"I killed a baby deer today for sport. I left her body on the forest floor. I wonder if her parents know she's dead. I wonder if her friends will miss her. I wonder if animals cry when we murder their young for fun."- Unknown
III. Fair Game
Location: Brooklyn New York... 3:00PM Tuesday
Taylor lost himself in his thoughts as he slammed his fist into the punching bag. He hadn't remembered much of his attempted kidnapping. The last thing he could recall were the men taking him from his room and then soft hands rubbing his head and a faint voice telling him that he was safe now.
When he asked his father what happened he said the police and his mother's former partner told him it was a random home invasion and kidnapping. But that still didn't explain who saved him and why. His mother's partner made the off comment that he must have someone looking out for him, and for a brief moment he thought about the two strange men who saved him from a mob boss.
Taylor thoughts were disrupted as he heard a male voice beside him
"Your pretty good kid, but your form is flawed."
Taylor grabbed a hold of the punching bag and turned to the man that was staring at him.
"And why the hell is it any of your business" Taylor replied curtly.
"Just wondering how a young kid like yourself can harbor so much anger?" The man replied as he looked at Taylor with genuine concern.
Taylor snorted "Everyone is entitled to be angry."
"You're correct, but anger is best served when its channeled productively. For example if you tuck your chin and follow all the way through you can put more force into your punch." The man stated as he walked away.
Taylor looked questioningly at the odd man. After a few seconds Taylor decided to take his advice. Once he repositioned his body, he threw a series of punches at the punching bag and noticed the increase in the force of his swings.
Taylor looked over his shoulder at the man who gave him the advice
"How'd you know that's what I needed to do? Are you some kind of fighter?" Taylor asked as he made his way over to the man.
"You could say I had a great teacher once who taught me how to manage my anger and pointed me in the right direction," The man replied.
"What direction was that?" Taylor questioned
"To learn and then teach." The man replied as he started packing up his gym bag.
"Can you teach me?"Taylor asked.
The man chuckled and looked Taylor in his eyes, "Teach you to fight or to control your anger."
"Both" Taylor replied.
"Learning to fight is simple but controlling anger is hard. So kid what's' fueling your anger?" The man asked.
"A lot of things I guess…school, my Dad, the law, the police." Taylor replied with venom in his voice.
"What did they do to you kid" the man asked
Taylor hesitated for a moment "My Dad doesn't even talk about her or what happen...a cop killed my mother…and the police let it happen. They took her job from her and no one cared, no one did anything to help her. Now she's dead and the mayor and the commissioner wear her death around their necks like they won a medal. She was all alone, I thought she had people she could trust and rely on but I guess they didn't care enough, and to top it off, the man who was behind the whole thing gets to live the rest of his life in some new cushy place with a new name complements of the justice department for making some kind of deal."
The man gently touched Taylor's shoulder as he vented his anger and hatred.
"It's a sad state of decay that our legal and political system are in right now, it's a shame that no one sees it and the few that do, ignore it…..I'll tell you what kid I'll give you some boxing lessons but I can't say that they will help to get rid of that feeling your holding onto."
"Then what will?" Taylor asked dejected and lost.
"A purpose…something to fight for," the man replied.
"What if I'm interested in finding a purpose?" Taylor asked hopefully.
"That path leads down a road that most people can't handle." The man smirked when the kid gave him a defiant look.
"Alright kid, meet me here next Friday and we'll see where you stand," The man replied as he picked up his gym bag and stuck out his hand, "The names Peter. Peter White."
Taylor smiled and shook the man's hand, "Taylor Carter."
Location: Unknown...5:30 PM Tuesday
John jerked his head to the side as he felt something tickle his nose. He groaned at the pulsing in the back of his head as he began to regain consciousness. When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was a pair of round brown eyes surrounded by a tiny caramel colored face.
John quirked his eyes as he stared back at the puzzled face of the little girl as she hovered above his face holding a piece of foxtail grass above his nose.
The last thing he remembered was having coffee, as the memories came flooding back he began to remember the van, the unknown men in combat gear and then Joss calling out his name before he lost consciousness.
"Hi I'm Robin. What's your name mister?" The little girl blurted out with a smile.
John grabbed the back of his head as he slowly sat up. He tried to curb his slowly raising panic as he took in his surroundings wondering where Joss was and if she was alright.
"Umm Hi….I'm John" John stated awkwardly as he turned his attention back onto the little girl sitting next to him.
She was wearing a pink and purple short sleeve t-shirt, dark blue jeans and white tennis shoes. As he looked at her wrist he noticed a yellow tag that read '1B'. Looking down at his own wrist he noticed he had the same tag, except his was blue and read '6A'.
"Mr. John, do you know where my Dad is?" Robin asked.
John turned his attention back to the little girl "Sorry I don't know where he is. You wouldn't happen to know where we are, do you?"
"Nope. I asked the big bald man where my Dad was before he left but he didn't say anything back, he just left his backpack and got back in his car and drove away." Robin stated as she looked John in his eyes.
"Backpack? Where?" John asked as he watched the little girl point behind them. He craned his neck as he looked at the lone book bag that leaned up against a random tree.
"Have you touched the book bag?" John questioned as his eyes narrowed while he scanned the forest looking for hidden threats.
"Nope your too fat to move." Robin replied.
" Wait. What?" John replied in confusion as he snapped his head back around and looked at the little girl.
He watched as she reached down and picked up a silver chain that was hidden in the grass and tugged on it. John silently berated himself for not noticing earlier that they were chained together at the ankles.
"Mister, are we in trouble? Do you know how to find my Dad? I want to go home." Robin asked as tears began to form in her eyes and her lip quivered.
John opened and closed his mouth in hesitation not quite sure how to respond to the little girl without making her more upset. The last thing he needed at the moment was a crying child.
"How about we look in the bag and see if it can tell us where your Dad is. John replied as he slowly stood up. He waited patiently as the little girl stood, barely coming up to his waist in height. Once she had her footing they moved over to the backpack.
John gave the bag a scrutinizing look, eying it for anything suspicious, once he was confident that it wasn't wired he opened it. Staring at the contents of the bag he made note of two canteens, a first aid kit, a thermal blanket and one hunting knife. As he rummaged through the bottom of the bag he saw a lone piece of folded paper.
Pulling out the paper he un-folded it and silently read over the message typed on the paper.
'Hello most honored guest you have been selected to participate in my game. There are 12 of you on this playing board. You have been provided the basic necessities you need to survive. The games will begin at sundown. Welcome to the hunt.-V'
John reread the note before he looked up at the sky taking note of the suns position. They had about two hours before sun down. He quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket as he shouldered the bag before he looked back down at the little girl by his side.
John knelt down to be eye level with her as he hesitated to discuss the situation. How was he going to explain to her that they were in danger and about to be hunted like animals. He looked into her sad eyes as he made a silent prayer, hoping that wherever Joss was, she was safe and out of harms way until he had a chance to find her and hoping that he could get all of them out of this mess alive.