2 chapter 2

Aaron dragged himself out of his room the next morning and went downstairs. The house was quiet. This wasn't a surprise. Today was a Monday. Chopping day. Everyone would report to their work stations and begin chopping their wood. That was Green Faction's job anyway. To produce and export the wood as well as grow plants and wildflowers. But planting was saved until seeding day, a gruesome two days from now. Once all the wood was cut, they would either be used for construction or sent to the big trucks where they'll be sent to the other factions.

Aaron knew his mother must be at her work station and Lydian was at training camp, where they trained young kids how to chop trees, identify, and seed plants. Today would've been normal. Today Aaron should've been at his working station. But he'd already made his choice. Aaron dug into his pockets and pulled out a large silver ring. Aaron pressed a button that was pegged on the ring and a holographic soundwave appeared in front of him.

"This is Laney? How may I help you?"

"I'm in," said Aaron.

"I knew you'd come around. Meet me outside in a few."

The fiery-haired girl was standing in front of a pickup truck. Today she was dressed in a dirty plaid shirt with rugged ripped jeans. She was looking more gleeful than Aaron expected her to be.

"You know, why don't you just do it? Why don't you just play the game?"

"Who's gonna look after your family if I do? Besides, I have logs to play with and you could be the one to tell us how the game is like once you get out," said Laney

"If I get out. If people have already played Osiris before and no one can win, why do they still allow people to play it?"

"The excitement. The opportunity. It gives people hope to make something better out of the mundane."

"They're looking for a death wish."

"Look, Aaron, there's a lot of people out there. I saw the line and it was...just make sure you get in. I believe in you."

Laney stretched out her hand, revealing a wad of brown paper.

"Fifty kelas?"

"You'll need it. Trust me."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"To the city."

The two kids slid into the pickup truck and the engine began to growl. Soon enough the pickup truck treaded its way on a snakelike road and left the Crescent. It fled through all the trees and stumbled across a bridge. There was no sunlight today. Just a dreary white sky and the biting cold. And if it wasn't cold, it was windy. The people of Green Faction were used to this weather though. Almost everyone in the Northeast had to endure it.

The truck finally began to see tall needle-like buildings, towering silver paneled buildings, busy streetlights, and the bustling roads of the city. The Root is what they called it. People that lived in the Root didn't chop up wood or construct anything. They mainly created and regulated the laws that the Green Faction was supposed to follow. They also made business deals with other factions, regulated money, and regulated the flow of how much wood was coming out and how much was coming in. Most of the people in the Green Faction knew that only the rich people dwelled in The Root. Either that or you were incredibly smart.

The pickup truck parked beside a long coiling line of people all waiting to get inside a tall blue skyscraper. The line nearly stretched all the way to the bridge. The building they were standing in front of had many blue paneled windows and a red halo above it that read Game Center in bright white letters. The people that were waiting in line were around Aaron's age. Some twenty-one but some as young as sixteen or as old as twenty-eight. They were holding bands of kelas in their hands and they looked excited. Some were already impatient that they couldn't get in. A handful of kids had already left the line.

Aaron couldn't unglue his eyes from the driver's window. "You were right. I didn't know this many people actually cared about a game."

"Find my brother Miles. I asked him to save a spot for you. There's a chance the line closes soon, so hurry up." said Laney.

Aaron slowly unlocked the door and walked out.

"And Aaron?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be weak. I've heard stories of players that were too weak to do what needs to be done. They were the first ones to die."

"Nice pep talk."

Laney smiled. But Aaron thought he saw something else in her face. Fear. Or maybe it was his own fear that was making him see things.

"Good luck," said Laney.

The truck drove off and maneuvered toward the next exit. Aaron walked toward the line and carefully searched for faces that might recognize him.

"Miles? Is there a Miles here?"

Someone pushed his chest. It was a grubby faced boy with black hair. He looked as if he's lived in the ground his whole life.

"What do you think you're doing? You think you're above the rules to just cut?"

"It's ok Ruben, he's with me." said a chestnut-haired boy with gray eyes. He was tall and rather muscular, not to mention he had a couple of years on Aaron.

"You're Miles?" Aaron asked.

"You should probably get in line before the others think you cut. Laney mentioned you."

"He did cut," sniped Ruben. The two of them seemed to be about the same age, only Ruben was ganglier.

"Shut up," said Miles.

