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“Why are we out here?” Liz asks, wiping her eyes as she meets with the rest of Neptune City in the center of the cape. “Who remembers what the producers said on the first day of the game?” Rena asks, looking around the camp at the half-asleep competitors in hopes of an answer coming from any of them. “They said we’d be tracked by the cameras and mics” Rick replies, asked why that would be as a follow up question.
“They weren’t following us with the cameras, they had these in place instead” the man responds, offering a good enough explanation for Rena to continue. “They flew out of Barrow on the first day, right? Does everyone remember that?” Rena asks, watching most of the group agree. “Well we just went down to where we found the broken camera” Tessa says, butting in and informing the group that there was a light over in the distance. “So someone was awake across the lake, big deal…” Charlie replies, only to be reminded that the producers stated that the area was completely abandoned. “Why would there be someone, literally anyone, on the other side of that lake in the middle of the night?” Tessa asks, earning nothing of note unlike the last time a question was raised. “So what do you want us to do?” Charlie asks, reminding both girls that the only way to the other side of the lake is either by going through it or climbing the glaciers around it. “Going to investigate isn’t exactly the most feasible plan” Charlie concludes, finding common ground with Michael, who admits that such a journey would be too risky. “We don’t have a boat, the ice may not be thick enough to support us all, and we don’t even know if they’ll still be there once we get across” Michael replies, acknowledging that it just isn’t going to happen. “Well we need to figure something out” Natalie replies, marching towards the center of the group and admitting that something feels completely off about this game. “We’re forced to survive in the most remote part of the U.S through a year of the freezing cold” Warren exclaims, humorously telling Natalie that nothing feels remotely normal about this. “Listen, this isn’t exactly what we all expected it to be, and I don’t think anyone’s going to argue that” Harper says, draped in a few blankets, but taking the stand in the cold on behalf of the group. “But there’s one thing we can be sure of about that light, if it was actually there, and that’s the fact that it might have some things we don’t have.” Upon the realization that there is a limit on exactly how long they’ll be able to last on the supplies afforded to them, the group grows to believe that investigating the place may be within their best interest long-term. “Even if we don’t go over to figure out what was there, we should go to get what we might end up needing later on.” Upon that statement, Harper manages to find the group coming into agreement that the long-term needs to be addressed in the coming days. “Let’s try to get some sleep, and we’ll figure out what to do tomorrow morning” Harper states, allowing the group to retire to their quarters as the plan is seemingly laid out. Before long, Natalie approaches both Rena and Tessa as they retreat to their separate homes, asking if she can talk to them in private. Returning to the lakeside shoreline, Natalie informs the group that she hasn’t found any cameras or microphones in this spot, meaning that they’re free to talk without fear of it ending up being overheard by the wrong ears. “Why would we worry about what they hear?” Tessa asks, lost as to what Natalie is trying to get across. “Listen, I’m not going to pretend like I’m completely unphased by this game, but something feels completely off.” After saying this, Natalie watches both Tessa and Rena look towards each other, coming to a non-verbal agreement. “We figured as much, we just couldn’t really put our fingers on why” Rena admits, only to be informed of a possible explanation from the woman before her. “Listen, they dumped us into a baron wasteland and supposedly have enough cameras and microphones and hit our every move. They don’t stay on sight in case an emergency breaks out, they refuse to tell us anything about what happened here, and they force us to eliminate ourselves if we need help. It just doesn’t add up.” Calming the woman down, Rena takes in the information Natalie is providing and states that there’s no way to prove why they’ve taken the aforementioned tactics. “It all feels weird and loopy, I get it… But there’s really no way of knowing what’s going on” Tessa admits, watching both girls struggle to come to the acceptance that they have to go with the flow in order to find out anything more. “It’s obviously strange and there have been some massive oversights, but until we know more, we’re still stuck on an eternally-cold cape without any way of contacting anyone outside. We’ve got no other choice than to endure what comes next” Tessa says, coming to an agreement with the girls, telling them to return to this place if they need to stay off the record. Walking back, Natalie separates from the pair as Rena pulls Tessa aside, telling her to keep a secret. “I didn’t want to say this outright, but I found something yesterday afternoon and didn’t know what it was…” Rena begins, pausing for a second as Tessa stares at her, waiting for further information. “...I think I figured it out now” the girl concludes, walking off course with Tessa and pulling her into a small cave just a few yards away from the main camp. Looking into the black depths, both girls spot a red light, blinking every few seconds, seemingly without any purpose. “What is that?” Tessa asks, looking towards Rena, who pulls the light out and hands it to Tessa, leaving her to inspect it. “I didn’t know at first, but now I’m starting to wonder if it was supposed to be a beacon” Rena states, asked about why there would be a beacon just beside their camp. “Again, I don’t know, but Natalie is onto something” Rena admits, looking at Tessa and making it clear that she isn’t happy about what her gut feeling about this game is. = Neptune City is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media from the start of Season 1 onwards = “So who’s going out?” Michael asks, looking at Rena, Tessa and Natalie all raising their hands, volunteering amongst a few others. “We don’t want to lose too many of you in case we’re separated for more time than we’d like to be, so let’s have Tessa, Rena, Harper, Len and Marlhy head out. The rest will stay here and keep up the camp.” Following the designations, the group splits off to