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ANYMA WENT TO HER ROOM unsupervised, while two gazers escorted me back to my room before the debrief for the final game. Any excitement to play in the Exogames had disappeared with our hope of making it out alive. There was no motivation to win the games. There was no motivation to regain my freedom. There was nobody to encourage me to continue playing.
I entered the Exogames because Jaaspar wanted to. And Anyma entered because of me. I couldn’t blame myself for Jaaspar’s death, but I had to take some responsibility. The more the thought lingered in my mind, the more it ate me up inside.
The door to my room closed, and I was finally alone. But it wasn’t a good thing. Jaaspar’s laugh no longer filled the room, nor did his laid-back personality. All his belongings had been removed from our room, which made it seem as though he never existed in the first place. But he was more than a mere memory. I knew Jaaspar for a long time; I’d met him when I first arrived on Mars. We were the original duo before the rest of our alliance joined us.
My tablet remained on the couch from the last time I had used it. It was charged at around fifty percent, and the inbox application was still open with my father’s video message playing on repeat in the background. I turned up the volume to hear my father’s voice once more but was interrupted by incoming messages.
A message from Halley appeared in a drop down before I was able to finish the video again. I hesitated to open it, but if she was messaging me during the Exogames, then it had to be important. Her message read:
FATE,
I’M NOT SURE IF YOU MADE IT PAST THE FOURTH GAME. I HAVEN’T BEEN WATCHING IT. IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, THEN YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT I FOUND OUT. I’VE BEEN DIGGING FURTHER INTO YOUR MESSAGE, AND I’VE TRACED IT BACK TO THE WIRELESS NETWORK IT WAS CONNECTED TO. WHOEVER USED YOUR TABLET TO SEND ME THAT MESSAGE WASN’T FROM OUR DEPARTMENT. IT WAS CONNECTED TO THE WIRELESS NETWORK ON LEVEL NINETY-THREE. THAT’S THE GAME MAKERS’ LEVEL. I’LL KEEP DIGGING, AND I’LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT I FIND OUT. GOOD LUCK IN THE FINAL GAME, IF YOU’VE MADE IT THAT FAR.
REGARDS,
HALLEY
It was no longer blood that flowed through my veins or even adrenaline trying to keep me alive. It was pure rage, anger and all things vengeful towards the game makers and the Council of High Judges. Although it didn’t entirely prove my innocence, it brought me one step closer to finding some answers. The truth was within reach; I just needed to grasp it with both hands. I couldn’t let it go, or it would slip through my fingertips and be lost forever.
I needed to win the final game, and there was only one way to win. I had to play. If I forfeited my position, I would be killed in whatever horrific way the game makers chose. The game makers decided everyone’s destiny in the games, whether we were innocent or not, and it was time for the games to end.
I paced up and down the entire room whilst organising my belongings. It was my last night in this room because I wouldn’t be returning after the final game. I couldn’t imagine the game makers delaying the fifth game any further. But ultimately, that decision wasn’t up to me. The fifth game was never broadcast to Second Earth, so in theory, the final game could be ages away. Nonetheless, I packed up all my things and prepared for the final night, alone this time.
My tablet rang twice with the notification of an incoming message. My face contorted because my contact information wasn’t freely available. Not even everyone in my department could contact me through my tablet. The message was from an anonymous sender with a random sequence of numbers where their name should have been. There was no subject information or any body text anywhere. There was only a single attachment at the very bottom of the message. I was uncertain if I should press it in case it contained malware, but my tablet was safely equipped with the best antivirus software.
Before I began the video, the thumbnail contained a familiar face and an all too familiar setting. It was Rubie with her face scuffed and marked with small bruises. We were told that Rubie had been taken to the prison on Mars, and it was confirmed by the orange atmosphere that illuminated the familiar interior of the facility.
My finger shook as it inched closer to start the video. Whatever Rubie sent me must have been vitally important, otherwise she wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to reach me.
“Fate, there’s something important you must hear,” she whispered.
The camera shook as she struggled to hold it up, most likely because the rest of her body was bruised up just like her face.
“Moirai knows I gave you the directions out of the maze,” she continued. “Whatever the next game is, they’re going to try to get rid of all the players at once. The Council of High Judges wants you all dead.”
The message must have been recorded before the fourth game. She wouldn’t have known that I already made it out, and she was right, the game makers did try to get rid of us all. The portal had closed early, and we were given false information about the shuttles being able to clock top speeds.
“It’s my fault you’re all going to die, but you all would have died in the maze without my help,” she said with a mix of tears and blood running down her cheeks.
She was wrong. We could have made it out of the maze without her directions. I figured out that the heated tunnels were the correct paths to the portal, so even if she hadn’t told me which way to go, we would have made it out. It might have taken slightly longer, but it was a better option than cheating our way through.
“I’m so sorry about Jayde and Thebe. I know you were good friends with them both.”
This confirmed that the message was recorded prior to game four because there was no mention of Jaaspar or the other players who died in the fourth game.
