Leon's morning routine kicked in. Despite it being summer, the traffic remained loud enough to wake him up.
He got the two coffees, as per usual, only for the landlord to be pacing around the hallway, in a much worse mood than usual.
"Ms. Williams." Leon announced. "Something up?"
Ms. Williams exhaled before turning to meet him.
"You into politics?" She asked.
"Can't say I am." Leon replied as he chugged his coffee.
"Well, I was hoping you'd be one of the more in tune people." Ms. Williams said through narrowed eyes. "I thought your generation were supposed to be more aware than the old farts."
"Eh, if you don't have a job and a death game to worry about. Anyway, what's the problem?"
"That Eustace guy who showed up here a while back? Well, he's polling real well considering how much of a sly little asshole he is."
"How much we talking?" Leon asked.
"Sixty percent at the moment. Something about his plan to revive the centre resonating with people. But he doesn't want to help out the people here with their businesses or renovate the land without buying it first, so something tells me he doesn't wanna help people."
"Just build unused luxury houses, you've said." Leon nodded.
"And I'll keep saying it." Ms. Williams nodded. "I'll raise hell if I have to, tell everyone at church about him. That's the current plan actually. Good talk, Leon."
"Sure?" Leon replied as she jogged away. He wasn't sure she heard his endorsement, but she probably felt it.
But as he went back into his apartment to get ready for work, his vision faded, and that shrill voice began talking.
"Hello, players!" Xaawo yelled. "Now, I know what you're thinking. 'isn't it a little early to get these messages?' and yeah, it is. But you're all out of school now, so I get to decide whatever as long as you're all awake! Now then, the next game is in one hour at the centre. Now get to it!"
Leon stood outside the centre waiting for other people to show up. Ramon was the first person to arrive, snapping his fingers in Leon's direction upon seeing him.
"So, what's happening here?" He asked.
"Don't know yet." Leon sighed.
"So what, we're just waiting for the others to come over."
"Pretty much."
"And then we fight to the death?"
"Most likely." Leon nodded.
Ramon just stood in silence wondering what could happen next, while Mateo arrived next. Ramon's face lit up upon seeing him, going in for a high five.
"Yo, Mateo!" He said. "Ines running late?"
"Ines doesn't have to show up, she played last time." Mateo replied.
"Wait, what?"
"Yeah, figured you didn't know, so I showed up to help you out."
"Well, I can't just leave Ines, so we're competing next time too?"
"Well, I guess I am."
Janet and Evelyn were the next two to arrive, both approaching Leon.
"So, this is where you live." Janet said as she looked around. "It…has character."
"That's one way of putting it." Leon sighed. "Actually, you wanna talk politics with my landlord?"
"I mean, I can try." Janet shrugged. "Maybe get my mom involved in the parts closest to her?"
Sybil showed up a little later, and Blair a little after that. Ramon was slightly disappointed Elijah didn't show up, but aside from that none of the girls seemed too threatening? Leon was a problem and maybe the two girls he has with him? The older woman and the goth didn't look like trouble, anyway.
But shortly after, a light opened and Xaawo stepped out.
"Okay, everybody! We ready for the next game?"
"Yeah." Ramon replied casually with a thumbs-up.
"See, this one I like." Xaawo said as she winked in his direction. "Now, this may shock you, but us gods do like to keep up with mortal politics. And one key issue seems to be regarding the centre here, and what should be done with it. So, we decided to help!"
Leon looked in terror at what that could possibly mean. Xaawo was giving Leon a sly glance to check if it was the reaction she wanted. And the terror was shown.
"Now, these empty buildings? Some of these have bombs inside them, courtesy of us. And your goal is to disarm them, usually by pressing a handy button on the bomb, or finding one of my associates, finding the remote from him, and deactivating all of them at once. Now then, there are twenty bombs hidden, and whoever finds the most gets some special early information regarding the games and their purpose! Now, I think it's time to find some bombs! And with that…
Leon Chai!
Janet Felloni
Evelyn Bryce!
Ramon Destrade!
Mateo Gaspar!
Sybil Collins!
Blair Vollom!
The game begins…now!"
Leon grabbed Janet and Evelyn by the shoulders and began running. And within a few seconds, Mateo and Ramon pointed to a building in the opposite direction and ran towards it. Blair was looking around for something to go for, but Sybil just went up to Leon's apartment building.
"Isn't that where Leon lives?" Blair asked.
"Probably." Sybil replied, half-heartedly looking around. "I mean, probably the only building worth a damn. So let's go in and disarm a bomb if it exists. That'll be my good karma for the month."
The duo went into the apartment complex, passing anyone and acting like they belonged in there. Besides a few funny looks, nobody was stopping them from going to the roof.
And honestly, the roof was nice. A few flowerboxes dotted throughout with some nice if slightly faded graffiti alongside the brickwork, stuff like happy old couples and beach landscapes. Also a few crudely drawn genitals alongside it. But Sybil had a theory that if teenage boys exist in a space with blank walls, said walls will have genitals on them. It's a law of the universe or something. Honestly, besides that the only issue was the lack of guardrails. This would be a quality drinking spot if they had those, but someone would fall to their death and kill the mood.
But aside from the nice atmosphere, there was indeed a bomb. Or at least something resembling one. It was triangular, purple base with a bunch of exposed wires over it. And it was quietly ticking away. As Sybil approached it, she saw a clock with 18:54 on it, ticking down the seconds.
"Generous enough time limit." She whispered as she turned it over. On the bottom was a bright red button. Sybil glared at it for a few seconds, wondering if it was a trick, and would actually explode upon being pressed. So she laid it upside down, beating her arms against each other before they turned to crystal. Arms and hands were quickly wrapped in a crystal casing. She was weighed down as usual, but tried ramming her elbow into her torso. Sure enough, her body produced a crystal over it, and was offering more support to her hands, making her feel less heavy. Did the same with her legs, and she actually had a good crystal suit going. It actually felt somewhat powerful. So with something hopefully blastproof, she hit the button, and nothing happened.
"Sybil has disarmed one bomb! Nineteen remain!"
"Awesome." Sybil whispered to herself as she sat down.
"Not doing anything else?" Blair asked.
"Not to be heartless or anything, but the centre isn't my problem." Sybil shrugged, letting the crystals break off her. "I think now we can just wait."