The elevator doors opened but not onto the ninth floor as Nathan anticipated. Warm humid air wafted into his face as sunlight shone in narrow rays into his unadjusted eyes. He expected office furniture and work cubicles. Instead, tall trees and verdant flora greeted him. Birds and insects chirped happily as if it was an everyday occurrence. The office where he’d worked the last seven years was gone.

Nathan stumbled back against the elevator wall, the impact causing him to fumble his coffee. The disposable cup exploded on the elevator floor, the spill-proof cap proving completely useless. He cursed and stepped out of the hot liquid pool.

But the momentary distraction was soon forgotten. Somehow, the elevator opened to a forest; a forest in the middle of his fifteen story office building.

The elevator doors began to close, the sunlight disappearing behind them.

“Is this real?” he asked aloud, hoping the sound of his own voice would dispel the illusion. He’d heard about hallucinations but never experienced one. His sleep deprived brain certainly made conditions ripe for his first. Perhaps he’d been daydreaming of being outdoors, somewhere he would rather be than slaving away at work? His career as a data entry clerk finally proving to be far too stressful with only monotony to fill his day.

He glanced back at the spilled coffee, annoyed he hadn’t drank any. He desperately needed the caffeine boost. They’d been playing one of Logan’s role playing games late last night and he was struggling to start his morning.

He’d grab another cup in the office after letting the cleaning staff know about the spill. He stepped forward and jabbed the door open button. The button lit up on the elevator’s control panel and the doors dutifully reopened.

The picturesque forest returned.

He must be delirious. However, it appeared too real to be a product of his imagination. But wasn’t that how all crazy people viewed their own delusions? The thought wasn’t encouraging.

Out of curiosity, he reached out and punched the floor eight button. The absence of familiar sounds and motion from a descending elevator twisted his stomach. He selected the ground floor and likewise received silence in response. The pressed buttons didn’t even highlight.

A sheen of sweat began forming on his back. He systematically pressed everything pushable, discovering only the open button being responsive. Since it led to a delusional forest, his options were unfortunately limited.

His first thought was to sit down and wait for help. His mind latched to that idea like a barnacle on the side of a ship. When the elevator broke down on him last year, he waited until maintenance fixed the problem. At most it would take them an hour. He only regretted that the cute receptionist from floor seven wasn’t stuck with him like last time.

Satisfied with his decision to wait for help, he sat down on the floor. A warm sensation on his butt made him immediately jump back to his feet. He glanced back. The seat of his pants were now drenched in coffee. Welp, good job Nathan.

He took a deep breath to calm down. His coffee butt stood testament he wasn’t thinking clearly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, noting it was 8:10 in the morning. He was late for work. He had to laugh at how incredibly unimportant that was right now. Next, he checked if he could text or make a call but found he had no signal. Figures. He shoved the useless thing back in its spot.

He searched around the elevator while he assessed the situation. He needed to accept his current reality… whatever strange version that happened to be. This was obviously not a normal maintenance problem, even if he wished for a mundane explanation. He had to understand what was happening. To do so, more information was essential.

He smashed the door open button letting the warm air, sunlight, and forest noise return. He stuck his arm out to prevent the doors from automatically closing again.

For the first time, Nathan observed the details of the strange environment. There were ancient trees with trunks up to six feet in diameter. Chest high plants and vegetation tangled the forest floor except for a poorly maintained trail weaving through the middle. The wall of weeds, flowers, and shrubs to each side of the overgrown path created a sea of green color, with occasional white, yellow, and blue blooms throughout. Weeds and branches grew out onto the five foot wide path, trying to reclaim the open real estate. It reminded him of a man-made nature trail close to his home where he would jog in the mornings. It hadn’t been cleared in a while either.

For being a city boy, he was no stranger to the outdoors. Regular hiking, kayaking, and camping trips filled his weekends, providing an escape from the drudgery of his forty hour work week. Nathan enjoyed the adventures with his friends, especially the part where he could turn off his cellphone and challenge himself against nature. Plus, there was always a good story to share afterward.

