The omniscient eye

The last hope of hopeless ones

Logan was sitting on his brown living room carpet tossing and turning the envelope in his hands. It was finally happening, he got the invitation to the games. But why now all of a sudden? Why him?

As far as he knew the game makers sent the invitations randomly. People play games over the course of two weeks and the winner gets a lot of money. The games are never broadcasted because they don’t want anyone having an advantage if they watch the game, but because of the amount of money that the winner gets everybody knows about them.

He was feeling excited every time he looked at the envelope, but also fear because he knew he had to win for his brother. Who would have thought that his biggest dream and his worst nightmare would come together?

He opened the envelope slowly. He could feel the nerves in the air, he could hear the cars honking in the background. His palms were sweaty so he pulled the piece of paper out of the envelope quickly.  

Dear Logan Snow,

We realized the potential you have could greatly contribute to this year’s WIC’s wicked games and would love to have you as a participant. As you already know, we greatly reward our winners and let them enjoy riches for the rest of their lives. We highly suggest you accept this offer as it may change your life in a way you never expected.

This is the address where you are expected in a week. We hope to see you there!

And remember, the omniscient eye is always watching.

Logan re-read the invitation a few more times. It was insane. He really was invited to the games, he couldn’t believe it. He didn’t even know how to prepare for something like this, there was nothing about the actual games in the letter and it could be absolutely anything.

He put the letter on the desk and went to take a hot shower and collect his thoughts. Everything was happening so suddenly. Until yesterday he was just an ordinary bookseller with no love life, no friends, and literally nothing to do but avoid his landlord. But now, he feels like he could get at the top of the world, if only he reaches his hand up.

He let the hot water wash away all the dirt that the rain brought upon. All the dirt that the city filled his skin with. By next week, he will be far away from here.

Of course, he couldn’t get too excited, too carried away, he was doing this for his brother before everything. He was worried about him. He didn’t look well, and Logan didn’t even know where he was, once again.

When Jack disappeared two years ago, Logan did everything he could to find him, but it was useless. Jack disappeared with no explanation from his life and similarly reappeared back.  He was always doing things his own way but Logan still worried nevertheless.

Logan was kicking the paper bags out of his way back on the old couch. He sat on the right side since the left one always had the strange stain that he avoided. He put took his phone and texted the number Jack left behind, he waited a few minutes but he didn’t get any response. He decided to search a bit more about the game company instead. It was world-famous, had building corporations in almost every single country on the planet, but no one really knew much about it actually.

The games were never leaked to the outside world, there were only 50 seats available for watchers and they cost a fortune. It is said that the games are so traumatizing that no one wants to relive them or that participants get a lot of money to be quiet. But nothing ever comes to the surface except the name of the winner. That’s actually the only thing that is known about the game, the winner and a beautiful mansion that the winner gets far at the north. Many believe that there is a city made just for the winners where they enjoy the rest of their lives protected from theft and surrounded by servants.

 Many rumors go around about the games, many fear them, and some celebrate them. The insane ones want to participate in them. Logan was one of those. In high school, he had a friend that called the games the last hope of hopeless ones because they could turn a beggar into a millionaire. And hearing that, Logan wished to be one of the players.

He was always hearing rumors about how you needed the brains to win, how you needed a strategy. He heard people swearing to know of someone who had played, who had won, but they were all just rumors, something that Logan couldn’t believe in.

It was finally a time for him to collect himself, to finally fix his life. He had a week to prepare for something bigger than anything in his life ever.

 ---

“Please leave all the electronic devices in this box.” , a man in a suit and black glasses told him.

Logan did as he was told.

He spent the last few days closing his store and caching a train up north where the address was saying. He was finally in front of the game center. It was a tall building at the edge of the city near the border. It took a while getting there but he already felt better breathing fresh air instead of the city pollution.

He was surprised that he didn’t see anyone else at the entrance, only him and the big guy in a suit. He quickly put his cellphone in a box after texting Jack one more time even if he didn’t get a single response in the past week.  Don’t worry brother. He thought to himself. I’m going to save you.

The glass door opened and Logan finally became something he always wanted to be, a challenger, a player and maybe soon, a hero.