, but if she wasn’t going to be honest to Jaaspar or the other players, the she needed to find a new team.