prepare for their own separate tasks, with Michael having taken the charge as the group’s defacto leader. “Find a good path yet?” Rena asks Tessa, helping her pack a few things in her bag for the trip. “There’s a stretch of hard ice a little over a mile out” Tessa says, “it should help us avoid the glaciers.” Nodding, Rena continues to help pack necessities into Tessa’s bag before getting sidetracked a bit, with her eyes wandering elsewhere. Looking to her side to notice Rena staring off with a random jar of pickles in her hands, Tessa takes a moment to figure out what Rena’s staring at before teasing her by asking how the view is looking. “Oh, shit…” Rena says, her cheeks blushing as she gets back to helping pack whilst the pair drops their focus of the glance in favor of more pressing issues. After a few minutes, the pair had finished packing and move onto joining the rest of their group out in the middle of the cape. “We ready?” Rena asks, watching the three coming along salute her as if she was their captain. Handing Len one of the rifles and a few bullets, Michael tells the group to stay safe and not get themselves into trouble. “That’s all you’ve got for us?” Rena jokes, getting a smile out of the man, who tells them to simply come back safe before returning to the group, watching Tessa and company depart. Later in the night, the five begin talking as the night looms overhead, prompting them to turn on whatever headlamps they’ve got. “Why does it feel like we’re on a mission?” Len jokingly asks, assured by Tessa that they pretty much are in the grand scheme of things. “So what do you guys do for a living?” Rena asks, looking to kill time as they near the edge of dry land. “Therapist” Harper says, noticing everyone’s eyes immediately lock onto her, whilst Rena makes the passing comment that it does check out. “What makes you say that?” Harper asks with a smile on her face, genuinely intrigued by the idea that she had already been figured out. “Half asleep, you saw us all on the verge of asking whether or not something fishy’s going on here and put an end to it” Tessa says, humored as Len adds in that she then sent everyone to bed. “I’d be more surprised if you didn’t solve problems for a living” Rena admits, bringing a soft chuckle over the group as they continue the merry go-round of occupational reveals. “Barista” Len replies, earning the opposite response from everyone around, with Rena turning to look at him with a scrunched up face. “What’s that look for?” Len asks, playfully insulted by the notion that he couldn’t look like Starbuck’s finest. “I would’ve thought of you to be a theater guy” Tessa replies, now baffling the man, who asks how old she originally thought he was. “Nineteen” Rena replies instead, breaking Marlhy into laughter as Len wipes off his ears, asking if he heard her correctly. “I thought you’d be one of those guys in theater” Rena reiterates, earning a reminder from Len to never have him entrust her with reading people. “Eye, eye, Captain!” Rena replies, saluting Len, who jokingly flips her off in response as the turn comes across Marlhy. “Junior sales associate” Marlhy replies, earning neither a surprise or satisfied reaction from anyone. “What is that?” Len asks, pushing a few chuckles out of Rena. “Don’t you laugh, you were thinking the same thing!” Len says, pointing towards Rena and keeping her at bay, only to make her laugh even harder as she reluctantly admits to that fact most likely being true. “I sit at a desk and talk to people” Marlhy replies, “I don’t know much more about it, so I’m probably not very good at it” the girl concludes, putting a smile on everyone’s faces. “It’s a good thing you’re competing for a million bucks!” Harper exclaims, met with further affirmation from the girl in question that the timing is just perfect. “It’s nice to know I;ll get fired and still be richer than I would have been!” Marlhy adds in, keeping the spirits high. Continuing the trek as if they were a bunch of friends walking home from the bar, the group makes their way across the icey lake and finally approach the other side. “What did you do, Tessa?” Len asks, with Rena butting in with a few humorous elbows as the group behind the two all bow their heads and leave the two to their own vices. “What’s up with you guys?” Rena asks, having noticed the party of head-hangers behind them all giggling at having been spotted. “Nothing, just leaving you both two it” Harper says, getting a few laughs from the other two as if they were children hiding an inside joke from their parents. “What is it that you’re leaving us to?” Rena asks, laughing at the sight of the three competitors acting like children, giggling at the slightest detail. “Just ogle at your girlfriend, don’t mind us!” Marlhy says, getting the group to laugh as Rena and Tessa both stare back with their mouths dropped. “We’re not a couple!” Tessa comically replies, only for Len to humorously mock the claim, “Just a couple of besties, right?” again eliciting a roar of laughter from everyone other than the central figures. “Well, we’re not a thing” Tessa replies, though unshaken at the idea that such a thing could be believable. “Oh come on, you’re telling me you’ve never noticed her staring at your ass the past one-thousand times she’s done it!” Harper exclaims, watching Tessa laugh it off, turning around returning to the journey ahead. “Oh my god, she has!” Len exclaims, noticing that response like he’s seen it hundreds of times. “You’ve caught her staring! You’ve absolutely caught her staring!” Len shouts, bringing the entire group into laughter as they continue on their voyage. Looking over to the girl beside her, Rena watches Tessa turn towards her, smiling out of the corner of her mouth, which becomes more than enough for Rena to look away, offering the typical red-faced, hair-over-the-ears pull and everything to Tessa’s amusement. | “They shouldn’t go out further than half a mile, it’s just too far for them, alright?” Michael asks, handing Rick one of the two rifles whilst handing both Natalie and Warren a rope. “I want you out there no longer than you need to be, alright?” the man says, getting the point hammered home to the trio before sending them off in hopes of bringing a few bucks back to the camp. Walking off, the man bumps into Austin, who asks him if he still had his map on him. Pulling it free from his pocket, Michael and Austin glance over the land pictured, with Austin pointing out a small shape out in the Arctic colored in the same shade as the ice. “What about it? It’s just more ice” Michael says, only to take a second