Jester's Play

I wasn't the first of the group to awaken. When my eyes got used to my surroundings, I could see five other people around me. Only one was still sleeping while the rest seemed to be just waking up like me. My head felt like a monkey banged sticks against it for some reason.

How I got into this dimly lit circular room with a bunch of familiar faces, but none of which I would call a friend, is one of the many questions I had. All I knew was that every one of us was at that party last night and all our parents were powerful in some way with connections to the government. Could this be a kidnapping? It's hard to call this anything else...

"Hey, do you guys see something floating in the corner of your eyes or am I still seeing things from the mushrooms last night?" Derick asked.

Derick was the son of the police chief of Sunshine City. At least, that was what my father always told me about the woman. Besides that, I didn't know much about Derick except that he liked drugs and liked to party. He fit the standard hippie look but being the son of someone powerful helped him look classier than the average hippie when he needed to. Right now, however, his skinny and long body was out in the open for everyone to see. He was shirtless, wearing a pair of cargo shorts and had his hair tied up in a short ponytail.

"No, I can kind of see it too... What the hell is that?" Jessica tried catching it with her hand but couldn't seem to grab it.

With the way the conversation was headed, I took it upon myself to try and investigate this mysterious floating thing. It was strange how it worked. The thing seemed permanently fixed to the corner of my vision whenever I was looking straight, but when I turned my head or moved my eyes to get a clearer look, it repositioned itself. I took the risk to be the silly-looking one but considering I was probably in a kidnapping already, is this really something to be embarrassed about?

My head spun left to right as quickly as I could until I could focus on the indistinct symbol floating at the edge of my vision, seemingly playing with me. I didn't give up in my attempts even with most of the others staring at me. As seconds went by, I got dizzier but at the same time, the blurriness of the symbol began to become clearer. Soon enough, it finally decided to stop messing with me and appeared in front of my eyes. With a cautious poke, like it was an app on my phone, suddenly it expanded into a digital screen!

Name: Adam Wesker

Class: None

Ability: Willpower

Level: 0

[Stats]

Vitality: 1

Agility: 1

Mental: 1

Luck: 1

Stat Points: 0

Overall: Completely trash with little potential for future growth!

As I was reading off this screen telling me how worthless I was, the others came over to look. Humanity has progressed quite a lot in terms of technology but futuristic screens like this have not become the norm even for rich people like us. Much less, people who need to kidnap teenagers for who knows what reason.

"Why can't I see anything?" Ashley rudely put her hand on my screen and poked at it multiple times. It was gently pushed away from the force of her taps before returning to its original position.

So, they can't see my information. That's good to know... If there's someone that needs to be held hostage first or sacrificed for whatever reason, I can lie about my information. Everyone knows that the most worthless people are usually sacrificed first in high-stakes situations. Either the worthless ones or the ones too stupid to live. But what I don't understand is why haven't our kidnappers revealed themselves yet. Johnny has already woken up.

"It's like a video game." I explained.

"A video game? Are you sure you didn't take too many mushrooms, man?" Derick questioned.

"Just look for yourselves. Do what I did earlier and you'll be able to see what I'm seeing."

The others were a bit hesitant to make a fool of themselves as easily as I did. At least, that's what I thought until Amy started spinning her head around like a crazy person. Is that how I looked like when I was trying to see my information? I can see why they didn't want to do it when I asked.

"What is going on?" Johnny asked.

"Welcome to the party man. You know what they say about the guy who's last to wake up at the party, right?" Derick snickered.

"No?" Johnny rubbed his head in confusion, looking around at the others.

"Shut the hell up, Derick. Now isn't the time for jokes when we don't know what the fuck is going on." Jessica snapped at him

"My bad..." Derick threw his hands up in a surrendering manner.

"I think we've been kidnapped." I shared.

"Kidnapped?!" Ashley cried out.

"I think. We could just be being pranked for all I know." I didn't want to cause everyone to panic.

"I don't think something like this is just a joke." Amy finally managed to get her screen up.

"And why is that?" Jessica rolled her eyes at her.

"Because I can do this." A crackling sound came from Amy.

It was like the snapping of fireworks going off constantly. In Amy's cupped hands, a flickering orange light could be seen sparkling above her palms. The magical sight silenced everyone. All our eyes were fixed on Amy's glowing lights that slowly took form.

