Blue Trench
Blue Trench
8 years later. 3020.
"Huh?"
Fifteen years old Drake raised his head. After he'd sat in that gaming chair and had been strapped in, he had closed his eyes, felt gloom and then opened them eyes to this new place. A blueish spherical viewed place. It looked circular, standing in the middle, but walking to the end, there's a borderline.
And for hours he had screamed on top of his voice for help but had got nothing in return. Not even the echo of his own voice. He had no idea where he was. 'Twas a timeless space, with no sound or frequency. Only light. He couldn't even be sure whether he's spent hours in there or not.
And after that endless search and inaudible cry, he'd gotten wearied of it all and decided to walk back to the spot he'd dropped on after he was teleported from the game room.
Drake had paced and paced till he got tired and then walked back to that spot and sat down, with his head buried between his thighs, as he tried to keep himself occupied with the texture of the marbled floor of the space.
And not long after the investment had he noticed a flicker of red light paced the floor his eyes were glued on. And then, he'd raised his head to see a door-like n-shaped layers of blue and red light up ahead of him.
"What's that?"
He stood up. The awe of the possibility of what he thought it was swept away his rage of being deceived by those crazy bots. He wished he could see them and -- bro isn't made of steel.
"The heck!"
He shouted, looking down at himself. For the first time, he noticed a sudden metamorphosis in his body.
"When the fuck did this happen?!"
His eyes bulged at his socket at the sudden development in his body. His arms longer than the seven years old who sat on the 80th chair. His chest broader. He touched his face even though he couldn't see it for himself. His jaw was stiffer, cheekbones tougher, nose bigger. Legs longer. He was barefooted. Like he was, while sitting in the chair.
It felt like he was in simulation or he was placed in an enlargement machine he'd heard his mom talk about several years ago. He'd grown up learning stories from his mother. Stories of how the world became what it was at that moment. How humanity was tucked in by PERFECT LIFE PROJECT initiated by the government. And now people live in only video games. No one dared to interact with their neighbors, else they'd end up like Chloe's father, Max.
The light ahead of him boomed again and he snapped back to reality. There were double mysteries at that moment, but one seemed urgent than the other,
"A portal?"
He took his first bold step. He shook his head,
"Portal to where? If it's not a portal, what's it? And if it is, why now? Why is it showing up now?"
Then he noticed that the red light layer of the portal was beginning to dim. He figured he hadn't forever to make a decision.
He took wild strides towards the portal and stood at the front for a while. Then he decided to walk around it to see if there was anything behind. There was nothing but darkness. He walked to the front and akimboed,
"Who knows where the hell this takes me now? Would I become a sixth degree chimpanzee in the upcoming world or space?!"
He took a shallow breath. Breath? He didn't even know if he was breathing or not. Exaggeration? Duh.
"If it means death seeing my mom again, and meeting Chloe too, do I give a shit?!"
He took a deep sigh now then thrusted one of his legs forward. The blue light was beginning to dim too. His heart was doing a crazed velocity of palpitations.
"It's now, Drake."
He manned up then walked into the light. The red and blue lights merged into a golden illumination corrupted by high degree of white saturation. He would had lost his eyes if he hadn't closed them. Gloom!
|__________________________|
"Where am I?"
He wasn't sure if that question was really necessary. Because as his eyes flickered open, his sense of logic adjusted to the present condition instantly. He was acquainted with the place. And upon that fact, he was sitting down. The game hall.
"Chloe."
Was the first thing he said and flung his neck in the direction of her seat, but 'twas empty.
"Where did she go?"
He muttered looking around to see new faces strapped to the chair. Then he felt slight pain in his sides. He remembered, he was being strapped in and couldn't help himself out.
"Hey, who's there. Hey, anybody here?!"
No sooner that call was out than the familiar door opened to the three Judgement bots. He knew them too well. At least, two of them. The third one was a new old. The old one was ripped off by the leader of the bots for interrupting, while the leader was discussing with him (Drake) seven years ago. Creepy memory in such a creepy moment.