“Make the most of the time you have before the next game, or games, if you end up making it out by some miracle. When I recorded your vitals before the first game, your cognitive test was inconclusive. You shouldn’t be playing the games in the first place. But if the Council of High Judges found out that information, you’d be instantly killed.”
I already knew my cognitive test was inconclusive. Rubie had told me that day, and it had been in the back of my mind ever since. A part of me thanked her for not revealing that information to anybody because my life would have been cut short. But the other part of me despised her because she was responsible for Jaaspar’s death, and Sapphire’s and Sol’s. She was going to be responsible for my death as well, and I couldn’t forgive her.
“I hope you make it out alive, Fate. I really do. But if you don’t, then I am truly sorry,” she concluded, and the video blacked out.
I softly tossed my tablet to the side because her apology was pointless. When Moirai interrogated us, nobody mentioned that Rubie gave me the directions. The only way for the game makers to know for sure was if Rubie told the truth.
I laid back on my bed and gave in to my exhaustion because I couldn’t bear it anymore. The games had killed my emotions and took my sanity, and frankly, I didn’t care if I won the next game or not. I had nothing left to go back to.
I closed my eyes and let the weight of the world disappear. With every fibre and sinew willing me to sleep, I had no choice but to listen to my body. It wasn’t just the game makers who had to pay for everyone’s deaths, it was also the Council of High Judges. And I was going to make them pay.
* * *
I WOKE UP HALFWAY THROUGH the night and couldn’t go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. So, I just sat on the couch and stared aimlessly into the black canvas of outer space, which was decorated with a plethora of stars and celestial bodies. I tried to catch a glimpse of a shooting star to wish that I would make it out of the final game, but none passed by, but even if they did, it wasn’t up to the stars anyway.
The door shot up, and in walked two gazers, one with a helmet and one without. They grasped my arms and escorted me through the twists and turns of the hallways, before leaving me inside a perfectly symmetrical holding bay. If I were asleep when they’d walked in, I was sure they wouldn’t have hesitated to drag me out of my bed in the middle of the night.
The white strip lights on one half of the floor were the exact mirror image of the other half. The lights wrapped onto the walls and met in a fluorescent circle on the ceiling.
“Welcome, Fate Artemis. Please stand below the circle,” a robotic voice said.
I nervously walked to it, not knowing if this was the way the game makers wanted to kill me, or if it was just procedure before the final game. If it was the way I was going to die, I hoped it was quick. I wasn’t somebody who could tolerate physical pain.
“Please stand below the circle,” the announcement repeated.
My legs didn’t want to move further forward, but I had to force myself because the game makers were most likely watching. I looked directly up at the white circle above my head, which was pulsing slowly. An opaque force field appeared around me, and I instantly knew what was about to happen because I had experienced it at the commencement of the first game.
The circle above me brightened intensely, almost like the sun was directly overhead. I covered my eyes with one hand and the top of my head with the other forearm. With a lightning-quick flash, the clothing that was once on my body had turned to ash. A small vacuum in the floor sucked the charred fabric into the waste system, and the force field disappeared.
Thankfully, I was not dead. I couldn’t see clothes for the final game anywhere, so I was unsure what was actually going on. Another illuminated circle formed beneath my feet, and lights climbed up all over my body. These lights were merely a guideline for a synthetic white material which grew from the floor and wrapped around my body. It was flexible, light and very comfortable against my skin. I liked how it was skin-tight but not so pressed against my skin that it rode in any unwanted crevices. White wasn’t usually a colour that complemented my skin tone; however, from the reflection on the shiny black door, I looked good.
As I checked myself out in the reflection, the door opened, and Moirai walked in, unexcited to see me.
“Congratulations, Fate, you’ve made it to the final round of the ninety-ninth Exogames,” he said as he applauded.
The game makers must have been explaining the rules to us separately because Anyma wasn’t with me, and I didn’t see the gazers escort her out of her room.
“The final game is simple. We like to call it Titan. That is where you will be stranded for fifteen Earth days, equivalent to a single day on Titan.”
Stranded on Titan for fifteen days. No food or water. It was a death sentence, guaranteed. The game makers couldn’t kill me in the fourth game, but their attempts seemed more promising as Moirai read out the briefing.
“You will need to find a way off Saturn’s moon before the time ends or else the nanobots underneath your skin will explode,” he explained.
The nanobots weren’t exactly a fear of mine when we began the games. I only grew more terrified of them when I knew what they could do, especially after Badru exploded in the first game.
“Titan is a frozen wasteland. It will be impossible to get off it,” I said in frustration.
Moirai was sending me to die. It was punishment for what Rubie did. It was her mistake, not mine, and I shouldn’t have been the one to pay for it.
“Players have done it in the past,” Moirai said calmly, but I sensed that he was lying.
“Nobody has won the Exogames in over thirty-five years.”
“Then make sure you’re the first.”
The rules to the game were extremely vague, but they were simple. I had one Titan day to escape the moon. That was it. And if I didn’t get off Titan in time, I would die. I would die regardless, because without food or water, I would dehydrate and run out of energy. I would surely die before the day on Titan was complete.
“The suit on your body will protect you from the cold. Do not take it off or else you will freeze to death. Any questions?” Moirai asked.
