Chapter 1

Jake Park was alert as he walked across the abandoned grounds of the MacMillan estate. He had already experienced too many horrors to feel safe enough to walk around at a normal pace. Our lone wanderer knew there was a killer lurking somewhere who wanted to hunt him and the other survivors. Jake hadn't spotted any of his friends yet, but he took a deep breath and decided to act quickly to do his part to repair the generators and escape the trial. Again. Like many times before.

Jake reached the old mine, where he discovered a generator. He was walking towards it when he suddenly noticed a quick movement behind a nearby mine cart. He flinched and reached for a wrench from his toolbox that he could potentially use as a weapon. Ready to defend himself, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Jake? Is that you?"

Behind the mine cart, a head peeked hesitantly - a head with long red hair tied up in two braids. It was, in fact, Meg Thomas. The athletic and rebellious young woman he had known for some time now. They had tried several times to escape this madness together. Meg looked pale and exhausted, with blood on her clothes and face. She had obviously been through a lot.

Jake's initial shock at seeing her quickly faded, replaced by concern as he approached her. "Meg? Oh, thank God, you're still alive! Everything alright?"

Meg quickly came out from behind the cart and hugged Jake in relief. He returned the hug and felt how tightly Meg was clinging to him. "Yeah, kind of. But I…"

Tears streamed down Meg's face. "I had to leave Adam behind. I was hurt and I... I couldn't save him."

Jake knew she was talking about Adam Francis, another survivor who was a kind and courageous man. He had often helped the others when they were in trouble. Jake really liked Adam, but he hadn't seen him since one of the last trials.

"What happened to Adam?" Jake asked softly as he comforted Meg.

"He was caught by the killer. He created a diversion and saved us a lot of time, but he was eventually caught. By the time we had repaired enough generators for the exit gates, he was hanging on a meat hook, and I couldn't free him. The killer was too fast and I was still injured. I had to leave the trial to survive. But I feel so guilty. He risked his life for me. And we just left him." Meg said in a low voice, looking down on the floor.

Jake understood how she felt. He had previously had to observe another person who had been taken by the Entity and whom he had not been able to save. He knew how hard it was to live with.

He encouraged her and tried to calm her down. "You didn't do anything wrong, Meg. You did what you had to do. It wasn't your fault. It was the Entity's fault, it's all just a game for it. But we must not give up hope. Maybe Adam still managed to free himself. He is a very intelligent man. He may still be alive."

Jake said this more for himself than for Meg. He wanted to believe that Adam was still alive. He wanted to believe that they all still had a chance. He wanted to believe that they could escape this nightmare. Together.

His gaze turned to the generator he had discovered initially. He knew they had no time to lose. The estranged son of a millionaire took Meg by the hand and led her to the generator. Jake couldn't shake the nagging feeling of unease that lingered in the air.

"We need to finish this generator and get the hell out of here! Let's go!"

Meg nodded in agreement, and they began to work on the generator. They heard the rattle of the machine from starting it and the crackling of the sparks from the merging of the first cables. They've done this many times before, but hope, as always, that the killer won't notice them.

As they worked side by side, curiosity gnawed at Jake and he couldn't resist asking Meg about her encounter with the killer in their last trial.

"Which killer did you face, Meg? And how did the others fare?" he inquired; his voice hushed as if afraid to draw the attention of any lurking danger.

Meg's eyes widened at the question, her expression troubled as she recalled the harrowing ordeal. "It was the Nurse, Jake. She was relentless... It didn't look good for the others," she admitted, her voice tinged with fear. "I was working with Adam on a generator when I had mistakenly installed a wrong part and the generator exploded. We heard the nurse teleporting to us and Adam selflessly advised me to run away... You know the rest."

Jake listened to her and shuddered. He knew the nurse. He'd seen her before. She was one of the most terrifying killers he had ever seen. He opened his mouth to tell her about his experience with her when he suddenly heard a scream. It was a scream of pain and fear.

He and Meg looked at each other. They both recognized the scream. It was the voice of their mutual friend Claudette. She was in danger. Claudette had been found by the killer and most likely needed help.

Jake immediately abandoned the repair of the generator and was about to rush off to help Claudette. Suddenly, Meg grabbed his arm and looked at him with a determined expression on her face. "I've run away before, but not this time. Let me sort this out!"

Jake was worried but gestured quickly for her to go. The born sprinter ran without hesitation straight in the direction of the scream until she could no longer be seen through the thick fog. Sighing, Jake opened the toolbox and reached for the next tool to bring them all closer to their goal of escape.