The rest of the talk show was pretty uneventful. A.J asked questions, made bad jokes and John did his best to appear calm and collected as he tried to dodge them.

  Eventually he began to feel like he might actually be good at it. Being part of an alien television show filled with flamboyancy and a wretched trivialisation of the genocide of the human race made him feel ill. However, if it would give him an advantage in Battle Royale then he owed it to himself to take it. He owed it to Anne.

  As the show finally began drawing to a close A.J announced the one thing John had been desperately waiting for: the awarding of his prize.

  A new card, a new power, one step closer to meeting the quota which would grant him access through the next torii gate. It was the only reason he’d entered the tournament.

  “Hasn’t this show been just divine folks?” A.J asked the buzzing, smiling audience. “It has truly been my pleasure to host such entertaining guests. However, sadly, our time together is drawing to a close. Which means there is but one last thing I have to do.”

  A.J strolled towards John; arms outstretched as his horns twinkled in the neon glow which lit the stage in fuchsia pink. Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, he produced a small box.

  Dropping dramatically to one knee, he presented the box to John, opening it as if he was about to propose. John had to resist the urge to kick the flamboyant presenter in the face.

  “John, my dear,” he began, “on behalf of the tournament organisers, our lovely studio audience, the IPSC and of course, myself, I offer you this card. May it be a reminder of our wonderful evening together and serve you well in the battles to come.”

  A glittering golden card sat regally on a purple cushion within the box. John stared at it hungrily and reached out, grasping it like a crack addict. This card would put him one step closer to survival, to power, and to fulfilling the promise he had made to his wife as she sacrificed her life for his.

  Perhaps one day he’d be strong enough to fight back against the alien invaders. Perhaps this card would be a stepping stone towards that.

  However, right now, it was a simple necessity to his continued survival.

  Snatching the card, he shoved it into his chest before anyone could take it away from him. A new notification popped up in his vision, a text screen floating in front of him as if he was in a video game.

  Card Acquired:

  Arms Dealer:

  This card grants you access to black market ammunition.

  Now that’s more like it! He thought, supressing the urge to laugh out loud.

  A card which gave him access to new ammo would be useful. He couldn’t wait to find out exactly what ammunition would be made available to him, and how to access it.

  Instinctively he reached inwardly for his revolvers but his power laid dormant. It had been blocked whilst he was on the show. One more reason to get back to Earth as quickly as possible.

  He’d spent days on the arena ship, fighting, bleeding, scrabbling for any means of surviving the next round. Now it was almost time to return to Earth, find his last card and ascend to the next round.

  “You’re positively glowing John, my dear,” A.J crooned. “Are you going to share the nature of your new card with the class?”

  “No,” he replied stoically, “I think it’d be better to preserve the mystery. But keep watching me and you’ll see it in action soon enough.”

  “Ooh, how tantalising. You’re like a carrot on a stick and I’m positively neighing in anticipation.”

  The crowd laughed and A.J flashed them an easy smile. He was a born entertainer, navigating the complex world of deceptive interaction like a concert pianist, fingers dancing expertly across the keys.

  “I, for one,” Joanna began, “can’t wait to see what your new card can do John Doe. Since you’ve failed to kill me properly, I guess our little dance of death will get to continue for a while longer.” She winked and blew him an exaggerated kiss to the amusement of the crowd. Just off stage the mysterious dinosaur nodded his approval.

  He told her to say that.

  John glanced towards her and shrugged.

  “Next time we meet, no amount of interference will stop me from killing you,” John said, though he looked directly at her manager as he said it. He’d worked it out, he didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that she’d survived because of the dinosaur. Somehow.

  “Inter-” she began, looking to her dinosaur who shook his head. “Well, I’ll look forward it then,” she spoke the words, but something about her had changed. She didn’t sound quite as unhinged as before, she sounded confused, even a little dejected. John almost felt sorry for her.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Marvelous,” A.J crooned. “Star crossed lovers fighting to the death in a tragic game that threatens to tear them apart. Oh, my heart bleeds!”

  “Ha! I’ll miss this,” Joanna smiled sinisterly, changing again at the flip of a coin. “I will come and find you John, I still need two more cards after all. That pig of yours has a card too doesn’t he? I do love a good bacon sandwich.”

  “The next time I see you,” John replied icily. “I’ll kill you for good.”

  “You could at least offer to buy me dinner first,” she said teasingly, “but perhaps I’ll let you skip the foreplay, just make sure to find me.”

  She winked and suddenly a bright light enveloped her, warping her body before she disappeared from the stage. John was left confused and irritated. Her personality seemed to shift faster than an F1 driver. It was hard to keep up with and he honestly couldn’t even tell if he hated her anymore. He felt sorry for her more than anything. She needed to die, because she was dangerous. To deserved to die because of the actions she had taken. Her manager was dangerous too.

  John felt like there was more going on behind the scenes, but he’d probably never get to find out what that was. He sighed aloud. He’d kill her eventually, but he was tired and at that moment he just hoped he didn’t have to deal with her again for a while. Keeping up with her particular brand of lunacy was exhausting.