The light energy weaved into itself over and over again until it formed a complete orb. Then, suddenly, an ear-splitting explosion echoed throughout the room. Amy's orb exploded like a grenade and a fierce wave of heat and wind surged toward us. Someone screamed but I was too busy covering my ears to see who.

"It looks like you're all up and ready to play." A woman's voice came from the opposite side of the room.

I turned my head to see a digitalize large woman in clown clothes smiling at me. She was about seven or eight feet tall, easily towering over all of us. The woman was dressed in a colorful blend of red, white, and blue with a mask etched with a permanent smile, jingle bell earrings that jingled along with her double-pointed hat that had two bells at the tip.

"It looks like we can finally start today's show!" She clapped her hands with visible excitement. "But what kind of show would this be with our performers not completely prepared? Arcade! Tell them what they need to know to make this show the greatest ever!" Her body and hands moved in sync with her bubbling personality.

"Say status, you dorks. That girl with the glasses was smart enough to figure things out, why the hell couldn't the rest of you figure it out?" A nasally voice came from out of nowhere.

"Go on." The clown woman flapped her hands at them quickly. "Say it." She insisted.

"Status...?" Derick was the first one to try it.

A digital screen just like mine and Amy's popped up in front of him.

"Holy shit... What the hell is this?" He muttered, taking in the information on his screen.

The others started bringing up their screens as well and soon all of us followed the voice's directions.

"Who are you? Why have you kidnapped us?" Amy bravely questioned with another magic sphere floating above her palm.

Really, I respected her bravery. Not just anyone would have the balls to outright question their kidnapper on their goals and motives for kidnapping. Which is why, after Amy decided to play hero, I wisely stood as far away as I could from Amy just in case something happened to her. There's a reason why bad guys say, 'Don't be a hero.'

"Today, you're going to be the stars for today's performance. Isn't that exciting?!" She asked like a teacher trying to get a bunch of preschoolers amped up.

No one responded with any form of excitement at her words. The crazy woman didn't seem to notice this as she continued. "You see, I just got kicked out of my last city for having too much fun with everyone so, I came over to Sunshine City to have some new fun! You know how things get stale when you do the same thing over and over again with the same people? So, why not change things up a little? A new environment, a new bunch of playmates, and a whole bunch of new games to play!" She started cackling in joy at her own words.

"It took a lot of thinking for me to pick which would be the best welcoming gift for Sunshine City. Thankfully, with the help of Arcade, I thought of the perfect game to introduce myself and have some fun with you, Sunshiners. So, without further ado, it is time to start the game! Good luck, kids! You're gonna need it!" The hologram of the clown woman disappeared and soon we were all alone again.

"The difficulty is on normal. If you're not brain dead, you shouldn't die." The guy's voice from earlier appeared and disappeared as soon as it came.

"Shouldn't die?" Johnny repeated to himself.

"What did he mean by shouldn't die?" Ashley also was not ignorant of the man's words.

"Stick together. Something might be coming soon." Amy directed.

"I think we should run instead." Derick suggested.

"Run where, idiot? Have you forgotten that we're trapped in a stupid room without a door?" Jessica stood next to Amy.

A mass of blue dots appeared above her hands that came together to cover them like a glove. It reminded me of a power glove but magical. I was starting to get really jealous of the others. Why did I get a crappy ability like Willpower instead of something cool? How the hell was willpower going to help me survive compared to having magic like Jessica and Amy?

Despite how jealous I was, I still stood closely to the two women I thought of as the strongest of the group so far. The rest haven't exposed their abilities yet like these two. I plan to hide behind them as much as I can to survive to the end. It wasn't like I could do much else.

I wasn't athletic or knew anything about fighting. At our private school, I wasn't a part of any clubs besides the go-home club. My grades were between C's and B's. There was absolutely nothing special about me and I'm starting to think because of how mediocre I was, it was no wonder why my status looked so pathetic.

Amy was one of the smartest people at our school. Jessica was probably the most popular girl in our grade because of her looks and queen bee personality. Johnny is the school's star linebacker and was huge as hell. Derick was popular among the stoners and kids who only cared about partying, half of the school basically. Ashley was one of Jessica's Bees and had a pretty face. Did I really deserve to be kidnapped next to these people?

