The Arena

[Zemfro]

A warm sky covers the city of New York. And for once it's...quiet. Immediately, that's a bad sign to anyone who knows a thing about New York. It's never quiet. Soon, the figure (your character) opens their eyes to see a warm morning sky behind plexiglas and heard the screams of seagulls. They would notice that they were near the docks, the room was 10 feet wide and 15 feet long while the sides of the box were covered preventing them from seeing anything on the sides a clear indication that either someone was beside them or someone just wanted to mess with them. In the corner was a tv that was tuned into a show. A man in an all black suit appears, sitting in a red chair. His glasses were Aviators as he stared down the camera, "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome. To my experiment. You have all been chosen to partake in this event to see what a person will do to survive. The entire city of New York has been cleared out as you know. You have free reign to do whatever you please. Even Kill others... if your heart desires. You will all have you're own channel in which you will be monitored by the outside world. Impress them, you will receive sponsorship's from whoever wishes to truly sponsor you. But if you wish to try and lead a normal life, then you will just have to survive on your own wits and strengths, no matter what, you all will have taken one life that will take millions. Which is another matter that must be addressed, if you kill one person, you will, in turn, kill that persons entire family, that name will be eradicated from this world. You currently have a 10,000 In currency from where ever you are originally from.  You have 5 minutes to create a mask for yourself, or make your name and face notorious to all, but be warned, people may attack your family if you do happen to travel down this road. Your five minutes begin now, at the end of that an alarm will go off signaling the beginning of this experiment and you will be released into the city. Good luck to all of you and Godspeed." The tv turned off and a hud popped up in front of them, (think sword art online) they would see a menu and 10,000 dollars in the corner of the menu. On the menu they would see a notice that read, "Masks and clothes are teleported immediately. If you have bought weapons, they will be located in Times Square." The figure would see that the weapons went insane. Pistols to assault rifles, even untested weapons and plasma weapons. The cheapest were of course pistols and melee weapons. They would also notices that as for equipment there were quick health packs, speed boosts, shields, active camouflages, grenades, smoke grenades, flash bangs and teleportation grenades.


Eric opens his eyes to the sound of the man on the tv the turns over to reach for his covers, noticing that they were much better than his own covers. His eyes open with a bit of confusion, I didn't buy any new sheets...that shit's expensive. He sits up and looks to the sky and the sound of the screaming seagulls and sighs, "So...this is what happens when you partake in a harmless survey. Damn you Mormons. You win again."  He slowly sits up and listens to the man intently, "A whole city to ourselves? Hmph....this doesn't seem...ethical. But then again I guess this would be a way to control overpopulation." He shrugs and pulls up his menu immediately pulling up a clothing brand he's had his eyes on for the longest time. Getting suited up and making his orders, he smiles underneath his helmet, "Bonehead ready to roll out." He says to himself with a little laugh, "Borderline cringy name, but hey they'll be others with much worse." He laughs and sits down on the bed, waiting patiently. As he sits down the sides of the box fall off to reveal boxes on the sides of him, he chuckles, "Clever...having the ability to scope out the competition to see if you really want to fight or run for your life." Although with his stature some people might consider running, considering he was built but looked relatively skinny. He continued to look towards both sides to see which one drops first and see's if they would be willing to talk it out.

 

[u k i y o]

Ren opened his eyes, he wanted to go back to sleep. Had he been sleeping? All he knew was that his eyes were closed, he could've just been drifting off again. His attention snapped when he heard someone's voice, instead of sitting up however he simply rolled over onto his stomach. He didn't think that taking the survey would've led to all of this, most surveys didn't at least.


He was having mixed feelings about this whole situation. It was a being thrilling to be a part of this, but also a bit scary. What of people really did go after his family? Sure he didn't like them but he couldn't have them killed because he couldn't hide his identity. Obviously however, he wasn't going to kill anyone, he wasn't the type of person to do that unless the situation really called for it. 


Once the man had finished talking Ren pulled up the menu. He simply selected a Gas mask instead of going all out like he knew some people would. He knew he wouldn't be recognized even if they tried, he had a very forgettable face even with the pure white hair and piercing red eyes. Not to mention the scar, the part of it on his face was covered a bit by the mask, though it was still noticeable. The part on his neck was easily seen as well. He didn't mind this however as he was used to it by now.


He put on the mask and thought of a name while doing it. "let's just go with Rei, I can't think of anything better..." he mumbled to himself as he sat up on the bed sitting cross legged. When he sat up the sides of his box fell down and he could now see the others, though the sides of their box were still up. 


