Antakarana. Quest inВ Reality
Tatyana Shuklina
Eleven people head to Paradise Island to compete in the Game. They have to complete tasks at the limit of human capabilities in search of an answer to the key question: what unites the players. And only the winner will find out what the Antakarana Corporation is so diligently hiding from the world community. Will the players make it to the finish line? After all, mortal danger comes not only from poisonous snakes and moving walls, but also from the human soul, full of dangerous secrets.
Antakarana. Quest inВ Reality
Tatyana Shuklina
© Tatyana Shuklina, 2022
ISBNВ 978-5-0056-2558-8
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
The Final
All I can hear now is my own uneven breathing and a deafening heartbeat in my chest. I seem to be suffocating, but it is not a lack of oxygen. Never in my life have I had to experience such deep and woeful despair. I want to hide in a corner, cover my face with hands and sob. Unleash the tears of unspoken pain, guilt and loss – everything I have experienced in the last week. But they stand like a lump in the throat, strangle and tear apart.
«Please let it be a dream! Bad, nightmarish, realistic. Let me wake up in my ordinary life, smell the Sunday pancakes that my mother has been cooking in a frying pan for twenty years…»
But IВ know for sure that IВ am not sleeping and everything that happens around is aВ nightmarish reality. Right now, aВ choice must be made. Do IВ really have it? IВ can still save those who survived, atone for my guilt for those who left. Still able toВ help those IВ love. But, God, what aВ monstrous cost! Do IВ have aВ choice? Will IВ be able toВ live peacefully with my hands stained with blood?
Each ofВ us is toВ blame for what happened inВ this damned place, each made his own contribution: did not think anything over, underestimated, and did not prevent anything. IВ cannot live with guilt. ToВ see their faces inВ nightmares, toВ relive repeatedly their tragedies, their losses and this destructive feeling ofВ complete helplessness. Close my eyes and see their suffering, plug my ears and hear their cries, close my heart and feel their pain. Do IВ have aВ choice? THEY claim IВ do. However, IВ know better. For the first time inВ all this time, IВ know better. The point is IВ have no choice.
AВ countdown starts:
«Ten… nine… eight…»
IВ know what toВ do. THEY expect this fromВ me.
«Seven… six… five…»
Suddenly the decision is there. The thoughts inВ my head stop getting confused. IВ feel confident and calm.
«Four… three… two…»
The last look at those who have become so precious toВ me during this time.
В«Goodbye,В» IВ whisper with my lips alone.
«One…»
IВ manage toВ catch my breath and begin toВ speak inВ aВ calm voice, while tears finally find their way out and run unhindered down my cheeks inВ streams. These are tears ofВ relief. Rivers ofВ deep sorrow and endless anguish.
«My name is Larina Victoria, age 25. Game name Lavina. And I’m ready to tell you the answer to this damn quest game…»
The Game begins
I wake up, but my heart is still pounding furiously in the chest. Wet sweat is on my forehead. It has been just a bad dream! At first I feel a deep relief, then a strange joy, the same that I feel every time I wake up from a nightmare. It’s so good to know that it was just a dream. The adrenaline rush got into the blood, and I definitely like it.
«Tea or coffee?» A flight attendant impatiently interrupts my train of thought with a consistently professional smile. «Oh, I’m sorry, I woke you up,» she adds absolutely without regret and with the same cold smile.
«Eh, nothing. I’d like some tea, please. China is famous for its tea. I could start getting involved in its culture right now. After all, we are already flying in the Chinese sky?» I am trying to joke.
В«We are on board aВ Russian airliner, tea is also Russian,В» the stewardess calmly answers, В«you like toВ have one?В»
В«Yes, thank you,В» IВ sigh.
With aВ cup ofВ hot tea inВ my hands, IВ press my forehead against the cold glass and look out the window. InВ my dream, IВ ran along the tangled paths ofВ the labyrinth and did not see who was chasing me, but IВ felt the chilling fear ofВ pursuit and the uncontrolled terror inВ front ofВ an unknown enemy. The coldness and darkness ofВ the labyrinth pressed on me. The further IВ ran, the sooner IВ got closer toВ this Something, toВ the danger that awaited me at every branch ofВ the path. And at that moment, when IВ had no doubts that IT was waiting for the next turn, the flight attendant with aВ far from friendly smile offered me far from ChineseВ tea.