“None for you,” I answered quietly, almost whispering.
“Alright then. Just push the white button between your collarbone to activate a force field around your head for air. Give me a nod once you’re ready to begin.”
I did just that. I pushed the white button and nodded my head with no hesitation. A small blue light signalled that the force field was activated, and the refraction of light around my head confirmed it.
“Good luck, Fate,” Moirai said as a portal was activated behind me, and a completely different world appeared on the other side.
I almost didn’t want to go through. There was no logical reason for me to play the final game because I was sure to die either way.
Moirai stared at me, uncomfortably, until I crossed over. The exact moment my feet touched Titan’s terrain, the portal snapped shut. The ground was hard, probably because it was slightly frozen. Chilling wind blew across my face — it was the only thing that penetrated the force field around my head — and my body shivered to keep itself warm. The gravity on Titan was weaker than it was on Earth, but the weighted boots and bracelets made it feel the same.
I didn’t know where to begin. The entire moon was lifeless. The atmosphere was tinted orange, almost like it was on Mars, except it was more vibrant here. The sky had few clouds, although it wasn’t completely empty and the mother planet, Saturn, was clearly visible as it conquered the heavens.
I walked towards it, curiously, as it tugged me closer. I climbed over rocky slopes and around pillars of clumped dirt. The ground was covered in rocks of various shapes and sizes, which most likely stretched to the pointy mountains in the distance.
The day was about to bleed into nightfall as the sun gradually moved towards the horizon behind me. My body shivered as the temperature cooled drastically, but it wasn’t so cold that I would have frozen to death.
The further along I went, the thicker the air became. The force field around my head filtered the air which increasingly thickened, and I knew what I was sensing once I saw the river. Back on Second Earth, we studied potentially habitable planets and moons, particularly Titan. Simulations showed promising results. Before I was born, the aerospace department sent out a large team to survey Saturn’s moon, but none of them came back after their communication systems went down. There was no point in sending a rescue team because we assumed they all died. I read a few of the incomplete reports, but they led nowhere. That was why I knew Moirai had sent me here to die. He knew there was no chance at life here. There was no chance at survival, no matter how hard anybody fought for it, and a part of me felt that it wasn’t entirely Moirai’s decision. There were obviously more players in this game, not just us prisoners.
The river that carved through the terrain was formed of liquid methane, which flowed in the direction of Saturn. It wasn’t moving aggressively; it just flowed peacefully into the distance. I couldn’t see how far it travelled, so I climbed up a rocky hill that curved beside the river. I almost slipped a few times because I wasn’t used to climbing.
The river stretched to the mountains and most likely beyond. The cold winds blew across the river, and tiny droplets bounced up and flew around. Saturn looked so pretty in the sky, unbothered and untouched. I stretched my arm high up, a bit hesitant at first, but then shot it up as high as I could hold it and imagined my palm was touching the surface of the planet. If only I could have grasped it in my fingertips, but that was a power humans couldn’t possess, not even the High Judges had such authority.
I held my arm up even through the pain and closed my eyes to accept my death. It took twenty-two years for the leaders of Second Earth to kill me, and the end was only moments away. But something abruptly pulled me back into reality as it grasped my consciousness and tugged at it.
“Fate!” a voice screamed far away, like an echo searching for a place to rest.
I opened my eyes and dropped my numb arm. My blood rushed through it and woke it back up. Perhaps it was my imagination because I didn’t see anybody.
“Fate!” the voice repeated from behind me, echoing again as if it didn’t have an origin.
I shot around and squinted. The sun was only moments away from sinking below the horizon, but it still blinded me. A figure bobbed up and down from behind some rocky pillars, but I could only see its silhouette. I shielded my eyes with my hands and recognised who’d called my name.
It was Anyma.
“Oh my God,” I said in relief as I ran up to her. “Anyma, you’re here.”
“It’s good to see you too.”
“I thought they killed you or something worse. I didn’t know what happened.”
“I’m sorry. I was scared to start the game. I can’t believe we’ve made it. We made it through four games. This is the last one, Fate. We just need to finish it.”
“Didn’t anybody explain the rules to you? There is no way to get off this moon. It’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible, Fate. You just doubt yourself too much.”
Anyma was right. My entire life, all I had done was doubt my abilities. I doubted my ability to get through the Exogames, but already I had survived eighty percent of them. I always used to cower away from success, like a light that was too afraid to touch the darkness, but the light was always the champion. I needed to remind myself that I was the light. I was going to overcome the darkness.
“This is Titan,” I said confidently. “It is a lifeless wasteland, cold and empty.”
“Yeah, this is Titan. And what did our department do many years ago?”
My face brightened with the realisation of what Anyma was referring to.
“The expedition,” I answered.
She nodded slowly and pursed her lips.
Finding any of the ships would be a long shot. I had no idea where they landed all those years ago, where on Titan I was, or if any of the ships had survived and were still functioning. But I might as well try to search for something, because I still had one Titan day to get off Saturn’s moon. We’d made it this far; I wasn’t going to give up when I was so close to the end.