Glancing around he saw that someone already had the sides of their box down. He had a good body build though he wasn't too bulky. Ren could tell almost immediatly that he didn't want to piss of that guy as he was probably a really good fighter. Though he could still try to talk to him.


@Zemfro

 

[RatFlail]

pThe kids had been screaming bloody murder at Liza for days. It'd been weeks since they could eat something besides the cheap noodles that barely lasted an hour in their stomachs. Her husband refused to go out and get a job, and she'd been replaced at work by a robot formerly designed for surgeries. So, in a way, the drugged kidnapping had been the best sleep Liza had received in weeks.


She woke to the announcement of the contest, wondering who had left the TV on. As she came fully awake, she realized that she was on the TV, and that she needed to get out of the box. She took the offered mask and put it on, then went to work exiting her temporary prison.


(To be continued)

 

[dva]

j a c k


He almost didn't listen to the man's speech. He was too busy trying to realize where the hell he was. His throat almost closed as his adrenaline flushed through his veins and his legs began to kick the covers off of his body and threw his body upwards to stand. "... five minutes to create a mask for yourself, or make your name and face notorious to all, but be warned, people may attack your family ..." His head slowly turned to the screen. His family? Attacked? The faces of his adoptive parents flashed in his mind, and his muscles froze. His train of thought led to Tanner. He almost couldn't breathe. "Good luck to all of you, and godspeed." Jack's eyes unlocked from the television and trailed to the space in front of him. He nearly jumped when the menu appeared, lighting up his face and the small amount of room around him. It looked like a menu. He hesitantly raised his hand to the word "MASKS" and, with a shaky finger, pressed on it. The menu expanded to a number of masks at different prices. There were helmets and ski masks - even some masquerade masks - but nothing that would comfort Jack's wits. He kept scrolling, letting his conscience make excuses for the full-coverage deals: he wanted a light mask - one that wouldn't weigh down his head or cause him any trouble. He reached the face masks and the scarves. Bingo. He tapped and one materialized right in front of his feet. The menu disappeared as the man bent down to pick up a long, red scarf. He wrapped it around his face multiple times, covering up his mouth and then his forehead. He heard the walls of the tight room he stood in creak and he stepped back, eyeing the perimeters. They began to lower, revealing his surroundings. There were people near him being revealed by the same unfolding boxes that he was in. His leg muscles screamed in a desperate wish to run. His eyes darted from person to person, fighting the urge to escape. His fingers tugged on the scarf, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone who he had spotted.

 

[Zemfro]

Bonehead looked to between the new contestants and just gave them little waves. He stood up and walked to the left side of his box to which he stood and watched Liza try and break out, "Wonder if she knows its Plexiglas." He shrugged and walked up to the TV in his room and broke it off from the wall, he sees that the hinge part of the wall mount was still intact and he could put his hand in the middle of it. He swung it around inside his box and nodded, "Won't hold long, but it'll be enough to stun a son of a bitch." He says aloud and rolls his head around to pop his neck. He looks around the area, spotting a few cars around the area, "Might have some supplies, maybe a crowbar or something." He says planning aloud, looking down the road he would spot a red brick building with a billboard on top, "Advantage point. But I'll need a team to back me up." He sighs and looks over to Liza, "Hopefully this one doesn't cause much trouble, but from the way shes acting? This is gonna be a bit difficult." He sighs and looks back over to Ren and waved again, trying to motion towards him that they should be partners.
 


@RatFlail @JayKuro

 

[RatFlail]

Liza found a knitting needle in her hair, left from when she had been kidnapped. She took it out, letting her hair fall around her shoulders. If this really was some sort of contest to the death, like the announcer stated, then she needed to be prepared in case one of the other contestants got ideas. Speaking of, what had they said about sponsors? How could they gain them? She didn't know, but the sound of her children's cries still echoed through her mind, and she knew that every extra dollar kept them a meal from starvation. Besides, they couldn't really mean that bit about killing 10,000, could they? That was impossible. Some sort of lie to make it harder for them to do what they needed to do for the contest. Besides, it just made it all the more critical that she keep herself as safe as possible, by any means necessary.


When the sides of the box dropped, she glanced at the people around her, taking note of who was watching her and who was ready to run away. The 9-inch knitting needle felt cold in her hand as she waved it at the people around her, making it clear that she wasn't an easy target.


@Zemfro @JayKuro @juvia

 

[u k i y o]

Ren stood up and stretched feeling a cold metal in his shoes, as he wasn't wearing any socks they simpky felt weird to him. When he took the metal out his shoe most would see it was just a simple pen, but he knew what it was. After taking off the cap one would see that it was actually a blade designed to look like a simple pen. he put the "Pen" in his pocket and sighed quietly thinking of what he should do. 


