Such a fun game!
Win the grand prize!
This story was written for Flash Fiction February by Bradley Ramsey.
If you want to read more of my writings, please read my published books: The Seekers: Soul-Ties, Kirin, and Perrin Peters. And if you don’t want to buy my books but still want to support me, I’m on Patreon. And if you prefer one-time payments, you can Buy Me A Pizza or a Coffee.
Content warning: genocide of all humans
“Hear ye, hear ye! Humanity is sentenced to death!”
The criers of all sorts of alien races appeared all over the Earth one day. Nobody knew why the Council of the Universe chose this antiquated form of communication. Nobody even knew that genocide had been discussed. One thing was certain: they weren’t kidding.
“You have 24 hours to say your last goodbyes. If you need to visit relatives who live far away on Earth, hyperspace travel points are open to you free of charge!”
A few people rejoiced, feeling finally freed from the burdens of living. Many were silent, unsure what to do. Many hurried to follow the criers’ advice and began sorting out their affairs.
And a lot of people were angry. Some wanted to nuke the Earth to deny the Council the pleasure. Some scrambled to find a way to escape their fate by bargaining, begging, scheming, and sneaking away from the Earth. The Council’s ears were deaf, the intergalactic communications were severed, and the space blockade made sure no one could leave. Many have tried, and there was no way of saying if some managed to sneak in between the Council’s fingers.
24 hours were certainly not enough for the entire population to process the news and accept their fate. Nobody even knew how the sentence was to be carried out, and so they started making all sorts of wild hypotheses instead of doing something useful.
Yet, the criers got their news somehow. And it was very likely they were the only ones who could still communicate with the outside universe.
“I know the Supreme Lord is a betting man,” Mara addressed the closest crier she could find. “I wanna play a game with him.”
~*~
She had seen this studio a hundred times in the vids, but had never been here in person. The Earth used to have a TV game just like this, oh so long ago. The difference was that back then, players could win a lot of money, whereas now, Mara could win… whatever the Supreme Lord fancied to give her.
She sat in the player’s uncomfortable stool in the middle of the studio, blinded by the floodlights, and surrounded by the booying audience. For now, her only task was not to lose her lunch. Profuse sweating and wide, terrified eyes were okay. She waited for the game master to appear. Was the genocide postponed? Or was she on the clock and had to play fast instead of just being careful?
Finally, the familiar music announced the start of the game. Mara swiveled her head, and her pulse cranked up to eleven. Instead of the familiar slimy figure of the Smurp the Gamemaster, she beheld him, the one and only, the master of the universe, the Supreme Lord.
Huge, multi-eyed and multi-limbed, clad in nothing but golden harness and jewelry, the most hated and revered being in existence decided to play with her personally. The audience’s cheers all but deafened her, but she suppressed her shaking and took many deep breaths. The whole planet depended on her. And the fools who were glad to die, well, they were always welcome to eat their scissors or something.
~*~
“Answer fifteen questions and win the special prize, human!” The Supreme Lord’s voice seemed to have been heard across the entire universe, even though he didn’t even have a microphone.
Mara nodded.
“Question one: 2 plus 2 times 2?”
The suspenseful music started. Mara frowned, but then shook off her surprise. The fucker was free to play whatever he wanted.
“Six.”
The loudspeakers and some of the audience members rejoiced, making Mara even more nervous.
“Question two: How many legs do squibblibs have?”
Unlike the games she was used to, this time, the small screen in front of her was empty, so she didn’t have 4 possible answers to choose from. The game team didn’t have enough time to prepare for this special occasion.
“They don’t have any legs at all,” Mara answered, attempting to look in the eyes of her attempted executioner. The face she saw was amused and delighted, which made her stomach itch. Well, if she were to lose, maybe she’d at least be the first being to puke on the fucker. Provided that he wasn’t into this sort of thing in his bedroom, that is.
“Question three: What is the worth of one human life?”
~*~
Mara felt totally exhausted and had trouble keeping herself upright on this wretched stool. The Supreme Lord’s face was becoming more and more smug the longer the game went. What was the special prize? Was he going to do what she needed from him? What her planet needed from him?
“Question thirteen: What is the softer matter in the universe?”
Fuck!
Mara’s thoughts raced. Knowing him, he wouldn’t ask a straight-up question so late in the game. Yet, knowing him, he absolutely would do that!
“Do I have the same hints all players are entitled to in this game?” She looked at him with a face full of hope.
The Supreme Lord snickered. “The whole planet depends on you, human. When the stakes are so high, the game shan’t be easy.”
What a degenerate, she thought. If there were beings in the universe who had to die, he was definitely one of them.
Mara thought and thought. The music became impatient. The audience was quiet as death.
“One’s hand.” She looked at him again. “No matter how soft your pillow is, you often put your hand under it and essentially sleep on your palm.”
The Supreme Lord’s smile was as wide as Mara’s heartbeat was desperate.
“Question fourteen: Why are you here?”
Shit!
Well, there were several possible answers: because she offered, because she tried, because she was brave enough, because he agreed, because he loved games, because he was amused by her offer…
But which answer was correct?
She raised her head again. “I’m still here because I haven’t lost yet.”
“Ha-ha-ha!” The fucker even smacked his own knee and held his stomach as he laughed. “I knew you would delight me, human! The final question!”
He held a torturous pause, making Mara stare at his sinister face. “Have you won?”
Mara blinked. Shit… Mara looked at the frozen audience. Fuck! Mara closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. No! No-no-no-no-no! It was all a game for him, and yet he took his games very seriously. The answer was obvious and clear. She just had to say it.
“Yes,” she whispered, as hot tears ran down her face. “I won.” She whispered, knowing that she lost.
~*~
Mara stood on the bridge of the Space Frigate Defender, staring at the blue Earth. Her past home. The one and only place where she wanted to be. The place she could step onto in just five minutes. The place she’d never visit again.
The grand prize the Supreme Lord spoke about was her eternal torture. His best specialists made sure she’d live forever, knowing she was the last human in the universe. Everybody else, including her family and friends, was killed in a painful and bloody way, and their corpses were now feeding the soil and the predators.
She was free to land on Earth, for this frigate was now hers. All species were free to repopulate the planet. But for now, it would remain home only for non-human animals. Maybe that was for the better.
Mara looked at the Earth, unconcerned about shedding tears onto the metal floor. Two could play this game, the Supreme Lord. If she were to live forever, she had all the time in the world to carry out her vengeance. Genocidal maniacs had to be butchered, and she would make it happen one day. After all, there was always a way. And once the deed was done? She’d cross that bridge once she got to it.
The End
Anton Anderson, 2026
😱😱 amazing!! And I wanna know more 😅😅