“Mm, then I’ll go over the introduction and rules now.” Iliya’s phone vibrated one more time, and the screen changed into a blank white background. The image of the pitiful little black cat in the box appeared again, and the real black cat in front of them dramatically cleared its throat. “Thank you for playing Feed the Kitten,” it said in a droll, sarcastic voice. “Oh challengers! How could I possibly thank you enough for coming to my aid? The streets have been vicious, the drought unbearable, food so scarce. Oh, how my kitten and I have hungered!” The cat raised its paw to its brow in an approximation of distress. “But you challengers. You came at just the right time. I have caught wind of a hidden stash of food, hidden somewhere within this building. I implore you, oh brave challengers! Please feed my kitten!”

Unbidden, a list of rules popped up on Iliya’s phone screen.

Challenger Red, you have been assigned the mission challenge Feed the Kitten.

To win, you must do as the Moderator asked within the time frame of 2:00.

Lose, and you will suffer punishment.

After reading the rules, the professor dashed out of the room. Once again, the door slammed shut behind him. Iliya looked down at his phone. The second line had already changed to this:

To win, you must do as the Moderator asked within the time frame of 1:59.

The clock was already counting down from two hours. There were a couple paths Iliya could take. He could run after the professor and hope to beat him to the stash of food. But it was likely the professor also had no idea where the stash of food specified by the game was hidden. He just wanted a head start. Iliya turned back to the cat, who was watching him with interested golden eyes.

“Are you the kitten?” Iliya asked the Moderator.

The Moderator gave Iliya a disgusted look. “Do I appear to be a kitten?” Iliya shook his head, and made his way to the refrigerator in the room. “What are you doing? Grabbing a snack before you play?”

“Yes.” Iliya retrieved his dinner. He checked inside- the apple, sandwich, and juice were all still there. He then sat down at his desk, and pulled out a completely clean sheet of paper. Using just his memory, he made a map of the Garrison building. It was three floors, and the kitchen was on the second floor. Alongside the kitchen was a series of classrooms, one lecture room, and a few offices. The top floor had an exhibit area for artwork, a lecture hall, and a small library. On the bottom floor was the entrance area, more offices, and the lounge. Iliya decided to start at the top of the building first, unsure if the burnt bodies the professor had mentioned were real or not. Even if they were real, there was a possibility that if the game world was separated from reality, they would not be there. Iliya’s thoughts paused. He was amazed with himself, that he could be so calm in a situation like this. In fact, Iliya felt more focused than he could remember ever feeling.

“I don’t know much about cats. What do you guys like?” Iliya asked as he drew his inelegant map.

The cat hopped down from the top of the chair he had perched on, and onto the table Iliya was working at. It looked down at the map. “Loathe as I am to group us all together, as we are individuals, we do tend to have our preferences. Just as you humans typically hate to kill at first.” The cat snickered to itself. “Let’s see. We like the thrill of the hunt. The warmth of blood filling our mouths after a victory.”

Iliya raised an eyebrow. “So then why do we need to find food for your kitten, if you’re so good at hunting?”

The cat pushed out its claws and rapped the table. “Don’t try to be clever, Red.”

Iliya hummed, and considered. “Can I ask one of my questions now?”

“Again, I might choose not to answer.”

He ignored the cat. “Does this game still take place with the same laws of physics as the world I came from?”

The cat blinked. “This game does, yes.” Iliya took note of how the cat specified this game. Then he got up and began to make his way to the third floor.