"Hello twitch, we are in New York Citttyyyy! Land of the free baby! Alright, so tell me where to go chat, I'm bored." I say happily.
I watch my chat for a few seconds. They answer quickly.
Demigod69420: Bro, go to a weed shop.
LuigiDiner: Go get some pizzzzaaaa
Denise69: Go to central park
My eyes widen at the thought of Central Park. That sounds like a beautiful place. I start walking there immediately. And as I walk, I casually chat with my audience.
"So how do we feel about New York guys? I'm new here, new to new york. What a funny phrase." I say happily.
Kidult12: Your mom gay
"Shut up, your mom's gayer." I snap back happily.
I was taken back to my youth for a moment there. I see the park within view now. However, a cop approaches me. And makes me look away from my chat.
It is unfortunate he looks away, as an experienced chatter warns him with a foreboding message.
JPhatte: Yo, watch out. There's criminals at Central Park.
If only he read the message. It's too late now.
Suddenly the cop slams his nightstick into my camera, shattering it. Then someone behind me grabs me and presses a rag against my mouth. It smells like weird chemicals, and I pass out near instantly. All I know is that movies tell me it's chloroform.
… … …
I wake up hours later. I look around groggily, only seeing darkness. I tilt my head coincidentally, and it bonks into a pillar I'm tied to. I rub my head against it, and feel something like a potato bag over my head. I feel ropes tied around my arms, pinning them behind the pillar. But my feet are unbound.
It isn't long until I hear footsteps approaching.
"Rise and shine assholes. It's do or die today, cause it's my world BITCHES!" Strange Gangster yells cockily.
I groan angrily, and start trying to stand. It's awkward to do so. I'm pressing my back against the pillar, and scooting up the wall. I'm halfway to standing when my feet are kicked out from under me.
"Stop that, ya little shit! It ain't time to stand yet! Wait your turn, hoe!" Gangster B yells angrily.
I hit the ground, smacking my body and head against the pillar. But my ropes come a bit looser. Enough to where I try scurrying to my feet to stand. But I get hit by the butt of a fat rifle. It hits me repeatedly, driving me to the floor. And then to add a humiliation to the beating, I get sat on by whoever just beat my ass.
"Shut up and wait until we're letting you outside. Also you better hope we're not stealing your organs." Gangster B threatens angrily.
He sounds like he's chastising a child with those violent words. I'm so angry, I'm shaking. Then I hear someone approach, and start laughing.
"Ah, that little shit's gonna kill someone, I just know it. And I thought the Streamer would be a pussy to protect his image. This is gonna be fun, I just know it!" Strange Gangster says excitedly.
His words drive me to a standstill as I realize from the context of his words what might be happening. I've played videogames where something like this has happened. Danga something. I don't know, I'm under too much pressure to remember the name. But this is a fucking death game. They're gonna make us kill people. Shit, this is bad.
Thankfully, my manliness speaks up. But it speaks too loudly as it comes out through my teeth.
"I'm not killing civilians, I'm killing gangsters." I mutter furiously.
The Gangster sitting on me smacks me with his rifle again. Right in the back.
"Shut up, you're doing what we tell you! You'll kill whatever bitch I say to kill." Gangster B snaps angrily.
"Knock that bitch out, he's talking too much shit. Make sure he starts without a weapon too. I don't care what the plan was before, he's too cocky. He starts unarmed." Strange Gangster says tensely.
I start struggling again to avoid the beating, but to no avail. And this time, I feel other people's feet stomping me into unconsciousness along with the rifle beating me. Or maybe it's a shotgun, I can't decide.
… … … … … … … …
I wake up on the street of a neighborhood. It's rotten to the core with neglect. It looks like a dangerous part of town right out a videogame or movie. The kind of place that you know you should stay away from. And it ain't cause they're poor. There's too much graffiti. And I already heard a gunshot.
To make matters worse, I see something strange a mile away. There's a thirty foot tall fence made of steel. Metal link at that, something you'd see at a prison. But we're in a neighborhood. … Shit, these gangsters turned some neighborhood into their evil playground. I'm basically in Hell on Earth right now. This is bad.
