[sarahsarah]

Chapter 3

The adrenaline was now pumping through Liv’s body. What happened now; the decision had been made. ‘One dare and then I’m out’ she thought, that way she wouldn’t get carried away. She could get involved, have her bit of excitement and be done with it. She waited anxiously for a few seconds as the system appeared to be booting.

Then it flashed on her phone, ‘Dina’s Diner 15 minutes.’ Liv went into panic mode. The place was nearby but she’d have to get a lift. 14:59 14:58, the timer had started. She needed to go. She grabbed the swipe and hit speed dial 3. It rang momentarily before she got her answer.
“Hey Liv, you OK,” Sam answered.
“Yeah, I’m fine, but I need to get to Dina’s right now. An you give me a lift,” Liv asked.
“Sure, but what’s with the rush?” Sam inquired.
“I’ve got 15 minutes, I signed up for Dare and that’s where the first one is,” Liv explained rapidly.
“Yeah, I’m in my car on the street now, just come out,” Sam stated. Liv sighed in relief and ran out the door. He must have been driving past anyway so this was a massive convenience.

She stepped outside and sure enough, Sam was there waiting. “What the hell Liv, you signed up as a Contender?” Sam blurted out as soon as he saw her. Liv just nodded. Sam sighed and opened the car allowing them both to get in.
“Really, Is that so hard to believe of me?” Liv questioned. Sam just shook his head and let out an exasperated gasp and started the engine.
“You hear that some kid actually died playing Dare in LA?” Sam asked.
Liv sighed. “I don’t buy that, if people died then the game would be shut down.”
“That’s the point Liv, they can’t shut it down. There isn’t a central server to shut down. As soon as a player signs up there computer becomes a new server. If one is shut down then there are still thousands to keep it running. So it’s basically impossible to shut down the game.”

“How the hell do you know so much about Dare! anyway?” Liv asked, “You’ve never even played the game.”
“No, but I know the dark web Liv. What you see is only a minute proportion of what is available. Why are you even doing this, it just isn’t like you. Is it because of Sonya?” Sam retaliated.
“It is not about Sonya, and the whole point is it isn’t like me,” Liv answered.

The rest of the journey went in silence and in 10 minutes they were in Dina’s. They called the place a cafe but it more closely resembled a bar. She put an order into the machine and waited for someone to bring there drinks. The timer slowly ticked down in front of them. With only a minute left, the waitress brought over the two Colas and left them in peace. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... ‘DARE INCOMING’ flashed up on the screen as her phone beeped.

‘Kiss a complete stranger for 5 seconds: $100’ came up on the screen. Liv repeated the words out loud to herself and watched as the eye symbol in the bottom corner jumped up from 0 to 2 and then 3. The dare was suddenly replaced by an accept box and Liv quickly pressed on it. Her swipe recorded her fingerprint and suddenly the dare was live.
Liv stood up and started to circle around anxiously looking for someone. She saw a guy at the serving station and moved towards him before he burped into his mouth. She turned away disgusted and looked down at her phone. The viewer number had jumped up to 14. She continued to circle as two words flashed on the screen, ‘Hurry Up’.

The viewer count began to rise along with her anxiety. It was now up to 35. Sam patted on her shoulder and pointed in the general direction of a slightly overweight man, probably late 20s who’d just finished a burger. “Just kiss that guy and get it over with,” Sam muttered. He looked a typical local. Liv would’ve gone for it but she hated beards. Then again there didn’t seem an option.

“Okay, I guess. I’m going to kiss that guy,” Liv stated with a swag nod attempting to intimidate Sam. Liv took a deep breath of encouragement. “I’m going to do it,” she said out loud. At that moment, the man stood up revealing the table behind. Sat on it was a young lad, probably about 20, short trimmed hair with a motorcycle jacket on. Clutched in his hands was a book, but not just any book, ‘The Shining Tower’ by Roxanna Dominique. It had come out a few years ago.

“Or I could kiss that guy,” she said to Sam, “He reads.”
“It’s your choice Liv, the clock is ticking,” Sam replied.
“Right, I’m kissing that guy. You just sit here and record it alright,” Liv ordered. Sam just nodded and took Liv’s swipe from her. Liv took another deep breath and moved towards the stranger. The book was currently hiding most of his face from view and her nerves only grew as she walked towards him. Suddenly she was stood beside the table.

“The... The Shining Tower, that’s my favourite book,” Liv stated.
“Really,” the guy replied nervously. “So do they get to the tower in the end.” Liv looked back towards Sam. He was motioning with his hand for her to get a move on.
“Ummm...” Liv started
“Actually don’t tell me... OR do tell me, real quick,” the guy said.
Liv looked him over, “Yeah they do actually, but that’s not really what it’s about. The tower represents something different to each character and each reader. It represents the thing that they want most in the world and in life. I’m sorry... I’m totally geeking out and ruining the story.”

