As the clock strike 2 and the school bell rang. All students got up from their desks to get out some even ran out of the class and few of them stood waiting for their friends.

Abhi packed his bag, he looked like the most happy person there and couldn't wait to get home. He has been begging his parents for a video game console and finally after two weeks they promised to bought it for him.

He walked through the corridor of his school smiling thinking to himself "I'll be the coolest guy here."
"Hey, wait for me" Abhi's friend Sam shouted as he brisks his way towards him.
They walked out of the school premises and were about to go on their separate ways when Sam suddenly said "why they keep messing with him?"
Abhi followed his friend's gaze and saw some random punks bullying someone, Abhi didn't say anything.

Sam turned right and waved goodbye to Abhi. Abhi waved back and started walking on his regular path where those bullies were. He walked past them, ignoring like nothing happened.

"So what if I'm not stopping them no-one is stopping them" Abhi kept assuring himself.
As he keep walking he can still hear them, when suddenly all their noises stop.

"Leave him alone or I'll report you to teachers" someone shouted which made Abhi turn his head towards them and their he saw a girl.

The bullies looked at each other ensuring if they should leave after seeing the determination in the girl to do the right thing they leave that guy. As the punks left the girl grabbed the guy's shoulder helping him to get up on his feet.

"I wish I was that brave" Abhi muttered to himself as he started walking towards his home.
___________________________________

Afrer finishing his dinner, he thanked his mother for the food.

"Don't stay up late playing that video game, I will check on you later" Abhi's mother said.

Nodding his head he went upstairs. He eagerly opened the game box with a smile on his face and started reading the instructions.
After familiarising himself with all the instructions and precautions. He finally started setting up the console and checked all the connections again. After finishing the set up he finally placed his long awaited game in it and started playing the game. The introduction was on the screen and his eyes widened he couldn't believe he finally got what he wanted. After playing for two hours straight, staring at the screen his eyes felt heavy and in a while he dozed off.

The temperature in the room started rising, Abhi opened his eyes and saw his whole room on fire. He looked around anxiously and suddenly a window popped in front of him from nowhere. The room was completely engulf by the fire, although he knew the danger behind jumping off that window there's nothing he could do. It seems like the only way out.

Abhi shut his eyes and jumped off the window expecting a painfull fall but nothing of that sort happened. He opened his eyes completely surprised and was terrified to see his house on fire. His first thought was what happen to his parents?

He rushed to the house and was about to enter but then it just came to him that it was neither his house nor his neighbourhood.

"What is happening? Where am I? He Questioned himself looking around frantically

Abhi stood there stupified watching the flames burn the whole house down then suddenly a dragon jumped out in front of him.

His breathing stopped he couldn't comprehense what was happening. In a panic he picks up a wooden stick from the ground and hold it out to his chest to defend himself, he knew a stick is nothing in front of this monster but something is better than nothing

Abhi knew this was the stupidest thing to do but it was his only option to protect himself. As the dragon move closer to him he shut his eyes praying to wake up from this nightmare.

After a while he opened his eyes thinking maybe that creature is gone but that dragon was still there looking at him aggressively. A girl jumped in the sky across his head swinging her sword and slashed the dragon's head cutting it in half. As the sword strike, dragon exploded throwing intense blast as it rained of gold coins

"You are a newbie, aren't you?" the girl asked as she collected all those coins

"What is happening, where am I?" Asked Abhi anxiously.

"Inside the game, Hellstring." Said the girl bluntly.

Abhi chuckled slightly on her words and said "this must be a dream, I will wake up for sure now"

"Keep telling that to yourself" she said rigidly

Abhi started hitting himself with the stick in his hand but nothing happened.

"You can't get hurt by your own weapon" the girl said looking at those stupid action of his.

She was right, Abhi didn't feel anything. He was beating himself but nothing happened. But Neither he was waking up nor he was getting hurt.

He accepted her words for it, maybe it's not a dream. He looked around himself and it really seem like those virtual graphic trees around him, the land, even the dragons all of them were not real but it's all like those games he wished to play.

"So how are we supposed to get out of here?" Abhi asked her

"We have to fight each other one by one and then cross that spiral staircase" she said pointing her sword at front to something far away which looked like some sort of stairs.

"There we have to fight with other competitors, after everyone is dead, we will fight with the boss that's the only way to get out of here." She continued

He examined the girl and noticed that in this virtual world, she had human like features. She seems familiar. After staring her for a while he finally recognised her, she was the girl who saved that boy this afternoon. He looked up, over her head where all the information about the player's name, level and life line was. Her name was Jenny.

"So are we gonna do this together, Jenny?"
Abhi asked smiling to her.

"No, were you paying attention to what I just said? We have to fight everyone that includes you, me and all of the competitors. I saved you because you were new who had no idea and that dragon was precious. Don't get attached" Jenny shouted.

"You think you can do all of this alone?" questioned Abhi.

"Me fighting alone has better chances than with you" Jenny replied as she walked away from Abhi.

Abhi looked at himself, he knew what to do now. He had to level up for a sword, protective clothings and gears, and lifelines.

