1 Fake Participant

"How many people are taking part this time?" A woman held a clipboard and flipped through the paperwork. "Have all the games been submitted for approval yet?"

Before the woman sat the show's producers and a few directors, their faces were lit by the multitude of screens that were showing the frightened faces of people who weren't aware of what was yet to come their way. The woman couldn't help but grin at the misfortune that was waiting for them.

She couldn't wait to see their faces twisting into something horrific when the first death occurred, and the participants came to realise what these 'horror games' were really about.

It was pure entertainment, for the woman at least, not for the people unwillingly losing their lives.

"There's ten participants this time, and the higher-ups have tested and approved all the games. There shouldn't be any problems." A bubbly looking male, with bright eyes and a smiley face, answered the woman. "The first game is just about to start."

"I see." The woman set down the clipboard and put on her sunglasses before moving to the exit of the room. "Good work everyone. I have some other stuff to get done right now, so continue to watch the screens and call me if any problems arise."

"Yes, boss!" The group of workers chorused and then focused back on the screens.

Then, a moment later, they all let out cries of shock when they saw the new participant enter the scene. Their boss: the very woman who had just left the room.

Confusion coloured all of their faces, but honestly, not that surprising to them to see her standing amongst the people taking part in the games. After all, she always did what she wanted.

☽

Fog billowed slowly on the ground and flowed through the trees, causing everything to appear murky and making it hard for one to see where they were going in the woods. In the centre of the woods was a lone cabin.

It was made of wood that looked like it had been rotting for a long time, and the door was practically off its hinges. Despite this, it was still the only shelter the group of ten people had found when they had first arrived in this place.

There was a mix of people now standing in the cabin's shabby room that housed the shabbiest of furniture: namely a chair, table and a single bed that could barely fit a fully grown man. In the group of people, there were 6 men and four women. Some of them appeared to be calm, while others had looks of fear and anxiety written clearly on their faces.

One of them was even shrieking, "where are we? What is this place? Let me go or I'll call the police! How dare you bring me here!" But their cries went ignored by the others because even they didn't know why they were here or who had brought them here.

Standing up, one of the men went to move to the middle of the room, so he could try and control the situation somehow when he was interrupted by the door slamming open. The startled group swiftly turned in the direction of the sound and watched as a woman sauntered into the room.

She was fancily dressed in a pantsuit, her long hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and sunglasses donned her face. A wide grin was spread on her face and she merrily called out, "hello. So there were other people here."

The atmosphere seemed to have lightened upon her entrance, and some of the group relaxed a little. But they remained vigilant, as they still weren't sure about their current circumstances.

"Phew, I was so scared walking through the woods by myself." The woman swept imaginary sweat from her forehead and settled herself on the only chair in the room. "Thank goodness I found this cabin and there are other people here."

The other people looked at her with weird looks in their eyes. Scared where? She looked like she was on vacation and this place was a hotel instead of an abandoned cabin in the woods.

As the people wearily watched the strange woman, they were once again startled by the door banging open.

Thunder lit up the sky at the moment, causing the group to scream involuntarily. Flashes of lightning illuminated the person standing in the doorway, and it was hard to make out any of their features: the only thing that could be seen was their eyes, which were a striking blue.

A croaky voice sounded out in the quiet room, making their skin's crawl: "are you the ones who were asked to come help with the search? Sorry to make you come out here so late at night, but it was urgent. Rest here for now, and we'll start the search in the morning."

Without waiting for the group to reply, he shut the door behind him, leaving them in an impenetrable darkness.