“No... no... I’m the one who asked,” the guy replied. Unknown to Liv, the viewer count had now risen to over 100. She didn’t waste any more time and just decided to go for it. She dived forward, placed her hands around the strangers neck and locked lips with him. She expected him to push her off but he didn’t. Instead she felt something else, she felt a heat rising in her and although he wasn’t actively kissing back, he wasn’t doing anything to prevent it. She pulled him in and caressed the back of his head as her mind went blank. Her only thought being this guy, this pumping feeling in her gut, a complete adrenaline shot to the mind.

Then it broke. She didn’t know it, but her five second kiss had actually lasted closer to twenty. The viewer count on the screen was now at 140 and a small stream of hearts flickered down the side of the swipe. Sam rolled his eyes at the scene and sighed with annoyance. “OK, bye,” Liv suddenly said, patting the stranger on the shoulder and quickly darting from the table. She grabbed the swipe off Sam just as the two words flashed up ‘DARE COMPLETE.’

“So did you get it,” Liv questioned Sam as she hid down in the booth.
“Of course I got it, it was a bloody mini series and I recorded all 6 episodes. You do know how long five seconds is right?” Sam taunted. Liv peered back around the edge of the boot towards the table and was shocked to see it was empty.
She turned back to Sam. “Where the hell did he go?” she asked.
“I have absolutely no clue,” he replied. Her Swipe buzzed again and a message displayed. ‘Liv, $100 has been wired to your account. Liv wanted desperately to check but suddenly her attention was lured elsewhere.

The guy she had just kissed was banging on table. He was holing a fake microphone and swaying. He brought his hand to his mouth. “I got the magic in me... Every time I touch that track, it turns into gold,” he began singing, gradually moving in her direction. The song was an old one but in a weird way it seemed fitting.

Suddenly he had random people in the bar singing along, “Magic, Magic, Magic..... Magic Magic Magic.” He was now right in front of her and gesturing in her direction as the rap portion broke out. “These tricks that I'll attempt will blow your mind
Pick a verse, any verse, I'll hypnotize you with every line
I'll need a volunteer, how about you, with the eyes?
Come on down to the front and stand right here and don't be shy..........”
The song kept going and as he hit the chorus again he got on the table. Unknown to her this lad was currently being recorded. Only when Sam pointed to the camera behind her did she realise. In the bottom corner of the screen was a viewer count of 1480.

As the song finished he jumped from the table, simultaneously ripping his shirt open and getting an approving gasp from the onlookers. Liv couldn’t help but laugh. “Congratulations.. You completed your dare,” She stated.
“Right back at you I guess,” he stated shuffling in next to Sam. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what was coming, I was just told to sit in that booth and then some kid came along and handed me that book.”
“The shining tower,” Liv groaned, “My favourite.”
“Exactly,” Sam cut her off, “Because it’s on your FlowShine page or online books records. They know all the information about you Liv.”
“Your name’s Liv,” the guy stated.
Liv nodded. “It’s short for Olivia.”
“I like it,” he said casually. “It’s hot and that was some kiss. Well it’s been nice talking to you, but I have a game to play.”

As the stranger began to walk off, both of their swipes simultaneously beeped. The man checked his and instantly stopped in his tracks. Liv looked at hers and smiled. Written across the screen was ‘Let him take you to the city - $200.’ “I guess the viewers want us together,” the guy stated.
Sam snatched the swipe off Liv and read the message. “You can’t go to the city Liv.”
Liv sighed. “He’s right, I can’t go the city. I’m not even really playing. I just wanted to do one dare.”
“Are you sure,” the guy interjected, “It is $200.”
“She’s pretty sure man,” Sam replied for her earning a dirty look from Liv.
“So... does he always tell you what to do,” he questioned.
“No! No he doesn’t,” Liv answered annoyed.
The guy shrugged. “I’ll be outside if you decide to change your mind. It was nice meeting you Liv. See ya man.” He nodded and walked towards the exit.

Liv let out an exasperated sigh and stared at Sam. “I could really use $200 you know.”
“Liv, you’re not going to the city. I mean... you said you’d only do one dare and then you’d be done.”
Liv smirked, looked at Sam, whispered “I’m sorry” and stood up from the booth.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this Liv,” Sam called after her but it was too late. She was already halfway out the door.

The stranger was sorting out his bike when he caught a glimpse of Liv entering the garage. He looked up and smiled. “I was hoping that you’d come.”
“I’m just warning you, I’m probably not the best partner... Not really the daredevil crazy type. You should probably team up with my friend Sonya. She’s obsessed with Dare,” Liv stated.
The guy looked her up and down, reached behind him and pulled out a passenger helmet. “But... the viewers want me to team up with you.” She stared in silence for a moment before stepping towards him.
“The second I feel uncomfortable then I’m out. Understood?” She questioned.
“Entirely fair,” he replied, clicking the accept button on the screen.

Suddenly a 15 minute countdown began on the display as Liv hopped onto the back. “I’m Dan by the way. I realised I hadn’t told you yet.”
“Well Dan... The city awaits.”


Sorry this chapter is a little short. It is all I had time to write. I am very busy the next couple of weeks so may be difficult until August to update frequently.

Please let me know what you think and any feedback is appreciated.

If there is anything in particular you really want me to incorporate into the story then let me know. I have the main story plotted out but I can veer quite a lot on the route so will take anything on board.