He wondered through many villages killing most of the small creatures he could find. Suddenly everything started to fade and a whole new world was there. There were people around him, all looked confused. Their previous level bars vanished now everyone of them stood at the same level with different weapons.

A giant dragon appeares from clouds, his head had a red dot on the centre. His voice was heavy sending chills to Abhi's body.

"Welcome to Hellstring, competitors. You all are here to determine your strength, power and your place. Only the strongest will survive, winner. Only one shall remain the hero and if you are dead here that means you are dead there."

After declaring all the rules, the dragon was gone. All the competitors started fighting, killing eachother. Abhi was nowhere to seen, he jumped in an old wooden box in a narrow blocked street at some distance form the group fighting. He knew if he go out now he was dead meat.

Hours have passed but Abhi didn't get out of that box because the last line of that dragon was still haunting him.
"If you are dead here means you are dead there”

After a long while somebody knocked the box's door, Abhi felt the chills up his spine.

"I'm not going to harm you, get out of the box." A voice came in

He knew it was the end, either way he was dead. He opened the box and saw a person in a cape coat and hood exposing no part of his body. The name written over his head was AbIX

"Don't worry I'm here to make a alliance, we can't do this alone anyways" again said the voice.

"Why? we have to fight each other later on anyway" Abhi aksed a little confused

"I know but you will not harm me, mate" said AblX

"How can you be so sure?" Asked Abhi.

"When that dragon disappeared everyone started fighting right away fearing death. They knew if they willn't kill the person now then their opponents will get more strong but you were an exception." AblX clarified.

Before Abhi could say anything, AblX said "I know you don't want to kill anyone but they will without thinking twice. At the end it's all a lie."

"What does that mean?" Asked Abhi.

AblX looked straight into his eyes and said "It's a very popular game so how come there's only this limited number of players" he paused for a second giving some time to let Abhi ponder  "because it was planned and at the end no-one will survive, if we go all alone by ourselves we will never win." He continued

Abhi remember reading the introduction of the game, everything was detailed but the main antagonist was not clarified. Whoever made this game wanted them to fight not to kill eachother.

They both agreed, there plan lies with unity. They decided not to kill anyone but just lower there lifeline bars.

Everything was going great, Abhi now had faith in this AblX guy. He believed that they will get out of this game really soon, this nightmare will end. Abhi's mother will switch off the computer and everything will be fine.

Both walked around the virtual world. when someone attacked one of them another was ready to fight to protect. Their team work was going fine.

Abhi decided to ask AblX his real name but before he could say anything someone shouted "You guys are more than one, how am I supposed to fight against you?"

Abhi and AblX both were alert and saw three guys attacking a single player.
Abhi knew that voice it was Jenny's, the girl who saved him earlier but why would he do anything to help her."

"We have to rescue her, be brave Abhi." Said AblX

Abhi took his sword out and launched himself upon them. Those three were surprised by his sudden attack and fall back. Jenny took the chance and ran away from them she was now out of their hands.
As three of them stood up Abhi shouted "I will need your help, Jenny."

Jenny took out her sword too just then AblX jumped in between the fight, now they were equal in numbers. With AblX's great sword techniques they decreased the opponents  lifeline to minimum and ran away.

Everyone was saved. Abhi smiled at AblX hooded face and when he turned to Jenny her sword was aiming at their direction.

"Why you helped me, what you want from me?" Said Jenny pointing her sword towards them.

"Nothing, we just helped you to pay back the debt." Said AblX

Jenny did helped him but she never helped AblX, she don't even know him then why would he say that.

As they tried to get on terms with each other the dragon reappeared.

"Greetings fellow competitors, some of you are trying to oversmart my game but at the end the worst enemy a human can have is a human"

As they all looked at that enormous dragon, something clicked in Abhi's mind the only enemy was not other competitors it was him. The dragon and our target is his head where that red spot is.

Abhi touched Jenny and AblX's shoulders and they knew what to do.

"I knew you were brave enough" said AblX.

They both helped Abhi to push him close to the dragon and then Abhi aimed for the dragon's head with his sword. The dragon exploded and everything faded. The next Abhi saw was the controller in his hand.

He looked at his computer screen, he was at level 1 where he started this game.

"Was I dreaming the whole time" muttered Abhi to himself.

He searched for two names AblX and Jenny and when he found them he sent them a message.
"Can we meet at the bridge before school, tomorrow"
"Yes"
"Yes"

He turned off the game but couldn't sleep for whole night.

Next morning when he came downstairs to have his breakfast the television was on.
"52 Children are found dead in there house because of heart attack at night due to this game in this contrast the government is banning hellstring video game."

"You are not playing that game, Abhi" said Abhi's mom her eyes looked in his face.

"Yes mother" agreed Abhi.

Without having breakfast he ran towards the bridge and there were Jenny and that guy whom she saved yesterday from bullying.

They both smiled at eachother and shouted "thanks for saving our life, you are brave."

At that moment Abhi knew he was not that Abhi he was used to be.

________________The End______________