"Hello, Nathan"
"Who the hell are you?" Nathan asked, visibly confused.
"I doubt we have the time to explain who I am in this situation," the unknown person on the other side of the phone responded. "Just know that you are one of the lucky ones selected to be a part of my game."
"Is that so?"
"Yep, also think of this as your beginning trial or the tutorial...that is, escaping this court."
"Escaping this court, huh?" Nathan pondered. "On one hand, I've got you, who's likely responsible for killing both the judge and Dan, telling me to escape, while on the other hand, I've got this whole court that wants me dead...the choice is obvious."
Without a moment's notice, Nathan reached for the handgun on the holster of the now-deceased Officer Dan.
"I'm gonna hang up and leave you to this now," the unknown individual said.
"Hey! Who told you to move!" Nathan's unusual movements had attracted the attention of the other officers, who seemed to have controlled the chaotic behavior of the court members somewhat.
"W-Wait--"
"Oh, by the way...your phone will self-destruct in 3 seconds," the mysterious helper added.
"What!"
The officers were trying to maneuver around the fearful public members to grab the condemned, Nathan.
"3...2...1--"
Without hesitating, Nathan tossed the cell phone towards the police officers coming after him.
"BOOM!"
A loud bang filled the room as the makeshift explosive was directly in front of the officers, violently sending them and public members in range across the court. It was a dreadful scene in the courtroom. Numerous casualties and roasted bodies of the officers and public members littered around the court, benches and desks piled onto each other, and sheets of documents blown across the room as a result of the explosion. To add insult to injury, the efforts that the officers had made to try and calm everyone had been tossed out the window as the members, both unaffected and affected but not killed by the explosion, immediately reacted in screams of fright and agony.
"Ugh...I didn't expect that explosion to be so...strong. Shit...I didn't mean for that...to happen." Nathan muttered as he broke out into sweat from panicking. The cries of every one were being drowned out by Nathan's sudden onset of extreme anxiety coupled with hyperventilation, realizing that he could no longer go back to his original (but miserable) life. He had just killed people. However, in Nathan's helpless state, a memory flashed in his mind.
It was a dark and bloody memory, barely recognizable to anyone except Nathan. Instantly, however, the sweating ceased, and Nathan's breathing had regulated. "Calm down, Nathan...these guys deserved it anyways," Nathan told himself.
"RING RING!"
Beside one of the deceased members was a ringing cell phone that attracted Nathan's attention. "Huh? An unknown number again, with the same ring tone as my previous phone." Nathan pondered on the similarities of the phone call as it rang a couple more times. He finally decided to answer.
"Yo, it's me again, Nathan."
"Tsk, of course, it's you again," Nathan responded with annoyance.
"Yeah, I noticed you just killed a few people...you are a perfect character for my game, huh?"
"You think this is a game?"
"Of course it is...and for your stellar performance thus far, I decided to give you an ability of your choice to help you in your coming trials."
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, no need to thank me...I'm just a normal guy."
"What the hell do you mean 'ability of your choice'?" Nathan inquired. "I JUST KILLED PEOPLE AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ABI--"
"C'mon, stop wasting time and ask for something already...anything!" The unknown man demanded, clearly showing his disregard for Nathan's mental state. Clenching his fist, Nathan was already fed up with the person on the other end of the phone, but he knew that he'd have to listen, especially after being forced to kill those cops.
After contemplating for some moments, Nathan answered.
"Fine then...there are some stuff in this court that could be useful...I want a way to store them, like an inventory, if this is a game, as you say."
"Nice choice...done. You can store stuff you touch in a pocket dimension by thinking about it."
"Try it." The unknown person suggested.
Nathan agreed and stood over the dead officers. He grabbed the handgun of one, and like a magician performing a trick, it disappeared.
"Do you like it?" The anonymous person asked but Nathan simply ignored him. He just wanted to leave this gruesome sight as soon as possible.
