Initiating Transport

Tyler felt like an old lady as he ran through the railway station. People turned to glare at the chubby boy, who looked like his ass had caught on fire. The scene was right out of a romantic movie.

'He is definitely running after the woman of his dreams.'

'Is someone chasing him?'

The thoughts in everyone's mind were different, but none of them got it right.

Tyler was running because if he didn't, he would have no chance to win ten million dollars. Yes, ten million dollars. His uncle, Larson, was his last hope.

The train had started to move and Tyler was frantic. As they said, every person had three seconds of clarity in their day. Usually, those three seconds weren't consecutive. But this time, it helped him. He stepped into the train door closest to him and panted like a dog in heat.

He saw the time on his watch decreasing and yelped.

'Uncle! Please help me!'

He found his uncle rather easily. He was traveling in first class for his last worldly trip. No, he was not going to kill himself, but he might as well have. Uncle Larson was headed to the mountains to become a reclusive monk. Yes, this was his literal train to heaven.

"Uncle," Tyler sobbed at the sight of the older man. Peppered hair and unremarkable features. But under his plain t-shirt and jeans were prominent but lean muscles.

Larson turned to the voice, startled. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Did you run away from home?"

He shook his head. "I need you to help me. I am running out of time!" he stated with urgency.

Larson was alarmed but dragged his nephew out by the elbow. "Calm down and tell me what is wrong."

"I gave our government IDs to join a raffle and got a chance to win ten million dollars."

Larson's eyes narrowed. "You fell for a scam?"

"No. No! This is legit. I didn't get a message from a Nigerian prince. It's a legit gaming company backed by the government. I wanted a better chance at winning so I added your ID card information, too. Surprisingly, we both got selected to participate in the game."

The foolish smile on his face made Larson want to smack the boy.

'Will this hinder my journey to enlightenment?' he questioned himself. 'I can just cleanse my sins when I hike up the mountain.'

With that, he smacked Tyler.

"Ow!"

"I am calling your Mom and pushing you out of the train when the next station arrives."

"No… no… no! You don't understand! This is serious!" he yelled. A young man walking out of the washroom stopped, thinking someone was being killed. "The game starts in a couple of minutes. Just help me out this once, If one of us wins, we can split the money, okay?" Tyler begged.

The other guy froze. "You got invited to play MCO?"

Tyler tsked at the guy and shook his uncle. "See? He knows it, too."

"Elaborate scam, then," he said calmly. "Sit with me for now, I will drop you at the next station."

Tyler cursed his uncle for being a boomer and followed behind. A flash of cunning went through him. The second moment of clarity that day. He trudged behind the man, pulling out the spare watch.

Three minutes until the game went online.

No sooner had his butt touched the seat than he spoke, "You can at least accept my parting gift, right?"

"What use is a gift to me?" Larson grumbled.

"Aiyah, you can throw it away after I get off the train." His grin was suspicious just to look at, but Larson allowed it. "Your left hand!" he barked. He was getting impatient.

Larson narrowed his eyes, but his hand moved forward of its own accord. If this brat asked for his hand, it would definitely be a watch. Anything else and his nephew didn't know what he liked.

Tyler almost pounced and slid the watch into Larson's wrist. Before Larson had time to appreciate the watch, Tyler was bent over him, fumbling with the thing. At least, it felt heavy.

"Done!" Tyler rejoiced and sank back into the seat.

Larson pulled the hand close to his face to see the thing. The exterior was an odd metal that he had never seen before. It was like an oil spill had been fossilized. It was rather heavy and the main body of the watch had dials. He wanted to see its function, but instead saw something alarming! There was an active timer. "What is this thing?" He tried to take the watch off instinctively.

"Matching watches!" Tyler chirped as he rubbed his belly. His mission was over. He glanced sideways and shook his head. It was no use. Once the watch was formatted and put on the wrist, there was no way to take it off until the game was over or you lost.

The watch made a standard ding and a voice came over.

[Alerting all players. Alerting all players.]

The sharp voice snapped Larson out of his frenzy. It sounded too much like the voice on the radio before a warning.

[Please follow the instructions for your safe transportation. Cover your head and ears with your hands and crouch down so your leg touches your torso. Improper posture can result in injury. You will be transported to The Lounge in twenty seconds.]

The warning seemed to chime again.

[Five.]

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Larson yelled.

[Four.]

"The game is starting!" Tyler chuckled.

[Three.]

"Get this thing off me!"

[Two. One. Initiating transport.]

The elderly couple that was seated across from the uncle and nephew gaped as the two crouched low to the ground like they were trying to survive a bombing. They wondered what these two otherwise lucid men were hearing. They looked around and found everyone else staring.

The two had barely stopped yelling when something astonishing happened. The two disappeared into thin air. There was a collective gasp and then silence.

The old man was the first to speak. "They forgot to take their luggage."