In a Battlefield for Seventy Two Hours

The Participation

The day of the game arrived.

Dreign Saludo was wearing his casual clothes as if he was just going to the mall to shop. Well, he knew that it wasn’t the case. He was in the mall to meet someone important.

Mr. Sanchez, the owner of the Laban Fund and the one who offered him to participate in a game in which he accepted.

It's a battle royale death game where the last man standing wins.

Dreign Saludo knew that his hands will once again be stained with blood.

At the second floor of Fisher Mall, the designated meeting location, Dreign stopped in front of one of the famous fast-food chains in the Philippines, the Jolibee.

Inside, he saw Mr. Sanchez in a suit. Just as usual.

Sanchez waved his hand at him, beckoning him to approach him.

Dreign obliged and stepped inside the store. As he got to the table, he sat at one of the chairs provided.

“Cutting it close. The game will start in five minutes. Here I ordered this for you.” Sanchez offered the meal he ordered earlier.

“I’m not hungry.” Dreign rejected.

“No, you should eat. You need fuel in your tank.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Oh, suit yourself, but it’s tough going out there when you’re on the run.”

“It’s part of our military training to not eat food for endurance.”

“Well, this is not the training you’re accustomed to,” Sanchez said. “Dreign, please empty your pockets.”

Dreign’s eyes darted warily from side to side, feeling nervous.

“Is there a problem?”

“I’m just thinking, maybe I should go home.”

This is one of the feelings he is experiencing the moment he enters this mall. In a game where you fail, you won’t see your loved ones again. He is getting indecisive at this moment to the point he wants to secede.

“To what?” Sanchez leaned closer, his face frowned. “A wife who can watch you die penniless? A family that’ll be homeless in a matter of months? Dreign, we both know you’re too good a man to leave them like that just because you’re scared.”

Slightly convinced and moved by Sanchez’s words, and a little self-reflection. Dreign did what he was asked. Emptying his pockets. Wallets, car keys, and his phone.

Sanchez’s hand drew closer to his personal belongings, but just as he was about to grab his wallet, Dreign interrupted.

“Wait, hold on.” Dreign quickly grabbed his wallet and pulled out something from it. It was an ultrasound picture. He showed it to Sanchez who then nodded.

“Fair enough,” Sanchez said and took away his belongings.

Dreign on the other hand put the ultrasound picture in his pocket. Then he fished out his medicine out of his pocket and handed it as well to Sanchez.

However, Sanchez waved his hand. “Keep those. If you’re debilitated, you can’t provide a good game. Next, I'll have to ask you to get up.” Sanchez ordered.

“For what?”

“Come on, on your feet. It’ll only take a second.”

Dreign stood up.

“Okay, arms out. I gotta pat you down. My apologies, but it’s a requirement.” Dreign informed and started patting Dreign here and there, frisking him,

Dreign, with his arms, spread looked around and saw people dining in the restaurant looking at them inquisitively.

“Oi, people are watching,” Dreign observed.

“Yeah, they think you’re on parole and I’m your probation officer.”

“Oh, great.”

“I had a guy in Beijing, smuggle a knife in his sock. In the end, it did him no good, but my clients were rightfully upset that the game was compromised.”

The two returned to their seats.

“How many people have you roped into this s**t anyway?”

“Considering the stakes, more than you’d ever imagined. Considering the state of the world, fewer than you’d expect. Well, think of it as a beta test to something greater. ” Sanchez answered as he picked up his phone and dialed one of his contacts.

Sanchez’s phone rings and seconds later… “Yeah, it’s me. Wire $50,000 into the player’s account, please. I’ll wait.” Sanchez glanced at Dreign, “Do you guys have a name for the baby?”

Dreign ignored the question.

“...It’s done? Okay, thanks.” Sanchez hung up the phone and handed Dreign a new phone.

“Open the dollar sign app,” Sanchez instructed.

Dreign picked up the phone and tapped the dollar sign app. A notification prompted saying that $50,000 or 2.5 million pesos were deposited into his account.

“Wait, is this real?”

“Look at the balance.” urged Sanchez.

“For the first hour, whether you live through it or not. In order to keep that money, you’ll have to participate in a game. Now that you know how the setup works, this is the equipment you purchased in our inventory.”

Next to Sanchez’s feet were two suitcases containing the “thing” Dreign ordered.

“Don’t worry, the guards of this mall didn’t know you had something inside there.”

So it was really starting huh, Dreign is starting to feel a little bit shaky. As a former military who experienced arduous tasks such as eliminating high-profile targets, this time, Dreign was kind of a little bit nervous due to him not knowing who the other players were.

He deduced that it won’t be a normal person who has crippling debt, it’ll be someone who has skills and talents. How did he come up with that? Well based on the suitcase below, it is enough to serve as proof that this is something serious.

Mounted on the wall was a clock with large hands pointing at 28 and a small one at 10. The game starts at 10:30.

“Look, there are two apps there, one is for your account balance and the other is for purchasing supplies.”

Dreign wasn’t paying attention as his eyes were glued to the clock.

“Don’t look at the clock, look at me.” Sanchez grabbed his attention, once their eyes met, he continued. “I want you to get through this, I want you to have a shot at holding that kid of yours, or at least leave him something, so listen to me very carefully. What you want to do is keep moving. Crowds are your friends, players don’t want to kill you publicly, or they wind up spending the rest of their lives in prison under the fake identities we set up for them. Trust no one, keep your head on a swivel, stay alert. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. So where are the other players?”

“Well, they could possibly be here with us now, all six of them.”

“What?!” shocked, Dreign swiveled his head frantically.

“Yeah, that’s right, it could be anyone.”

Paranoid, Sanchez reached for his shoulder to calm him down.

“Adrenaline is flushing your system, your heart’s rate going high like you’re making the final turn in the quarter-mile…you got to get this s**t in check, or you won’t make it three days. Show me the will of a soldier, heads high, and calm at all times.”

“Okay…sorry, this is just new to me…When does it start?”

Sanchez looked at his wristwatch, the time turning at 10:30 a.m. Concurrently, the new phone chimed on the table.

Dreign saw the time, it was 10:30 a.m.

“It just did.”