Grid Seekers (Grid Seekers Book One) (5 page)

He smiled at us, the camera not seeming to catch it, as he walked up to Jamie. There was a look on her face of pure terror as Chet put his hand on her shoulder, now giving her with a look of pure sorrow as the camera panned sideways to catch him in the frame.

“Ladies, gentlemen, this is Jamie Green, a thirty-two-year-old from New York who was cast into the competition just last night. She has her entire life ahead of her, and here she is, for you. Jamie, can you tell us how you’re doing?”

Jamie looked straight ahead, a completely blank look on her face, as her mouth opened a little but nothing came out except for a few nervous squeaks.

“Well, it looks like we won’t be seeing much from her this competition!” Chet said with a chuckle, moving down the line to me.

He turned to the camera, smiling, and put his arm around me, a gesture I wasn’t too happy with, but I did nothing about it. I knew being rude to a skunky television host wasn’t exactly the way to be popular with everyone, especially the people putting this entire thing together. I really didn’t need the added stress of being singled out.

“This, folks, is Alexia Meyers. She’s a bright girl, seventeen years old, and I’m told a real spitfire if you get in her face. Alexia, dear, how are you doing?” Chet asked, before putting the gold wrapped microphone to my mouth, his arm around me.

“I’m doing well, Chet,” I said.

“I’m so happy to hear that. What has this experience been like for you thus far?” Chet asked.

“Well, Chet, it’s been hard. I’m happy to be here, happy to fight with everything I’ve got, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss my family,” I said, lying through my teeth, at least at the first part.

“See, folks, that’s what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear someone say they were thirsty, that they wanted to break down walls and win this thing by any means necessary. That’s what everyone at home wants to see. They want to see someone kick butt and take names,” Chet said, taking his arm off me and walking towards the camera.

I exhaled, feeling the tension in my chest dissipate, my heartbeat starting to slow down just a little.

“That, folks, is the end of my interview process. We’ll be checking in periodically over the next two weeks to bring
you
all updates on our amazing participants. Just by being with these twenty-four, I can already tell that this year is going to be the best search in decades! Have a great day, and I can’t wait to bring you all updates as they happen,” Chet said, before the red light on top of the camera turned off.

Chet walked away with his crew, not even saying anything to us, leaving only Christian to look at us, smiling, as if he was happy with how the interview went. He snapped his fingers at us, directing us towards the couch, a purple one that was completely empty. We started moving, circling around and sitting down next to one another, all of us fit in a little tightly.

“Now that you’re all here, we can commence with our operations. Look around the room at one another. Don’t just look at the people from your group, but also the ones from the other megacities. See their faces. What do you see?” Christian asked.

I looked around the room, each of the participants looking different, different ages, different races, even different income levels, judging by their clothes. Being here instilled in me once again how this competition could pluck someone who was sixteen or someone who was sixty. There was no discrimination on age, or anything else for that matter. They really made it known that this wasn’t just a young person’s competition.

Everyone appeared nervous, some way more than others, though a couple of the guys looked a bit smug, or at least they were trying to.

One of the participants raised his hand slowly, looking a little nervous.

“You. Do you know the answer to my question? What do you see?” Christian asked.

“I see…nervousness,” the older man said.

“Wrong! You don’t see nervousness, you see your competition! Sure, one person from your megacity will be your partner, and that’s the person who you’re trying to win with, but the rest of them are
not
your friends. You might get friendly during training, even braid one another’s hair and giggle at your little jokes, but at the end of the day these people can end you! These other people are all trying to get back home, to their families, their lives, their jobs, with that
one
single wish that can and will change their lives forever! You all have one thing in common, and that’s the will to win. If you don’t currently have that will, you better find it soon,” Christian said snarkily.

Nobody said a word, not even the workers and guards, as Christian looked around at us. I almost felt like I had done something bad and my mother was here to scold me, telling me everything I had done wrong but giving me no way to fix it. I knew these next two weeks were going to be awful, but my lack of choice in the matter made me know I just had to suck it up and deal with it.

“Now, with that said, I want you all to congregate with your group members. Some of you who arrived earlier have already gotten that luxury, but our stragglers have not, and I’m nothing if not a fair man. I’ll call for you all when we’re ready for our first stage of training, which, yes, will be starting today,” Christian said, before walking away.

