Two hours elapsed with the organizers playing hide and seek with their computer mice. Their lives depended on finding their boss, but they couldn't find him. They kept asking for more time just to stall the wrath that was going to descend on them. Their eyes darted around crazily, looking for a way out, which was impossible given that the entire building was under lockdown. Tired of waiting, one of the pledgers walked to where they were seated and shot one of them straight in the head, splashing some blood and brains all over the other organizers before dropping to the ground. The entire arena let out a terrifying wail. "Maybe this will motivate the others to work faster!" he yelled. The organizers froze in terror for split seconds. Their entire bodies became impossibly still, with their hands twitching spastically, making it impossible for them to type on their computers. Their colleague lay a few centimeters from their legs, brains, and blood everywhere. What started as a pe
Texas walked outside and found her boss pissed, waiting for her outside the helicopter."Sparing their lives was never an option," she said as she walked past him."Are you insane? They were the only people that would lead to the filthy man in charge of those stupid games!" He yelled at her."No one in that room knows who the idiot is," she spat out, annoyed, and entered the helicopter. Sebastian closed his eyes in irritation and followed suit. The helicopter was in the air in seconds, heading back to Washington. A message popped up on Sebastian's phone, forcing him to frown."What? Who was that?" Texas asked."Since you have forgotten how to play as a team member, it is none of your business," he replied, putting his phone away."The stupid leader was probably watching. With all the investors gone, he will need to recruit new ones," she explained.Sebastian glanced at her with interest.She explained "He is probably going to recruit every person that will take over from each of thos
Life seems to be unfair in most people's lives, no matter how good, upright, and law-abiding they are. Life just smacks them in the face and leaves them choked with its smoky toxic fumes. This is a story of fifty people from different sorts of lives sprung across the fifty states of the United States of America. They all have two things in common: their loved ones are dying and they are below the donor list.Organ transplant is one of the most expensive health services in health care. Only a few can afford it, and most insurance companies do not cover it. The rich seem to be on top of the list, but what happens to the poor or middle-income families that cannot afford it? Do they just sit around and wait for their loved ones to die if a donor can't be found or they are below the waiting list?
In Washington, the night came with its usual uneasiness, and like every night, David sat in the hospital waiting area, not wanting to be next to his wife's bedside. Guilt always suffocated him. He was too ashamed to look into her eyes. Somewhere in the back of his head, he felt if she looked deep into his eyes, she would see what he did. So he avoided being in the room when she was awake. The hospital waiting area became his home. He would sit there watching the emergencies, the outpatient cases, or just watching the ins and outs of people that required medical services. Usually, it was the crying people that got his attention. It always meant one thing: a loved one had died. He wondered how he was going to receive his news. Was he going to be at work or was he going to be next to her or hiding in the waiting area? He always wondered how he would cry o
With six-inch heels and the sun blazing directly on her head, Acer was dripping wet as she navigated the tall grass. Her legs were killing her as she began regretting not wearing her sneakers.She was in the most rural parts of Texas, heading to the farm of someone on her list. She stopped and stared at the map, making sure that she was on the right farm. She wanted to make sure that she was at 30-year-old Berth's house, her last recruit on the list. She was so exhausted that all she wanted was to go home and relax in her bathtub, listening to her favorite music.However that dream was far from her reach. She only got ten acceptances from willing participants out of the 50 total participants from the 50 states of the country.<
Finally, she was home, and as soon as she opened the hotel door, she rushed to the bathroom. It was the first time that she had stayed that long in her own sweat. She wanted to soak it all in the luxury tub.She always enjoyed that part of her job and the luxury that came with it. She always promised herself she would enjoy that part no matter how bad things went. She deserved that part. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.She gently undressed and slid into the bathtub. She only desired a lengthy bath. The following day was going to be a whirlwind. She still hadn't heard back from the other 40 states, and she was running out of time.She coul
Berth sat in her living room, her hands still clutching her handgun. She kept staring at the watch. Her invitation was expiring in thirty minutes. The thought of the game being real and getting replaced was what was eating her up.The strange lady was right. It was all her fault that her child was faceless and lying in the next room, hiding from the cruel world. The thought of it made her tear up as she held onto her handgun.She had nothing to lose by playing the game, she thought to herself. She would jump to the end of the world for her daughter, but yet there she was counting the minutes away.Yes, there was a big chance the games were fake, but the pity was on the lady and not her.<
Most of them wailed in pain, while others dropped their phones in shock. There was silence, as she waited for them to recover and pick up the phones. After some minutes, they were all back on the phones, scared but silent. She went straight to welcoming them and went straight to game one.GAME 1"Game 1," she explained, "call someone in your phone book who you know will not pick up."There was total silence, with most of the players raising their eyebrows in confusion. This forced her to repeat h