Age of Serial Synot

First Act (5)

The sheer scale of the whole setup was staggering. What had been a warehouse just moments ago, had turned into one huge grid box among the many that surrounded it.

James looked around in shock. 

When he saw the alternating grid boxes of dark and light, he shivered. 

The name of the game had also made him swallow hard.

Chess.

Was this going to be some complicated game where they had to move their own pieces and take down the other team's pieces until they won or....

He didn't want to think about it.

Katie, turned and looked at the next grid box which was dark. She couldn't see anything beyond it. From up to down, it was all extremely dark till the start of the next grid box.

Everyone was looking around nervously.

It was simply one giant chess board!

Their apprehension towards the man in the mask soared. Fear turned into terror and terror into hopelessness.

If this man could create such a humongous place, what was the limit of his power?

As everyone was in a daze, some already kneeling down and praying for redemption, the man in the mask spoke. Now they couldn't see him because of the setup of the place.

"The rules and description of the game will now be explained to you," he said. "The game itself is nothing as complicated as the real chess game. First of all, you all are the chess pieces."

James gnashed his teeth. This was not a surprise to him or many who were already seeing the trajectory of this sick game.

"Your roles have already been decided prior to your participation and you will be moved to your specific locations after all the rules have been explained," the voice of the man in the mask echoed.

Heavy breathing was a prevalent sound among the terrified participants. However, they all knew better than to miss the information they were about to be given.

"The game will be played for the duration of thirty minutes. The conditions for winning will be to eliminate the other party's king within the game's duration. All those in the party of the one who kills the King will be deemed as winners as well," echoed the voice of the man in the mask.

James' heart quaked at the mention of this detail. Given the fact that they did not know their roles, it was horrifying to imagine himself given the role of the King.

"There will be no taking turns. Anyone is free to act and respond of their own volition. However, your movements across the board and the individual grid boxes will be limited by your role as a chess piece. Also note that in each grid box, all the rules of the game including the movement restrictions apply."

The man in the cardigan had his mouth agape as he heard this rule.. He frowned. 

'Holy shit! Did I hear that right?' James thought and saw some looking in confusion at each other.

'If I understood what he said correctly, then to move across the board, it'll depend on which chess piece I am. If I'm a Rook I can only move in a straight line, as a Bishop, diagonally and so on.

Does that also mean even when I'm in one grid box, I'm also limited to move depending on what piece I am?! Shit! This will be tricky, especially..' James thought as he looked at those dark grid boxes. 

Fighting someone in there would be challenging to say the least.

"Tools to defend and attack will be given to you when the game officially begins. If you should face an opponent, the ideal way to eliminate them is by ending their life."

The burly shuddered as he heard this.

"Hey! Didn't you say that murder was not necessarily an option! You're going back on your own word!" he yelled with a crazed look in his eyes.

"Yeah! You liar! How can we trust your words when you keep going against them?! This is already unfair!" someone else chimed in until a clamour rose as many people started yelling and even spewing expletives at the man in the mask.

There was comfort in the crowd and many felt better just by cursing at the man collectively.

"Indeed. I did say that your options were not limited to murder. Which is true. You may choose to subdue or incapacitate your opponent instead of taking their life.." the voice of the man in the mask spoke apathetically.

"...however, since it is not the ideal way stipulated by the game, all who fail to do as indicated will be indefinitely detained in this venue until the beginning of the next game."

'What the heck?!' James thought.

"You're still just basically forcing us to kill each other! Who wants to be kept here for who knows how long you asshole?! This is unfair!" the burly man yelled.

"The choice is yours," said the man in the mask.

"Dammit!" cursed James. He had also thought that perhaps he could just limit himself to incapacitating his opponents, but that was thrown out the window. If he didn't follow the rules...

What was worse than being detained for 24 hours? Being detained indefinitely.

"We're really going to have to kill?" Katie said, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

James couldn't bring himself to answer.

"This bastard!" The man in the office shirt yelled while clenching his fists.

James suddenly launched a question at their detainer.

"What happens to the losers? Will they just be killed?"

The clamour died down with everyone wondering the same thing. What would happen to those that lost?