"Do you guys hear that?" Johnny asked.

His question was answered before anyone got the chance to speak. The ground beneath us began to rumble before the room itself started to shake. Dust and small rocks started to fall from the ceiling as the wall opposite to us began to open a doorway. I covered my head and debated running to the new exit opening for us but the sound coming from beyond the entryway stopped me.

Growls, laughter, and all sorts of noises came from the darkness of that door. As if on cue, with that sound, also came a new development. In front of my eyes, there were several pop-ups. Each one showing a picture of a weapon.

There was a sword, spear, bow, staff, medieval mace, shield, and many others. The sounds from past the doorway started to get closer and my heartbeat rose in fear. My instincts chose for me. If I was going to fight anything at all, I definitely wanted to survive overall.

A metal shield large enough to protect my torso appeared in my hands and a new row of information appeared on my status screen.

Name: Adam Wesker

Class: Defender

Ability: Willpower

Level: 0

[Stats]

Vitality: 1

Agility: 1

Mental: 1

Luck: 1

Shieldmanship: Lv0

Stat Points: 0

Overall: Still complete trash with little potential for future growth!

Amy, Jessica, and Ashley were the only ones who picked weapons before the appearance of the supernatural came before us. Amy grabbed a staff. Jessica chose sword. Ashley picked a dagger. Derick and Johnny didn't have anything appear in their hands when the monsters rushed into the room.

"What the fuck!?" Derick shouted with his hands held out and a slow ball of fire leaving his palms.

The fireball landed on one of the grotesque beasts that we thought only existed in fiction. We all saw as if its green skin was doused in gasoline as it erupted in flames and began burning alive. It cried and screeched while running around on fire. The smell of burning flesh pricked my nose and heated my skin but my attention was swiftly taken away when something bashed into my shield and knocked me into the wall.

I couldn't help but cry out in pain as the back of my head banged against the wall. Looking up with my heart beating out of my chest, I was face to face with the long-nosed grinning creature. Green skin, sharp teeth, hairless, small child-like body with strength that didn't match its size, and a loincloth that thankfully hid its privates.

My brain couldn't process how I was staring at a living, breathing goblin in real life. Neither could I react when said fictional monster came running at me with drool leaking down its smiling mouth and the dangerous weapon in its hand getting closer to me. Somehow, I managed to not completely freeze as my instincts to survive kicked in. By raising my shield up in time, I was able to block the blows from its dagger.

But the goblin in front of me wasn't a brainless being. It noticed that I was desperately trying to protect my upper body from its knife and instead of continuing to try and get past my shield, it decided to stab my leg instead. I wasn't embarrassed at the fact that I cried out and screamed from the cold metal digging into my left leg.

The vicious grin on its face widened once it saw the blood shoot out from my body. It licked the blood that came from my leg with its long tongue and started to laugh after looking at me. Terror took hold of my body. In my fear, I used my shield to push the goblin away and get to my feet with my one good leg. That only gave me a few seconds of reprieve.

Something deep inside me was screaming at me. I couldn't tell what it was trying to say but the only thing on my mind was getting away from this monster. The goblin ran towards me when I tried to run away, and it easily caught up with me as it stabbed my limping leg again. That lunge brought me to the ground once more and forced another cry out from my throat.

Landing face-first on the ground, possibly breaking my nose, I quickly turned over and used my shield to bash at the goblin's head. My mind was in a daze and the only thing I could think about was not wanting to die. Seeing my own blood flow so easily out of my body brought me to a level of fear I've never felt in my life before.

My first strike with the shield dazed the goblin. It stumbled to the side, giving me the chance to hit it again. A chance I refused to avoid if I wanted to survive. I couldn't understand it, but it was like a different person took control over my body.

When the goblin was knocked to the ground, I crawled over on top of it. I raised my shield and brought it down on top of its forehead. A sickening crack and squelch flowed into my ears, but I did not stop. I brought my shield back above my head and into the same spot as before, denting in the monster's head. Smashing its skull in. Again. And again. And again.

Level Up!