"What did you do to me? What the fuck happened to me. Few moments ago, I was seating in this chair, how come I'm grown now and there's a great change here? Where's my mom? Where's Chloe? She was right here. What did you do to her? You even lied to me! That shitty blue ass hellhole you took me to... it was all a lie! There was no video game shit! Hell, I have a million questions to ask. Y'all are pathetic."
He scoffed,
"What the hell was I expecting from stereotyped and preprogrammed fucking bots?! Where are you bosses for fuck's sake!"
The leader of the bots walked straight to him as though it was deaf and couldn't hear all his bickers.
"Congratulations, player 1564243. You've earned yourself the bronze plaque. A basic reward for citizenship that comes with a duplex of your own, daily and adequate supplies from the government and the video game package."
For a moment, Drake forgot every sense of rage in him. His face said it all. It became all soft and cool at once. But then, he stiffened up a sneer,
"And how do I know that this is not some dimwitted tricks again?"
"You have a choice to make. But you have seven seconds to do so?"
The leader of the bots warned.
"The fuck, bruh?! Seven what?"
"Five more. Take my hands and we'll be at the front of your duplex in a blink of an eye. Then we can tell you the two news at hand."
He shook his head, without a definite intent.
"Two more."
His heart gripped. The crazy bots were always like that.
"Why do y'all always love to give me such short time to dec--"
He couldn't finish up the statement. He had started the sentence, reaching his palm out to the leader of the bot.
Gloom!
|___________________________|
"Wow."
Drake exclaimed, standing in front of the huge Ash and off-white duplex.
"Is this mine. This huge building?"
"If you want it."
The leader of the bots replied. He rolled his eyes at the bot,
"Are you fucking with me right now, who wouldn't?!"
He took two steps closer, towards the gate of the fence surrounding it. The gate was transparent and he could see the beautiful well kept greenery at the front of the main building.
Then he halted suddenly and spun around to the bots,
"We all know that nothing is free with y'all dickwads. What do I have to lose that I'm earning this house."
"Nothing. You're now a citizen. Everyone becomes a citizen at the age of fifteen and can live alone. Chloe, your friend, became fifteen four years ago. You couldn't know that years had passed by here because there was no time in BLUE TRENCH, where you were sent. Where Chloe had been to too. All that PERFECT LIFE need from you is to partake in the video games. Starting today."
Drake took a step back, teasing,
"And if I don't? I'll be thrown in the street?"
The leader bot whirred its neck away from Drake to a duplex next to his,
"One of the two news is a bad one. Your mother is dead. She exhausted her lifeline two days after you were strapped in."
Drake dropped the glass box in his hands, but it didn't shatter. Twas a tampered glass, heightened degree. He rushed to the bot but the bot had continued,
"But you can meet her again in the video game."
He held back his fist, like his fleshy fist could really hurt the titanium bot. The bot continued,
"The good news --"
The bot pointed at the duplex next to Drake's,
"That duplex next to yours belongs to Chloe. But you know too well, you can only meet her in the game, else your head would be ripped off your body."
The bot turned away from him immediately and led the remaining two away in strides, then a portal appeared before them and they were teleported.
Drake watched for while. Not only was the street empty, his head also was. He turned in the direction of the duplex called Chloe's. Suddenly something popped into his head,
"The game."
He muttered and hurried towards the house. The large gate connecting the fence opened automatically before him and he hurried to the door of the duplex. He opened it with a palmprint. That was how he opened his mom's apartment, yesterday, oops! Eight years ago.
He hurried into the hallway,then into the empty living room. He called out the couches like his mother would do and opened the box to bring out the chip.
He'd seen his mother clip the chip in her temple. That was all that was in his mind. To see his mother and talk to Chloe about a million things.
With no delays, he clipped in the chip and then went numb, resting back in one of the single couch.
Gloom!