I Failed

I woke up, and that’s how I knew that all hell was about to break loose. I had worried that I would be among the unlucky few to be chosen next, but now that the nightmare had become a reality, I did not know how to process it.

I heard the rotors and knew exactly what that meant. I had been boarded onto the plane, along with ninety nine other people, and on my wrist was a watch that read

Onboard:100

Alive:100

And I knew that the numbers were about to go down soon. The plane flew its way above an island, and as soon as we were above its first bit of land, the hatch opened in the middle of the floor, and some of the passengers jumped out immediately. I was sure that a portion of them were to meet their deaths already.

I watched the number next to “onboard” lower frantically, and I remembered my plan in case I ever found myself in this situation: jump last. Wait until everyone else has landed, and you won’t have as many obstacles.

It was tempting to just stay inside the plane and not jump, but that was a sure death. There was a barrier around the island, and anything that hit it would instantly explode. The government was smart enough to put the plane on autopilot, but I wouldn’t have put it past them to sacrifice one of their own for their own enjoyment.

I waited until I was at the very edge of the island, and saw that there were three other people who had a similar strategy. I decided that I no longer wanted to be the very last to jump out, in case any of the others had the same goal, resulting in us all waiting for the other to make the first move, until we all hit the barrier and died instantly. Out of the four of us, I was the first to jump. I could hear two others jump behind me, and I presumed that the last one stayed on board as the plane exploded overhead.

The sensation was not at all what I expected. I anticipated the feeling of falling, but it actually felt more like flying. In that moment I had wished that I could fly my way out of there, back home to my daughter Alice and tell her everything was ok. I can only imagine what must be going through her head right now.

I reached around the pack on my back for a string, pulling on every corner and edge, until I finally felt something that pulled out. I felt my parachute release above me, and suddenly I felt as if I was floating. I took the time to observe what was below me, and I saw many trees and tiny houses. I figured that I may try to hide either on top of a tree or inside a house, and let my opponents kill each other and let the last one die to the barrier. I didn’t like violence, in fact, I never even fired a gun before, but I knew that I would probably have to grab one just in case.

The government scattered weapons and resources in random spots over the island, and it was up to luck if you found any. I don’t know much about guns, so forgive me if I am not specific in naming the type of guns I found. The government did not let us own guns or practice with them, as they wanted a more interesting battle by having a bunch of inexperienced people shoot at earth other, although I did know some people who practiced illegally.

I descended further down to the island, guiding my way towards a tree. I landed in the middle and got all tangled up in the branches, and became struck inside.

“Is this how I’ll be remembered?” I thought to myself “the guy who got stuck in a tree and then was blown up by the barrier?”

My thoughts then drifted back to Alice, and how horrible that would be for her if both parents had died. At least her mother had died of natural causes, but it would be more tragic for her father to die like a chump. I had to find a way out, and even if I didn’t survive, I’d rather go out putting up a fight than while stuck because of a mishap.

I struggled and wormed my way as fast as I could, trying to rip out the strings with as much strength as I could muster. I tried taking off the backpack like normal, but it was strapped on way too tight. It wasn’t like a school bag, this was military grade equipment!

But after some minutes of intense struggling, I managed to get all of the strings off the backpack, but the backpack itself was stuck. I assumed that that must be where they wanted me to put my items, if I found any.

But now that one problem was solved, another became apparent: there was quite a drop from the tree to the ground. Being someone who doesn’t do heights, it was hard enough to even just look down, but I knew that I would have to put away all my fears if I was to survive. If Alice were to not become an orphan.

I carefully looked for more branches, and only could find one on a lower level. Turning off my brain for a brief second, I jumped on to the branch below, landing on my feet, both of which felt a surge of pain as I began to lose balance, like I were on a balance beam. I leaned back and put my hand on the bark behind me, and looking down I deduced that the distance from the branch to the ground would not be too dangerous, and I jumped, this time feeling a lesser version of the pain that I felt when I landed on the branch.