"The treatment of those who fail to win the game will be same as those who fail to follow the ideal rules. Indefinite detainment," said the man in the mask.

"PLEASE!" yelled a certain young lady. "Please! I don't know much about chess as a game! What do I do?!" 

"Unfortunately, I am not liable for any knowledge that the participants lack for the games," he said, much to woman's depression. She began sobbing and crying as she knelt.

It was sad that she failed to garner sympathy from her fellow participants. Everyone was worried about their own selves. James could only sympathise. He didn't think he had enough time to explain everything to her anyway.

"Everything else will be the same as you remember from the original chess game. Allow me to remind you. If any participant refuses to participate entirely, they will automatically be replaced with a loved one to play the game on their behalf. 

It is also possible to forfeit your participation token willingly and choose a replacement from the mentioned criteria by raising your hand and calling out their full name," the man in the mask said.

"Shit!" James cursed.

"You can.... choose someone else from your family?" Katie voiced out with a distant voice.

She wasn't the only one thinking about it. Many were gulping and pondering over it. All of them heard this detail loud and clear. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or the powers of the man in the mask at play, but they all heard that bit about forfeiting voluntarily.

It was shocking how they had all become attentive to the details issued by the man in the mask..

Loopholes existed, but..

James looked at Katie, wondering if she would actually go through with it. He thought about it, but... who would he sentence to this dreadful game anyway?

"The game will now officially begin," said the man in the mask.

Everyone suddenly vanished and appeared in different positions on the chess board. Some appeared in the light grid boxes, some in the dark ones.

As soon as they appeared, they all felt in their minds, their position and their role in correspondence to their chess pieces.

Many cursed, some simply cried out, others screamed.

They all held weapons of different kinds, feeling them in their hands as soon they stood in their respective grid boxes.

One grid box per person. One weapon per person.

James' breathing hastened. He was panicking! There were two reasons. One, he was in a dark grid box!

While he had thought that the dark grid boxes were just dark, he found that he highly underestimated them. He couldn't hear or see anything!

 It was just pitch black and sound didn't travel so well!

"Shit!" he yelled, but only felt the faint, muffled vibration of his voice in his own body. No matter how he much he yelled, or focused his vision it all seemed for naught.

In his hand was a dagger. He had felt its short blade. Thinking that he had to use it scared the living shit out of him.

The second thing that made him panic was his role.

He was....

A pawn.

This was the worst. He wasn't sure just how screwed he was, but he was screwed nonetheless.

Another person who was panicking was Katie. She was in a light grid box, in her hand was... an axe.

She could barely hold it. Her eyes were warily looking around the dark grid boxes on all two sides. She could hear the wailing and clamouring as she stood which made the experience even more horrifying.

Her role was a Rook.

She knew the chess game at a basic level. Her knowledge of how the pieces moved being decent, however, she was nowhere near as calculating as the game itself demanded.

Con CHeSs didn't seem to need anything other guts and speed though, as she had thought. She wasn't sure she could master both of those.

The man in the white office shirt stood, looking lifeless. He was in a dark grid box. He couldn't hear anything. Tears were starting to pour out of his eyes. 

He was scared.

In his hand, was a chainsaw. 

What made him the most fearful was the fact that he.....

Was a King.

He couldn't imagine surviving the crazed attacks from all those that wanted to live. Mowing them down with a chainsaw wasn't something he was looking forward to nor was it something he thought he could do.

He thought of his pregnant wife and gritted his teeth.

'What did I do to deserve this? Was I bad father? A bad husband? I work my ass off and this is what a get?! I want to see my child! I want to see my wife!' he fell to his knees and sobbed. 'I want to see my family dammit!'

Did it have to end this way?!

No.

"It can't!"

He said as he felt the ticking of the clock in his mind. 

Time was already moving. 

The game had begun.

If he failed he would be trapped here! What was the use of wallowing in self pity. He had to at least do something.

'Act like a man goddammit!'

The man stood from his position and roared into the air even if the sound couldn't be heard.

He grabbed the chainsaw and huffed as he prepared. He suddenly looked ahead with his eyes showing desperation and determination.

He lifted his right hand and yelled.

"Erica Monstroll!"