The blue sky, the bright sun overboard and the anticipation of the upcoming adventure are dizzy. By the way, I am afraid to fly, although I am not to blame for weakness of character. Since the age of thirteen I have been mountaineering. I have two parachute jumps behind my shoulders. The roller coasters or bungees are simply breathtaking for me. No, what really bothers me is the realization of my own helplessness. After all, nothing depends on me: one mistake of a pilot or failure of equipment – and there is an end of my precious life, filled with youth that spills like a fountain! My hands are sweating and I feel a little dizzy again. Stop! I drive away bad thoughts and switch to what is really important. My name is Larina Victoria, I am from Russia, and I got into the Game of the Century – «Antakarana. Quest in reality».
My real passion are quest games. The most diverse: computer, book and real ones. IВ am aВ frequenter ofВ the interactive quest community. When the announcement ofВ the upcoming game appeared on the network, this event immediately became the main topic ofВ the forum. Like many participants, IВ filled out questionnaires and passed all imaginable and inconceivable tests: from logical problems and quite understandable puzzles toВ completely incomprehensible and even more illogical questions, suchВ as:
В«Imagine that you have little people inВ your ear. What color are they:
a) Yellow – the color of earwax.
b) Red – periodically you have a bleeding ear.
c) Green – the result of tests of alien creatures.
d) Little people cannot live inВ the human ear cavity due toВ the lack ofВ atmosphere.
e) Your own optionВ».
IВ thought then that this might be aВ test ofВ my sense ofВ humor, so IВ answered: В«f) They are actually purple. IВ was recently lucky toВ see one ofВ them on aВ pillow at night.В»
However, among such stupid and harmless questions, there were also frankly frightening ones, which were, toВ put it mildly, creepy toВ answer. IВ doubt that inВ this way the organizers set out toВ test our erudition: the answers could be easily found on the Internet.
В«How long did it take toВ kill people inВ the gas chamber inВ the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp since the spraying ofВ the Zyklon-BВ gas?
a) 10В minutes
b) 15В minutes
c) 30В minutes
d) Your own option.В»
Or anotherВ one:
В«Which ofВ the famous killer maniacs had the nickname В«Killer ClownВ», as he lured victims under the guise ofВ aВ disguised clown, tortured and brutally killed them:
a) Dennis Rader
b) Gehry Regguey
c) John WayneВ Gacy
d) Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer
e) Your own optionВ».
Howbait, IВ was sincerely surprised when two weeks later IВ received the coveted invitation toВ the game.
In addition to my trip to China, more precisely Tibet, there is one more thing that I am incredibly happy about. A young man from Russia with the playing name Alex will take part in the quest. He is also a member of our quest community. Once we played an online game in pairs. The guy even sent me a picture, but I still don’t know his real name. All our communication was limited to discussing strategies for finding objects or solving the next puzzle.
The idea that I will not be the only participant from Russia encourages me. It’s not about worrying about the language barrier – after all, I’ve been working as an English translator for four years now. It’s still nice to have someone to chat with in your native language. Tickets were booked for us for different flights. Probably, the rules of the game exclude the participants’ preliminary acquaintance with each other.
And now, aВ month after filling out the questionnaire and completing various tasks and tests, IВ am sitting on the plane, feeling aВ little nervous about the flight, and listening toВ the captain ofВ the aircraft announce the landing at the Beijing Capital Airport.
***
After all the formalities and customs control at the airport, IВ go out toВ the arrival hall. Immediately striking is an attractive Asian girl inВ an impeccable white trouser suit. Her resinous hair is pulled back neatly. She reminds me ofВ aВ business woman from aВ glossy magazine. IВ do not like glossy magazines and have no idea what has been published inВ them lately, but this is exactly the comparison that comes toВ my mind.
В«Glossy ladyВ» holds aВ sign with my name В«Larina Victoria. Russian FederationВ». For some reason, IВ immediately feel embarrassed for my appearance: for frayed jeans and aВ loose T-shirt, on which aВ stain from accidentally spilled tea appears treacherously. My long black hair is tied casually inВ aВ ponytail, and thick forelock falls over my eyes. IВ recall with horror that IВ have not combed my hair since boarding the plane about 8В hours ago. Confused, IВ approach the Glossy Lady and try toВ seem extremely friendly:
«Hello, I’m Victoria.»
