The Danger Zone

Prologue

                ~Prologue~

The five men sitting in the small room instantly dove into the paperwork that had been sent to them from Indiana. The only light came from a tiny window, and a lamp in the middle of the table. These five men had to of been the biggest criminals in the country. The thing was, no one knew what they were up to… only the twenty-six teenagers trapped inside their facility.

The one man, Wil, they called him, spoke first, “So, this Abrea Beckett…Do you think she would be good entertainment for our viewers? We can’t have any mishaps like last week. The poor fellow. He didn’t have to die like that.”

“Well, she meets all criteria. One parent, always misbehaving, flexible, very athletic. She seems perfect. You never know, she might be the second one to make it out of our system.”

Wil didn’t like the sound of that; Curby was one of his best friends. The guy just did not understand that no one was supposed to make it out of the obstacle course.  At least not alive. Wil looked right into Curby’s distinct brown eyes, “Sometimes, I just want to slap you,” he deadpanned.

Both men were distracted when Gary cleared his throat. The guy had to have been a full six-ten. His voice was deeper then the All-State man. Whenever he spoke, he got everyone’s immediate attention. Even Wil, the director of the television show.

 “The girl…We need to make sure that she has no relatives in Russia. It might just ruin our whole plan,” Gary said. This was something that the five men discussed everytime they brought in a new contestant, they couldn't leave things up to chance.

 “Aren’t you forgetting that we drug all the juveniles before they go in?” Curby said matter-of-factly.

Gary let out a low growl, making all of their skin crawl, “No, I did not forget. It’s just depending on how long the girl is inside… her memory might come back.”

Jim the smallest out of all five of them spoke up, “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. What are the odds that she has a relative in Russia?”

Finally, Bill, the eldest, stood up, stretching out his arms, “I’ve been in this company for years. Not once has a contestant had a family member outside of the United States. We keep our secret extremely well. She’ll never know what hit her.”

Gary rolled his eyes, “If she ruins the game, don’t blame me.”

“She won’t. The girl will not remember anything from her past. She will be completely oblivious,” Wil smiled. He was proud of how much he had accomplished in the past three years. It was obvious to him and his companions that this was completly and utterly wrong, but they didn't have any other choice. This was how they were going to live the remainder of their years. They would kill helpless teenagers until their last breath.

“So, when will Abrea get here?” Jim asked, looking at her picture in the paperwork. The girl had long, brown, wavy hair that extended out to her waist, slight sign of freckles, and blue eyes that stood out amongst the rest of her facial feautures. Even though it was a mug shot, her face was lit up into a huge, mischievous smile. She could have cared less where she ended up in life. The picture proved it. Boy, was she in for a surprise.

“It says here, that if she agrees to go on the ‘cruise’ instead of Juevi, she’ll be here in four days,” Wil answered.

 “Good, Curby grinned nearly jumping out of his seat, “I get to think of new designs!” All of the demented men had this same thought. They loved thinking of new ways to kill their contestants. To them it wasn’t murder. It was just a fun game of hide and seek.