Chapter 2

*This is the rough draft version of the novel. The polished novel will be posted at a later date.

Chapter 2: Hostage

Day 1

The television flickered its blue light into the dark room, casting shadows off of the couch and couple onto the walls behind them. The woman was cuddled up under a blanket, her head laid on her husband's chest. His tie was draped over his shoulder, and the top button of his dress shirt was undone. His dark fingers caressed her pink hair, and his brown eyes seemed to shimmer as he looked into her light teal eyes which were fixated on the screen.

"Next we have an update on this season's Red tournament!" the newscaster announced, and the man's attention was pulled away from his wife and toward the screen. "With several invitations still unanswered, there's talk of postponing the game until at least one more team steps forward."

"Nah, forget that!" the man protested. "They have free passes! They should open the game up to everyone instead of doing these random invitations."

His wife looked up at him with a discouraged expression, "Honestly, I wish they'd shut the games down. They're so violent! And have you heard about the people who have been forced to participate?" she asked with concern, but he raised an eyebrow as his dark brown eyes met her glistening green.

"Ha, okay, no," he scoffed. "They're real heavy on the security. There's no way anyone is getting forced, that's just the typical anti-red rhetoric," he grinned, while she sat herself upright and glowered at him.

"I disagree, Terri," she said firmly. "For the sake of the argument, let's say I got a pass! Would you be okay with it if I refused to participate?"

He turned his body toward her, retracting his arm from her shoulders as he repositioned himself. "Do you have any idea how much money you can get just for showing up?" he asked with his eyes fixed on hers, but she shut her eyes, she didn't turn her head to look at him, even as he leaned in. "If you had a pass, I'd convince you to go!"

"You mean force?" she replied with one eye now open, and she saw him flinch.

"Are you kiddin' me right now? I have never once forced you to do anything! I'm sayin' you'd go willingly if that kind of thing happened and you used your head!" he yelled and she scowled, turning her body now to face him with the same posture.

"And I'm saying I wouldn't!" she insisted with a firm tone.

"No, you're just being annoyingly stubborn!" he shouted.

"Well at least I'm not shouting at you," she jabbed. The argument continued until Terri had enough, and left the room to ready himself for bed, and take a much-needed break from their bickering.

His wife, still dressed as if ready for a date, walked into the dimly lit kitchen. She slowly pulled open a drawer with some seldom-used cooking utensils inside. She peeked toward their bedroom, then reached under the things in the drawer and pulled out a card. Her eyes furrowed as she read it again, a Red battle pass presented to Rose Mix.

The door to their house began to rattle, snatching her attention as her shoulders tensed, and both of her hands held onto the small card. She starred at the door, which was shut and locked.

Click! The knob's lock was undone from the outside, though the deadbolt remained firm as the doorknob rattled again, and Rose cautiously retreated a step backward, not taking her eyes off the door as she started to think through her next move.

THUD! The door was kicked open by a man just as tall as Terri, though a visual opposite with his blond hair and pale skin.

"Terri!!" Rose screamed, and Terri came walking out from their bedroom, casually tying his robe as he grumbled to himself.

"What is it?" he asked and looked up just soon enough to register the fist that was coming at his face. He blocked the sting with his arm, and sent a jab right back at the blond man's face, nailing his cheek, though his blue eyes were fixed on Terri as he was punched, and those intense eyes stayed locked on even as he was knocked off balance.

BANG!

He'd hit the floor, but the sound that had Terri's heart racing, and eyes wide, was from a gunshot fired up at the ceiling, not the man he'd taken down.

Rose was tense and still, no longer struggling to get out of the grip of another man, who was holding her by her arm with his other hand over her mouth. He had a confident smirk on his face as he pulled her backwards.

Holding the gun was a masked woman, dressed in black with a white lab coat that matched her white mask. Her hair was dark brown and braided, and her skin was a medium hue.

"Find us in Red," she said to Terri from across the room as the sound from the gunshot faded from their ears.

A sudden zap to the back of his neck caused Terri to drop to the floor. The man he had punched took advantage of the distraction, and the zap seemed to come from the strange metal suit he was wearing. His eyes glowed as the blue electricity struck Terri, and he walked away with the other tall, slender figures, with Rose dragged away with them as Terri's consciousness faded.