I looked around at my group, Jamie at one end, followed by Matthew, me, and finally, Liam. One of these people was going to be my partner, the person I relied on in WorldNet, the only person who would truly have my back. The others, while from my area, were enemies as far as I was concerned. But, without being told who my partner would be, I had to be friendly with all of them, so as not to cause any bad blood before getting paired up. The last thing I needed was to piss off my future partner and then get grouped with them.

“Well, my name is Matthew, though I’m sure you guys might have already known that,” Matthew said.

“I’m Alexia,” I replied.

“Jamie.”

“I’m Liam. It’s nice to meet you all. Are any of you fans of this? You know, like watching it on TV in the past?” Liam asked.

“I usually watch it, but I’ve never been super into it. I guess it can be painful sometimes, watching people go at it with each other, essentially trying to destroy one another for their own benefit. I guess that’s easier to do when you don’t know the person, though,” Matthew said.

“That’s what makes me so uncomfortable. I get that you want to win, who doesn’t, but it’s better to at least let those people just lose instead of being eliminated,” Jamie said.

“What about you?” Liam asked, as he looked at me.

“I don’t get too into it, but I’ve watched it. I just hope we all don’t go down each other’s throats,” I said.

“Why don’t we make a pact, then? Since we don’t know who’s going to be paired up together, how about we all agree that we won’t take one another out? Christian said not to get too friendly, but if we all focus on just winning with dignity or by only taking out other people, we can feel a little more safe around each other,” Liam said.

“I’m in for something like that,” Matthew said with a relieved tone.

“That sounds great,” Jamie said, a small smile on her face.

“Well?” Liam asked, looking at me.

“Yeah. That sounds good,” I replied, my hands in my lap.

“Then it’s settled. We’re all on the same team, even if we aren’t actually together,” Liam said, smiling.

I looked at him, admiring his strength, his courage, his willingness to work as a team, even if we all wouldn’t be together in the competition. Part of me hoped that he would be my partner, but another part of me hoped for someone else, anyone else. I didn’t know why I had this feeling about him, but for some reason I almost felt as if I couldn’t count on him.

Chapter Five

Fiftee
n minutes had passed and Christian still wasn’t back, giving us no true indication of how long he’d be gone or when we’d advance to our first stage of training. Not only that, but I still had no clue where we’d be staying during this entire ordeal. They’d never shown the participant housing during any year, at least not that I’d ever seen, and while it was still morning, I’d at least have liked to know if we’d be sleeping on the floor to make us all a little bit more hungry for the win.

“Well, if we’re going to be looking out for one another, maybe we should get to know each other just a little bit. If you all are interested,” I said.

“What were you thinking?” Liam asked.

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe just a little about you, what you do, if you have any family, that sort of thing. Just so that we can maybe bond a little bit more,” I said.

“Why don’t you start?” Liam suggested.

“Well,” I said, rubbing my hands together, “my name is Alexia Meyers. I’m seventeen years old, and I have a horrible job at a restaurant with a boss who couldn’t care less about me or any of the other people working there. As a matter of fact, I’m sure he’s already fired me since I’ve been drafted into this competition, which I’m not sure if I’m sad about or not. As for my living situation, I live at home with my mother and sister, I’m very close to both of them, and I guess that’s about it. Not exactly exciting, but that’s my life.”

“Did you do any schooling?” Matthew asked.

“Just the required bit, nothing more, if that’s what you’re wondering. I guess I just never really felt like I had a chance to, you know, with how poor we are and all. Not working full time, or close to it, isn’t an option,” I said.

“So, if you win, are you going to wish for that? For a way to go to school? Maybe they’d give you a stipend or something so that you could focus on your studies,” Matthew said.

“No, I don’t think I’d waste it on that. Not that an education is worthless or not important, but I just think I’d want something a little more…grand,” I said.

“Like what?” Jamie asked.

“I’m not sure. I guess I haven’t thought about it a ton,” I said, shrugging my shoulders a little.

“I know what I’d wish for,” Matthew said, smiling.

“What’s that?” Liam asked.

“A new place for my family and I. Imagine how great that would be, living in one of those new, giant skyscrapers, surrounded by rich people and celebrities. That would be the dream. You know those places are kept up, unlike what we have now,” he said.

“What’s your family like?” I asked.

“Well, my children are grown, but my wife and I deserve a break after all we’ve been through. We’ve lived in the same place forever. It holds a lot of memories, but it isn’t in the best shape, though it is in a decent part of the city. I think I’d give my son the place to fix up. It’s better than his current place, and my daughter isn’t interested in it anyway. It’s too much work for her and her husband. But I’d love a new place to invite them over to, the grandkids too, all of us huddled around the table, looking out the floor to ceiling windows and seeing people look like ants below. Yeah,” Matthew said, ending with a smile.