  “I do love a challenge,” A.J said, “I can’t wait to see what happens to these star-crossed lovers once they get back planet side. Sadly thought, that’s all we’ve got time for. Until next time, folks.”

  “We are not lovers!” John protested but his words never reached the ears of the audience, or the presenter.

  In a flash of purple light he too disappeared from the stage.

  ***

  In a flash of light Joanna appeared in the familiar setting of her manager’s bar. He flashed her a toothy smile as he polished glasses behind the wooden counter.

  “How did you get here before I did?” She asked, pulling up a stool which scraped on the wooden floorboards.

  “Employee perks,” he replied, “your views have gone through the roof. You put on quite the show, allow me to extend my gratitude.”

  Pulling a small, metal disk from his pocket, he slid it across the bar to her. She caught it gracefully and flipped it agility between her fingers. It seemed to be a poker chip; a silver disk with a black middle and odd, alien markings decorating the rim.

  “I love to gamble as much as the next girl but I don’t think there are any casinos left on Earth,” she said, gazing boredly at the disk as she twirled it between her fingers.

  “Perhaps not in this round,” Barnabus replied, “but the nature of this chip is not just for gambling. Why don’t you try placing it in the kiosk?”

  Rolling her eyes, Joanna stood up and mooched towards the blinking machine in the corner. She desired nothing more than a good night’s rest; the past few days had been difficult. But her manager hadn’t steered her wrong so far so she figured that she owed him at least a modicum of obedience.

  Stepping up to the machine she saw a small coin slot in the lower corner, as if it was an arcade game. With a sigh, she placed the chip into the hole and then put her palm on the reader as she’d been instructed to do the first time she’d used one.

  Her mind interfaced with the machine and she found herself in the online store’s navigation screen. Just like before, she saw options for clothing, cards, supplies and all the usual stuff you’d expect from an in-game store.

  “Looks like the DLC still hasn’t come out,” she said facetiously.

  Barnabus didn’t reply, he didn’t have to. A moment later a new screen popped up in her view announcing something that made her grin from ear to ear.

  New Card(s) Available:

  You have inserted a managerial access chip. This grants the user access to a full deck of cards or as many as required for the continued survival of the Battle Royale employee.

  As you already possess (two) cards, this chip will only grant access to (two) cards to complete your deck. Please enter your emergency access code now:

  “Barnabus,” Joanna began, “what the hell is this?”

  “Let’s just say that I’m going all in on you,” he said, his voice like a hot knife slicing through butter.

  “But there are still four or five days left; I could find the cards myself.”

  “Perhaps you should check again,” he said.

  With a frown, she pulled up her personal interface which overlapped the kiosk.

  Countdown: 1 day remaining.

  “But… how?” She asked, her heart bouncing in her chest as she saw the lack of time.

  “It’s your penalty I’m afraid,” Barnabus replied. “I committed quite the taboo by rigging the contest and saving your life. The system noticed and this was the consequence. Two days for two seconds, quite the trade off.”

  “How am I supposed to find the torii gate in such a short time?”

  “Forget that now, use the chip. The rest can wait.”

  “This chip… it must be cheating too.”

  “Of course it is,” he said nonchalantly, “but nobody wins playing by the rules. This is an employee chip, given to those of us enslaved by the council for use in emergencies only. I’d say that my client being deprived of a chance of progressing to the next round constitutes as an emergency, wouldn’t you?”

  “Not really,” she replied, taking a moment to sigh deeply before setting her jaw, “but I guess it wouldn’t be wise to look a gift dinosaur in the mouth.”

  “That’s my girl,” he smiled. “Oh and one other thing, my benefactor arranged this glitch in the system in return for a single favour.”

  “Benefactor? Is that how you saved me in the finale?”

  “You don’t need to worry about it too much, just do as I ask and it’ll all work out. The final battle is upon us and I need you to complete a little task for me.” He paused for a moment as Joanna glared at him, narrowing her eyes in sceptical anticipation, “I need you to kill John Doe, not just kill him, but completely destroy his spirit. This is a game show after all and my benefactor has a lot of money riding on this playing out in his favour. After he spouted off on live television they’re rather upset with him.”

  Joanna nodded, realisation lighting up in her eyes as she understood who this benefactor was. Who they had to be. There was no other explanation, and if she was right then this task might just be the end of her as well, “ok,” she said resolutely, but in her mind she was already putting a plan together. Her revenge had to be achieved, no matter the cost.

  I am salvation. I am revenge.

  Barnabus smiled just as the door to his bar swung open. Two contestants stumbled in. One, a man holding a crossbow, looked dazed. Holding onto his shoulder was a bedraggled and bleeding woman. Her leg was missing and it dripped rhythmically onto the floor, staining the wood. In her eyes was a steely expression, one of disgust and pure hatred. She was dressed in an old fashioned and dirty 1920’s style dress.

  “Come on in,” Barnabus said. “Joanna, meet your new party members. I think the three of you have a mutual interest.”