But with all his outdoors experience, he’d never seen these kinds of trees and plants before. Where was he? He’d been to every major national park in the United States and he’d expect to recognize at least some of the flora. He wasn’t an expert, but could at least tell he was somewhere geographically new to him.

The overgrown trail leading from the elevator doors disappeared from view about thirty yards ahead as it rounded some trees. He hesitantly took a step out onto the trail. Now outside the elevator, he took the full measure of the forest scene around him. It was beautiful.

On cue, the elevator doors began closing, his previous reality vanishing behind them. He realized too late he needed to stop them as they slammed shut soundlessly. A moment later, they disappeared.

He blinked. He now had a view of the rest of the forest and the trail leading in the opposite direction. There was no trace of an elevator.

“No, no, no!” he cried out. He waved his hands where the doors should’ve been. Off-balance and weak kneed, he collapsed onto the ground with a groan.

A robotic voice from above boomed, “Player D-1423, you have been selected to take part in the arena trials.”

Nathan gasped at the unexpected noise. A large shadow passed over him, eliciting a spike of panic to flood his system. He scrambled to his feet and then gaped upward.

A three foot wide spherical chrome ball descended from the tree tops. The object had a circular series of blue lights on the bottom that pulsed in a rhythmic pattern. He couldn’t identify any form of propulsion or turbines to explain how it was achieving its hover. Who would design a drone in the shape of a sphere?

The voice continued speaking, “Ten thousand players selected from each of the eight species groups will participate in the arena trials. The trials will take place on this artificial world devised specifically for this test. The surviving members of the winning species will be bestowed great honor from the Immortal Collective. The losing species’ participants will be terminated.”

“Huh?” he managed to articulate.

“To begin, there will be a preliminary round. To qualify for the main arena from the preliminaries, you must pass two challenges. A scan of your body and brain has determined that your unenhanced starting statistics are 125 Physical and 114 Mental. The preliminary round of the arena trials will begin now.”

Nathan was still absorbing the information, not quite sure if he was hearing correctly. He formulated his first question. “What are…?”

Cutting him off mid-sentence, a blinding blue light projected from the bottom of the drone towards Nathan. As the light engulfed him, it caused his eyes to close reflexively. His skin became warm and his stomach lurched with a sinking feeling like riding a roller coaster in free fall. A few disorienting seconds later, he bent over and emptied his stomach on the ground. Finally, he opened his partially light blinded eyes.

The surroundings had changed dramatically. Where it was once sunny and green; now he was somewhere dimly lit and cool. As his eyes came into focus, he studied his surroundings. Ambient light diffusing from a hole in the ceiling about forty or fifty yards above allowed him to make out hanging stalactite formations. In the distance, he could see additional cracks allowing in light, but couldn’t make out anything past a hundred yards on the ground floor. No walls were visible, except for the ones he was next to, so the room had to be immense. No, not a room… a cavern. He was in a corner where two of the rock walls met.

So the drone had transported him here… via teleportation. The concept was mind boggling. The entire light travel experience had been surreal, unlike anything he’d felt before. Nathan’s hands were shaking and his heart rate was pounding in his chest.

By habit, he reached into his pocket for his phone. Huh? It was empty. He patted his other pockets and they were equally devoid of his usual items. He was sure his cellphone was in his front right pocket in the elevator before his impromptu adventure began. Also missing were his keys, wallet, and small pocket knife.

He sighed when he noticed the puke covering his shoes. So he was in a cave wearing vomit and coffee covered office clothes without any gear or supplies. The impracticality of it all made him laugh loudly. The cavern echoed the sound, revealing the hysteria in his laughter to his own ears.

He took a deep breath and focused on his situation. The brown leather shoes with slick soles would be terrible for walking. Even worse running. The blue dress shirt tucked into the thin khaki trousers was not much better but he supposed it could be worse. At least he wore a white undershirt beneath the dress shirt so he had options. The trousers had a few small pockets but that paled in comparison to some actual durable hiking pants with strong material and lots of places to carry things. He’d always been a ‘more pockets’ type of guy.

