The World Ends With Us

Amelia suddenly sneezed and blew a dustbin a good 20 feet. He turned around and looked at her with wide eyes.
"We definitely aren't the way we used to be. I don't think anybody but my grandma can sneeze that hard," he waited for some laughter, or a sign that the comment had lightened the conversation a little. Nothing. He mopped his hair.
"All right. We still don't know what those things were or what we're supposed to do. I for one want to find my way back home."

 

"All right. We still don't know what those things were or what we're supposed to do. I for one want to find my way back home."

And who wouldn't, mister?

"I know, but how?"

My gaze wandered from him to the sky. An array of lizard - wait, lizards?!- with a skull tattoo on their heads. They looked infuriated, but I didn't know why.

"Well, never mind how. Better escape now!"

She shrieked, pointing at the lizards.

 

Rob looked up at what Amelia was screaming about. I giant mass of angry lizards was heading for them.
"Oh sh*t! Ohhhhh sh*t!" He stood there bewildered, then his instincts finally took over.
"Run dammit! Run!"
They both ran through the streets at a furious pace, but the lizards were constantly on their tail. There must have been about 10 or 15 of them from what Rob could guess.

 

continuing

As the girl took his hand she was just about to reveal her name when suddenly a creature appeared before the two in the alleyway.

He wasn't started, rather surprised at first to see something so out of place like this beast, seemingly bear-like in appearance. He didn't know what this creature was but he took the girl's offer to retreat.

"Uh...yeah, sounds good to me...Ad".

He didn't mean to hurt her by pulling her arm but he did so to give her the head start, guessing this was the thing which she had hid from.

 

I didn't look back as I ran with the man's hand in mine. When I finally did I saw his face, and was shocked to see that he wasn't afraid - and almost amused.

When we approached the bear-like thing I countered it and tugged at his arm to go the same way. The thing was struggling to grab and supposingly rip our heads off. Passing him - it - I looked at both sides of the street and hesitated to run.

"The name's Adison."

I shook his hand.

"Now what the heck are we gonna do?"

 

He followed the girl and leered past the strange creature, running into the street once again and looked around.

The girl spoke hastely, her name was Adison.

Something came over him suddenly. His vision blurred for a moment and for a second he felt sick. His head started to throb again like before as he started to see an image in his head of a girl. He didn't know who this girl was but in this vision she had also given her name just how Adison did.

The vision faded and his senses came to. The vision, though it felt to him had been more than a minute, was actually only a second in time. He gave a surprised expression and looked back at the alley where the creature was and then looked forward.

"Maybe lose it in the crowd? Come on!"

He didn't wait for her reply and ran directly into the street with her through the people walking by, all the while holding her hand. It occured to him that he had remembered something from the vision he'd just seen. He wondered if Adison had noticed.

While running he yelled to her.

"Tyre!", he said.

"My name's Tyre!"

 

Whoosh

I felt wind suddenly rushing in my face. After I'd introduced myself, I'd been blinded by a light whose cause was completely unknown to me. This place was certainly strange.

Now I was behind the guy who I'd just told my name to. We were running through the busy streets and dodging the passerby. The place looked strikingly like China or Japan - or so it seemed from the many games I'd played and movies I'd seen. And then again, my whereabouts were never anywhere near Asia, I'd never even considered visiting the place.

Wait, I thought. I remembered that the guy had just introduced himself to me as well. What did he say his name was? Tyre, that was it.

I looked back to see the monster in hot pursuit. He ran through the crowd like a fiend, ready to be munching on our sinews.

"Hey Tyre," I called

"What is that thing?!"

 

"Another ones bites the dust!" cackled Jamie as another Player fell to the Noise.

"Very strange..." noted Kariya, looking down at the city. "Noise don't normally attack partnered players unless the Players seek them out...you had something to do with this..."

"Don't worry, I made sure I could. It's part of the mission!" Jamie turned and showed Kariya her phone, where the mission objectives were typed. One of them was to defeat Noise.

"Uhh...you know you didn't hit "send" yet."

