5. THE HAT MAN

John found himself surrounded by Donald and Daisy.Their faces were yet covered by masks. "Oh,man It was an awesome kiss." said John. "Huh?" Donald and Daisy looked perplexed.

"What next?" asked John. He knew that there are three more people at the opposite end, miles away, waiting to compete. He has to find out who is behind this dream game or dream war.

"There" said Donald, his forefinger pointing at a wooden table behind which they found a man standing.

"Hey!" said John as the three rushed towards the man. He was standing still. He wore a hat, with a cigar in his mouth. When the trio reached him, they were shocked as they couldn't see his face. His face was just blank.

But, he spoke.

"Welcome, my fellow comrades." the man said, "let me introduce the rules."

"Wait a minute," said John, "Who are you?"

"Shut up, rat." the man said. "Let's listen to him" mumbled Donald.

"You have two rounds to play. A Reward is waiting for you at the end of first round. Use it wisely. After the two rounds, you have got to defeat the other three people out there." the man finished.

"Why should we do this?" asked Daisy.

"The Last One to stand gets the chance to meet the Leader. A huge amount of cash will be provided." replied the man.

"In dream, huh?" Daisy asked.

The man leaned forward. "In real life." he said.

The trio remained silent. It was too much to process in their respective brains.

"What would happen if we get killed?" asked Donald. John and Daisy looked at him in surprise.

"A good question, wise man."said the Hat Man, "Once you get killed in any situation, you will never return to this Dream and your memories will be wiped off."

"So..." started John, "We are being manipulated by a guy."

"Good bye, comrades. Good luck." the man said as he vanished.

"Manipulated?" asked Daisy.

"I'm not sure..."started John, "Why would he hide our faces by a mask? He doesn't want to recognize each other. Also, he made you forget your names. And not me."

"It's too much to digest." said Daisy.

"Yeah, I had a great dinner last night." said Donald."We are a team now, I guess." said John."We are." Donald and Daisy replied.

"Let's begin to walk, "said Donald, "the first round might begin soon."