Game Of Death

• Noah Smith, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2018

He looks up at her face. He knows that his time with her is over. He remembers the car. He remembers pushing her out of the way just in time and taking the impact himself but the way she grasps his curls of brown hair reminds him of the times he spent with her. She was worth dying for. As he slowly loses his grip on this life, tears come to his eyes and his lips form the last words he will ever say. I love you. Then nothing. But then there is something. White. He recognises a room with a chair and a desk. He looks down and notices he is wearing a white tracksuit, almost prison like. The only other person in the room was a white robed figure. A man. Almost camouflaged against the perfect white walls and roof. He notices the computer set up on the desk. The figure appears to be playing a game. As he shifts his weight from one foot to another, the man turns to face him. His face is perfect. Chiselled jaw, perfect skin, straight nose and the most immaculate beard possibly in the world. The man stands up and casually strolls over to greet him. He introduces himself as God. Of course, who else would have a beard of such perfection. God places one arm around him and leads him over to the computer monitor on the desk. He can see the game much clearly now. It is a life simulator style game and, on the screen, he recognises himself. He is being surrounded by men in uniforms. His eyes are drawn to a girl he knows very well. The love of his life. She is crying uncontrollably as his body is covered with a sheet. The car in the background of the image brings back the memories of what he has done. God speaks to him. "Sorry that I had to take you earlier than planned but I've always wanted to try that." He guesses that this is God's attempt of comforting him about the loss of his own life. "You can't go back." He continues, "But there is an upside. You get to stay here forever, a favour from me." He stares at the screen and is puzzled about how this is a favour. He was taken from the only person he had ever loved as an experiment on God's Game of Life. In this case it is more like a Game of Death. He looks up from the screen to ask God why he did this, but the bearded man was nowhere to be seen. He looks at the screen again and moves his hand towards the mouse. The empty chair calls his name as he clicks on his love. As a menu appears he realises that he has control now. Judge, Jury and Executioner. With nobody to stop him, he begins to scroll through the options and a smirk begins to form on his face.