glance when Austin asks him to name a time he’s ever seen a perfectly round patch of ice in the middle of the ocean. “So, what am I supposed to be looking at?” Michael asks, following Austin along as he states that this little circle is in no way a piece of ice, regardless of what the map key would like to suggest. “It’s still not even as small as this cape, why are you interested in it?” the man asks, with Austin assuming it could reveal something important enough to sound off the Neptune Box. “I didn’t see it when we all went for the dip the other day, which means that it’s pretty far out… But I know there’s a place with a few boats somewhere near the coast. If we can get a boat, we can figure out what it is” Austin suggests, assured that Michael will think about it. “Let’s talk about it again when the other group comes back” Michael offers, “I don’t want too many people away from the cape at once, let alone setting sail for a voyage.” Returning the map, Austin pats Michael on the shoulder and walks off to his quarters, leaving Michael to help Liz and Charlie prepare for the night’s fire pit. “What happens when we run out of firewood?” Charlie asks, with Liz hinting at the grouping of homes down by the shoreline. “I’m sure we’ll have a ton of stuff in there to make due” the woman replies, with Michael reminding everyone that they’d have to head out in groups to gather all that they could. “We’ll just ask them” Charlie says, caught by surprise when Michael starts shaking his head in disagreement. “What’s that for?” Charlie asks, sort of upset at the outright refusal. “This is still a competition” Michael reminds, “Everyone that drops is another share we don’t have to split with.” Upon remembering the terms of the rules, both Charlie and Liz look towards each other in concern. “That’s going to be what splits the group up” Liz mutters, admitting that the biggest threat to the group is the people within it. “Listen, most people have sort of forgotten about that by now, so let’s just keep it this way” Michael replies, “If we start losing people, we’re not going to have enough to make it to the end of the year.” “So just pretend like everything’s alright?” Liz asks, watching Michael nod and place his finger to his lips, seemingly coming to an agreement that the trio are to remain silent about it all. | “Suck it up, we’re almost there!” Tessa says, joking with a very chilly Len before spotting a small, dark cabin stationed at the bottom of one of many snowbanks. “Come on!” Tessa calls out, riding down the hill on her side before catching her footing on the ground and marching towards the front door. “Hello?” Tessa says whilst knocking as hard as she can, trying to do all that she can to get the attention of anyone hiding within. “We don’t mean to be a bother, we’re just kind of in this weird position and we were hoping you could help us!” Tessa continues shouting, with other group members looking through the windows whilst Rena walks around to the back. “If you’re in there, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re going to try to break a window to get in, please take this chance to make it clear that you’re in there before we do!” Without response, Tessa nods to Marlhy and gives her the go-ahead to shatter a window. With the rock in her hands, she halts for the brief second that it takes for Rena to open the front door, explaining that the back door was unlocked and she couldn’t find a light switch. Entering the home, the group stammers around a few pieces of furniture in search of anything mirroring a lightswitch on the wall. “Found it!” Len exclaims, flipping the switch and turning on the patio light, only to illuminate the room with the switch beside it. “So much for first time luck!” Len exclaims, disappointed but putting aside the humor in favor of figuring out what this is. “Well we know it was definitely the light we saw yesterday” Rena exclaims, pointing out the hard yellow coating the walls that isn’t seen in typical lightbulbs. “Where does someone even get electricity from out here?” Tessa asks, looking beyond pockets and corners in hopes of finding anything on the residents. “We also know there was someone here last night” Marlhy admits, “now it’s just a matter of who it was.” Scanning around and clearly seeing the signs of somebody having recently taken residency, the group decides to look around, trying to figure out who it was that managed to capture the twelve in his or her sights. “Whoever was here last hasn’t been around at all today” Rena calls out, pointing out an open bottle of orange juice left on the dining room table. “I guess they must’ve left when they noticed us watching” Tessa replies, picking up the bottle and dumping it in the trash before moving onto the rest of the home. “There’s really not much to look at here” Len exclaims, scanning through empty shelves and staring at pictures scattered along the walls with the generic photo included in the sets unchanged. “Whoever was here didn’t plan on staying long” Len replies, only for that idea to be challenged by Harper, who suggests that it wasn’t mean to be a permanent residency. “So is this one of the producers?” Rena asks, only for Marlhy to hold up a pair of binoculars left at the windowsill. “Whoever it was, they were definitely watching us” the girl replies, handing the tool to Rena and stating that they haven’t ever truly been alone here. Scanning the immediate area to notice any footprints from earlier in the dy having been snowed over, Tessa suggests that two people stay behind and wait for whatever could come back while the rest alert the others. “I’ll stay” Marlhy offers, soon followed by Rena, whilst the rest prepare to return to camp. “If you need us, start a fire. We’ll see it from the other side” Tessa states, telling both girls to stay safe. “Don’t get in trouble, alright?” Tessa asks, patting Rena on the arm before joining Len and Harper on the long journey back to camp. Leaving the two behind to await whatever fates decide to come of them, Tessa marches forward, looking back at the cabin for the final time tonight before returning to the path, openly welcoming whatever lies ahead. | “Find anything worth noting?” Michael asks, watching Warren and crew come back empty handed. “Nothing?” Michael asks, surprised that the last two hours yielded no results. “You wanna go take a shot at it?” Rick asks, aggressively handing Michael the gun before walking off to his quarters. “What’s his problem?” Michael asks, watching Warren and Natalie walk past him shaking their heads, signalling to him to drop it entirely, only