Until I was knocked from behind. My bad leg scrapped across the ground, and I couldn't help but bite my tongue to stop myself from groaning from the pain. Turning around, a guttural cry escaped my throat from anger when I made eye contact with the second goblin. It yelled back with playful laughter. From its eyes it thought I was easy prey because of my injured leg.

"Come on, then... If I look so easy to you, just try me!" My entire body shook without my consent as I made my declaration.

This only made the goblin laugh even harder before it came rushing toward me. Bringing my shield up, I waited. The pain from my leg made it hard to focus. I was out of breath, my shield felt like it weighed tons, and it was kind of hard to see. I wonder how everyone else was doing...

The goblin leaped toward me. At the same time, I moved to the side. Its dagger created sparks on my shield as it landed where I once was. Being the small little monster it was, it was able to keep its balance after missing and leap once again. My shield blocked multiple slashes as I waited for the perfect opportunity to turn things around.

But he wasn't giving me that opportunity. I couldn't just block his knife slashes head-on forever. Despite his small body, he was stronger than me, and with my leg in the condition it was, I was only losing strength as time went on. Eventually, I lost my balance and tripped over the body of the goblin I dealt with earlier. Something sharp and cold pricked my arm after I fell, and I could hear giggling coming from above me.

My body moved before my mind did. I grabbed the first goblin's dagger, raised my shield with my other hand, and stabbed forward at the goblin leaping towards my chest. Maybe it was luck, but I really couldn't give much of a damn at this point. The dagger pierced through the throat of the goblin and its warm green blood came flowing down my hand. The playful look in its eyes slowly turned into something lifeless and still.

Skill Up!

I turned and moved the body away from me as I felt bile rising to my throat. After what I just survived, I didn't think it was too much to enjoy a nice little puke. So, I puked. Puked out a whole lot of stomach content with some blood included.

Once I emptied my stomach contents, I took a good look around me to see how the others were doing. Then I violently gagged as I saw some of the bodies of the others lying still on the ground. More vomit tried to leave my throat but there was nothing left to hack up. And trust me, I tried.

"Why the fuck do I have to go through this crazy shit?" Jessica angrily kicked the body of a hacked up goblin, clutching her head.

Amy sat behind her rocking back and forth in fetal position muttering something I couldn't hear. I hobbled my way over to them. The others... didn't make it. We were the only three to survive.

"I could be relaxing right now in my hot tub. I could be hanging out at the movies. I could be fucking studying for Mr. Anderson's stupid fucking math test!" Jessica continued to kick at the monster's corpse with more intensity every kick.

"He saved me... and I let him die..." Amy's murmurs could finally be heard by me. "I tried to save him... but the monster it... it wasn't my fault... I just wanted to help... I-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Jessica lashed out at Amy by kicking at her head.

Amy knocked her head against the floor as I met her eyes from above. The pain either didn't register or she was really going through it right now. I couldn't blame her... If I could escape reality like she was right now, I'd be off in lala land enjoying myself in wonderland.

"Jessica. Let's take deep breaths." I tried to placate her. If she really went crazy, I don't think I could stop her with my body in the condition it was in or run away.

I inhaled with my nose first while calmly looking at her then exhaled through my mouth. It wasn't until the fifth cycle that she joined me in the breathing exercise. The exercise wasn't as good as it would have been in another situation because of the smell of the corpses and blood around us but still. Amy even joined in at the tenth cycle and some sanity came back to her.

"We're going to be okay..." I crouched down, placed my arm on Amy's shoulder, and looked into her scared eyes. She couldn't meet mine but that was okay. I couldn't get out of this situation by myself. I was too weak compared to these two.

"How the hell can you even lie like that when your leg is that fucked up?" Jessica scoffed.

"I believe we should look at the positives in life." That was a big fat lie. I was a pessimist.

"What fucking positives can you see in a situation like this?! Derick, Johnny, and Ashley died! I couldn't...! I tried to... But they just didn't fucking listen! If they listened to me instead of freaking out, then maybe they'd..." Jessica wasn't as okay as she made herself out to be. "Why didn't they listen to me...?" Tears slowly dropped to the floor.

"It's not your fault." Was the only thing I could say to the two of them. "None of what happened here is our fault. It's that crazy clown woman's fault. She forced us into this fucked up mess." I tried changing the atmosphere.

"I could've helped Johnny... He saved me and I... I didn't do anything..." Amy muttered.

