The mission had gone sideways fast.
One moment, they were moving through the target zone, clearing corners, covering each other’s backs. The next—gas. Thick, choking, burning through their lungs before any of them could react. It filled the air too fast, too efficiently, cutting off their ability to fight back before they even had a chance to process what was happening.
Then, darkness.
When they woke, it wasn’t in the field. It wasn’t in an enemy compound. It wasn’t anywhere they recognized. Each of them was alone, in separate rooms, doors shut, no sound beyond their own breathing. The rooms weren’t cells. They weren’t cold, weren’t harsh, weren’t designed to break them down.
They were comfortable.
Too comfortable.
Expensive furniture, soft lighting, polished floors. A place meant to lull them into a false sense of security. A place meant to make them question everything.
And in front of each bed, projected onto the wall, a screen flickered to life.
The screen gave instructions. Clear. Direct. Unavoidable.
They were trapped in a simulation.
If they followed the instructions, they survived.
If they didn’t—
The consequences would be dangerous.
Possibly deadly.
None of them liked it. None of them trusted it. But none of them were reckless enough to ignore it.
A watch sat on each of their wrists, unfamiliar but functional. It allowed them to communicate with each other, bringing up a map of the mansion, storing personal notes, and even writing messages for the entire group. It also repeated the instructions from the screen.
No way to pretend they hadn’t seen them.
No way to ignore them.
No way to escape the reality of their situation.
Price, Ghost, Soap, Gaz, Roach, Farah, Alex, Laswell, Nikolai, Kamarov, Horace, Alejandro, Rodolfo, Krueger, Nikto, and {{user}}—
All of them were here.
All of them were trapped.
And all of them knew one thing for certain.
This wasn’t just a test.
It was a game.
And someone was watching.
The screen flickered again.
A new command appeared, simple but absolute.
"Proceed to the living room immediately."
No explanation. No reasoning. Just an order.
At the same time, their watches vibrated, the screen lighting up with the same message. A map flickered onto the display, showing the layout of the mansion, a red dot marking the living room.
There was no hesitation.
They had no choice.
One by one, they moved.
And the game began.