"What?!?" cried Jamie. "Damn it!" She hit the send button.

Suddenly, all the TVs in the entire city went blank, and then they showed a picture of Kitaniji.

"Welcome, Players, to the Reaper's Game! You're probably all wondering where you are and why you're here. I guess I should let you know. You are in the Reaper's Game, and the winner will come back to life. The losers..." The image of Kitaniji clicked his tongue. "will be erased. Just complete the missions as they are sent to you, and you will hopefully be fine. The Noise will not attack you if you partnered, but today's mission is a special case. If you have any questions, text to H on your phones, which we have provided for you. Good luck...you're going to need it."

"Bout time," muttered Kariya. "I'm gonna get something to drink at H's. You wanna come?"

But Jamie was too busy cackling with glee as her Noise devoured Players.

 

I turned when I heard a tremendous screech after which a man started talking.

"Welcome, Players, to the Reaper's Game! You're probably all wondering where you are and why you're here. I guess I should let you know. You are in the Reaper's Game, and the winner will come back to life. The losers...will be erased. Just complete the missions as they are sent to you, and you will hopefully be fine. The Noise will not attack you if you partnered, but today's mission is a special case. If you have any questions, text to H on your phones, which we have provided for you. Good luck...you're going to need it."

My eyes widened, and I looked back at my partner.

"Got enough info?"

The lizards slurping nosies got louder. I reflexively backed away, and tried jumping with my eyes closed when the lizard got nearer. Just as the lizard went under me, I opened my eyes to find myself hovering in the air, though only a little.

"Cool!"

I rejoiced, and then gathered in a heavy breath.

"Might as well make use of my powers!"

With that, a gush of wind went towards two of the three lizard which fell down against the force.

 

"That .... that was better than sex." He looked at me. "What can you do?"

That was the scariest thing I have ever seen. I thought to myself. But it did spark my interest. Since him and I have been together something had changed within myself. Things made more sense and I felt more knowledgeable.

I looked around, checking for signs of what maybe I hold within. Nothing stood out, I mean it wasn't painted on the walls or anything at least. I must not be so lucky. I noticed the scrapes on my arm. They stung intensily. I put my hand on my arm and started rubbing...

After I pulled my hand away I asked Earnest, "So, are you okay?"

"Uh, kid, look at your arm." Earnest seemed a little less than astonished. I checked my arm and saw nothing.

Nothing! I thought to myself. I looked over my hand acting as if it wasn't real. "This is amazing!" The excitement couldn't be kept within.

"Well Jake, looks like we aren't so ordinary after all." And with that we started walking down the road, passing by a Japanese Radioshack. The TV's were buzzing about News and sports events, typical. Then they flickered.. A person showed up on screen with a message. After listening to it, I checked my clothes. And there it was! A cell phone lay inside my jacket that I did not recognize as my own.

Earnest checked for his, he wasn't as understanding as I believed him to be. As soon as he found it he went out on a rant and texted to some character named H.

"This indecent bastard better give me a better answer than 'Reaper's Game'."

"Come on man, let's just get going, maybe we can find him." I didn't believe what I said, I didn't want to be here nor find the someone that caused it. He agreed discontently.

"Do you know how you got here Earnest?" I thought striking up a conversation would help ease some tension.

 

Earnest shrugged his shoulders. "I was a child prodigy. I could always hear the music in my head and it was so easy to just repeat the sounds with my hands. I was a great pianist. There were always others, like this damned H, who tried to take my spot. Then arthritis did what they couldn't." He stopped and stared at his gnarled fingers. They looked like someone had shoved a small grape underneath each knuckle. "I couldn't play anymore. The pain began to drown out the music. The pills didn't do it after a while. I kept having to take more and more until finally, I washed down a whole bottle with some champagne. I remember dying, and then waking up here.

"So what's your story?"

 

His story ran through my head. I never had true "talent", but I could understand how it must feel to lose something you once loved. My own situation was far different. I wasn't ready to tell this judgemental person my life. Especially when I didn't have one.