В«Miss Larina, welcome toВ Beijing city. My name is Zhang Kiang. IВ will accompany you toВ the plane, which will fly toВ the location.В»
В«Just call me Victoria. Nice toВ meet you, Zhang Kiang.В»
В«Miss Larina,В» the Asian ignores my offer, В«how was your flight?В»
В«At first everything was fine, and then tea was served: not Chinese, not Indian and not tasty. Please, call me Victoria,В» IВ repeat my request.
«Miss Larina,» the glossy lady smiles with a cold professional smile (Today is just a holiday of some kind: «Day of a cold professional smile», I joylessly state to myself), «I hope that you will still have a chance to taste a Chinese traditional drink. But now we need to hurry. In 40 minutes, a flight will start to the private airport in the city of Lhasa, from where the plane will soon take off to the location. Follow me if you don’t mind.» She brings her hands together and bows slightly. Then she turns and walks on a high stiletto heel with an impeccable gait towards the exit.
It’s hard for me to hide my disappointment. I don’t know what exactly I was counting on: a warm welcome in a luxurious residence, hung with slogans like «Welcome, participants of the first world-class quest game»; on a tour of Beijing; on the crowd of friendly organizers who are ready to fulfill my every wish in order to demonstrate their hospitality; on television popularity… What I certainly did not expect was a cold reception, a quick change of location and the absolute absence of a hint of any sensation.
«Zhang Kiang, where are the other participants?» I ask her on the go, hastily looking around, in an attempt to see at least something interesting. But all that catches my eye are tourists scurrying back and forth with huge luggage bags. Periodically, representatives of the opposite sex throw in our direction interested glances, no doubt intended for my companion. No wonder, since elegance, confidence and impeccable taste go along with her. With me only a compact and well-worn suitcase on wheels – the instructions clearly indicated that during the game I would not need personal items. I took only the essentials: a camera, a set of changeable clothes, a warm jacket, some cosmetics and a tablet PC. All this took half of the suitcase, and a bunch of little things filled the second part.
В«Each participant will be taken toВ the meeting point at the Lhasa airport on aВ private plane with aВ personal escort,В» Zhang Kiang replies with the same professional coolness.
I’m trying to ask a couple of questions about the rules of the game to find out at least some information. The glossy lady answers in monosyllables, and sometimes just ignores me. On the fifth question, she can’t stand it any more, stops and announces in an even tone with a slight touch of irritation:
«Miss Larina, discussing information related to the game is not on my list of powers. I’m sorry.»
All my hopes ofВ hospitality are mercilessly dashed. We walk the rest ofВ the way inВ silence.
***
Four men inВ white formal suits and black glasses are waiting for us near one ofВ the airport exits. IВ immediately call them В«ninjaВ» toВ myself. They make aВ menacing impression: one awkward movement and the guys will fly into the air inВ unthinkable positions toВ bring down their В«ki-yaВ» on the head ofВ the unwanted one (inВ this situation, me). Without aВ word, they surround us inВ aВ square. And inВ such aВ slender wedge we follow the plane.
I feel very uneasy at heart. What if this whole action is planned by the slavers? If now I am kidnapped, taken away in an unknown direction, killed, demanded a ransom or sold into slavery… Such thoughts dry up my mouth and buckle my knees.
And at this moment I see it for the first time. Drawn on the wing of a small plane, it sparkles in the sun with all its facets – the ancient Tibetan symbol of Antakarana – three sevens in a three-dimensional cube. It takes my breath away how simple and beautiful it is at the same time.
Frankly, IВ was never interested inВ Tibetan culture and associated it exclusively with Buddhist monks. And even then all my modest knowledge was limited toВ the fact that it was about men wrapped inВ orange sheets, leading an ascetic lifestyle and living inВ cheerful multi-colored temples. They were credited with ancient healing powers and various miracles ofВ meditation. But before the game, IВ read aВ lot about Tibet, people living there, symbols, legends and delusions.
The topic captured and carried me away so much that I was not so much happy about my participation in the game as the opportunity to visit Tibet and touch the cryptic history of this mysterious culture…