for their efforts to be thwarted by the group’s leader, walking after Rick and telling him to address his problems. “Fuck off, prick!” Rick shouts, surprising Michael, who would have expected more from the eldest competitor from the bunch. “We let a buck get away” Warren replies, passing it off as if it were a big deal. “So what? We’ll hit out on it tomorrow, it’s no big deal!” Michael replies, walking over to Natalie and asking for her account of what actually happened. “It’s nothing, just drop it, alright?” Natalie replies, only for Michael to refuse that explanation, regarding it as not good enough to warrant dropping the conversation entirely. Walking after the girl and trying to call her name to get her to turn around, Michael pulls her by the arm until she’s properly facing him, politely asking to know what happened on the trip. Hesitant at first, Michael assures the girl that what is said will stay between the two of them, easing her into opening up. “Rick suggested that we sabotage the group” Natalie replies, putting a surprised look on Michael’s face, only for it to slowly fade away the more he recalls the kind of situation everyone is in. “He wants to get as many of us to drop as he can” Michael replies, knowing the reasoning for why, but yet to understand why Rick would wish to stoop to that level. “The dude’s an asshole” Natalie replies, firmly cementing herself as a part of camp Warren. “He asked both of us for our opinions, but Warren was the one that really stood up and said ‘no’” Natalie replies, leading to Michael taking a glance at Warren across the camp, seeing more maturity in the youngest member in the camp than the oldest. “Please promise me that this’ll stay between us?” Natalie asks, clearly concerned that the information given will be enough to ruin her in Rick’s eyes if mentioned. “You have my word” Michael replies, knowing that staying in everyone’s good graces is a necessity to winning in this game. “Can you talk to Warren?” Natalie proceeds to ask, “Make sure he’s okay?” With a nod and a pat on the back, Natalie walks off and leaves Michael to it, returning to the firepit. “You alright, man?” Michael asks, walking up to Warren with his hands tucked in his pockets, watching the kid aggravatedly stomp the snow off his boots and wipe it off of his jacket. “Yeah, just pissed off” Warren replies, less anger showing in his voice than there is frustration. Watching the kid eagerly rip off whatever layers he’s found himself soaked in, Michael tells Warren that it’s a simple argument. “You’re gonna get those all the time, it’s nothing to start losing sleep over” Michael says, watching Warren turn to him, smiling off the comment. “If you want to think that, go ahead… It’s your funeral” Warren replies, surprising Michael, who asks for clarification. “Dude, we’re in a game. Who wants to split a million bucks with people when they can fuck them over and take them out of the game?” Upon hearing the question and realizing the truth behind it, Michael hangs his head, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before people start hiding and storing away whatever they can manage to get their hands on. “Don’t get me wrong, Mike… I don’t want to see that happen” Warren begins, finally having peeled off his soaked jeans, “But there’s a difference between hoping for it and expecting it to come around eventually… And I’m the second one.” Watching the kid search through a chest for something warm and dry, Miichael feels back that a kid who just recently graduated high school has to worry about being stabbed in the back trying to survive in the arctic circle. “Alright, I’ll let you get to your business” Michael says, telling Warren to take it easy before returning to the middle of the camp, where he notices three people returning from the other side of the lake. “Welcome back!” Michael shouts, welcoming Tessa, Len and Harper back with open arms. “Where’s the rest of you?” Michael follows up, assured that they’re alright, just waiting for whatever skipped town the night prior to possibly return. “They’re safe, they have what they need to defend themselves, we’ll touch base with them tomorrow morning” Tessa says, quickly assuring Michael that the camp is safe to find refuge in for tonight. Returning to the fire, Tessa, Len, and Harper all drop most of their gear on the spot and join the camp. Figuring they’d let them enjoy the heat after a day of traversing the tundra, Michael picks up their bags and returns them to their respective quarters before finally reaching Len’s bag. As he picks up Len’s bag to return it to his room, a small bottle falls out onto the snow, shining a bright orange with the fire’s reflection bouncing off in clear detail. Picking it up, Michael reads the label on the front before it is ripped from his hand by Len, who takes both the bottle and his bag back to his quarters, locking himself in there for the night. Thrown off by the strange encounter, Michael stands in his place, looking out at the rest of the camp all oblivious to what just went down. Figuring he’d leave it at that and let Len do whatever he wishes to, Michael walks over to the fire and takes a seat beside Tessa and Liz, embracing the warmth beneath the black sky. Despite trying to find comfort beside the fire, Michael cannot help himself to do anything other than take a glance back at Len’s cabin, where he notices the man staring at him through the small window beside his front door. Bizarre, the sight is enough to drive Michael to turn around and return his sights to the fire, no longer wishing to take another glance back.
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Series Premiere
