Activation

Activation is the first chapter (in this case, Episode) of Deathmatch. It is succeeded by First Contact.

Synopsis
The narrator, referred to out-of-universe as The Participant, awakens on a strange alien world, inside a small room of a desolate building, having been abducted from Earth. A metal band with a simple monitoring computer affixed to his right arm informs him that he is now unwillingly a participant in a Deathmatch, with 49 other aliens pitted against him in a fight to the death. The Overwatch, the shadowy hosts of the event, have left him with an Uzi, a .44 Magnum, three grenades, and a fire axe to defend himself with.

As The Participant explores the ruins, he comes across another abductee, Mylan, trying to get some food out of a vending machine. After a brief firefight between them, The Participant tracks Mylan down and offers a truce between them, until only the two of them are left alive. Mylan, having suffered a hand injury in the skirmish, begrudgingly accepts. Before the two can get better acquainted, the building begins to collapse. Making it outside just in time, the two new partners head out to explore the ravaged world before them.

Behind the Scenes
Asylum has stated that the idea of Deathmatch, especially Activation, came to him from what he called one of the strangest dreams he's ever had.