chapter 1

Dylan woke up in one of the most extravagantly decorated bedrooms he'd ever seen. Everything was royal blue and cream: the four poster bed, the cloth on the table and the upholstery on the two chairs tucked under it, the luxuriously thick carpet... Even the chandelier above him had what appeared to be sapphires set into the metal. He half expected a butler to walk in through the door.

In any other circumstance, Dylan would be enjoying the softness of the bed but he had no idea how he got there. Or where he was. Nothing.

All he remembered was getting back from football practise. He'd been tired, he'd taken a nap and he'd woken up in the strange room.

There were a few things out of place. Everything in the room had an antique style except a couple of details. There was a yellow X in electrical tape on the floor by the wall. Above it were two digital screens. One read "000.0" and the other read "154.9".

Dylan got up to investigate. He looked around the yellow tape on the floor. It didn't appear to be marking anything dangerous. He stepped onto the tape and heard a small beep.

The first screen flashed before changing to read "151.3". It was a scale. That was his current weight.

He knew it was because he'd been trying to cut back on the pounds he'd gained over summer break. He was at college on a football scholarship and his coach wasn't too happy about the ten pounds he'd gained. He'd almost gotten back down to 150 before he'd woken up in that four poster bed.

What was he doing there?

As if answering his questioning mind, a third, larger screen on the wall that he hadn't noticed turned on.

There was a man wearing a pig mask on the screen. He looked tall, maybe 6"5. He spoke in a deep, chilling register.

"Hello Dylan, welcome to my little experiment," he began. "You will be here until you earn your freedom or until I become bored with you. You'd better start working to entertain me."

"Entertain you?" Dylan asked. "Who are you?"

He wasn't sure if the man on the screen could even hear him.

"Your task is to beat your rival. Your rival's most recent weigh in is displayed on the second screen above your scale," the man continued. "I shall send a girl in to provide you with food. You have an ajoining bathroom. The rules are simple: do not hurt the girl, do not try to escape and beat your rival. If you do not follow these rules, you will be disposed of."

With that, the screen cut off. Dylan frowned. Beat his rival? What did that even mean?

Dylan jumped when he heard a noise. It sounded like a key in a lock. He spun around to see the door to his room opening. He readied himself to run at the first opportunity.

A girl stepped in looking worried.

"Hi... I'm Delilah," she said.

She sounded nervous. Dylan could see a deep, purple bruise on her arm and red marks around her wrist. Was she a prisoner too?

"I'm Dylan," he said. "Where am I?"

"I don't know, I've never been able to find out," Delilah said. "I've been tasked to be your maid. I'll bring you anything you need to help you with your task."

She was wearing an outfit that was halfway between a waitress' and a maid's uniform. It was pretty cute.

"How long have you been here?" Dylan asked.

"About a year, I think," she said. "That doesn't matter. Your rival has had a few days head start on you. You need to get started."

"What do you mean? I don't understand," Dylan said.

"Look, the man in the mask wants you to eat," she said. "You have to eat as much as you can because you need to beat your rival. If you gain more weight than him, you win and you go free. If you don't, he'll kill you."

Dylan stepped back. What?!

"Are you kidding me?" he asked. "I'm not doing that!"

He could see tears in her eyes. She was shaking.

"Please, listen to me," she said, voice barely more than a whisper. "You have to. If you don't, he'll kill you and he'll kill me for failing. As long as you keep close to your rival, he wont kill either of you. If you're both close, it keeps it interesting."

There was something about the way Delilah was looking at him. It was pleading. She'd seen horror, he just knew it. She wasn't kidding.

"There's a closet over there, it's filled with snacks. So is the cabinet next to your bed," she said. "I can bring you whatever meals you want, you just have to ask. I can even help you eat, if you need me to. I'll clean, change your sheets, anything you need."

Dylan walked over to the closet. He opened the doors and saw shelves upon shelves of snack food. It was enough to last him months.

He looked at Delilah and then at the second screen on the wall.

"How long do I have?" he asked.

"As long as you keep it close, you don't have to worry. The man in the mask demands that you weigh in at least once per day. "

154.9... he needed to get started.