Phyllis groaned at the hard ground she was lying on. She opened her forest green eyes and stared at a cabin in front of her. She sat up and looked around. She was in an unknown forest. The only direction to go was the cabin since there was a tall fence with barb wire on top surrounding the small area she was lying on. She eyed the gate in the fence and stood up.

"Whoever put me here isn't gonna let me out that easy," she mumbled.

She tried the handle and found the gate locked.

"Of course," she sighed. "Well, cabin it is."

She walked up to the front door and took a deep breath. There were no windows so she couldn't look inside and see what she might find in there. She reached her hand towards the handle and heard the buzzing of a mechanic lock. She froze on the spot and wasn't sure whether or not to open the door. She didn't get to think deeply about it since the door was opened from the inside and she stared at a mountain of a man.

"Hi," she swallowed nervously. "I... Ehm... I..."
"Just woke up on the ground," he finished her sentence. "We all started like that."
"Who's we?" She asked.

He stepped aside and she looked inside the cabin. There were ten people in total in there. She stared at the mountain of a man again who didn't seem to be a threat despite his size.

"I'm Braun," he pointed at the others. "Andrade, Charlotte, Bayley, Seth, Becky, Liv, Carmella, Baron and Kevin."
"I'm Phyllis," she said.
"You better come inside. The door won't close until you do and there's no other place to go," he said.

She stepped inside and the door swung shut on its own behind her. She jumped startled and heard the buzzing sound of the lock.

"What is this place?" Phyllis asked.
"Your guess is as good as ours," Liv shrugged. "I've been here three weeks now and I still have no clue. No one does."
"Do any of you remember how you got here?" Phyllis asked.
"Nope!" Kevin answered.
"All we know is that we're here for some reason and there's no escape," Bayley said.
"Until," Baron mumbled.
"Until what?" Phyllis asked.

Baron sighed and pointed at the door in the other end.

"Until our number is up," Baron said.
"What do you mean by that?" Phyllis asked.
"Read the rules and you'll understand," Braun said.

Braun walked over to a framed list of rules hanging next to the door in the other end. He waved Phyllis over and she walked over to him.

"I like your hair, by the way," Braun said.
"Thanks," Phyllis said.

She had her waist long, blonde hair braided in small braids the week prior. She really liked the look too but now was not the time to talk about her hair. She turned her eyes to the rules and read them.

1. Only 10 people are allowed in the cabin.
2. When a new person arrives, a person needs to leave that same day.
3. The new person is not allowed to leave on the day of their arrival.
4. If the rules are broken, you will all be punished.

"What is the bullshit?" Phyllis asked.

Phyllis turned around and stared at them all. Charlotte shrugged at her. Baron sighed and walked up to her. He opened the door and she stared out at the forest along with him and everyone behind them. There was no fence on this side of the cabin. Only a dark forest that seemed way too quiet.

"What's out there?" Phyllis asked.
"No one knows," Baron said.
"We heard Sami scream. He stayed near the cabin and thought we could let him back in when something came for him. The door was locked. It doesn't unlock until someone new arrives. We heard him scream and it was horrible," Carmella said.
"What the fuck?" Phyllis whispered.
"It's my turn," Baron said. "A system was put in place by whoever came here first. The one who's been here the longest has to go. It only seems fair."
"Fuck that!" Phyllis raised her voice. "How is it any fair to let anyone out there to face whatever the fuck might be lurking?"

Again Phyllis got nothing but shrugs as answers. She was not going to jump on this cruel game created by some lunatic.

"I can't believe you people. How about giving the middle finger to those rules and swim against the tide? Either we all stay here or we all go," Phyllis said.
"It's scary out there," Becky said.
"Is it any better staying in here waiting for your time to come?" Phyllis asked.

Becky started crying and Seth put his arms around her.

"It's okay, babe," Seth said.
"Some people find comfort in each other in here," Braun explained. "Seth and Becky, Charlotte and Andrade."

Phyllis looked from person to person, then down at the mattresses lying on the floor. Everyone shared one big room.

"How about food?" Phyllis asked.
"When we hear the buzzing sound, it's left outside for us. I thought you were our food coming. Since we got a new arrival, we won't get food until one of us leaves," Braun said.

Phyllis looked out at the forest again and shook her head.

"Nope, I'm not playing this game," Phyllis said.

Phyllis stepped outside before anyone could stop her. She turned around and looked back in at the faces staring back at her.

"Get back in here before someone sees you out there!" Charlotte hissed.
"If Baron goes, so do I," Phyllis said.
"But the rules say..." Carmella started.
"I don't give a fuck about those rules," Phyllis said.
"Maybe it'll be okay if she leaves. As long as there's only ten of us left," Andrade said.
"If Baron stays, so do I," Phyllis said. "I don't care what happens here. If any of you tries to leave, I will follow. If all of you stay, so will I."
"What do we do, guys?" Baron asked.

Braun gritted his teeth and then walked outside to Phyllis. He stared back at them all looking at the door. It remained open. It would have slammed shut and locked itself if they allowed Braun to leave with Phyllis.

"We're going against the rules. They won't allow it," Becky said.
"Don't you want to get the fuck out of here and stay alive?" Phyllis asked.
"Of course I do. We all do," Becky said.
"Then let's do this. Let's face this forest together," Phyllis said.
"We have no idea what might be out there," Kevin said.
"How do you think they'll react if Braun and I leave while you guys stay back? How vindictive will they be? What if they trap you inside the cabin and light it on fire? The rules say you'll be punished if you break them. We're stronger together out here than inside that death trap," Phyllis said.

The nine people inside the cabin shared some looks. Baron was the first one to step outside.

"Fuck it! I'm leaving too," Baron said.
"It's now or never before they slam the door to punish the rest of us," Seth said.
"I don't know," Becky said.
"But I do," Seth said.

Seth grabbed Becky's hand and pulled her outside. The other seven people ran outside with them. They all stared back at the cabin where the door remained open.

"They want us to go back inside," Carmella said.
"We really should," Becky said.
"How long have you guys been here? Liv said three weeks. What about the rest of you?" Phyllis asked.
"I was the new arrival before you," Liv said.
"So everyone's been here longer than Liv. Even if there's three weeks between you all, it's not hard to put together how long you have been missing. Don't you guys have people out there who's looking for you? Don't you wanna go home or at least try to find a way out of here?" Phyllis asked.

Braun took a deep breath and put his hand on Phyllis' shoulder.

"I'm with Phyllis," Braun said. "Fuck whoever put us here. Waiting around has done nothing for us. It's time we take charge."