I was on my way to school. I had just turned fifteen yesterday when, suddenly, I found myself in a room.
After ten minutes of sitting there in silence, I decided to resign myself to my fate... until it happened.
"Welcome to the first game: The Value of Others."
The doors swung open, leading into a massive hall. A one-hour countdown ignited on a screen.
There were many rooms—more than fifty, I estimated. I watched someone step out to inspect the area; seeing him, others followed suit. I was about to walk out myself when someone shouted.
Man 1: "We all need to help each other! We have to figure out what this is and how to get back to our lives."
Man 1: "What about what they said over the intercom?"
Man 1: "We'll figure that out later. For now, we stay together. We help each other."
"The game brought us together," I said, stepping forward as I saw the confusion on their faces. "It doesn't want us to destroy ourselves, but to help. This isn't a choice; it's an imposition."
The entire room went silent for a moment.
Man 1: "Well, you heard him. We must help each other."
People began to gather around Man 1, talking nervously. I approached as well. After a while, Man 1 introduced himself as Angel.
Angel: "Now that we've settled that, we need to move on to the next problem. The voice said 'game,' and it gave us one hour in this hall. Why?"
Another man stepped forward and introduced himself as Meitor.
Meitor: "We just need to get out of here, not solve the mystery of the game."
Angel: "No. The game hasn't even started yet. That's why we have a one-hour clock."
Woman 1: "But why would they bring us to a game in the first place?"
Angel: "We don't know, and dwelling on it won't help. I think we should all prepare for whatever comes next. I counted the rooms... there are exactly 100."
Angel: "Thirty minutes left. We should get to know each other so we can cooperate. Speculating about the game without clues is useless."
Everything seemed to be going well... until a man named Anian spoke up.
Anian: "The game is called 'The Value of Others.' I'm certain that 'value' is hidden in these rooms. Someone is hiding something from us. If we let that clock hit zero, we're all dead."
Angel: "Alright, then. Let's search the rooms."
Anian: "No. I bet they have it hidden on them. We need to strip-search everyone. Check under their clothes."
Angel tried to object, but Anian lunged at him, striking him with a violence that looked like he was trying to kill him.
It looks like I'll have to survive this.