Glancing over he saw someone quickly running but didn't see any details or anything of the sort. Ren wasn't going to try and do anything of the sort. What would he do after running wherever he was going to run? Looking back around he saw a girl holding a knitting needle in her hand waving it at people. He definetly wasn't going to try and mess with her, that would most definetly be suicide and right now, he didn't want to die. 


Looking around some more he noticed the guy from earlier was waving at him, gesturing something. After a moment he understood what the other was trying to say. They should be partners. Ren nodded his head, as it would be very helpful to have someone in which he could work with as it meant he wouldn't be alone and he wouldn't resort to something stupid. 


@Zemfro


@RatFlail

 

[Zemfro]

Bonehead nodded towards Ren then glanced over to Liza and groaned, "How did i know..." he sighed and lowered the tv in his hands and held up his hands to her, trying to show that he didn't want to hurt her. "Can crazy cat lady come to terms with a guy hiding behind a mask? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z." He chuckled to himself, he then began to make gestures that they should be partners as well. He tries to wave down Jack as well, doing the same motions he did for everyone. "Cmon...just...let me be your friend dammit." he said with a huff.

Just as he waved to them the alarm went off and the front of their boxes fell forward releasing them into the world. Once it was open a small message appeared in front of them all, "This match is LIVE." Immediately they would all hear a tiny buzzing sound, although none of them could pinpoint where it was. For the contestants that still had a tv connected the same man appeared once more, "May your aim stay true." And with that, hell broke lose, for the next street over, the contestants could hear people fighting, screaming and dying except for where they were. 

"Wait!" Bonehead yelled out and walked out of his box with his hands raised, "Everyone come out and hear me out! We do not have to fight each other, instead we can help each other!" He looks around the three contestants, "You hear those people dying already, do you want your family to die that fast? We're stronger together as a team, so let's become one and survive this!"
@RatFlail


@juvia


@JayKuro

 

[RatFlail]

Liza glances at Bonehead. Seemed like a nice enough plan, until one of them needed a sponsor. Still, it wasn't good to wander off on her own, and it was better to have a nearby distraction, in case she ran into someone. Or in case she got an opportunity to steal something.


Liza sprinted for the buildings lining the dock, careful to keep The 6-inch needle pointed away from her. When she got to the building, she circled around a corner, and then sought somewhere to hide. She wanted to wait for them to pass, and then follow behind.


A dumpster stank with the smell of rancid food. The smell wasn't as bad as. the butchery that she used to work in, so she hopped in. She noted that there was food in various rotted states, as well as some expired cans. They didn't appear to be dented or bloated, and a few were only a week out. She didn't have anything to carry them in, but she found some rotted tomatoes to carry the majority of them, and kept two to carry. While she may not be back anytime soon, she did not know just how much food that they would find.


She sat down with the needle pointed at the open top of the dumpster, listening carefully.

 

[u k i y o]

Rei glanced around as the front of his box dropped and he was allowed to leave his box. His hands were in his pocket and his left hand was gripping his pen, even though he was ambidextrous he chose to use his left hand more than his right. 


He he heard the screams and cries of people on the next street over and shuddered at the thought that, that would probably happen on their street soon. It just seemed like it, there were definetly some violent looking people here, and they just looked like they would love to rip apart weak looking people like him. 


He walked out his box listening as the guy who had just motioned for them to be partners spoke. 


"Everyone come out and hear me out! We do not have to fight each other, instead we can help each other! You hear those people dying already, do you want your family to die that fast? We're stronger together as a team, so let's become one and survive this!" He said loudly looking around at everyone as he said this.


Rei's grip on the pen loosened as the teen spoke. He did have a really good point, they could work together and survive this. And while his family basically hated him he couldn't just let them die, they had been a good family sometime in his life though he only had vague memories of when they were nice to him. He supposed it was before his mom died but he tried not to think about it too much as he wa young when everything happened and he had barely understood what was going on. 


He scratched the back of his head as he began walking over to the guy slowly and steadily ready to bolt in case anyone tried to attack. While he wasn't the best fighter he was good at many other things. Noticing small details, hiding, seeing or spotting things others couldn't, running, hiding, dodging. he was good at all those things, however fighting was not is strong suit. 


"so... Do you have a plan on how we're going to survive this or are we just going to go with the flow?" He asked not really minding which of the two. He went with the flow all the time and had a plan sometimes, so he was fine with either two. 