"You did what you could..." I tried to comfort her but comforting really wasn't my thing. "No one can blame you for how you acted. Anyone would be scared in a situation like that. Not everyone can be brave and fearless." I really hoped this was working.

"But... but..."

"All you can do now, is make sure that something like that never happens again. You are strong, Amy. Both of you are strong, far stronger than me." I made sure to look at Jessica too. "If we stick together, we'll be able to get out of this and return back home. We'll contact law enforcements or the FBI and get that crazy clown bitch to pay for this." I couldn't survive by myself after all. I needed these two if I wanted to make it out of here. With them being wracked with guilt and trauma, I don't think we'll get very far.

I suppose I was rather lucky compared to the others... The only trauma I'll get from this is the close call I had with death. I didn't have to witness anyone die up close or be unable to do anything about it. Maybe that's why I'm taking this better than these two. Taking a life for the first time was horrifying and something I didn't want to repeat again but I wouldn't hesitate to do it if my life was at stake.

"How are you so calm...?" Jessica asked.

"Do I look calm to you?" I gave a weak smile to Jessica who hadn't noticed that my body was still shaking.

"Sorry." She turned away before walking to another part of the room.

"You're injured..." Amy just noticed.

"Yeah, it hurts a whole lot, thanks for noticing." I chuckled despite the pain I was in.

These two needed something that resembled strong right now. A symbol of hope or stability. Hopefully, by acting like this, they'll get themselves somewhat together to get us out of here. I definitely couldn't with my leg and weak ass Willpower ability.

"I know a little first-aid. Let me try and deal with your leg." Jessica came over with some torn cloth.

"Sure." I gently stretched out my injured leg with my hands. It still hurt terribly.

"Did either of you level up or get a skill up?" Jessica asked while she bandaged my wound.

Amy shook her head. I couldn't remember anything like that, so I asked her, "How do I check?" She told me to check my status screen. Both me and Amy said it at the same time.

"Status."

Name: Adam Wesker

Class: Defender

Ability: Willpower

Level: 1

[Stats]

Vitality: 1

Agility: 1

Mental: 1

Luck: 1

Shieldmanship: Lv1

Stat Points: 5

Overall: Still complete trash with little potential for future growth!

"I guess I did level up and get a skill up." I told her.

"Quickly put them into whatever fits your ability or class." Jessica shared.

I placed four stat points into vitality and one into luck. Running away wasn't an option that was really available for me anymore. I also didn't see how being smarter was going to help me survive in this situation compared to a stronger body and a bit of luck. It was because of luck that I was alive right now.

After putting my stat points into vitality and luck, the changes happened immediately. A warm heat flowed throughout my body, and I could feel myself becoming stronger? Whatever I was feeling, it felt one hundred times better than how I felt before using my stat points. The pain in my leg lessened and I could actually move it around now.

"How did you find out about this?" I asked.

"My little brother is a huge fucking nerd. He's crazy about games and stuff..." Jessica didn't answer the question completely, but I wouldn't dog her about it.

"What do we do now? Wait for someone to rescue us?" Ashley asked.

"I think we should take matters into our own hands..." With some careful movements, I slowly got up to my feet. I was able to stand on two feet again, albeit, with some pain.

"If someone was going to save us, they're already too late..." Jessica's eyes wandered over to the deceased.

"Isn't it safer to stay here though...?"

"I don't think so. If another group of those monsters come, we're trapped between them and a wall. If we leave this place, we might find ourselves in a better position to protect ourselves." I didn't want to stay here another second. It also wouldn't be good for Jessica's and Amy's psyche. I think they're friends with the ones who passed away.

"We can leave you behind." Jessica told her.

"No! I'll come! Don't leave me behind!" Amy shot up to her feet instantly.

"Then let's go and for god's sake make sure you fucking listen to me this time if something happens, Amy." Jessica led their way out.

"I'll do my best..." She quietly replied.

"I've seen your damn best. You either what I tell you or I'll leave you behind to get eaten by monsters. I'm not going to fucking end up like Johnny because you're too scared to kill a monster trying to kill me. I swear to God I'll kill you myself before letting something like that happen." Jessica turned and glared at Amy. Amy didn't respond and avoided her stare.

