While my brain was deep in thought, my body acted as the fresh pain slowly receded. I kept my stance solid and took another step towards the screen, then turned my head sharply. My neck cracked and flooded with pain in response. Filling my field of view was a bald thug with ancient, muscular arms, swinging at me. It was a strange combination — this guy clearly worked out, never skipped arm day. His sullen glare was filled with malice. I looked directly into his eyes, pulled back my arm, and touched the square. A victorious beeping sound confirmed I wasn’t too late. The thug hissed something at me and stepped back, shoving a couple skinny guys aside with his shoulders, and vanished into the far rows.
The man who had tried to stop me was Fifty-Eight. I would remember him
But for now...
I looked at the screen, trying not to seem overly interested, keeping Ninety-One’s words in mind. She had said not to look weak or insecure. But it was hard to keep my emotions from showing on my face.
Game challenge... From the menu that showed up on the screen, it had to be something strange.
Tic-Tac-Toe.
Three rounds.
Select difficulty:
Easy.
Normal.
Hard.
Didn’t everyone play that as a kid? It was a kid’s game. Or was it? I couldn’t remember. But the surge of astonishment I felt told me I was more or less right in thinking it was a kid’s game, even if it didn’t deserve to be called one. But I did remember one thing for sure — if both players knew what they were doing, every round would end in a tie.
And they were even letting me choose the difficulty level. There had to be a catch... I was no Tic-Tac-Toe pro — I assumed I wasn’t, at least, since I didn’t remember anything, but it wasn’t exactly a hard game. Why were there three difficulty levels?
“Pick Hard!”
I ignored the hoarsely-shouted advice from behind me, but sensed a hint of malice in the voice. Or was I getting paranoid?
I put out my hand to press Easy. The menu disappeared, and a familiar game board appeared. Who was going first? A lot depended on that. Would I win or would it be a tie? I most likely wouldn’t lose. What would happen if it was a tie? Would it be just that, a tie, or would there be a tiebreaker?
Nothing seemed to be happening. I tapped the middle square and a red X appeared.
All three rounds were over in just a few minutes — I won, no contest. My opponent had played incredibly poorly.
VICTORY flashed across the screen, along with the number 11 lit up in gold. It was nice... but what did I get?
The green numbers and words that I saw next made me realize I would be accepting every game challenge I got and trying to win, whatever the cost. It was an incredible chance for what was basically free money.
Game Challenge Complete.
Outcome: Win.
Reward: 3 sol.
Winstreak: 1/3.
Reward Bonus (GC): 0%
GC Selection Chance Bonus: 0%
Extra Prize Chance: 0%
“Should’ve picked Normal.” A woman hobbling past with a tired face and stiff right leg spoke quietly to me.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” I said, just as quietly.
The post-game summary screen disappeared. I trudged onward, looking at the signs on the wall and trying to guess how many more steps I’d have to take to reach Zone 3, Block 6. The lame woman was hobbling alongside me, and I couldn’t resist asking:
“Why did that guy try to stop me?”
“From accepting the GC?”
“Yeah.”
“That happens all the time. All the time, Eleven,” the woman whispered, the astronomical fatigue in her voice almost making me shudder in fear. “You got lucky. If there had been two of them, they would’ve grabbed you, dragged you away from the screen, and held you there, making it look like an accident, then let go when there were a few seconds left on the timer. You’d have had no chance. But at least the crowd would get their entertainment...”
“That’s horrible!”
“It certainly is.”
“Why would they do that?”
“If you don’t accept a game challenge before the timer’s up, it gets offered to someone else.”
“But what are the chances whoever tries to stop me will be the one who gets the challenge?”
“You can figure it out yourself. But that’s not important. They’d just go find whoever got it. If that person wins, they’ll share the reward. If not… well, it’s not like it cost them anything.”
“I see,” I said slowly, involuntarily shortening my stride.
This crippled, exhausted woman was walking faster than me. I could barely keep up. I wouldn’t be winning any races with these legs of mine anytime soon.
“That’s good,” the woman said without turning around. “You’re smart. That’ll help you stay alive longer.”
