Into the Game

His name was Michael.

He didn’t tell me his last name. It may have had something to do with not wanting me to know who he was. The other players were in here because they had been on death row. Whoever he was, he had done something that had warranted a death sentence.

I sat down at the only table in the one room cabin. There was a pair of bunk beds on either wall. A fire roared under a large black pot. The short, round inn keeper sat next to it, stirring occasionally.

Michael dropped his backpack on the floor and pulled out some bandages. I flinched as he rubbed salve on my cuts. It wasn’t that he was rough. His touch was very gentle, but the salve was cold.

“Do you do this a lot?” I asked

“Bandage women who try to take out a bear?” He chuckled as he wrapped the bandage around my stomach.

I forced a smile to stay off my face. "You’ve really been here for eight years?”

He got up and sat down across from me. "Yep.”

“Do you get tired of it?”

He put the bandages back in his backpack. "In the beginning, sure.” He smiled. "But there is literally everything you would ever need here. You just have to know where to find it.”

“Could you find my brother?”

Michael leaned back in his chair. "Do you want to hire me?”

“I, uh, um.” My brain started thinking faster than my mouth. It was going so fast I couldn’t even hear what it was thinking.

“It’s okay.” He winked. "I wouldn’t want to leave you at the mercy of another bear.”

“That’s not what I was asking!” I crossed my arms. "I just want to know how I would find Billy.”

“The youngest player in the game was twenty one.” He shook his hand. "Well, twenty nine now. Anyway, that means that your brother is the youngest player right now. Add in that he is one of the newest players and that should make him easy to find.”

“How?”

“People talk.” He grinned. "They love to tell stories, especially the new stories. Your brother is creating some interesting stories. That will give us a trail right to him.”

“Us? I haven’t asked you to go with me.” I really wanted him to go with me, but I didn’t like how he just assumed that I was going to want him to go with me.

“You need me.” He flashed that stupid smile again

“I do not.”

“Okay.” He leaned back. "Which way is your brother?”

I thought for a moment. I had no idea where to go. The starting zone was supposed to give me supplies and a world map. I had only studied the area just around where I would start.

“I don’t know.” I admitted

He smiled. "See? You need me.”

“What do you want?” I demanded. "Because this.” I gestured between us. "Isn’t going to happen.”

“Whoa!” He held up his hands. "Where did that come from?”

I just eyed him. It was difficult to act mad, but I think I conveyed the message.

“Look,” He started drawing circles in the air with his finger. "If your brother is as successful as the stories say, then he’ll have more than enough to pay for my services.”

It seemed reasonable. I stuck out my hand. "Deal.”