He managed to keep his cool until he realized his belt loops hung conspicuously empty. Seriously? Luckily his trousers were tight enough they wouldn’t fall down while he tried to walk. But still, were his abductors afraid he’d hang himself with his belt so they confiscated it? The idea was plausible considering he was an unwilling participant in an alien experiment. Many of the test subjects were bound to react poorly.

Somehow, it was his missing belt that converted his fear into anger. Freaking robot alien drones! He should be sitting at the desk he loathed drinking a mediocre cup of coffee right now. Not stumbling around in a vast cavern with no supplies or gear. He kicked a loose rock on the ground and immediately regretted the sharp pain in his toes.

A bright blue flash to his left side made him turn in alarm. A pale and skinny teenage boy wearing a black hoodie, black jeans, and black skate shoes appeared when the light faded. He wore a curious looking silver choker and matching silver bracelet that clashed with the all black look the kid had going on. The kid immediately leaned over and barfed on the ground. Nathan noticed he didn’t hit his own shoes. His estimation of the kid rose.

“What…?” the teenager began. He blinked as he looked around, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light. He noticed Nathan and stepped back in surprise, speaking something that sounded German.

“Um, hello,” Nathan said.

“Howya, who are ya?” the kid responded, switching to an Irish accented English. The kid bounced on his feet as he peered around the vast cavern. “Are you a player too?”

“I think so. My name’s Nathan. I’m guessing a UFO teleported you too?”

“Aye, sounds about right. I’m Kean. I was in a revolving door at the mall and became surrounded by trees. Ya sound funny, not from around here?”

“Well, I don’t know where here is. I’m from Nashville, Tennessee.”

“Tennessee, like the whiskey? Savage!”

Nathan smiled at the young player’s misplaced enthusiasm. “Sure, like the whiskey. And you?”

“Irish. My da was from East London though so I’m a bit of a mutt.”

“Earlier, you were speaking… German, was it?”

“Ya, been living in Berlin since me mum moved us for her work last year.”

Berlin? He hadn’t expected to meet a foreigner. “So you were in Germany before you ended up here?”

“Uh, ya. I just said that,” the kid replied with age appropriate sarcasm.

Nathan frowned. The story didn’t make sense. If Kean was in Berlin and Nathan was in Nashville, how did they both arrive at roughly the same time? As soon as he thought the question, he wanted to slap his own forehead. It was painfully obvious considering a drone teleported him to a cave with only a blue light. He should assume their captors had access to any possible technology, and probably more he couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Nathan studied the kid further, searching for any clues linking them together as to why they were here. But he only looked like a typical teenager. “How old are you, Kean?”

“Fifteen,” he said, adopting a defensive tone.

“Really?” Nathan had assumed thirteen or fourteen. The kid’s short skinny frame and baby face didn’t do him any favors. He was glad the kid was a bit older since he’d probably be easier to work with.

“Ya. So why’d they pair me with an old man and not someone my age?”

Old man? Nathan laughed out loud even though he knew the kid was dead serious. Nathan was only twenty-nine, but to a fifteen year old he must be ancient.

A new flash of blue light caught both their attentions and they turned to see an older blond haired woman appear. Nathan guessed she was around forty based on the small wrinkles around her eyes. She was handsome and had an unusually athletic figure for someone her age. She was dressed casually, as if she was out for a cup of coffee with friends.

She staggered, obviously disoriented from the teleportation. The woman turned around to face towards Nathan, her eyes still unfocused. He stepped towards her, ready to help steady her if necessary.

She opened her mouth and projectile vomited. Oh god. He staggered back… and subsequently failed his dodge check. His shirt became splattered with unknown substances both revolting and foul.

He stood flabbergasted for several moments.

“Savage greeting,” Kean remarked. “I’d be so salty if I was ya.” The little punk had a big smile on his face. It didn’t appear malicious, just amusement at the situation.

Nathan couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. Being drenched in vomit really sucked... but it was so sucky it was kind of funny. He chose to take the incident in stride.

The woman seemed to finally make sense of her surroundings and noticed the two guys. She was startled at first, and then began speaking frantically in a language he didn’t know or recognize.

“Think she’s Swedish?” the Irish kid asked.

“No idea,” Nathan replied. He turned to the woman and spoke slowly, annunciating every word carefully. “Hello, do you understand me?”