I looked around, and the barrier was still in place. But I knew that sooner or later it would begin closing in, and all of the fighters (which I found out were 84 when I looked at my watch) would be a little bit closer together. There was a small house to the my left in front of me , and I decided to run inside to see if anything was there. I, however, approached it with caution, incase someone else was already in there. I crouched down beneath the window next to the house rather than opening the door, and slowly lifted myself up by the fingers on the window sill, and scouted the house for any occupants.

I didn’t see anyone in the room in front of me, although I could see an opening to a room that was obstructed by my vision, and knew that someone could be hiding there. But I decided to take my chance, and climbed the window and crawled inside, trying my best not to make a sound. I crouched on the opposite side of the window, darting my eyes left and right to see if anyone or anything was in my presence.

I noticed a gun and a box of ammunition on the floor in front of me. I know I said I didn’t know much about guns, but I did recognize this one as a revolver. I crawled down on the ground, and crawled towards the objects. Still being careful not to make a sound, I grabbed the gun and box, and opened the box and filled the chamber with the bullets. Once I had all six inside, I closed the chamber as quietly as I could, and put the box in my pocket.

I peaked into the room that I didn’t get a look at before, and felt relieved when I saw no one. I went inside, and crouched down in the corner, and held my gun with both hands, pointing it at the door, incase anyone walked in. I loaded the gun, and held my hand on the trigger. I know that that probably wasn’t safe, but I was very tense, and all I cared about in that moment was survival.

In a weird way I felt both tense and peaceful. I was anticipating the worst of the worst, but it was definitely not as bad as I had been expecting. There was a lot more sitting around and doing nothing than I anticipated. But I knew that that could only last so long, and my suspicions were proven true when I heard the door on the other side of the house open, and footsteps coming from behind.

This wasn’t the door that I had been preparing for someone to come through, but nevertheless I kept my aim at the door and prepared to shoot if anyone walked into that spot. I figured that if I did shoot someone, I would probably just leave them injured and not kill them outright, and if they don’t spot me, then I’ll let them go. But if they try to kill me, I may have to take their life, just as self defense.

I was hoping in my heart of hearts that this person would go away and not spot me, but that hope was futile, as as soon as they walked towards the door they spotted me, turned around, and picked up a shotgun and aimed it at me, and without even thinking I pulled my trigger and shot him in the neck. I flinched, like I had been scared by a monster in a haunted house, and it was as if I was now in a dream, and nothing was real.

I lowered my gun, slowly, and walked over to the man I had shot. He was still alive, and making horrible sounds, and I could barely make out the words “kill me” from him. I figured it would be the merciful thing to do, and I loaded my gun, my hands trembling and my teeth chattering as I aimed it at his forehead, and I pulled my trigger again, this time going right into his forehead and I jumped again. I threw up on sight, and when I was done with that I looked at him, and thought how strange it was that in the matter of seconds I had turned a full human being into a lifeless body, like they had now become an object. I wondered if the man had a family to look after too, but I quickly brushed that thought to the back of my mind.

I looked to see if he had any items, and all I found were the shotgun he had tried to kill me with, a bulletproof vest, and a helmet. I thought it interesting how the very weapon that was going to be used to take my life may end up saving it later down the line.

I put the shotgun in my backpack and I ran outside, knowing that the barrier was closing closer. I ran as fast as I could, and suddenly my mind drifted back to the heart shaped locket that my wife had given Alice before her death. I felt disappointed that I had nothing to give her myself incase I died, but I told myself that that was nothing to be ashamed of, because I was not going to die!

I checked my watch every now and then, and was surprised how soon it had got down to two. I looked all over for my last opponent, hoping that the barrier would take them in the middle of the island. I loaded my revolver again. My hands were shaking, knowing that it is likely I will either commit or be a victim of murder. I then saw my opponent, and before thinking I shot them thrice. I walked over, and saw they had a heart-shaped necklace. I failed.