The Game

This one night everything went awry. We planned to go ice skating all four of us, so we waited until it was pitch black outside, the streets were as quiet as a mouse, and we were the only ones out and about. We liked it this way, it was peaceful, calm, it felt like you actually had time to breathe and think. As we walked down the streets we talked of our hopes and dreams. Who we wanted to be and what we wanted to do. At only 17, we are still kids and should have our whole lives ahead of us, but it doesn’t feel like that. We live in a time where curfew is six p.m., we work all day and are stuck in our houses all night. The government has more power than ever before and we as children have little to no power at all. The government controls our thoughts, our minds, and our lives. We are like machines, working all day long.

When we were younger we went to school and learned about the past. We learned that there was a time when everyone was free and believed that they could be whoever they want to be and do whatever you want to do. Today, we live in a world where that isn’t even a thing. We don’t have school anymore. The government gave up on school when we were in what would’ve been the first grade. My Dad loves to read so he continued to teach me and that is how I know so much about American History. Instead of going to school we have gone back to work. There are designated mothers who their entire job is to just give birth to the next generation. Then we have designated nurses and doctors. Their main job is to drug anyone who is sick so that they can go back to work. If you are sick, you normally die, not from the illness, but from an overdose of medicine that they would give you. We as children are raised to work, we each get sent on a path when we are 8 years old and that is the path we will be in for the rest of our lives. There is no such thing as retirement or sick/vacation days. I was sent on the labor path. That is where I met Miles, Samantha, and Blake. We are best friends now.

Miles is from North Dakota so climate change wasn’t much of an adjustment for him. Sam is from Georgia and Blake is from Missouri. I’m from California so the people around here are much different than my hometown. We all now live in Colorado, up in Estes Park. We are sent to go hike the mountains and mine. Search for new minerals, fossils, and gold. Especially gold. You get your first job training when you are 8. You stand in a line and they assign you a job. Then you hop on a bus and ride to your new home. Our houses are giant apartments where no door locks and you have to have roommates. My roommate is Sam. She was the first one I met here. When I first saw her I thought she was this quiet little girl who was always happy and nice. Boy was I wrong. She is tough as can be and fiercer than you could imagine. That is why we get along so nicely. In the room across from ours are Miles and Blake. Miles is a huge guy standing at 6’10 and easily 320 lbs. Blake was in martial arts and can beat the crap out of any of us at any point. They have taken on the job of our bodyguards.

Even though our curfew is 6, we wait until about midnight and head back outside again. If we get caught we would be sent to “The Room.” Nobody knows what will happen in “The Room.” but whoever goes in never comes back out, according to the rumors. Our housekeeper is in charge of all the workers in our household to make sure they stay in their rooms and are up to when they are supposed to be, etc. Our housekeeper’s name is Joanne, but she is 97 years old and sleeps all the time. It is very rare that she is up this late.

We tiptoe through the hall, down the stairs, and wander through the door. We grab our skates which are buried under some leaves by the tree and run for the frozen pond. We do this probably once or twice a week. It is a way to slow down time and enjoy life because otherwise, we would be zombies, just like everyone else. It is a cycle: get up, get dressed, go to work, eat one meal, come home, go to sleep, repeat. Nothing new ever happens. Going skating is the only way we feel alive.

We spend hours and hours just going in circles, drawing designs or doing figure eights. The ice is as smooth as glass. It feels like nothing could ever stop us. We all laid down to watch the stars. That is the most peaceful moment. Just laying there and watching the sky. Just then, a huge bright light was shone on the pond. We all sat up instantly but knew it was too late to run. We had been caught and were probably going to end up dead. There are guards who come out at night but we know their schedule, that is how we never get caught. But tonight we must have lost track of time and will definitely pay for it. Not even two seconds later we were surrounded with lights as bright as a shooting star, sirens as loud as 20 air horns, and guards, as many as a pack of wolves. .

The generals were all yelling so loud that we couldn’t even understand. Next, They grabbed us and dragged us into their cars. Each of us went into a different car, this was it. We were alone and we were all going to die alone. They started the car and drove and drove for what seemed like hours. When we stopped it was abrupt and loud. They yelled once again and dragged me into a giant building. They made me climb 12 flights of stairs and then I was told to sit. It was a dark room, empty, and quiet. You could for sure get lost in your thought,,but I wanted to do anything but think. I would do anything in this world to not be sitting where I’m sitting right now. The generals shut off the light,I was left to sit in the pitch black. Then he closed and locked the gate.

About two hours after we were taken from the pond I lay there in silence until I heard someone sobbing. It was quiet at first, but then it turned into hysterically balling. I had no idea anyone else was here so I began to talk. We talked in the dark for awhile. We talked about when we had school before we had to work every day, we talked about how amazing our roommates were, and then we began talking about how we ended up in this strange place, sitting here in the dark talking to each other. As soon as she continued to talk about how she got here, all I heard was a pond.

“Sam? Is that you?”, I asked in pure disbelief.

“Maddy (that’s my name)! No way!” she replied.

We have been talking this whole time and it was actually her! Just as we were in awe of the fact that we were so close, we heard more voices.

“Sam? Maddy?” someone yelled from the distance.

It was from Miles. His voice was deep enough you would recognize it anywhere. Sure enough, Blake speaks up. We all begin laughing because out of all the fear and nerves all we can do is laugh just knowing we are so close and yet nothing we could do to be together.

We talked for a while until the generals came back. They took each of us one by one into another room. This one has a door with no windows or peepholes. Just a dark black room and a dark black door. We each sit directly next to each other in a row. Out of everything we have been told, all the rumors that have been said, we learned that nothing good comes out of being sent to the room.

“Congratulations! You have passed. You are in the top 2% of our population.” the general said.

Samantha instantly replied with “I’m sorry, what?”. The rest of us were still processing the words being said.

“Congratulations?” Blake said. We were actually being congratulated for being defiant against the government.

“So… what does that mean?” Miles and I both said almost simultaneously.

All of a sudden some game music plays. The generals all stand up and imply that we should follow them. In turn, we follow them back through the hallway and out some strange double doors.

They said, “ Once again, congratulations on winning the game. Here is 10 million dollars for each of you. You are now free to go back into the real world and live your lives’ how you so choose. You have won the game!” They closed the double doors behind them and we never heard from them again.

Almost immediately, a group of people gathered around us and began to show us around town. We were in a place that I vaguely remember. This was where my parents were, where I went to school, and where I learned everything about American History. The commoners explained that we had been sent on an experiment. The experiment was to study when young children are sent away, who would be defiant and figure out a way out of the cycle. It was a test to see how many teens were rebellious. According to their calculations, only 2% of the entire population of the world we knew was rebellious enough to win the game and be set free.

The people who were sent to “The Room” were never seen again because they were set free. They had won the game and escaped the cycle. The world I always dreamed of, one where you could be who you wanted and do as you please, it was real. It was here.

As the years passed, we began to forget our days in the game. We went out in the world, found jobs and started families. But one thing for sure, we never forgot our bond and never let go of our friendship.

Sam grew up to be an astronaut. She flew to the moon on 6 occasions and she was one of the first to land on Mars. She is a mother of three young boys and actually married Miles. Miles grew up to be a professional basketball player and ended up playing for the Denver Nuggets. Miles has his family of five and lives in a two-story house in Denver, Colorado. Blake became an MMA fighter winning 4 world MMA Awards. He met a girl at one of the fights and they have been together ever since. As for me, I am a mother to a sweet little Yorkie. I became an American History teacher, where I teach the importance of history, standing up for what is right, and always having faith in yourself and others.