After standing in line for twenty minutes, a patrolman in a white army suit led them inside the Game Center. The place was huge and completely white. There were ticket booths and doors that led to so many games. The walls were covered with posters, digital LED signs, game controllers, and white goggles. Many of the posters and LED signs were near ticket booths and they advertised the games that were going to be played for the day. Aaron saw one for Space Invaders, Jack's World, Mabel's Pony, and so many more. But the biggest line was for Osiris. There was also another huge current of people coming in from the other side.

"They can't just be here for the game?" murmured Aaron.

"They're not. Those are our audience," said Miles.

"People are going to be watching us?"

"Have you ever played a VR game before?" Ruben asked impatiently.

There were two doors for Osiris. One for the audience and one for the players. The players had to go past the ticket booth to be allowed entry. Terrence McCullen was Aaron's ticket booth guy. He was fidgety but he kept his eyes open. He always made sure to double-check his kelas. Either by smelling it or by checking through the light of the ceiling.

"Fifty kelas," said Terrence as Ruben walked up. Ruben slid in the band of brown paper and then walked in the white door. Next, it was Miles and then it was Aaron.

"You do this a lot?" Aaron asked as he handed him his stack of kelas.

"I'm usually in the Space Invaders booth. But today's a special occasion I guess."

"Good luck with that."

"Yeah."

After going through the white door, Aaron instantly found himself walking across an auditorium stage and a sea of people was watching them. Murmurs and buzzing chatter flew around the room. Most of them predicting which player would die first. Aaron glanced at the giant monitor above them. It stood propped up near the ceiling, facing the audience.

The players found themselves going through another door. But this one was labeled Game Room. The white room was arrayed with a bunch of white recliners paired with a VR set and a small tv monitor that faced it. There seemed to be around one hundred and fifty seats and counting. Everyone was overwhelmed by the room. It was very new and mysterious. To some, it was even terrifying.

A middle-aged man who didn't at all seem phased by the appearance of the room stood in the middle of the room looking at the new arrival of kids as they were an early birthday present. He had a lean yet hollow appearance, with white hair and a gray suit. There were a couple of guys in lab coats standing behind him.

"New players, lovely! May I welcome you to the grand opening of Osiris? My name is Breckage and I'm the CEO of Osiris. Today my team and I invite you to play Osiris and to win. The player that makes it through the game will win two hundred thousand kelas."

There was an eruption of claps. Aaron, however, didn't move his hands. There was something about the game creator that turned him off. Maybe it was his cologne. Maybe he chose the wrong tie for work. Whatever it was, he couldn't quite pinpoint it.

"You will soon be strapped into your recliners with your VR goggles on. And once I push this button-" Breckage pulled out a red button from his pockets. "You will soon be sucked into the game."

The labcoat men behind Breckage suddenly made their way forward and led the players to their recliners. They had strapped a number to their shoulders and assigned them a seat. Aaron was assigned to seat 067, right next to Miles. Ruben was nowhere to be found in their seating arrangements.

"This can only end one way," said Aaron.

"You said it, brother. See you in the game," said Miles.

Aaron felt the weight of the white straps gluing him to his recliner. When the VR goggles fell on his eyes, he felt black pressure going inside his head but then it became comfortable. Like he was sitting on a sofa watching cartoons like people used to do seventy years ago. Suddenly those cartoons on the tv started to turn full pink, and then full blue, and then completely black. Aaron shouted. He couldn't escape the pain. It was like somebody was stabbing glass into his head. For a moment he thought he was going to die. But then, miraculously, the chronic pain was gone. He could think again. And most importantly, he could breathe again. Everything was still dark, but he wasn't sitting on his recliner anymore. His hands rested on something soft. Something straw-like. The place smelled like a farm.

"Hay," Aaron whispered.

He was sitting in a barn. There had to be animals in here, but for some reason, Aaron didn't hear anything. He had to find the doors. He got up and slowly felt the place. Undoubtedly, the door was only a few steps from the hay.

"Level One," said an AI woman's voice.

Suddenly a red eye appeared in front of Aaron and below it was a fiery scroll. Aaron fell back into the hay. His heart was hammering. He figured it'd probably be a good idea to sleep in the hay forever. In fact, what was stopping him? He wasn't meant for this game. Then he thought about his mother, Lydian, Laney. It was just enough to energize him for a bit. Once the fire died down, Aaron went up to pick up the scroll. The word that was inscribed was simple but clear.

"Torches."