Episode 9: “Games Children Shouldn’t Play”
[INT. WHITE ROOM – UNKNOWN TIME]
(Rudy’s eyes open slowly. She’s wearing a red and black formal jumpsuit, slightly oversized for her. Her ponytail droops as she sits up groggily.)
RUDY: “…Please tell me this is one of Quibble’s weird dreams. The last one made us go across the Galaxy just for a damn milkshake that destroyed our planet..”
STIX: “Ugh.. yeah, speaking of—is this also Pentuis’ doing..?”
(She looks around. The room is huge, white, and sterile—like a child’s toy box repainted by a psychopath. Standing beside her are the others: Princess, Zora, Wade, Quibble, Stix, Carrie—and six unfamiliar people.)
TV SCREEN (STATIC, THEN A VOICE): “Hello, contestants. Welcome to the Game. There are thirteen of you. There will be one winner.”
(The screen glitches. A cartoony smiley face appears. It’s animated, but deeply unsettling.)
VOICE: “Today’s games are inspired by your childhood. Play fair. Play smart. Don’t die!”
GAME 1: RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT
(A vast room. A creepy animatronic bunny turns its head sharply.)
QUIBBLE: “OO! I know this game!”
BUNNY DOLL: “GREEN LIGHT!”
(Everyone runs forward. Princess giggles, not in a good way. Quibble cartwheels while floating. Zora flies. Stix runs like a Ninja. Carrie walks. Rudy runs like her life depend on it.)
BUNNY DOLL: “RED LIGHT!”
GIRL: “Shit! I moved… oh well, wait—I forgot to feed my kid—“
(A girl trips. Her body stiffens unnaturally… then falls flat. Blood pools.)
CARRIE (whimpering): “I thought this was a game game…”
STIX: “Y’know, I always hated gym class.”
RUDY: “HOW ARE YOU GUYS CALM?!”
WADE: “Keep your legs light and your heart lighter.”
(One by one, they move strategically. Zora, effortlessly agile, helps Rudy past a tripping hazard.)
ZORA: “I used to run through warzones like this. Kind of a downgrade. Oh man, reminds me with my siblings playing tag!.”
RUDY: “…You were in a war?”
ZORA (quietly): “Several.”
STIX: “No way! She must be lying, she’s just flirting again..!”
(Carrie and Quibble bond as they made it across, Shapeshifting into.. helicopters?)
FLASHBACK – ZORA’S BACKSTORY (MONTAGE)
Young Zora with a bandage over her eye. A futuristic city exploding in the background.
Her siblings waving goodbye as she boards a train. A field of broken mirrors and cracked TV monitors.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
ZORA (V.O.): “I’m not from this world. Not really. My world was called Kaleidora. A place where children were drafted before they could walk. I ran. And ran. I’ve been running ever since.”
GAME 2: MUSICAL CHAIRS
(The lights dim. Creepy carnival music starts.)
PRINCESS: “Oh, a classic! HAHAHAHA!!! This must be a prank from one of the writers!! Whoever bumps me… IS GETTING THEIR LIMS TWISTED LIKE A STRAW!! Heheheh..”
STIX: “This is a nightmare. Someone kill me.”
QUBBLE (to Rudy): “If I die, I want you to eat my snacks. All of them. Even the ones in my sock drawer. Minus the one that’s like a rock.. heh.. but really, PLEASE, I fear I may never see your butt again..”
RUDY: “…Okay? Wait—that last—”
(The music plays. Chairs vanish with a crunching sound each time the music stops. One man is crushed between two metallic pieces.)
WADE: “WHY ARE THE CHAIRS SO FAST?!”
(The music stopped again, Wade was too late)
WADE: “Goodbye… cruel.. world..”
(Bullets fired, he remained alive)
WADE: “Er..”
(Then, he was put in a jar)
WADE: “NOOOOOO—!!”
(Carrie was chasing the chair while reading “FOXHOLE”, more intrigued in the book than surviving. I must say, as the Narrator, the art is truly amaz—WAIT—NO!! she dead)
GAME 3: SIMON SAYS
TV VOICE: “Simon says… stand still.”
(One contestant flinches. A giant hand descends and splats them. Then the hand unsplats them and kicks them into Pluto, screaming for their life)
SIMON: “Simon says… smile.”
(The cast smiles. Quibble’s teeth sparkle, blinding a few.)
SIMON: “Jump!”
ZORA: “Didn’t say ‘Simon’—!”
(A scream. Blood. 2 left. Zora, Quibble and Stix die)
RUDY: “No…”
GAME ENDED.
FINAL GAME: DUEL AT DAWN
(The final two: RUDY and PRINCESS. They’re in sleek Kendo gear, glowing red and blue.)
PRINCESS (grinning): “Been waiting for this.”
RUDY (panting): “I didn’t ask to be here.”
PRINCESS: “Then leave!! Or.. DIE! I’ll have you know I’ve been training since I was 12..”
(A wooden arena. Water below. Spotlights beam down. A slow drumbeat starts.)
(The duel begins. Wooden swords crack against each other. Sparks fly.)
Princess lands two clean hits, thankfully Rudy blocks the other four with her supernatural precognition. Princess leaped, Rudy did full cartwheels to dodge blows from Princess. The shockwaves were enough to echo across the solar system. Princess’ movements were more floaty because of her dress—allowing her to fly a little. Rudy kept swinging her weapon with soul, injuring an enraged Princess. Princess jumps off Rudy’s sword to deliver a kick. Rudy blitzes her, Princess then stretched her arm to deliver a punch—to which Rudy dodged. Princess then jumped off of Rudy’s hilt of her sword, then causes afterimages.
QUBBLE (watching from above): “…Is it wrong I find this kinda hot?”
STIX: “You’re messed up. But—“
QUBBLE: “I know.”
QUIBBLE: “Wait aren’t we supposed to be dead?”
STIX: “They can’t see or interact with us since we’re ghosts… I forgot how we died..”
RUDY: “Shes strong… but… I have one last move..”
(After a flurry of moves, Rudy knocks Princess’s blade out of her hand. One final push—Princess falls into the water, cackling the whole way down.)
PRINCESS (falling): “FUQ YOU RU—AAAAAAAaaAAAAAH—splash.”
Rudy stood above, watching Princess float away, pretending to be dead. Then—a bridge opened..
[INT. DARK ROOM – AFTERMATH]
(Rudy opens a door. A cloaked man stands there. He hands her a briefcase.)
CLOAKED MAN (Pentuis’ voice): “You won. Here’s your prize.”
(Rudy looks down at a bank card. $456 billion.)
RUDY (numb): “…My friends…”
CLOAKED MAN: “They were never yours to keep.”
(She falls asleep.)
[INT. RUDY’S HOUSE – MORNING]
(She wakes up. Everything is silent. Happy Town is… empty.)
She looks out the window. No one. Just a breeze. A letter is taped to the door. It reads:
“Winner: Rudy Volkov. Game Complete.”
She doesn’t speak. She just continues to hear voices from the cosmos, again.
END OF EPISODE 9
