[ WP ] In this world , everything is determined by the number floating over your head . Everything . And when numbers ahead of you die or get killed , yours moves closer to the coveted position of # 1 . You 're number 22 . For now .

Crouching in the tall brown grasses at the top of a small hill, I peered down at the man walking along below me. He seemed oblivious to my presence. The red 21 above his head was visible in the scope I looked through. So few left above me now, I thought. Once again I felt a warm excitement stir in the depths of my stomach. What would it mean to finally be number 1? What power would be mine? Emperor Harold, the current number 1, was a man without rival, a role model for all below him. He had unmatched power, money and respect. Had that come to him by default when he finally stepped up to the top spot? I did n't know. I fantasized that I would earn some sort of magical gift when I finally killed him. People feared me if they were above me and merely shunned me if they were somewhere below. I knew there were others that were trying to rush the process. Ever since we became a race that did n't die of old age, there were those that killed for a `` promotion''. 
 
 I let out a deep breath and opened my left eye, keeping my right sighted in on 21's head. For today I would n't worry about the bigger numbers. If they were going to come for me there was nothing I could do about it and it was no more than I deserved. You either had the commitment to take what you wanted or you did n't. I smiled as I squeezed the trigger...