Dressed up from head to toe in heavy clothing, combatting the brutal winter chill in the air stands a man at the entry to a runway awaiting a plane in the distance to land. Accompanied by a camera crew following his every move, the man stands with earmuffs shielding him from the roar of the plane’s engine as it finally touches down on the runway. With the motors slowing down before finally coming to a full silence, the plane’s cabin door flies open and allows a small stairwell to slowly descend onto the tarmac. From the plane emerge twelve normal people, six men and six women, all dressed in just as heavy clothing as the man awaiting their official arrival does. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen” the man states, the smile on his face as the crowd cheers at the sound of their initial introduction. “My name is Chris Joseph” the man introduces himself, “I’m known for my more exuberant concepts, but on this ground, you will know me as the host of the next year of your lives.” Ready to tackle the ground below them, the twelve competitors bite rapidly at the challenge soon to be laid out in front of them, eager to walk away with the big prize. “This is Barrow, Alaska” Chris states, holding his hand out towards the vast, snow-covered former town, vacated by it’s prior inhabitants. “What was once the northernmost town in the continental United States is now the center stage for a game I like to call ‘Project Neptune City’” the man says, watching the cheering erupt again. “Some of this town’s beauties include nearly forty straight days of endless daylight, nearly forty straight days of absolutely zero daylight, and three-hundred and sixty-five days of continuous temperatures that never surpass forty degrees fahrenheit. You will endure all of it… At least, if you want to win, that is.” Having not been made official to the competitors before, the confirmation that this journey is a ‘last man or woman standing’ challenge brings the competitors to their feet. “The rules are simple, pay attention, because they will only be stated once” Chris begins, laying out the groundwork as the crowd listens in eagerly. “For the next three-hundred and sixty-five days, you will fight with nothing more than the clothes you came here with to survive. Scattered throughout the playing board are tools you will find use in, and can choose to share with the group or keep for yourselves. If you wish to leave at any point, or are physically unable to continue to compete, you will be air-lifted out of the board and will leave with nothing. Whomever is left at the end of the three-hundred and sixty-five days will split one million, untaxed dollars in cash.” Louder cheers than any other before, Chris wishes everyone luck as he officially unlocks the main gate, allowing the players onto his game board. “You will be filmed with cameras scattered throughout the camp, all with their own microphones and everything at all times in the day. Good luck, and may the best men or women win!” With the final quote, Chris pulls open the gate and watches the core twelve members of the group rush into the board, hurrying into the frost-bit wasteland in hopes of staking a claim for one million dollars. = Neptune City is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media from the start of Season 1 onwards = “Please state your name, your age and your occupation” a voice asks, alone with one of the competitors in a tent threatened to be blown into the Arctic by the rapid winds. “Yeah, sure. I’m Tessa, I’m twenty-five and I am an electrical engineer” the woman says, sat with her legs together and the palms of her hands against her thighs. “And why have you come to compete in Neptune City, Tessa?” the cameraman asks, watching the woman, smiling at the idea of returning home in one year’s time with one million dollars. “Well, the student debt I’ve got is nothing new to a lot of people. This would help me not only erase that from my ‘to-do’ list, but it would also give me the chance to do everything I’ve wanted to do.” Leaning forward and focusing the lens, the camera man asks her to list a few of her goals. “Well, I’d like to start a family some day” Tessa begins, smiling to herself, “It’d be nice to actually afford that.” “That was great, Tessa. Thank you” the cameraman states, calling in the next person into the tent as Tessa returns to the frost-covered landscape. Around her at all sides is the stone-like dirt ground, with one side hosting the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. “Sort of breath taking, huh?” another woman asks, walking up to the woman taking in the sights of the unusual scenery. “I guess it’s really nice to look at, huh?” Tessa states, shaking the woman’s hand and asking for her name. “Rena, and you are?” the woman asks, formally introducing herself as Tessa does much the same. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other” Rena states, making light out of being stranded in a frozen wasteland. “Everyone gather around” Chris shouts, standing in the middle of a circle and watching as the core survivors take a seat around him. “First I want to congratulate all of you on making it into the full twelve, give yourselves a big round of applause!” Following the claps and cheering, Chris informs them that all of the pre-production material has been filmed, and now the final thing left to do is get into the game. “If you travel half a mile inland, you will find yourselves twelve separate tiny homes. They’re all stocked with things such as basic medical supplies, toilet paper and three weeks of food. As far as we’re concerned, this is the final time we will meet before the end of the three-hundred and sixty-five days. I just want to take this time to wish you the best of luck, and may the best men and women survive the year!” Departing from the group, Chris tells them that the journey to the cabins will officially commence the second the plane he and his camera crew board leaves the ground. Gathering their things and grouping up into pairs, the competitors stand in place, watching the plane door close behind Chris and his crew. Motors powering up, the plane begins its slow ride to the end of the runway before leaving the ground and soaring into the sky, officially signalling the start of the next year of life for those left behind. “Let’s get movin’ ladies and gents!” a man with a puffy coat on shouts as he leads the charge of the twelve wanderers towards their remote base of operations. “Your name’s Michael, right?” Rena asks, reading off the name tag on his puffy coat as he turns around and smiles at her. “Michael Tarvaris, it’s nice to meet you all” Michael replies, repositioning the bag of supplies on his back. “Which one of you have some stories to tell?” a man by the name of Austin calls out, hoping for something to fill the air of the walk. After a few seconds of looking towards each other to be the first person to come up with something, a woman from the back of the group starts calling out how she managed to get on the show. “Nice to meet you, I’m Austin” the man says, shaking her hand and introducing himself. “Harper, it’s nice to meet you” the woman replies, the man noticing her red cheekbones, but unsure if it’s from her blushing or the cold beating against her skin. After hearing about her run in with a producer on a random New York street, the remainder of the group begins to speak up with their own stories, breaking the ice one new face at a time. Finally, the twelve competitors reach their destination, finding