"I got a shield... I'll protect us from the front. Jessica, if we encounter a monster, I'll distract it with my shield and you'll take care of it while its attention is focused on me. Amy, you'll support us if Jessica needs any help." I wasn't being courageous.

It makes the most sense that the person with the shield would block the attacks, the person with the sword would attack when the shield was blocking, and the person with the magic would attack from the back. Plus, the stronger these two got, the easier it would be for us to survive. All I had to do was make sure they didn't crumble mentally before we escaped. Plenty of support, compliments, and listening should do the trick. Hopefully...

***

It only took a few hours before Sunshine City erupted into pandemonium. She appeared on every screen in the city. Her entertaining mannerisms, eye-catching appearance, and chaotic charismatic disposition captured everyone's interest. At first, she was seen as harmless and funny. The latest meme or advertisement for something.

Then, she began livestreaming the kidnapped children. No one understood what was happening, not even the children themselves. As head of the police department and mother of one of the kidnapped, I immediately went into action once I saw my boy in that dark place. He didn't pick up his phone no matter how many times I called, and I could recognize his lanky frame and ponytail anywhere.

I had most of my men spread out throughout the city to search for where the children were being held. The remaining half were to give me information on this clown woman as soon as possible. Her announcement from earlier said that she came from another city, meaning that there had to be information about her already known.

And there was. She was called the Mad Jester but referred to herself as Miss Jester. A local menace that has escaped both federal and state officers. She had several crimes under her alias. Arson, mass murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, blackmail, theft, torture, terrorism, and all sorts of other crimes. It was a mystery why the Mad Jester wasn't on the FBI's most wanted list.

Arcade, or Richard Smith, was a well-known video game developer who was incarcerated after being found guilty of sending viruses into the systems of rival companies. We do not know his relation to the Mad Jester but she somehow managed to bring him over to her side. Richard Smith was born in Sunshine City and never left once. Why would a man suddenly decide to work with a horrible criminal like Mad Jester, was anyone's guess.

My officers worked tirelessly day and night, but still found no heads or tails of where the children were being held. The station was being hounded by the media, the other parents, and citizens watching the livestream. I could barely think with all the station's phones going off every five seconds. It was like the kids weren't in the city at all! Wherever they were had to be some place underground but all the places we've checked have been searched clean. There was no way the kids could be in the city but sending her officers outside of the city to investigate the neighboring cities wasn't an option either!

"Ah! I wonder who's going to survive!" Mad Jester clapped her hands excitedly. "My bet is on the blondie. She looks like a fighter." Jessica Walters is who she was referring to.

Daughter of Benjamin Walters. The famous business entrepreneur who controls half of the economy of Sunshine City in his hands. All of the kidnapped children belonged to powerful political or local figures within Sunshine City. Initially, it was thought that this was a hostage situation. Mad Jester would make a demand from the city and once we fulfilled it, the children would be returned safely.

However, this crazy bitch wasn't planning to negotiate with us at all. All she wanted was to show us her sick twisted show and watch our reactions! My mind blanked when I saw my little Derick get killed because of Ashley Simmons. She pushed my son toward those monsters to save her own life, only to die anyway after they tore my son to pieces and ate his body.

"And another one down! Who would've thought little Ashley had it in her? Poor Derick. He probably had the strongest ability out of everyone too! Hahahahaha! Isn't this fun, everyone?!" Mad Jester lounged out on a couch and ate popcorn.

I sat at my desk with my face in my hands. Fruitless. My men found absolutely nothing about the location of the children or the Mad Jester herself. Nothing came up at all. It was like what was happening wasn't happening at all. But it couldn't be fake... I knew it just couldn't be fake.

"Looks like we got three survivors in the end! A lot more than I was expecting to be honest. Or maybe I should say two and a half? Or just one? It doesn't look like they'll be able to survive through the dungeon in the condition they're in now. But you know, this has been pretty fun to watch. Next time, I need to add way more people than just six though." Mad Jester began to count on her fingers.

"I think thirty or fifty is a good number. If you have any suggestions for the next game's participants, please let me know! I can't wait to have some more fun with you, Sunshiners!" Mad Jester left their screens and all that was left was the three teenagers going down the dark corridor while thousands of people typed comments on the livestream that refused to be taken down.