I look around quickly, trying to find somewhere safe to gather myself some more. I need cover, I don't want to be outside during this. At least not until I formulate an idea of how to win this. I've dealt with stories about this shit, I can come up with ways to win. The board is different too. It ain't like the videogame I played. For better or for worse. I'm not dealing with a dystopian government, I'm dealing with Gangsters. They're dumber than the government, less organized too. I can take advantage of it, maybe. And hopefully there's no automatic turrets with heat sinking aimbots or some shit, I don't know. If I have to worry about those, I'm gonna cry.
I rush towards a house that has an open door. I enter it quickly, and begin searching the house frantically. At first it's to make sure it's empty. Once I confirm it after several sessions of staring tensely past corners, I arrive to a new point. Gathering supplies.
And it goes terribly well. In a kitchen drawer, I find a pistol with two clips of ammo. I can tell it's live ammo, I used to be a soldier before I was a streamer. Former Private Johnson, now a Streamer known as Jack the Gunner. Cause I manned the big guns in the military, and I'm always playing first person shooters.
But now I'm Private Johnson once more. I must remember my training as best I can. I feel incredibly rusty. All I have time for is a warmup and stretches. Maybe a few punches as an exercise while I plan.
I give myself roughly ten minutes. During these exercises, I plan my approach. Thankfully I've gained some renown at this point, so I can take advantage of my charisma. My first thought is to form a team of the contestants in this Death Game, and fight back. I have to hope the Gangsters aren't participating in the Death Games as training, or this will be difficult. My dream scenario for this strategy is for the most sadistic situation: Only civilians are killing each other for the Gangster's joy. Otherwise, this will be tense as I must deal with them being armed as well. And while I'm a Soldier, Gangsters are still dangerous. They can at least make teams. While we're told to kill each other with an overwhelming situation against us.
All I have is a story to make guesses on how to resist this. And one idea I know from Prison Escapes: Try to escape early. Otherwise, you'll starve or be worked to death.
Once my exercises are done, I'm out. I begin exploring the Neighborhood. For now I'm scouting the edges of this neighborhood. I want to know what I'm working with when it comes to the enemy. I stay behind houses and take peeks at the border. It's a tense scene, I hate it. I see them watching like typical Gangsters. They're smoking weed and acting like this shit is a party. I even see whores dancing while men just make jokes and pass blunts around. They're using us as entertainment. This is fucked up.
I manage to explore for an hour, until I come almost full circle. I feel a rock smack against my head, and turn to see a strange sight. A tanned man in a open button suit with no tie. Green and gold are the colors. He stands on the other side of the fence with two guards holding automatic rifles.
"Like what you see, American? Bet you didn't expect to be Mexico, huh? You're not even near a city by the way, so don't go crying to my government. No one's coming gringo. You're in the desert. We took this place as a joke, and now it's our playpen for fools like you. We're gonna make you fucking Americans cry with this game." Strange Gangster says with malevolent pride.
I recognize his voice. It's the Gangster giving orders.
"Jack the Gunner? You were one of the ones we chose, ya know? A military brat youtuber? Easy money to make to fuck with you Americans. They're gonna cry about their military brat dying. Such a shame." Strange Gangster monologues cockily.
His eyes glare at me, and he smiles with bloodlust.
"Maybe we should kill you early. You're being dumb, too investigative. Go kill a man, or else." Strange Gangster orders with cold anger.
… I only have a pistol while there's two automatic rifles. And I'm standing with the nearest cover being thirty feet away. I can't kill them yet. Especially when I'm alone. I'll have to be patient. I sprint back into the neighborhood.
As I run, I hear him angrily taunt me.
"DON'T YOU DARE RUN WITH THAT STRAIGHT! I KNOW YOU'RE SCARED PUSSY!"
I am, but I'm not showing it. I'm a Soldier. I don't time for emotions right now. I need to save myself, and this town. Who knows how many innocents are involved? He does, but I don't. I should investigate the inside of this neighborhood now. It's about an acre in size. Big enough to cause problems. For everyone, even the Gangsters. I need a vehicle stat.