The woman continued to speak in a foreign language, her pitch and tone rising in intensity. He realized she must be terrified. That made sense… so was he. Kean on the other hand seemed to be holding it together rather well. Nathan smiled wryly. The teenager was probably too young or naïve to realize how screwed they were.

Oddly, seeing the woman losing it actually helped soothe his own nerves. Witnessing someone else’s irrational hysteria gave him a bit of perspective.

“Don’t Swedish people speak English too?” he asked the kid.

“Ya, weird innit?” he replied.

“So maybe not Swedish?” When Kean shrugged, Nathan turned back to the woman. “It’s okay, we’ll help you.”

He knew she probably couldn’t understand him but he hoped his calm tone would help. The woman wore a matching silver choker and bracelet, exactly like the set Kean wore. That was strange.

Before he had a chance to process the information, another blue light flashed. The woman shrieked in panic and fell to the ground. Nathan had already experienced the phenomena a couple times now but still involuntarily flinched. As another person appeared, Nathan deliberately stepped backwards staying out of any potential bodily fluid range. He might make mistakes, but he wasn’t about to make the same one twice.

The new arrival was a man. He looked like a soldier since he sported a woodland camo field uniform with black combat boots. Nathan didn’t recognize the uniform except to identify it as not being American. Unlike everyone else, the soldier didn’t throw up on arrival, although he did appear a bit uneasy. He took a few deep breaths as his eyes adjusted to the dim light.

The man was Asian and older than Nathan, probably even older than the blond haired woman. The gray streaks in his black hair looked dignified as opposed to just old though. He was fit and muscular, obviously taking great care of his body. He also wore a now familiar silver choker and bracelet.

Nathan found it suspiciously coincidental the three players wore the same fashion accessories. That was when a light bulb turned on in his brain. He glanced down at his own arm. He pulled back his blue sleeve and discovered a foreign silver bracelet wrapped tightly around his wrist. How had he not noticed it before? He supposed given the circumstances of experiencing teleportation for the first time, the oversight was forgivable. But still, how had it gotten there?

He then reached to his neck, feeling metal. A chill crept up his spine.

So that’s how it’s going to be? Collared for some experiment, like they were rats in a lab? The idea pissed him off.

Then he had a darker thought. He recalled what the drone had told him in the forest but lacked the presence of mind to comprehend at the time. It stated he needed to pass two challenges to qualify for the main arena. He could think of only one class of people in history who had been collared and were associated with arenas. Slaves who fought for their lives to the amusement of their captors. They were called gladiators.

He’d seen Spartacus and Gladiator. Those movies were fun to watch but he couldn’t think of any situation more stomach churning. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to keep his stomach from upturning once again.

“Ya a soldier?” Kean asked the Asian man.

Nathan snapped out of his dark thoughts and listened. The man responded in a foreign language which Nathan was fairly certain was Japanese. He’d watched a lot of subbed anime shows back in college and while he didn’t actually understand the language, could at least identify Japanese when he heard it.

So the four of them consisted of an American office worker, an Irish teen living in Germany, a middle aged ‘presumably Swedish’ woman, and an older Japanese soldier. Were they supposed to be a team for the challenge? They were a motley assortment for sure. He only shared a language with one of them so communication was going to be tricky.

Or were they supposed to be competitors? The drone hadn’t given clear instructions that he could remember. He pushed thoughts of gladiator death games away from his mind. It was better to work together for now until given reason otherwise. Assuming everyone he met was an enemy… well, that way lies madness.

He turned his mind to what they should do. Explore the cave? He was thirsty and his throat was irritated from having emptied his stomach earlier. If they didn’t find water soon, he’d be in rough shape. But leaving this corner of the cavern was probably a terrible idea since more people might arrive.

He thought about how quick each person had appeared. It had already been longer since the soldier arrived than the short duration between each flash of light before. Maybe everyone that was invited was already here?

He turned to the teenager. “If no one else shows up, we should go explore. I need water… bad.”

“Ya, me too.”

“I just worry someone else will show up. What if we miss them?”