a baron, gravel-covered lot with twelve little cottages, one for each of the lot. Walking into hers, Tessa drops her bag on a chair off to the side of the room and looks around, marveling at the detail gone into caring for the interior. Eventually, after enough gazing at her new residency, Tessa looks into one of the corners of her ceiling and notices a moderately sized black ball carefully placed. After scanning it for a few seconds, she quickly realizes it to be one of the many cameras littering the campsite, eager to get a first-hand look at any raucous encounters to be had on the frost-bitten retreat. “Pretty cute, huh?” Rena asks, catching Tessa’s attention as she walks into the living space. Caught off guard by her presence, Tessa simply responds with, “you look great” to get Rena blushing. “I meant less about me, and more about the house…” Rena replies, embarrassing Tessa as she turns her head away, puckering her lips whilst Rena laughs. “It’s cool, I appreciate it” Rena continues, easing Tessa’s worries before asking about the home again. “It’s… It’s nice” Tessa replies, stammering over her thoughts as Rena leans against a bannister, watching Tessa race across her mind over what to say next. “Yeah, it could be a little less perverted… But it’s not bad for the most part” Tessa replies, taking her focus from the one camera overhead to look for any others scattered throughout, hidden from view. “Yeah, no one’s getting off without millions of people watching the process” Rena jokes, watching Tessa turns towards her with her mouth slightly agape. “Such a shame, huh?” Rena asks, humoring Tessa as the woman in the center of the room stares on, shaking her head and brushing off the comment. “Guys, check it out!” a voice cries from the middle of the town, drawing the residents towards him. Emerging from her home, Tessa follows Rena towards the middle of the camp, where a younger man stands beside a massive metal box that most people wrote off as nothing upon first glance. “What’s up, kid?” an older gentleman by the name of Rick asks, immediately hit with a not-so-subtle reminder from the younger man, insisting that he has a name. “It’s Warren, not kid” the man states, watching Rick’s facial expression turn apologetic. “What’s up, Warren?” Michael asks, taking a laminated piece of paper on Warren’s behest and reading it aloud to the group. “This contraption is called ‘Neptune’, and it will gift you imperative tools to use at your disposal upon checkpoints, which will be captured once progress has been made in the game.” “What progress? I thought we just had to get through the year?” a woman by the name of Liz exclaims, searching for answers in the following paragraphs with everyone else. “You will soon come to realizations within the game. Upon reaching those realizations, you will have earned yourselves a checkpoint, and thus, a new tool. Happy hunting.” Looking around for a new perspective on the addition to the game, everyone is left with no more answers than what they already had. “If at any point, you no longer wish to take part in the game, you may return to the airport gate and press a big, red button to signal for help. A plane will arrive and return you to the Alaskan mainland, and you will be eliminated from the competition.” Looking around, the group reassures themselves in their own ways that they are truly alone here, in the frozen cape that is Barrow. | As day turns into night, and the group finally starts taking comfort in their new settlement, a fire burns in the middle of the cape, surrounded by the twelve competitors ready to take on the first nightfall of their new lives. “What about you, Natalie?” Warren asks, looking over to a woman off to the side of the camp, staying quiet and kept to herself. “What would you do with that big bag of cash?” Rena asks, restating the question. “I don’t know… Maybe… Invest it?” the woman replies, met with a divisive response, some on board with the plan, and others skeptical of that approach. “The real question now is, stock or real estate?” Michael asks, gladly put in his place as Rick reminds him that investments aren’t specific to just one or the other. “I’d probably wait for the right time, just strike when the oven’s hot” Natalie replies, finding more nods in approval than before. “Smart girl, I like it” the guy beside her says, holding up a bottle of beer and cheersing the girl, putting a warm smile of acceptance on her in the process. “What’s your plan, Len?” Michael asks, turning the conversation into the man’s to keep running. “A clean million?” Len asks, humored by the thought of such a prize being possible. “That would set me for life” the man replies, knocking back the rest of whatever is left in the bottle, pleased with his answer. “I’d try to flip it” another woman states, offering another approach yet to be touched by the group. “And how’re you gonna do that, Marlhy?” Warren asks, somewhat mocking the woman’s vague approach. “Start a business” the woman replies, straight-faced and stood firmly beside her approach. “Scan a market, figure out what’s set to grow and start moving” Marlhy concludes, met with a possible answer from the one man yet to be recognized. “Pro wrestling’s ready to boom” Charlie says from off to the side, earning a mixture of laughing and consideration. “It’s becoming less cartoonish and out-there than ever before… And people are starting to get it” the man says, unable to convince those refusing to follow his point, but pulling a few others on board with what he’s getting at. “Alright, I’m heading in for the night” Austin says, bundled in an assortment of blankets and making his way for his cabin to a chorus of groans from the remaining camp members. Throughout the night, as the fire starts to burn out before inevitably being replenished, the competitors retire to their quarters one by one. Eventually, only Tessa, Rena, Michael and Austin remain surrounding the fire, not wanting to let the fun of their first day in Barrow die out with a whimper. “Where’d you come from, Rena?” Michael asks, bringing the eyes towards the woman, somewhat flustered with the task of answering. After a deep breath and another swig of beer, Rena replies with an occupation sure to surprise the group. “Stripper” the girl replies, surprising Austin enough for him to spit out his beer, almost choking on what remains to the amusement of the group. “Didn’t see that one coming” Michael replies, splitting his attention between hearing Rena out the rest of the way, and patting on Austin’s back to ensure he doesn’t drop to the ground before the sun comes