MAVERICK: Back in the Game (TBZ)

Chapter One

Haknyeon's eyelids flutter open, the sweet smell leisurely fading away from his senses. He finds that he is still seeing blackness, but his other senses are slowly returning to him. He can hear grunting all around him, full of intense displeasure. Then he can feel the rough scratchiness of a rope-like object scraping across his skin around his wrists, discovering his hands have been bound behind his back.

Realization begins to sink in as he hears Sangyeon's booming voice shout out, "What's going on? Where are you taking us?"

Haknyeon feels the car jerk to a stop and the rope scratches across his wrists again like a cat's claws. He bites his lip.

"SHUT UP!" a voice snarls, threatening and full of venom.

Haknyeon flinches, blinking and finding that he can see light at the edges of a cloth tied around his eyes. Have we been kidnapped? Is this a vicious prank by Cre.ker? It can't be, someone would know...

"When Mr. Sung-soo finds out about this!" Sangyeon continues to yowl and Haknyeon can feel and hear him making a ruckus. He can envision the leader of the group fighting back and not having any of this, refusing to sink low as a coward.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" the voice barks again and there is a door opening and then slamming shut.

Sangyeon screams in frustration. "Let us go!"

A door, closer to Haknyeon's ears swings open with a hard yank and then he can hear Sangyeon being dragged out of the vehicle, causing a commotion and chaotic fear from the rest of the members inside.

"Sangyeon!" Younghoon's deep voice cries out. "Don't leave us!"

"Just do as they say, Sangyeon," Kevin Moon's timid voice pipes up with the suggestion. "Usually you don't get hurt in situations like this if you don't fight back."

"You know that's not who he is, Kev," Jacob Bae's voice calls out.

"Fight, Sangyeon, fight!" Ji Changmin's voice shouts out.

There's more rustling sounds as more of the members are dragged out of the car. Eventually, Haknyeon feels a pair of cold leather gloves on his arms, pulling him out of the car with a rough carelessness.

"What is this? What's going on?" Juyeon's confused voice echoes as Haknyeon is shoved away from the vehicle.

"I would very much like to know who had to ruin my beauty sleep for a stupid kidnapping prank?" Choi Chanhee's voice slices through the air. "If I have bags under my eyes because of this, someone is going to get a foot--" His sentence ends in a high-pitched yelp as a hard slap splits through the air.

Haknyeon's head jerks in the direction and he can't help himself. "Don't hurt him!" He is answered by a rough jerking as he stumbles over his feet, being forced across a grassy field. He can hear the roar of cicadas around him.

Finally, he is shoved to his knees.

After a few more intense seconds, the blindfold is removed from his face and the rope around his wrists is cut free. He blinks, finding himself looking up at a giant warehouse-like building at least two football fields long in length and at least three stories high. He snaps his head to either side, seeing the others.

Younghoon is rubbing his head on his left, while, to his right, Juyeon is staring in awe and horror at the building.

"Where are we...?" Kim Sunwoo asks.

Lee Hyunjae, Jacob and Sangyeon are all gathered around New, concerned about what had happened to him. Haknyeon can see a dark red mark on one of his cheeks, almost like a rash.

"Where'd those cowards go?!" Q growls, standing on his feet and spinning around in place, his eyebrows knit together behind his white and black dyed hair locks, which are caking in place on his skull.

Haknyeon spins around and sees no presence of vehicles or the brutes who'd dropped them off here. He turns back, blinking in shock as a massive sign lights up on the exterior center of the building's second floor.

"MAVERICK?" Sangyeon reads.

"Like as in the video game?" Eric Sohn questions, standing to the side of Sangyeon and trying a little too obviously to be Sangyeon's mini-me.

"I don't think so..." Sangyeon says and slaps Eric on the arm. "Quit that! You know I don't like when you're up my butt like this."

"Maybe...we are getting an impromptu English lesson. Ooooooh. I think a Maverick is an unorthodox or independent-minded person?" Kevin says, tapping his chin in thought. "Looks like you better brush up on your English, guys if we got kidnapped just to learn words." He looks up at the massive screen flashing the word. "What's the next word?"

"Kev, bro, I don't think we were brought here for an English lesson..." Haknyeon mutters, getting up to his feet and brushing himself off.

"Those guys weren't gentle, so I highly doubt an English lesson is occurring here," New mutters, rolling his eyes.

Sunwoo, his curly light brown hair sticking out in multiple directions, is hugging his legs close to him, shivering with fear. His big brown eyes are wide open. He suddenly jumps in place and throws his arm out, pointing at the building. "L-L-LOOK!"

Haknyeon whirls around and looks at the building. The is another long screen like the kind you might find in New York City's Times Square. On it, in big bold red letters is an ominous message:

"Welcome to Maverick, a survival game. Only one of you can make it out alive, who will that be? Enter and let's find out.

Protect yourself from what you want."