“We could split up. Two search for water while two stay here in case anyone else beams in?”

Nathan immediately cringed, remembering the disastrous results whenever they split the party in his RPG campaigns. He had to remind himself this wasn’t an RPG. His best friend Logan wasn't here acting as a malevolent dungeon master, punishing their anti-narrative choices. This was real life. The kid’s idea made sense.

“Alright,” Nathan agreed. “Since we can talk, we should stick together.”

Nathan called out to the two other players. The Swedish woman ignored him while staring blankly into the distance. When he’d at least received the man’s attention, he gestured at him and the woman and then pointed at the ground to indicate they should stay. He then gestured at Kean and himself. He mimed drinking from a water bottle while pointing at the open cave to show they’d search for water.

The soldier gave a thumbs up. Cool.

During this exchange, the woman never even acknowledged them as she sat on the cave floor. She missed everything conveyed. At least the soldier understood and she’d likely stay put anyway. Good enough.

A blue glow began emanating from the soldier’s silver bracelet and Nathan’s eyes widened. His own wrist was glowing too. The blue light gave off an unworldly ambiance in the dim cave. He looked over at Kean and the Swedish woman, but neither of their bracelets were lit.

“What’s it doing?” Kean asked. His face full of envy as he pointed at Nathan’s arm.

“Don’t know,” Nathan said. He glanced back to the soldier who was now studying his bracelet up close to his face. The man flinched as a blue rectangle of light appeared before him and hung in the air. The rectangular two dimensional shape was about the size of an electronic tablet. It was translucent enough that Nathan could see the soldier’s blue tinted face through it. The rectangle continued hovering in the air above the man’s wrist as the man inspected it. He waved his arm around and the blue rectangle moved in sync with his wrist, remaining a fixed distance above the bracelet. He then held it still and began reading it like a computer screen.

Suddenly, the soldier cried out in pain. Nathan stepped back in alarm. The man groaned again and then collapsed straight to the ground. He heard Kean swear loudly, just as surprised as him. Nathan dashed to the man’s side, checking to see if he was still breathing.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Kean asked over his shoulder.

Nathan saw the man’s chest rise and fall. He let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t think so.”

“So what happened?”

“No idea. I guess he fainted.” Nathan at least hoped that was the case since the other possibilities that sprang to mind were grim.

He felt for the man’s pulse at his neck but the silver choker was in the way. He was afraid to touch the accessory considering it could drop somebody in the blink of an eye. He instead checked at his wrist, the one that didn’t have the matching bracelet. The glow had faded from it but Nathan wasn’t sure what that could mean.

He had no trouble finding the man’s pulse since it was pounding crazy fast. Without a clock to track time, Nathan wasn’t really sure how to judge how fast it was though. His own heartbeat was racing so that further skewed his ability to keep track. The fact that the man had a pulse at all was encouraging though.

Nathan’s looked back at his own bracelet. Unlike the soldier’s, his was still glowing. No way was he messing with it after just witnessing what could happen if he did.

After a few minutes, the man’s eyes opened slowly. He began sitting up and Nathan awkwardly helped him although it proved unnecessary. The man stretched his arms and back, as if he’d woken from a restful night of sleep.

“Are you okay?” Nathan asked, speaking slowly in case the man could understand any of his English.

The man’s eyes widened with shock. Once he recovered from his surprise he asked, “How?” He then shook his head. “Ah yes, I’m fine now.”

It was Nathan’s turn to be stunned. The man’s English was perfect, only a slight accent betrayed his Japanese heritage.

Nathan’s first feeling was anger. Had the man been able to understand them all along? Just pretending to not speak their language to gain some kind of advantage? Nathan forced that emotion down though; this wasn’t the time to fight amongst themselves.

Kean must have been having similar thoughts since his hand was clenched in a fist. He stepped forward and said, “Listen grandpa, ya holding out on us? Think yourself a clever bastard by playing dumb?”

The soldier’s face remained expressionless. “No. Nothing like that. I have never spoken more than a dozen English words in my entire life. It did not become popular to learn English in our schools until I was older and already in the Self Defense Force.”

“Ya going to lie to our faces? Bold move grandpa!”