up. “I get that one a lot” Rena replies, rolling another bottle over to the man as the one he was recently drinking slowly spills onto the ground. “I’m good” Austin says, waving Michael off and thanking him for his help. Picking up the bottle and twisting the top off, Austin sinks into his seat and looks towards Rena, humorously telling her to continue. | Awoken by the sunlight squeezing through the blinds nearest to her bed, Tessa takes a moment to wipe the crumbs from her eyes before getting up and crashing into a small book shelf stationed beside her bed. Lunging forward to keep it from falling over, Tessa watches the two potted plants placed atop it smash into bits on the floor, dropping a small black piece amidst the mound of dirt. Reaching down, Tessa pulls up a lone microphone, inspecting it for a second before shrugging her shoulders and drowning it in an unfinished bottle of beer. “One less thing I need to worry about” Tessa mutters to herself, putting on her clothes and walking into the middle of the cape, noticing everyone still being fast asleep. Without much more to do, the woman walks over to the hunk of metal in the exact middle of the cape and looks over it, trying to figure out what else she can get away with figuring out. In the middle of one side, the words “Neptune City” are engraved into the machine, giving the colony its new name if nothing else. Without modern technologies or any other way of adequately telling time, Tessa is forced to accept being on her own with eleven others in a town notorious for endless days of daylight and night time. “Rough sleep?” Charlie asks, walking through his front door and joining Tessa in aimlessly staring at what seems to be overlooking everything within viewing distance. “More like a rude awakening” Tessa replies, tucking her hands in her pockets as a warmer wind blows the her across her face behind her ears. “Same here” Charlie replies, placing a blanket over Tessa’s shoulders before stating that the rest will wake up when the light hits their eyes. “Not much else to do here other than wait for that” Tessa replies, looking over to the man, shrugging his shoulders and inviting her out to the coast. “I hear it’s colder out there, but it’s like being on top of the world” Charlie says, waiting for Tessa’s reply before she joins him on the venture outwards. After walking for nearly a mile, the pair make it to the rock-covered coastline, etched into infamy by the single whale bone imbedded in the ground as an omad to the fisherman of the former town. “It’s quite something, ain’t it?” Charlie asks, taking a seat on a stone bench beside Tessa, looking out into the deep blue waters beneath the low sun. “Like being on top of the world, you said” Tessa replies, gazing out at the view. “We’re currently further north than anyone else in the world” Charlie replies, attempting to add something else on, only to be interrupted by the sight of someone dressed from head to toe in a wet suit rushing into the Arctic and taking a dip. “Holy shit, Mike!” Tessa shouts, watching the man wink at her before the rest of the camp hurries after him, all dressed the same and leaping into the bone-chilling waters. “Where did you all come from?” Tessa shouts, only to be interrupted by Charlie, who taps her on the arm and hands her a wet suit. Looking around and spotting only a few cameras in the immediate vicinity, Tessa and Charlie strip down and brace the cold to slip on the wet suit as quickly as they can. Finally covered, the pair join the ten others in the water, tossing water around as if they were children on the beach all over again. Still covered in the wet suit, the twelve competitors march back to camp once again after their day at the beach. Returning to her quarters, Tessa is followed by Natalie, who politely asks for a second of her time. Following the girl away from the cape, Tessa begins to notice a small post that once stuck out of the ground, now resting on it’s side. “You said you were a tech engineer, so I thought you’d know if this seemed out of place” Natalie says, finally reaching the post and picking it up. Upon her initial inspection, Tessa notices the top clearly being the lens for a camera, but figures out that there is no cord to go along with it. “I don’t… I don’t get it” Tessa admits, pointing out to Natalie that something’s off. “It’s strange to you too, right?” Natalie asks, handing the woman the wooden post and allowing her to get a closer look. “This is clearly a camera” Tessa says, endlessly spinning the post around, “but it’s not plugged into anything.” “There’s no other camera’s out here that I can see” Natalie states, watching Tessa put the post into the air and slam it against the ground, splintering the wood before doing it a few more times. Finally, the post snaps in half, and Tessa pulls a loose string from the center of the split. After an additional little tug, Tessa feels something inside click before the blaring horn of Neptune calls the competitors to it’s attention. Racing back to the middle of the cape, Tessa and Natalie find the group pulling a note free from a small slot in the machine. “This is Neptune City, and it appears that you’ve discovered the most obvious clue in the game thus far” the note reads, putting the group on notice. “You have reached checkpoint number one, and for that, you are to be rewarded accordingly” the note goes onto say, allowing Warren to pull from the slot two rifles with a few extra cases of bullets. “Why the fuck do we need those?” Harper asks, listening in whilst Mike reads the rest. “Remember what you did to earn these rifles” the note concludes, “All further checkpoints will be reached through moments of enlightening like this.” “So what now?” Liz asks, “We just wait to stumble upon something else?” Taking a second to think about these checkpoints, Tessa comes across a realization. “The game wants us to find out more about it” the woman blurts, capturing the eyes and ears of everyone around. “It’s giving us rewards for learning more, so it wants us to keep trying to figure out what’s happening here.” “If anything, that just makes it even more confusing” Marlhy argues, finding many of the members of Neptune City in agreement. “Listen, they called this a game before they left… Not a competition. Hell, we’re on a fucking game board!” Tessa exclaims, figuring out that the quest to survive the next year is just another challenge in a bigger game. “If our main goal is to make it to the end of the year, these puzzles are our side missions!” Austin says, finally following Tessa in her line of thinking. “Why