BAM

“Gah!”

BAM

“Damn!”

Loud noises woke me up. I stared at my surroundings in a daze.

People running all over the place. White flashes. Loud bangs. People pummeling into the ground.

Where? What? Why?

Actually, maybe I was still sleeping. I had no idea where I was or what the heck was going on. Yeah, this had to be a dream.

“Ouch.” Pinching my cheek definitely hurt. Okay, maybe this wasn’t a dream after all. Still, learning that much didn’t help me in the slightest.

There was a gap in my memory. I had no idea what I was doing before waking up here. My name... Hugo Brener. I remembered that much at least, but everything else was a blur.

Did I have amnesia? There was no better explanation. Losing my memory should have been a big deal, but I was strangely calm. It felt like somebody’s else problem. Some dude named Hugo lost his memory. That’s how unreal it felt.

“Hm?” Something was lying on my lap. It was a white... gun. It was a gun. On my lap. A gun. Mhm. It made perfect sense.

“THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?” I jumped on my feet. The gun slid down and landed on the ground. I hoped it was an illusion, but it definitely made a thud when it hit the ground.

I understood everything at that moment. There was no doubt about it. I murdered somebody, then wiped out my memories in order to escape the guilt... NOT!

“Hey!” I called out to a passerby. “Do you know the heck is going on here?!”

“Huh?” The guy threw me a suspicious glare. I immediately regretted my actions. He was carrying a familiar white object. Yes, it was quite familiar. Indeed, I recalled seeing something just like it a moment ago. Gulp.

“Oh, a newbie?” The guy flashed me a grin. Maybe I was going to live after all.

“A newbie... I guess I am? My name’s Hugo.”

“Jack.” He casually played with his gun as he drew closer. My legs were begging me to break into a run, but I just stood there with a forced smile. It’s okay. No problem. I wasn’t in danger. It’s okay. Okay okay okay.

“So... what’s exactly going on here?”

“An elimination game.”

“A game?”

“Yep. You shoot people until you’re the last man standing. That’s how you win and get outta here. Simple, right? Khaha.”

“Haha, sure... simple...” Yeah, just shoot people. Simple. No problem there. Nope. Not at all. Haha. Ha. Ha.

“Well, was nice knowing you.” Jack casually pointed something at me. His movements were so natural, it took me a moment to process what he was doing. OH SHI-

BAM

A white flash, followed by a dull pain on my chest

“Ugh.” My chest hurt. Or rather, it went numb. I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel my body. I didn't feel anything.

“Wha...?” My legs gave in. I collapsed like a puppet whose strings were cut. My face headed straight into the ground and I couldn’t do anything about it. I just prayed I won’t wake up with a broken nose in the afterlife.

.........

......

...

“Ah!?” I woke up with a start. Oh! So it was a dream after all! “Woohoo! I’m alive dang it!”

Thud. Something slid from my lap. It was white. It looked familiar.

“Seriously...?”

There was no use denying it anymore.

It was a gun.

This was reality.

I was stuck in some absurd game.

Fuck my life.