• The sharp snapping noise resounded through the heavily misted night.
    Breathing rapidly, my heart pounding, I removed my foot from the offending twig.
    This was a dangerous game, and to finish intact, I was going to have to be more careful in future.
    The trees are tall, stopping any weak beams of moonlight that made it through the mist from illuminating this forsaken place.
    Moving quickly, I hid in a dense clump of bushes between the trees.
    Stupid Julian. Why I agreed to doing this is beyond me.
    I didn't know they would take The Game this seriously.
    Yeah, everyone had been hearing about the disapperances, but it was all just put down to the teens running away.
    Our standard of living was poor. There was nothing to live for in this town.
    I hadn't even heard of The Game until Julian suggested it. Or how it was played...

    Heavy breathing to my left. I crouched in a position that would allow me to lunge out of hiding and tackle the person to the ground. I hit the button on my switchblade (everyone carried some kind of protection, you can't trust anyone here..), and waited.

    Motherf***ing sons-of-w****s..."

    Who could mistake that passionate cussing?
    I grabbed Julian by the wrist and dragged him into the bush alongside me.
    There were long cuts down his cheeks and arms.
    "What happened?!" I asked.
    "As if it isn't obvious.." he muttered, pulling thorns from his hands.
    I sighed deeply, and leaned against the tree behind me.
    "Is there any way we can get out of this?" I whispered weakly.
    "Nope. But if we can make it until dawn, we're in the clear."
    "How many times have you played..?"
    "Four."
    "Why do you do it..?"
    "It's the only buzz we can get. The game may be deadly, but in a town like this, the thrill is worth it..."