@Zemfro

 

[dva]

j a c k


The man wanted to run. He felt the muscles in his legs tense as if he were to spring into a leap and sprint away. The only thing that kept him grounded was the voice yelling at him. Together? What kind of bullshit was that? They were all going to die. He looked at the two others who were being addressed by the man behind the mask - was one ... running? She had already taken off. The muscles in his legs tighten even more, and his eyes bounced from exit to exit, person to person, trying to analyze the situation. He didn't dare take a step closer to the two remaining men, but he didn't move away either. He was rooted in the wooden dock. His hands raised to the scarf covering his face and lifted it over his nose. He would stay with them, but as soon as the situation got bad, he would dash in an instant. He didn't trust the two - why should he? Jack stood in his place, perfectly content with his distance away from the others.

 

[Zemfro]

Bonehead watch Liza run, "I hope to God that she's on our side and just scouting for us." He sighs and looks towards Rei, "Yeah listen what we have to do is gather some gear around us and get to that building." He points to the red brick building down the road, "From there we'll spot out anything we can then get a move on towards the heart of the city to pick up our weapons or whatever you ordered. I've got a few things waiting for me there, after we'll have to play it off." He says with a shrug, "Could be worse. We could be waiting in line at a DMV." He chuckled and looked over to Jack, "Listen, buddy, we need you on this, we're stronger in numbers. And honestly, I don't think you'd be able to fight off a fly, so come on. I don't plan on killing any one of you, less you pull a knife on me." He says as he begins to walk off, going to the car that he saw and opened the trunk to find a 4 way lug wrench and took it. "Either of you want it?" He says looking towards the two that was still there.



Liza would hear steps nearing her, "I saw one go in there..." a man says, it was clear it was more than one person.

"God it smells like shit.." One comments, "Perfectly complimenting that bitch in there, I might add." It was clear that the were all surrounding her. Maybe four or five contestants circled the dumpster.


@RatFlail @JayKuro @juvia

 

[RatFlail]

Liza crouched down in the dumpster, her heart racing at the sound of the voices. Her hope to remain hidden had obviously failed, but she only had one desire at this point: to escape. And for her to escape, that meant one of the men would have to die.


She was in pretty good shape, since most of her time at her job had been spent dodging carcasses and cutting off strips of meat. She'd even harvested cattle one day, when the normal harvester had gotten sick. This would be a lot messier than braining one of the beasts with an air-powered bolt, but she told herself that it would be no different. At least she hoped so. 


The skinny mother picked up a can of food in her left hand and held the needle in her right hand. She stood up and smashed the can into the nearest man's head, and stabbed the next closest in the eye with her needle. She leapt out and dodged between the two of them, sprinting away as fast as she could. 


Footsteps behind her indicated that she was being followed, so she rapidly turned a corner and then spun around. The next man that she saw she threw the dented can of food into his face and then stabbed him multiple times with the needle in throat, aiming for the sides of the neck where they normally bled cattle out.


While the man stood there screaming and blocking the alleyway, she spun and sprinted away, desperately searching for another hiding place. Her food supply was gone, but she hoped that at least those men would no longer be following her.


@Zemfro @JayKuro @juvia

 

[Zemfro]

Liza saw the five contestants who were armed with metal bars and boards, most were average size with their own googles and bandannas covering their faces. Although, among them, there was one tall and burly contestant who only had his wrapped fists that were already bloody. Seems that's how he established dominance over his small group. When she hit one contestant on the head, she would see "Blunt hit: 25." then when she stabbed the other contestant she would see "Critical Hit: 50." That man that was stabbed through his goggles screamed in pain and fell to the ground. The burly contestant tried to lunge at her only for her to slip right underneath him.

As she dashed away from her victim that she stabbed to death, she would hear heavy footsteps from that same contestant. The bulky contestant had literally ran over the screaming contestant, killing him in the posses by breaking stepping on his neck and in turn broke it as well. He manged to catch up to her and throw one good punch at her, landing on her head and sending her into the wall of the narrow alleyway. He slowed himself down so that she was ultimately trapped.

The contestant laughed, "Hardly worth the trouble." He says as he turns to face her, "Now..." he says as he picks up a metal trash can, "Join us or die." he grins at her. he looked ready to defend against any attack. and the three other contestants stared her down, not giving her much of an option. 
 


Hearing the screams, Bonehead looks to the others and holds onto the wrench, "Stay close and keep your eyes peeled." He says as he jogged over to the sound of the screaming and changed directions when he heard the sound coming from a alleyway, looking right and left to see if anyone was around them. He pressed up against a wall and poked his head around a corner, to which Liza would see. 


@RatFlail @JayKuro @juvia