"Well, I... I had family issues and never knew where I was going to be. Eventually I lost myself in a bathtub suicide." I lied, didn't know how convincing I was or even if it ws any better than what actually happened that night... I trailed off in my thoughts... Why did he do that to me? Ruining my reputation at school, and with my friends, when he showed them all my writings. It was about how they never could muster my level. And how they were never to be as good as I was. After black mailing me.

Moving farther down the street, people carelessly continuing on with their lives, children playing, never would they know our truths. From out of the sewers in the streets noises were heard. A very low tuned hiss...

 

Earnest turned toward the sewer grate and smiled. When the flames covered him, he felt alive, powerful, unstoppable. A smile crossed his face as he began to hear the music playing in his mind. The music grew louder and louder as the grate popped off and a pair of thick serpents slithered out. His heart was racing but the flames didn't come. The music grew louder and still no flames. He nudged Jake. "Ummm .... kid, unless you have another trick up your sleeve we better get moving."

 

"Ummm .... kid, unless you have another trick up your sleeve we better get moving."

No questions needed to be asked. I turned on my heel and ran. The snakes had made their way out of the grate and made after our retreat, I noticed them making their effort to catch up.

With tremendous effort to get away I took any corner or path that would slow down the snakes. Eventually leading my way into a open area of the town. The "ethereals" were walking around, but inbetween them other Players were awakening. I turned my head back to see Earnest lengths behind me and the snakes keeping up with him. Moving into the crowd now, and with survival intentions, I ran by "things", people like myself, to slow down the snakes.

 

continuing...

While running he heard Adison speak to him again and he glanced back for a moment before he answered.

"...hell if I know! I just got here!"

While speaking Tyre realized it wasn't so hard for him to run. In fact, he seemed to be running faster than Adison and the beast chasing them. That was strange since he'd never been a fast runner, let alone run at all.

He saw Adison was struggling to keep up and so he pulled her to him and stopped for a moment.

"Get on my back, I have an idea"

 

"On your back? What are you, mad!"

I looked back to the monster, and at his feet I saw snakes, or something that slithered, forming.

"Okay, but this better be good."

I jumped on his back as quickly as I could and stared at the creatures, this was just getting too insane.

Then I heard a voice;

"Welcome, Players, to the Reaper's Game! You're probably all wondering where you are and why you're here. I guess I should let you know. You are in the Reaper's Game, and the winner will come back to life. The losers will be erased. Just complete the missions as they are sent to you, and you will hopefully be fine. The Noise will not attack you if you partnered, but today's mission is a special case. If you have any questions, text to H on your phones, which we have provided for you. Good luck...you're going to need it."

The Reaper's Game?

I called to Tyre as he ran almost supernaturally fast "Did you hear that?"

 

As soon as Adison got on his back Tyre sprinted, not bothering to look back at the monster to see if it was still pursuing.

Then the voice came, ringing through his ears as if inside his head speaking. Reaper Game? Back to life? What did it mean back to life?

Adison's question seemed to mimic what he was about to ask but he only replied with a nod. Running he looked at his feet. It would explain the abnormal speed and the strange clothes and also why no one else would speak to him but Adison, but if he were dead...

He looked up again and back behind him and realized he had lost the creature following him. Tyre came to a stop just outside a store and several large buildings somewhere and set Adison down gently.

"I think it's gone...whatever it was..."

He looked around for some sort of indication of where they were and found nothing. He then remembered the voice saying something about a phone and he reached into his left pocket and pulled out a phone.

"...this is strange. I don't remember this being in my pocket when I woke up..."

 

As Tyre let me off his back, I sat on the ground in a daze. I was suffering from a bad case of whip-lash after he'd been running so mysteriously fast, and watched as he pulled a phone out of his pocket.

"This is strange. I don't remember this being in my pocket when I woke up.."

"You've got one of those?" I said, standing up dizzily. After I regained my stamina I was about to ask for it when I felt something in my own pocket.

Don't tell me..