With haste, Nathan proceeded to not only steal and store the handguns of the rest of the police, but also the furniture all over the room, including the benches, desks, and other equipment, leaving the interior of the courtroom empty.
"Nice, you already understand how to use your newly gifted ability."
"Mhmm."
"Well, now I'm gonna leave you to it...see ya soon, bro."
"This phone isn't gonna blow up again, is it?" Nathan asked with suspicion written on his face.
"Nah, not this time...don't worry."
"Okay," Nathan responded as he ended the call.
With Officer Dan's handgun, Nathan stepped around the bodies of the dead and injured and made his way outside.
"P-Please...help me..." An injured pleaded to Nathan.
Sorry, but I can't help you. But I guess you guys wouldn't either if it was me in this situation and not you.
Steeling himself, Nathan ignored their pleas and left.
"I need a car." Nathan thought.
It seems as if luck was on his side, as the first thing he saw was Vanessa, the woman who gave her impact statement, frantically getting in her car to escape from the chaos unfolding. Nathan quickly darted up to her to stop her from fully entering her car.
Sorry for this...but it's not my fault...
"Hey there...Vanessa, right?" Nathan said while grabbing her shoulder.
"Ahh! Get away from me--"
Before Vanessa could fully utter her disdain for Nathan's proximity to her, her vision had been obscured by the handgun that Nathan was now pointing straight at her head.
"Shut up and give me your keys, right now!" Nathan ordered. Understanding that her life was obviously in danger, Vanessa handed the keys to Nathan. "Thank you...oh, before I go..."
Nathan both suddenly and violently pistol-whipped Vanessa right on her temple. All feeling had left Vanessa as she fell to the ground. "That's for your slander towards me in your damn impact statement!" Nathan ended before entering the vehicle.
"What a nice car...what is it, a BMW...must be nice having the luxury to buy something as expensive as this." Envious, Nathan cursed Vanessa before driving off.
"Hey! It's me once again!" The voice of the unknown benefactor was audible in the car.
"What the...why are you on the radio!?" Nathan questioned him with surprise. "Why the hell are you everywhere!?"
"Don't worry about that. Good job on escaping the courtroom by the way."
"I guess he won't tell me how he can communicate through all these devices." Nathan realized.
"Before you said that you didn't need to blow up the phone you called me with for the second time...so why did you turn my original phone into a freaking grenade!?"
"Don't worry about that...besides, it did help you clear out those officers, right?"
"Who the hell are you anyways! Why would you even do this to me!?"
Then Nathan had a moment of realization.
Wait...there's no way Lilith would want to talk to me after this...I'm now...a murderer. With the help of this bastard, I lost the only person I cared about.
The epiphany that Nathan had only brought depression to himself.
"Your next step is simple, Nathan. Head over to 2064 Steuber Hill, West District." The unknown man said, ignoring his question.
"Sigh...why do I have to listen to you...can't I leave the country or something."
"If you try that, you'll die, and I won't be able to save you," the unknown benefactor warned.
"...I see. Fine then, I'll play along, but it isn't right that you know my name, and I don't know who you are."
"Oh, you can just call me the 'Developer' since I am the developer of this game." He answered.
Not really a name...but I'll definitely use that to find you...
"Okay, 'Developer'. I'm not sure where that address is."
"Don't worry, I sent it to the phone you currently have."
Nathan checked the phone that he stole from the deceased, and just as the developer said, the address was on it in the form of GPS.
"Well, that makes things easier," Nathan said with a sigh of relief.
"I wonder," the developer responded.
The blaring sounds of police sirens could be heard behind Nathan. The sirens only got louder as whatever was emitting the noise was getting closer. The worst part, however, was that the sounds were overlapping. Nathan looked through the side view mirror to confirm his suspicions. His suspicions were correct; police cars were chasing him...9 of them.
"Tsk, dammit," Nathan uttered with frustration.
"Well, here comes the hard part, Nathan."
