Thomas felt like he was in a dream, knew he was dreaming, but could not wake up.  Sounds seemed to be electronically scrambled and far off in the distance, but he couldn’t really make any of it out.  It didn’t seem right.  His mind was fuzzy and seemed...separated.  He couldn’t remember what was going on, why he was like this and that had him panicking slightly.  Thomas was used to being in control of things and having awareness of what was going on.  

Then very suddenly, he was sitting on the floor and he could open his eyes.  Everything seemed to come back at once and he was aware of his breathing, heart beating, the temperature, and it came to him that in that time he was unable to move, nothing seemed to be happening with his body.   It was as if it was disconnected...or dead.  

He saw people sitting around him, most on the floor and looking around with a similar expression on their faces as his own.  As his senses came back under his control, he looked around as motion and noise grabbed his attention.  There were a few people going through a set of lockers and another individual on a computer that looked to be so old that it seemed like something out of the beginning of time.   

Thomas opened his mouth, trying to think of what to say, when one of the men who’d been in the locker walked up, squatted down in front of those still on the floor and calmly looked from one to the other. 

[color=00a99d][i]The citizens of this city do not know that they are part of something.  Well, a handful do.  Now, you do.  Some of us players have called it The Game, The Restart, The Second Chance, Being Recycled, and a myriad of other names in the past.  

In short:  you're dead.  Well, kind of.  You died.  You remember that, don't you?  I know it's fuzzy, like a dream.  But it's real.  You died.  And now you're here.  [/i][/color]

Thomas’ heart began to race.  It was then that his thoughts flashed to things that didn’t seem to be there before.  He remembered being at the small corner store and an altercation happening outside of the store.  He could hear younger men yelling and ignored it, only stopping in to grab a drink and maybe a bag of chips.  He moved by a few other people and remembered...gunshots.  Then.  Nothing.  

That couldn’t be real.  

[color=00a99d][i]I'm gunna tell you some things, and you're gunna freak.  You'll call me a liar.  You may panic.  Hell, I've seen quite a few different reactions.  

First, if you listen to me, you'll be able to leave this room and you'll be able to go back to whatever.  If not, well.  I guess you'll just be dead again.  But you know.  For real.

In about 20 minutes, you're going to blink and we're going to be somewhere else.  We're gunna fight...things.  See those lockers.  There are suits and weapons in there.  Put it on, ask questions.  Figure it out.  Listen to me.  Stick by me.  

Or don't.  

I see you lookin' at me like you're not fully making sense of this.  Suit up.  Kill.  Go home.  

And one more thing.  There's 3 rooms over there.  After you suit up, if you do, find someone, and fuck 'em.  It charges the suit.  [/i][/color] 

Behind them, one of the lockers closed and it seemed to snap everyone out of a dream like state.  Thomas looked around at the sound of the locker and saw a black man suited up in...latex?  He looked like a Blade the Vampire Hunter cosplay, but with some weird circles--it reminded Thomas of those balls that actors in green suits had when filming scenes for CGI.

It was then that he started to think this was some kind of joke.  It HAD to be.  Right?  Others started talking around him but he was absorbed in his own thoughts while looking around the room.  It was then that he noticed a large, digital countdown.  It was at 21:04 and he felt they were here about 5 minutes so the timer probably started at 25 minutes.  

Thomas looked around and his eyes fell on the black guy who seemed to be going over the suit and looking at the computer.  “[color=f26522]Hey man.  That timer, what’s gunna happen when it hits zero?[/color]”

He chuckled and shook his head and looked Thomas straight in the eye.  “When it runs out, you’re going to wake up in some place and have to kill.  It’s the only way to live again.”