I dug in and found a phone that hadn't been there - or otherwise I didn't notice - when I woke up in this place either. The voice had said I'd find one so I supposed that was relevant.

I studied its expensive-looking structure when it all of a sudden began to glow.

"Fire!" I shouted, blowing furiously at my inflaming hands.

"It's on fire, the cellphone, on fire!"

Okay, I thought. We're in some kind of game - The Reaper's game, whatever that meant - and now cellphones are appearing in my pockets and turning on fire?!

 

Rob stared in amazement as Amelia hovered in front of him, even using a gust of wind from her hands to blow the lizards away.
"Damn! That sure as hell seems to be one perk to this world!" He said with a smile, which he quickly erased when he noticed the lizards were still coming, "Aw dammit..."
One jumped on him, but he found he could roll over with simple ease and throw the beast away, "Well well, I really do feel stronger. But I wish I could hover like that hon!"
Amelia gave him a quick grin, then began blowing gusts at the lizards. Rob, feeling invigorated charged into the group of lizards and began punching and kicking them right and left.

 

continuing...


Tyre saw the glow in Adison's phone set ablaze and was surprised at first and then took action and smacked the phone out of her hand. The phone didn't break when it hit the ground, rather it just tumbled and flipped open.

"..Sorry.."

He walked over to the phone and carefully touched it to see if it was hot. Feeling cool enough, Tyre picked it up and walked back over to Adison.

"That was also strange. Did you do that? I don't think phones are set on fire when they don't work"

 

Tyre wacked the phone out of my hands before the flames could catch on, then went over to pick it up. I winced when we did, thinking it was going to sting him, but he picked it up with ease, and came back to me.

"That was also strange. Did you do that? I don't think phones are set on fire when they don't work"

"I-I guess so." I said, looking at my hands with squinted eyes in case they were going to catch fire too.

"I think there's more to this Tyre," I told him, not taking my eyes off my hands.

"The Reaper's game, fire coming from nowhere," I shuddered "..those creatures. There's something really messed up going on here."

 

Tyre nodded and removed the fedora hat from his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I don't exactly remember anything before I woke up on a sidewalk here and I didn't remember my name until you said yours. By what the voice said though...I think we're dead..."

When he finished he placed the hat back on his head and looked at his own phone again. He closed it after fiddling with it and placed it back in his pocket inside his coat.

"What a drag. In any case dead or alive this place is still dangerous to us. By what the voice said there may be more people, or 'players', here in this Reaper Game...so we're not the only ones.

He folded his arms and thought for a second before he spoke again.

"We should stick together. It wouldn't be safe for either of us to be alone here in this place".

 

"We should stick together. It wouldn't be safe for either of us to be alone here in this place." Tyre said.

"I agree. And I really don't want to fight those things off on my own again." I told him.

"And I think there are more players here. I saw some people disappearing faintly when I arrived."

I thought about what the man said.

"It must mean they're getting.. erased.. or something."

I thought about what Tyre had said then. We're dead? How in the world could that be? Had we become ghosts of some sort? A shame I never believed in them, but it seemed anything was possible here, wherever we were.

"So you do suppose we're dead?" I thought hard. "I don't remember anything like that. Do you?"

 

Tyre frowned and looked down.

"No, I don't remember...but I don't think I'd want to if it would effect my decision to participate in this game for my life back".

He looked around again hoping to see another sign and this time succeeded.

"Looks like we're at the Central St. Entrance. We could either look around to find anyone else before they're..erased..or we could try to find some more information about this game we're in".

Tyre looked at Adison and tried to smile. It seemed hard for him to do for some reason.

"What do you think we should do?"

 

I found this rather exciting! Shooting blasts of air and flying, though not very high, could be quite an entertainment. slowly the lizards started retreating, and even the one being punched and kicked by her partner were not able to stand up long. He grinned as the job got finished and she landed on the land.

"Well, being dead ain't so bad."

He chuckled, at which my thoughts wandered back to the TV screen and the option for more information.

"Being erased would be awful though. I think we should form some kind of plan."