Aaralyn felt the bumpy ride had gone on forever when the wagon she was in finally stopped. Someone helped them all out of the wagons. They were all blindfolded and had no idea where they were. They had been driven there in cars and then placed in small wagons that someone pulled for a long time. Someone grabbed her arm and escorted her forward. She felt it started swaying from side to side and realized she was on some sort of rope bridge. She was escorted to the other side and left there until everyone had been escorted over.
"You can remove your blindfolds," Kevin said.
Aaralyn took off her blindfold and looked at the people next to her. She recognized them all. Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Randy Orton and the group that called themselves The Shield. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. All of them were into exploring places like she was and posting about it online.
"Alright, listen up," Kevin said.
Aaralyn looked over at the man in front of them. The only one she had met so far. Kevin Owens. Whoever was working with him had already crossed the bridge back and was standing in the background.
"You all got offered the deal of being a part of this game. The rules are simple. Turn on your live streams on Instagram and let your followers watch," Kevin said.
Kevin held up his hand as a signal for them to start their live streams. They all found their phones and did as requested. Within seconds people started pouring in to the live streams.
"You're all deep inside a cave. I will not inform you of what cave you're in but you must find your way out of here somehow. You must live stream everything and you're allowed to get all the help from your followers that you want. The one who makes it out wins," Kevin said.
Kevin crossed the rope bridge and looked back at them.
"Game on!" Kevin yelled.
Kevin ran off with his team and Aaralyn looked at the other explorers again.
"It's Aaralyn," Seth said.
"Hi guys," Aaralyn said.
"We're huge fans," Seth said.
"So am I," Aaralyn said.
"Dude, she knows us," Seth said star-struck.
"She can also hear you," Dean chuckled.
Aaralyn laughed at them and moved towards the rope bridge.
"Where are you going?" Sasha asked.
"I'm going to start the game. There's half a million waiting for the winner. I'm not gonna wait for one of you to grab it," Aaralyn said.
"Good point," Roman said.
"There's a narrow opening over there. I can fit through that," Sasha said.
"Go ahead. I'm taking the one way back that I know we came from," Aaralyn said.
Sasha pouted but decided to walk towards the rope bridge along with everyone else. Aaralyn crossed it first and Seth was right behind her.
"I love your hair. It looks so cool bright orange," Seth said.
"Thank you," Aaralyn said.
"It goes so well with your dark blue eyes. Orange and blue are always a great match," Seth said.
"Dude!" Dean laughed.
"Forgive our friend. He's always had a thing for you," Roman said.
"I'm just a fan," Seth said.
"Sure. Just a fan," Roman chuckled.
Aaralyn chuckled too and got off the bridge. The small wagons they had been sitting in had been left there by Kevin and his team. They were no use to the explorers. She turned around and smiled at Seth who got off next. Dean got off too and Roman was making his way right after followed by Sasha and Charlotte and then Randy at the end. The bridge suddenly started making noises no one liked, and the four people still left on it froze. Aaralyn looked at the rope tied on their end and realized it was about to break.
"The rope is gonna break! Run!" Aaralyn yelled.
Roman threw himself forward since he was already close to getting off. The other three people behind him started running towards him. Sasha got off and then they all heard the snapping sound of the rope breaking. Roman grabbed Charlotte who was close enough. She screamed as her feet suddenly dangled in the air, but her scream was nothing compared to Randy's scream as he fell down.
"I got you," Roman said.
Roman pulled Charlotte to safety and they all looked horrified down in the black hole.
"Randy?" Aaralyn called.
"I can't hear him," Sasha said.
"Randy? Answer me, damn it!" Aaralyn yelled.
"I think he's dead," Dean said.
Aaralyn spun around but Kevin and his team were nowhere to see.
"Kevin! We need help!" Aaralyn yelled.
Seth ran to the opening that was leading out of the small cave they were in. He used the flashlight on his phone and then looked back at them.
"I don't see anyone. I think they left us in here," Seth said.
They all looked at each other for a few seconds. They were all starting to feel scared.
"Does anyone even know who this Kevin Owens is?" Charlotte asked.
"Not a fucking clue," Dean said.
"He reached out to us with this deal," Roman said.
"Same here," Charlotte said.
Aaralyn and Sasha nodded to confirm it was the same with them.
"They want us to kill each other," Aaralyn said.
"What?" Sasha asked.
"They didn't say the first one to make it out would win. They said the one. As in the only one. We either die in an accident like Randy, kill each other, or they'll kill us once there's a winner. And if you start killing people to win the game, you're fucked when you get out because everyone saw you do it," Aaralyn said.
Aaralyn held up her phone.
"They're watching our live streams," Aaralyn said.
"So let's shut them down," Dean said.
"I don't think that's in our best interest. We got witnesses watching and some of them have probably already called the cops and the news to get the word out. We need to be smart about this," Aaralyn turned her attention to her screen. "If any of you know something about where we are or how to get out, write me in private."
"Isn't that against the rules?" Sasha asked.
"Kevin didn't say anything about that," Aaralyn said. "He can watch our live streams but he can't read our private messages. Let's work together and get out of here. What do you guys say?"
Aaralyn looked from person to person. The Shield guys were standing close as the group they always were.
"I say let's get the fuck out of here and find that Kevin dude," Seth said. "I just wanna talk, Kevin. Offline, of course."