Nathan thought the skinny rail of a kid was trying to sound more menacing than he actually appeared. Nathan had no doubt the older soldier could easily dispatch both of them if it came to a fight.

“Forget it,” Nathan said to Kean. “It doesn’t actually matter right now.” He turned to the soldier and asked, “Why did you faint? What did it do?”

“It is called a wristband interface, at least according to the blue screen. A message informed me that I learned a new skill; Language I.”

“Whoa, a skill! I knew it!” Kean fist pumped into the air, excitement having replaced his mock outrage.

Nathan was infused with a bit of wonderment himself. Learning a skill that teaches an entire language in like five minutes? It was something he’d only ever daydreamed about. “I know Kung Fu,” he quoted.

“What, really? Ya a black belt or something?” Kean asked.

Seriously? Had the kid never seen The Matrix? Nathan had always taken it for granted that everyone had.

“No, it’s from a movie,” Nathan explained while a blush crept up his back. “The Matrix. Came out in the late 90’s. The main character is able to download knowledge and skills directly into his brain. I watched it about twenty times when it came out.”

Kean looked at him blankly. It shouldn’t have really surprised Nathan though; the movie released before the fifteen year old was even born. Nathan suddenly felt as old as Kean had insinuated earlier.

The soldier meanwhile watched their tangent conversation with bafflement. He coughed loudly and continued his explanation. “Presumably, this new skill is how I am able to speak with you in English. It is an odd sensation. My thoughts are rearranging themselves in my mind as I speak. As soon as I read the words that I learned it; my head was electrocuted... which caused me to faint. That was the last thing I remember.”

“Wait… what? Electrocuted?” Kean asked. He was now frowning.

Nathan didn’t like the sound of it either. After his initial thrill at learning skills, he had to wonder if it was actually true. Was the man messing with them in some weird prank? He was fairly sure the man hadn’t faked his fainting though, his pulse had been way too fast and erratic.

“Your wristband interface messages are still pending,” the man said, gesturing to Nathan’s arm. “You should check if you also learned the skill. These skills are likely required resources we are meant to use to complete the challenges.” He held his bracelet up before him and the blue rectangular screen reappeared. The man’s eyes began moving back and forth as he continued reading.

“Why’s mine not lit?” Kean asked, clearly looking disappointed. The older soldier was still reading his screen, seemingly not hearing the kid’s question. Kean looked to Nathan who could only shrug in ignorance. The kid broke his envious stare on Nathan’s bracelet and turned to kick a small rock.

At least he’s smart enough to kick an appropriate sized rock and not hurt himself, Nathan chuckled to himself.

Kean looked back. “Well, whatever. But he’s right, ya know? Hurry up and learn it.”

Nathan glanced once more at the sitting Swedish player. She appeared calmer. He pitied her given their situation and not being able to communicate with any of them. At least Nathan and Kean could talk since they met. If he learned a new language, maybe he could speak Swedish. It was worth a shot.

He held his glowing wrist up and studied the silver material. There were no buttons or indentions; only smooth metal. He tried touching it with his free hand but found no way to replicate the hovering blue screen. How did the other guy activate it? The soldier hadn’t even reached for it, only stared as it turned on. So mental activation? If that was true, then the technological level was far beyond anything available on Earth.

He focused his mind, concentrating specifically on accessing the blue screen. Immediately it hung suspended in the air. Nathan wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or terrified it had worked. The soldier collapsed only moments after reading his.

Nathan’s arm trembled as he moved the screen closer to himself. He could see the text clearly. He reluctantly forced himself to read.

[System Message Log]

[Welcome, Player D-1423, to the first preliminary challenge. Survive by reaching the designated safe area to complete the first challenge.]

[You have been awarded 2 NPs for activating your nanite injection choker and wristband interface for the first time.]

[Due to your efforts at non-verbal communication with a player in which you share no common language, you have learned the Language I skill.]

As soon as Nathan finished reading the messages, a burning sensation enveloped his neck. Then an overwhelming headache rocked his world. The only thought he could manage was to wonder if some angry god had released a lightning bolt inside his brain. Then everything went black.