I hear gunshots deeper in the city. This time I sprint towards it. With my Soldier's physique and the pressure of the situation weighing on me, I'm there within minutes. I observe from a distance at first. It seems to be obvious what's happening. I see men with teardrop tattoos below their eyes firing at someone hiding in a house.
"COME OUT PUTA! WE WANT YOU TO DIE!" Gangster A yells maniacally.
"I'M GONNA FUCK YOUR WIFE AFTER THIS!" Gangster B yells cockily.
The Wife comment sends me into a rage. I've heard people use lines like that for years. It's what starts fights. Now I whip out my pistol, take cover near a wall. Then come out of cover for a burst of fire. After I shoot down the closer Gangster, I hide behind cover. I hear the gunfire stop, and I can hear him looking around. His feet are scrambling for cover. I wait a few seconds, and risk it. Luck is on my side. His back is to me. I open fire, and he dies as well. Their corpses are on the ground now.
I decide to quickly their bodies for guns and ammo. I find they're both carrying AK-47s, so I grab one and their ammo. I also find a knife, which is nice. I take it as well. After this, I approach the house they were firing it.
"Hey, is anyone there? I'm Private Johnson, U.S. Marine. Formerly, I'm a civilian now! Don't shoot! If you're a civilian, I'm on your side!" I yell urgently and sincerely.
Within seconds, I hear the pounding of footsteps and a woman crying.
"Thank God you're here, I thought I was gonna diieeeeeeee!"
A woman wearing a red shirt and black pants comes to me, and hugs me with appreciation.
"Ma'am, please let go. I'm uncomfortable with hugs during combat." I say nervously.
"Oh, don't say that. I hate that, I hate we're here." Woman complains miserably.
She steps back and stomps her foot.
"Is the military here?" she whines.
"No, it's just me." I say bluntly.
She begins to cry and falls to her knees. I sigh annoyedly. I should've known dealing with civilians would be bullshit. I've got a cryer from the start.
"Hey, I'm her boyfriend. You got a gun to share?" A Young Man asks nervously.
I turn to see a guy my age wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans. He looks roughed up a bit already. They both do in fact. I smile sheepishly and hand him my pistol.
"Yeah, that'll do for ya. You ever fired a gun before?" I ask warmly.
He nods tensely, and smiles proudly.
"Good man, you'll be useful for this. Gonna be real guys. We need to team up and fight back." I say happily.
They both freeze, tense and fearful.
"Fight back? Can't you call in the military?" Crying Woman says fearfully.
"Maybe, but we're in a foreign country. Mexico. It could start a war, and I can't force politics like that to work out in our favor." I say honestly. "Plus, I don't even have a phone, I think. We'll have to steal one off a Gangster."
"Yeah, if we call attention to us, we can help. Let's do that first. Did those dead guys outside have a phone?" Young Man says seriously.
"Lemme go check." I say calmly.
I turn around, and go check their corpses. They both have phones. They're both locked though, with passwords. I return to the couple.
"Does anyone know Spanish? These phones are locked, and I bet the passwords are in Spanish." I ask calmly.
"No! Of course not, I'm American!" Crying Woman snaps tensely.
"We need a hacker. Hopefully someone here is one." Young Man says tensely.
"Yeah, we'll figure it out. Let's go guys." I say calmly.
"Um, we're not leaving. It's dangerous outside. Get the military." Crying Woman says angrily.
Young Man sighs and shakes his head.
"Thanks for the gun. But I'm staying with my girl. I can't lose her." Young Man says nicely but firmly.
I can't help but glare at the Young Man. Gonna take my gun, but not come help? Fucking pussies. But it's not too surprising. They're civilians. Civilians aren't meant for combat. I need more Soldiers. Or hell, I'll take a Street Fighter. I'm desperate right now.
"Alright, just try and stay safe. I'll see you guys around." I say nicely.
"Don't tell anyone we're here!" Crying Woman snaps desperately.
I sigh angrily, and nod. Then I leave while ignoring whatever else they say. They're useless to me. I'm glad I saved these civilians, but they're useless to me. I need fighters for sure.
For now, I will continue exploring.