“What about you?” Liam asked, looking down at Jamie.

“Well, my husband and I don’t have any kids, but we’re still young, so you never know. I work in the government, ironically enough, but nothing big, just a secretary. If I did win with one of you and got the wish, I’d probably ask for a year off with pay and my job not going away after the year is up. I know it sounds weird, but imagine being paid for a year without ever having to go in to work. I could just relax, lie back, and watch the clouds go by as the hectic world rushed by outside my window,” Jamie said.

“You wouldn’t wish for a bigger and better house? That has value!” Matthew said.

“Nah, that’s not for us. We have a modest place, but it’s our place, my husband’s father’s apartment he inherited years ago when he was a kid. We aren’t fancy people,” Jamie said.

“What about you, kid? Have a special lady in your life you’d spoil with that wish?” Matthew asked, looking down at Liam.

“Who, me? No, no special lady to talk about. I think I’d wish for my mom to have a better job. I know that it wouldn’t be too fun, but it’d be secure, and she needs that. She’s had the same one since I was a kid, and it isn’t that great of a job. It causes her too much stress, and I know she’d like to work closer to home and have more hours off to spend with all of us. My youngest brother is four, and I don’t want her to feel like she’s missing out on time with him because of a dead-end job,” Liam said.

“You’d sacrifice your wish on your mother?” Jamie asked, stunned.

“Yeah, I would. She’s sacrificed everything for me. I think I should repay the favor,” Liam said, looking at me and smiling.

I felt my stomach tumble before I looked down at the floor, holding back my smile. It was sweet, hearing him say that his mother would gain everything even though he went through absolute hell to get it. You don’t find that kind of self-sacrifice much anymore, especially with my generation.

The doors that Christian had exited through reopened, though a different person walked through this time, a woman with jet-black hair and perfectly manicured straight-cut bangs that covered her forehead. Her glittery high heels tapped on the tiled floor with every confident step. She had a small mole above her lip. Her face and expression were straight, her eyes as cold as the deepest, darkest abyss of space. I wanted Christian back.

“My name is Tatiana. Christian was called to work so I am here to talk to you and introduce you to the people that you will be working with during this two-week excursion,” she said with a thick accent. “I know Christian has talked to you all a little, but I need to go over some rules that you might not like, but that are necessary to keep you mentally ready for this competition. We expect nothing but the best from all of you.”

A man in a tight black sweater handed her a digiboard. She flicked around it, humming and nodding her head a little when she came across different points, though I wasn’t sure whether they were nods of approval or not.

“Firstly, you will not leave this premises. You shall stay here, twenty-four-seven, until the competition begins. Even then, you will log on to WorldNet from this building, and if you should be eliminated, either by death inside or by failing to find or connect the talismans, you will be immediately transported from this building to your new home, the labor camp. Secondly, you will not have any communication with the outside world, including your families, unless we, your most gracious hosts, give you permission. It is possible that you will not talk to your families until either you win or your three-year work period ends, but if you all are good, there may be a chance you will get to speak briefly with them before you enter the competition. This is to keep your mind in the competition, where it should always stay,” Tatiana said.

“That’s crap,” a kid from the yellow couch said, though rather quietly.

“What did you say?” Tatiana asked, as she walked up to him, a stern look on her face.

“I just don’t think that’s fair,” the guy said.

“I don’t think it’s fair that I have to babysit a whining baby like you, but I deal with it. Do you know why? Because it’s my duty, just like it’s yours to sit here and listen to what I have to say without any backtalk. Do I make myself clear?” she asked, the melding of her anger and thick accent giving me goose bumps.

“Yes,” he said, not looking her in the eyes.

“Good,” she said, smiling, before walking back to where she’d been standing before.

It was in this moment that I knew I had to be on my best behavior. I wasn’t planning on lashing out before, but I now knew that I had to do whatever they asked, when they wanted, without any problems or defiance. The last thing I needed was a woman like this breathing down my neck.

“Your training, as you know, is exactly two weeks long, with the event starting on the fifteenth day. Your training will cover a variety of topics and areas, all of which will be explained to you at a later time, including but not limited to what they are, how they work, what you need to do to pass, and so on. Either myself or Christian will be watching over you, making sure you are doing well and have everything you need, so please, don’t hesitate to ask. We do understand this is a stressful time for you, and we always keep that in mind. Are there any questions?” Tatiana asked.

