Seven

Chapter 1- The Invitation

Dearest Mr. Mario A. Banks,

You have been cordially invited to the Winthrop Manor in Jonesport, Maine to attend a special series of games in which have been specifically selected for, based on your qualifications. The grand prize of the game, which will be played between you and six other players on October 9th, is one million dollars cash.

All expenses of this trip have been paid, including your travel, lodging and food. Enjoy an open bar, delicious food, and an experience you are sure to never forget.

No need to pack a bag. Everything you need will be provided for you. A driver will come to pick you up at 7pm sharp.

Regards,

Dr. Vincent T. Abernathy

Mario stared at the neatly printed handwritten invitation long after he was done reading it, furrowing his brows in confusion. He had never heard of Jonesport; hadn't even traveled north of Maryland in all his thirty years of life.

He walked back into his small, one bedroom house that sat just on the outskirts of Atlanta. The neighborhood wasn't the best, but Mario had developed a reputation for himself after serving six years in prison. The local trouble makers generally stayed out of his way and the Atlanta Police didn't dare cross him. As a matter of fact, when they saw Mario Banks coming, they turned around and went the other way.

He didn't mind it, since all he wanted for himself was a quiet life. He had just started his job at the Peachtree Brewery downtown. $16 an hour wasn't much, but it paid the few bills Mario had and kept him fed. He traveled around on foot to keep in shape and his small budget meant he was never eating heavy, unhealthy foods. Keeping up his excellent prison-physique had been easy so far.

A completely shaved, shiny, bald head was his new style, though he had always had a head of thick, luscious hair before. It was the first thing to go when Mario first went to the Georgia State Penitentiary. Accused of a crime he vehemently denied, he spent six years of his life behind bars- beaten, raped, savaged, and transformed into someone else entirely. Two years of anger and depression consumed his life, taking not only his hair, but his will to live. After two failed suicide attempts, Mario was shocked to learn he was acquitted of his charges and was being released immediately.

But the damage had already been done. Six years of his life- spent paying for another man's crime. A white man's crime...

Identified in a lineup where he was the only black man...

The victim of racial prejudice once again...

Mario looked down at the invitation, letting himself wonder just for a while what it would be like to be wined and dined in a fancy mansion; to play a game, that he was especially selected for. It sounded too good to be true, probably because it was. So when Mario passed by his garbage disposal on his way to the basement door, he tossed the invitation and gave it no more thought.

The basement door opened with a slow, whiny creak that echoed off the hallow walls below. Mario slowly and quietly took each step, the temperature growing colder and colder the lower he got, until he reached the bottom of the stairs.

His face hardened in anger at the sight of the woman in front of him. Soren Rose; an Atlanta socialite who was the definition of privilege- the lone witness to a murder that took the life of Amanda Alexander, the wife of Atlanta's mayor, Julian Alexander. A murder that Mario was framed for and served six years of his life in prison for.