Ch 11- The hungry Playground
A pair of colossal gates drag a sliver of the outside’s red hue in the Commune. Opened only once per year, their drag sounded as if gates of hell itself were pried, forcing the piles of dust and sand that gathered in front of them aside. When a gap wide enough formed, 8 black cubic blurs hovered by the giant doors in a blitz on a pre-set magnetic path towards the Playground.
Most denizens of the County only knew of the corroded walls and leaky rooftops inside the city, the colored smoke, the never-ending chittering of the machines, the lights from a faulty neon tube. For the lucky or unlucky 8, everything suddenly expanded and became without a cardinal limit, redbright, empty, and silent. Only the wind sang songs around here, carrying in its path whirlwinds of dust, sand, and pieces of trash.
This was Siete’s first outing, and since they left, a question was eating them from the inside:
-“ Hey Vivar, how does it look to you?”, to which the robot took a peek before answering.
– “Still dead.” Then, the rest of the transport was spent in silence, as C.T.Ds stayed in a meditative state to conserve energy; a strategy practiced by all of the passengers of the cubes.
Once they got closer to the crater the windows turned black and blocked any outside.
“It’s normal”, chimed in Vivar.” The drop points are supposed to be kept a secret from the rest of the contesters”.
Just a few moments later, the convoy split into two groups which reflected the current positions on the leaderboard, with the top four taking the lead and all heading in the same direction, west. The County had very few superstitions that surpassed the borders between the classes, and the belief of starting anything from the west side (however you could interpret it) gave you a higher chance of success was an universal belief.
Siete’s group of bottom four, on the other hand, were left to the uncaring hands of fate and split in four random directions.
During the ride, Siete tried to squint the barren landscape through the blacked out windows, but with no success. Their stomach jittered, their ears ringed from the dull magnetic hover and nothing they did to make it pass faster.
-” I really wasn’t prepared with how dull yearning could turn out to be sometimes”, remarked the clopy at some point. Whatever plans of fantasies they had about the contest were slowly absorbed in the reality of it, and how much of the exciting moments are preceded by long spans of anticipation. “Are Angie and Marcos as antsy as me, or do you think they can…simmer down themselves?” Vivar then woke up, making a weirdly sleepy gruff sound while doing so.
-” That was just my rebooting ringtone, please ignore it.”, the robot quickly added, while he flustered around to act more robotically. “Also, you do know that they are the enemy now, right?”
-” But should they? I don’t remember any rules banning forming groups”.
-“ Forming some sort of party early on could be quite beneficial”. The robot considered that possibility many times in the past, but he learned that unless the patient brings it up, he shouldn’t put it on the table.” I believe that it’s a on-the-field type of problem, though.”
Once each cube was far apart, a screen turned on with the Playground streamed front and center. The gnawing sensation in Siete’s stomach got worse when the edges of a great chasm grew closer and closer, like the fringes of an alien maw. From afar, it appeared like a desolate mountain of junk, as piles of trash and sand gathered on top of the roof covering it. Seeing the Playground so up close made Siete quickly realize something: a finale existed and they were closing in on it.
-“ Vivar, I…I am sorry buddy, but I feel a bit sick. I guess I’m not made of stronger stuff”, they whispered under their breath, trembling a bit in their seat. The C.T.D feigned ignorance for a moment, before thinking of a way to alleviate the fear for a bit.
-“ Siete, did you like the virtual trees from the facility?”
Surprised by the seemingly random question, they just tilted their head to the left while pondering, and slowly nodded.
-” Good. Because those objects, as you called them, were…are real and much more interesting than the virtual ones. Just keep looking out while we descend. It will be worth it”.
Unsure of what else to do, Siete followed the advice, but fear glued their eyes shut when the cube entered another elevator. It bumped and shook, before slowly sinking to the bottom. Only when it stopped shaking around did Siete dare to open their eyes, and they were stunned by the promised view.
Even though they were still at the top, the other side of the chasm was out of sight. Seas of green patches made the Playground seem like it was covered by the County’s smoke, but these were thicker, solid. The valley also had towers, made from stones, and wider than any Siete had seen in the city. Windowless and clockless as well. And their clouds were either white or darkened, with liquid pouring down from them while thundering as loudly as possible. Siete stayed speechless for the entire descent, blanking at the panorama, trying to take in everything.
-” Oh, and yes”, intervened Vivar, “It looks, hears, and smells different for me. It will be for you as well.”
Contestant number 7 drifted in and out of consciousness, even though a sight like none was offered to him on a silver platter. A pack of syringes clatter on the floor as his shaky hands couldn’t hold still of his pills. He tries to bend down and pick them up, but his vision abandons him at the slightest inclinations of head, and the man almost breaks his nose, only saved by the quick rescue of his C.T.D.
Coiled around nr 7 as usual, Medusa used her tail to catch his fall and administer a treatment provided by the two’s benefactors.
“Oh? Have I gone to my happy place again, Medusa?”, asked Allan Dumeris, to which the guardian only nodded back. “ Too bad. It’s nice there. Everyone else is already on the other side, snoring happily. Do you think the other patients will like it as well?”, but this time the snake-like robot only stared motionless.
“Still don’t have your approval, huh? Well, at least I know because I’ve seen it and I can tell you, it’s better than this side. Anywhere is better than here.”
“Shithead CEOs with their shithead plans and schemes. And look at this place, it’s so fucking massive”, shouted angrily patient number 5, Berlin Drums, who recently went down the leaderboard because of CEOs Robert and Alvara’s failed attempt to collude before the start of the competition.
“Ok, ok, ok, let’s just calm down, calm down. Industry is still placed in the third place, which means his starting pointing was set already, which then means….”, the girl racked her brains with mire, pacing in circles for the entire elevator ride.
“West”, replied her C.T.D at some point, seeing that their patient walking got her dizzy enough to fall down. “ If Robert followed prior patterns, patient number 3 Industry Drums is in that direction.”
The girl clicked her tongue and conceded, but only after giving the mechanical being a few stink eyes. “Fine, fine, let’s say that you’re right and my brother is that way. Which way is west then?”
“Unknown. Information about the cardinal direction was blocked for C.T.D in order for patients to not have such an advantage. But during your recruitment training-”
“Sure, that’s what we’ll call being kept captive and forced to enter this shit show-”
“Apologies patient 5. But you should possess more knowledge about the terrain than the average citizen of the Commune. CEO Alvara made sure of that.”
A memory of labyrinth flashed through the girl’s mind and she instinctively touched her cheek. It still felt swollen. “I know, you corroded tool, but learning about moss and seeing first hand isn’t as easy as everyone makes it sound…Still, it’s a start?”
“It’s a good start”, replied her C.T.D.
“Fine, then we’ll start with that. Find Industry, merge you with his C.T.D and survive this hellhole. Then..”
“Then you’ll win and be considered champions.”
Halfheartedly, the girl could only whisper a breezy “sure” and stay quiet for the rest of the ride.