Aaden, Tara, and Carlie were awakened by the men violently shaking them.
"C'mon! Get up!"
Mark was shouting while the girls slowly sat up and rubbed their eyes. Getting annoyed, Mark grabbed Aaden by her arm and nearly drug her out of the van until she was able to gain balance and land on her feet outside. She rubbed her arm and glared at Mark while he climbed back into the van and approached Tara.
"Don't you touch her!"
Aaden lunged forward but was held back by Kaleb. He shook his head as Mark turned back at Aaden.
"Girl shut yo mouth!"
"Just let them walk out!"
Aaden shouted making Mark pull in a deep breath and nod. Tara raced towards Aaden, jumped out of the van, and stood behind her fairly close. Aaden wrapped her arms behind herself to shield Tara while Carlie made her way outside as well but never broke contact with Mark.
"Kaleb get these girls in that arena. I'm sick of dealing with women damn."
He walked towards a giant building that seemed to never end on all sides. Tara stood beside Aaden and grabbed one of her hands while grabbing one of Carlie's with the other. Kaleb pointed at Mark indicating the girls better follow him and they did.
Once inside it seemed simple. Very large and they couldn't see the other side of the building. It seemed to never end. They saw people going into elevators that went down and never up. They stood frozen in the doorway and watched as other women their age, and some very young, being forced into the elevators. A man in his late fifties or early sixties walked up towards the girls with a huge smile on his face and stretched out his arms widely.
"WELCOME! TO THE ANNUAL, MONTHLY, SURVIVAL GAMES!"
He shouted. The girls did nothing but stare at him like he was an ego maniac.
"What? No enthusiasm?"
Turning to Tara he gasped softly.
"Ahhh, miss Tara Quinn."
He reached out to put his hands on her shoulders but Aaden slapped them away and Tara ran behind her.
"Don't you touch her."
Aaden growled. The man chuckled and sighed. Kaleb stood forward and gulped.
"Sir, these girls shouldn't be here! We cant put Tara Quinn in these games! She can shut us down forever. She's too valuable!"
He protested but the man simply shook his head before slapping Kaleb extremely hard.
"Now listen here boy, you will do as I say. I don't care how valuable that woman is. She's valuable to me. Shut up and get these other two girls down with the others."
Kaleb nodded and grabbed hold of Carlie while Mark grabbed Aaden and they began dragging the girls to the elevator. They were screaming and fighting to get to Tara and Tara was screaming and trying to run to Aaden but the man grabbed her with one arm around her waist, picked her up, and carried her towards an office. He walked into it and closed the door before easily setting Tara down into a chair. He sat across from her and smiled. Tara was terrified and she gripped the arms of the chair tightly.
"W-Why am I here."
She whispered. He sat back and put his hands on his knees.
"You will be placed into the Survival Games."
"The what?"
"The Survival Games. You and twelve other women will be put into an arena. An active one, animals, insects, natural food, trees, even seasons. You will feel like you are in the arena for years after just three days."
Tara shivered and thought about how she was going to get out of here if ever.
"Will I die in here?"
"That depends on if the gamblers decide to help you or not."
"Who are the gamblers?"
"The people betting on your life."
Tara wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or take a swing at the man and make a run for it. She decided she was entirely too small to even leave a sting if she hit him, and always wanted to seem somewhat strong so she decided not to cry either.
"Can there be more than one person that gets out?"
"Nope. My my you are full of questions."
Tara shrugged and stared down at her feet. She was scared as hell but didn't quite know what to do or say next. The man stood and opened the door.
"Come on. You have stuff to do. You girls are put into the arena tomorrow morning."
Tara reluctantly stood and followed the man into an elevator. She didn't bother asking his name and didn't want to know. Once they were below level Tara looked around in amazement at what she saw. People were shooting arrows, throwing knives, and even painting on their bodies what looked like camo. It reminded her of a movie.
"You, Tara-"
"Don't. Don't say my name."
She whispered up at him. He was hesitant slightly but nodded.
"You seem like you need help on providing for yourself."
"I can provide for myself just fine."
"What about if you were alone in the woods?"
"Bu-"
"What about if it was freezing and you didn't have a jacket to keep warm? What about when you get hungry in the wilderness?"
"Okay! I get it."
She walked off trying to find Aaden or even Carlie. Finding them both at a bow and arrow target practice she smiled and watched as they each shot an arrow straight at the target almost perfectly. When their turns were finished Tara and Carlie joined Aaden and made their way towards the camo painting area.
"Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"
Aaden asked. Tara nodded and glanced straight ahead.
"No, and yes I am fine."
"Good. Now-"
"HUNTEES GATHER AT THE DOOR, HUNTEES AT THE DOOR."
They heard people shouting and watched as the other women were being forced towards a door.
"That's all the time we got to prepare?"
Tara asked worriedly realizing she had hardly done anything but watched Aaden shoot a bow and she herself threw a knife directly into a sack of flour. She unlocked a skill she had never knew of. The girls waited in the line for instructions.
"Good job ladies. Now go get dinner, and sleep! Tomorrow is the start of the annual SURVIVAL GAMES!"
They heard someone shout. The three squeezed tightly together and paid attention to the man. Well, Tara wasn't actually paying close attention as she was distracted at how excited some of the people watching from the bleachers near the door.
"Go on now file out."
He seemed annoyed this time speaking. Tara squeezed Aaden's hand at an almost unbearable level but didn't complain knowing how scared Tara was. Aaden was trying to be strong for the girls but inside she was being just as vulnerable. The line started moving forwards as the women exited into the hallway and were pointed to their rooms. Three men in big white suits and black glasses tried to separate Tara, Aaden, and Carlie. Tara began screaming, Carlie stood still, and Aaden was trying to fight the men unsuccessfully. The man in charge came rushing over and pulled the men away from them.
"Hey guys let these three stay in one room."
They nodded and pointed the girls towards a room. Aaden walked behind Tara and Carlie and they heard the door slam shut as soon as they were inside. The walls were black, there were two small beds, and a desk with three pencils, a pad of paper, and three envelopes with stamps. Aaden sat down and began to write a letter to Tara's security team and parents. She had to keep believing Ed would find them.
...
Ed had been waiting patiently in the interrogation room of the police station for a report. Suddenly Detective Kelly walked in with a confused expression.
"Sir-"
"Ed."
He spoke impatiently.
"Ed. We cant seem to find any evidence that the women were kidnapped."
"What do you mean no evidence? Lipstick smudges on the wall? They weren't making out with the wall! The open doors!?"
He began shouting uncontrollably. The woman just nodded in understanding.
"I see that Ed. But we cant prove they didn't just have a party or something and walked out without thinking to call or use the elevator."
Ed stood up quickly nearly flipping the chair.
"You know what? Fine! I'm sure I can do a better job at finding these women."
With that he left the police station, and went to find help. Once he had some help he would go to Tara's parents house for any information. He couldn't give up looking for them. He made a promise to all three of them a long time ago that he would protect them. Ed assured himself he was going to keep that promise.