wouldn’t we just stick to the main mission, then?” Natalie asks, assured that the side missions are meant to make the main mission easier. “We’ll run out of food eventually…” Tessa begins, walking over to Warren and taking one of the rifles, “...Now we’ll have a way of finding more.” Looking up at the sun, Tessa moves onto suggest that they could get a bunch of coats one day, or a generator, or a phone. “Anything to make getting to the end of the year easier, we’ll eventually get from this box” Tessa concludes, finally having pulled the group into an easier understanding. “So now wh-” Rick begins, only for he and the rest of the group to be interrupted by the second rifle firing off into the distance, taking down a buck in the process. “Jesus!” Harper shouts, the group watching Len turn and correct her. “Nah, my name’s Len” the man jokes, pulling the rifle over his shoulder and walking off after the animal. “You could’ve gotten us all killed!” Rick shouts, “no I wouldn’t” Len replies, effortlessly putting Rick in his place. “Well, we’ve got dinner plans for tonight” Tessa exclaims, watching the group turn their heads towards her, leaving her to shrug and ask what the group is giving her the unamused look for. | Slow cooking the buck over the open fire, the group sits around beneath one blanket after another, just trying to tuck the fabric as close to their bodies as they can. “So if this is a game to them, are they the players or are we?” Natalie asks, leaving the answer up to the group to decide. “While I’d like to think we’re the players, this kind of thing only leads me to believe that we’re only as good to them as pawns are in chess” Rick says, admitting his low hopes for their place in the game being taken seriously. “Pawns can hold all the power with the right place on the board” Rena says, bringing the group’s hopes high for a moment. “We may not be the most important piece in the game, but we can sure win it like any other can” the woman concludes, reminding everyone to never overlook their own importance. “If this truly is like a game, we’re all just as important to the overall story as each other. When one goes, we’re not losing anything we can’t make up for… It’s just a matter of whoever is left that has to take on what the last person left off.” Once the night has fallen, the group retreats to their beds without the knowledge of how long it will be until the sun rises. In his quarters, Warren gets himself ready for bed until he hears a knock at the door, opening it to find himself approached by Natalie, who looks at him, confused for some unknown reason. “What’s up, Natalie?” Austin asks, letting the woman in as she takes a seat on one of the chairs. Struggling to find the right words to say, Natalie eventually gets around to asking Austin if he feels like something is off. “What do you mean by ‘off’?” Austin asks, trying to better understand what Natalie is concerned over. “This whole ‘game’ thing, it just doesn’t feel like we know everything” Natalie admits, further confusing Austin, who assumed the group had already established that. “No, I don’t mean the prize box, I mean the whole game” the woman explains, stating that she feels like something is off about this whole thing. “Why would they just give us all these things and ditch us?” Natalie asks, watching Austin fumble over reasons that make sense. “I mean, out of literally everywhere, how could they have thousands of cameras and mics just waiting for us? It doesn’t make sense!” Natalie says, acknowledging that she thought the circumstances would be different. “What are you trying to get at?” Austin asks, desperately trying and failing to find common ground with the girl, visibly worried. “Are you saying this isn’t a game? Are you saying they’re still here? Are you saying they’re controlling our minds? What are you trying to tell me?” Austin asks, running over every conceivable thing the girl could be thinking. “I think this is a test” Natalie suggests, watching Austin’s eyes narrow as he drops his head and rubs his neck. “What kind of test, Natalie?” Austin asks, frustrated with himself for failing to grasp what the girl is trying to get at. “I don’t know, I just know this isn’t how I thought this game would work” the woman explains, met with agreeance from Austin, who admits that it took a turn from what he was envisioning as well. “Listen, Natalie… I’m not going to pretend like I’ve known you all my life, because it’s only been a few days. But it seems like you’ve got a small bit of paranoia, and if that’s the case, don’t stress yourself out.” Taking a seat beside Natalie, Austin tells her that whatever comes next in this game entails everyone. “Whatever you go thorough, we go through. There’s no two-ways about it, okay?” Austin says, watching the girl look up at him and smile, nodding in compliance before thanking him and getting up to leave. “Natalie?” Austin asks, calling out for the girl and reminding her that she can come to him if she ever needs anything else. “Don’t hesitate to ask, alright?” Austin says, watching the girl nod and leave, allowing him to continue his routine as she returns to her quarters. | Trying to get what sleep she can before she is rudely awoken by the sun again, Tessa tosses and turns in her sleep before she is awoken by the sudden touch of a hand on her shoulder. “What the fuck?” Tessa asks, looking up at a startled and apologetic Rena, not meaning to have scared her as badly as she had. “Can I talk to you for a second?” the woman asks, giving Tessa a minute to get her clothes on and follow Rena out towards the location of the post in the back of the camp. “What’s wrong?” Tessa asks, huddled beneath a pile of blankets and following the woman to the edge of the frozen lake just beyond the blank pit. Looking out into the distance at the behest of Rena, Tessa looks where the woman’s finger points to notice a small light on, just barely able to be seen in the distance. “I thought the producers said this place was abandoned?” Rena asks, looking on with Tessa as what appears to be a figure stops in the center of the light. Noticing the hesitation, the two women look as the figure seemingly notices them, walks over to something and turns off the light, leaving the opposite end of the lake completely darkened once more. “I wasn’t the only one that just saw that, right?” Rena asks, assured from Tessa that she wasn’t alone, the two women continue to stare out, waiting for any other sign of life that could be incoming. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
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