She looked around the room. Nobody raised their hand or opened their mouths, part of it probably because of what had happened to that kid a few minutes ago. After seeing her get angry, I didn’t think that
anyone
wanted to be on her bad side.

“With that said, I will now introduce your trainers. Trainers, please come in here,” she said, before the door behind her opened and a few people walked out.

They stood behind Tatiana, each of them with their hands behind their backs, looking straight ahead, before Tatiana walked to the side, ready to introduce them to us.

“This gentleman is Borgis. He will be your defense instructor. I’m sure some of you are wondering why you’d need such a thing, and it is because while attacking other participants isn’t a part of the competition, some of you still do, and we want you to be prepared if such a thing happens. It makes for good ratings. This fine woman is Quinn, and she’ll teach you strategy, which is important not only for your defense, but for using your cards. The final instructor is Petram, and he will teach survival while inside the competition. You will still have all of your normal human and physical needs inside the competition, like needing to drink and eat, so you will need to know how to get food and water. The instructors will also teach you other things besides what I just talked about, but I won’t discuss those at the current moment. If any of the trainers would like to speak to you, now is the time,” Tatiana said, before looking back at them.

“I would like to talk to you all,” Borgis said, as he walked forward. “I am not here to pick on you or make you feel bad. Some of you will be horrible with defense and attacking, and I understand this. Not everybody is cut out to be a soldier or warrior, and some of you are here to perish, even if you are good people. I will expect nothing but greatness from you all, though, and I expect you to give it everything you’ve got, even if it isn’t that impressive. If you don’t give me your all, don’t expect to survive very long inside the competition. I know many of you won’t care, realizing that your elimination from the competition won’t leave even a scratch on you in the real world, but your survival in there could very well ensure your survival in real life. Three years of hard labor isn’t fun or easy for even the most seasoned of souls.”

“Anyone else?” Tatiana asked, as Borgis walked back to his spot.

The instructors shook their heads no and Tatiana excused them, and they exited through the same door the came in. Christian came out, but he didn’t relieve Tatiana, though I wished he had.

“How is everything going out here so far?” Christian asked.

“It’s going great. We’ve had a few hiccups with some of the participants, but it has been fairly positive otherwise,” Tatiana said, her hands clasped behind her back.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. As most of you know from past competitions, you’ll be paired up with a hacker during the competition. Their job is to guide you through the event. They’ll be in the physical world, using their skills and the technology we provide to guide you not only to cards scattered about the area, but also to find the talismans. You will be relying totally on them for this support, and you better hope you get paired up with someone who has your best interests at heart, at least for your own sake. We will be introducing you to them tomorrow. Other than that, we’ve talked in the back and decided we will be taking you to your rooms now to get settled in and changed. You’ll have uniforms waiting for you on your beds. It’s mandatory that you wear your uniform at all times. If you’d all please follow me, we’ll go over there now,” Christian said.

We all stood up, got in a single-file line, and followed Christian, Tatiana next to him. Guards were all around, not only following us to make sure we were good, but also standing in random parts of the hallways and outside closed rooms. All of the walls in the building were white, a bright white, with a sterile look that was ubiquitous in official and governmental buildings. I was never a fan, but at least they were consistent.

We entered a large cargo elevator, all of us fitting comfortably inside, before the doors closed, and Christian entered his key card, hitting a button that said “PH” on it, whatever that meant. Within seconds we stopped, so smoothly I barely noticed it, and the doors opened. Christian and Tatiana walked past us and guided the way down a hall where a pair of automatic doors opened, spilling us into a massive circular lobby.

The white floor was accented with gold trim, and there were a slew of black couches and chairs in the center of the room arranged perfectly. A large screen sat in front of it all, displaying an aerial shot of the city. I had never seen the city from so high up before. I felt like I was there, standing on top of the building the camera was on, looking down at everything below. It was amazing.

“You’ll see that there are twenty-four doors around you, each of them color-coded, grouped together, with your names above them on those little screens. The colors, blue, red, yellow, green, orange, and purple, all coordinate with your megacities and your identification bands, so you know what direction to go in. This room we are in now is the participant lounge, a place where you can hang out, relax, and socialize after your training for the day has ended. You are not required to use it; some participants like to be a little more introverted and stay in their rooms and not fraternize with the competition, but that’s up to you. Now, if you’d go towards the set of doors with your color, find your room, and enter and get changed, that’d be great. We will reconvene in half an hour, so please, be ready,” Christian said, before walking away.