500

00:00

Lucas Cafferson, T.V Studio Janitor, 28, did not want to be famous. He was perfectly happy living his life, gaining minimum wage and living off takeout.

Sure, he wouldn't have minded being famous. Making some big discovery, inventing something, inheriting a large sum of money, solving an insolvable crime. Those would all have been fine.

But being a reality t.v star?

No way.

But when the circumstances came around, Lucas had no choice.

He'd been evicted from his apartment, lost his job overnight, lost citizenship status and been given orders to leave the country.

And then came 500.

They offered him safety: if he starred on their show for 500 days, then he'd be paid handsomely, given citizenship status again, given a home and a passport.

All it would take would be 500 days.

Specifically, to survive those 500 days.

Lucas wasn't sure what they meant by "survive". However, it was that, or seeking sanctuary abroad.

So when he showed up for the medical exam, was put under anaesthesia, and woke up in a forest, cold and very confused.

"Wh-" Still groggy from the anaesthesia, Lucas yawned, sitting up. The damp ground beneath him seemed like a mattress, and he wanted nothing more than to sink back into sleep.

Unfortunately, there was the issue of where he was.

From what Lucas could tell, he was mostly alone. Scrap that, he was alone. There was no birdsong, no planes above, no phone lines in the air. He was alone.

Fine, he thought. I can do this.

He stood up, looking around. Most of his surroundings were pine and birch trees, with some low brambles and sprouting grass. Other than that, there was no other clues as to where he was. The air was a little chilly, with a light breeze.

Irritatingly, Lucas was not dressed for cold weather. He had a black polo, blue jeans, brown boots and a bag. The bag, which Lucas hadn't noticed until now, was a dirt-brown canvas satchel.

Lucas barely registered himself opening the bag, the hope of finding something, anything useful overcoming his brain. There was a ball of beige string, an empty plastic water bottle that should have held half a litre but was bone dry, a plastic shopping bag (why?), a bag of dried apple slices, and a pair of spare underwear. Well that was considerate of them.

Still nothing useful. No clock, no water, no map, no communications device.

Lucas was on his own.

Right, he decided. Priorities.

Water.

He'd already established the lack of birds, or any other apparent signs of life. So he decided to venture further.

Lucas had never gotten used to being alone. He liked people. He liked being surrounded by activity, by action, by anything. And right now, he wanted nothing more than to have someone near him. Any form of company.

Well, thought Lucas, he could always try and escape. Find the end of wherever he was and run away. Escape. He'd be free, right? He didn't give the idea another consideration, mind arguing the possibility of armed guards. 500 was a TV show, of course they'd want to keep their competitors on set. There was no reason for him to leave. Lucas was going to win. And even if he didn't, he had family abroad, he could live with them instead of his home country of the USA.