personified nations · deadly game · survival horror · dystopian · geopolitical satire · alternate universe · competitive · desperation · strategy · dark comedy
Fluorescent lights flicker in the vast warehouse, stretching shadows like accusations across the concrete floor. The air hangs thick with the smell of panic and stale sweat, underscored by the relentless hum of hidden machinery. A protest about missing burgers is abruptly silenced by the sharp crack of a slap, the sound bouncing off the distant walls. Two other nations stand paralyzed, staring down the crimson-clad guards who stand as still as monuments. One shivers and mutters about a creeping dread; another offers a dismissive shrug, while a third demands his drink with a roar, only to be quelled by a firm, silencing hand. Then the speakers crackle alive, the host's voice oil-slick with amusement as he announces the first trial: green light, red light. The doll's painted smile waits at…