European Adventure

Follow the adventures of Number Sixteen as he fights for his life and to win the Ultimate Game.

Somewhere in the world, approximately twelve hours after being kidnapped:

A feeble “Ngh!” escaped my lips as I was pushed from a vehicle. I felt pain across my knees and heard a slight rip as I fell. My muscles were tense from being tied in the same position for nearly twelve hours, having only had five minutes every four hours to relieve myself. During these five minutes I was locked in a portable toilet and the bag over my head was removed, along with the ropes that secured my hands behind my back. As soon as I was finished, a pair of dark hands reached through a hole and slipped the bag back over.

“Hurry up, get to your feet!” the husky voice I had grown accustomed to since my kidnapping in Meissen, Germany. Due to the lack of support from my hands, I struggled to stand and did not succeed. My captor grew impatient and grabbed the back of my shirt, chocking me as he hauled me to my feet. The barrel of a gun was shoved into my back and I walked forward as I knew what was expected of me. Twenty-one is a young age to die at, let alone being a twenty-one year old guy who is still a virgin. It wasn't that I didn't have good looks or numerous offers, I just felt as though saving myself was the right thing to do morally.

Minutes later I was shoved into a chair and the thick potato sack that covered my head was removed, no doubt leaving my black hair a tangled and matted with sweat mess. I looked around with furious dark blue eyes yet the pitch blackness of the room affected my vision substantially. A knife slit the rope that tied my hands together and I cried out in pain as the above mentioned muscles were allowed to move freely. I had no intention of running through the door I heard close behind me. Instead I worked on massaging blood back into my wrists and hands.

“Leo Welch,” a female voice announced. A large screen in front of me that covered the entire wall lit up like a flat screen TV, revealing the face and torso of a busty brown haired female dressed in a tight, light teal top. She spoke to me, her soft yet commanding voice echoing in the empty and dark room. “After you leave this room, your only real identity will be Number Sixteen. You, Number Sixteen, have been chosen along with nineteen other contenders to partake in a worldwide game of “Hide and Seek”. The only difference is that this is in no way a child's game. Should you come across one of the other nineteen contenders, the bracelet you are about to be given will alert you when such a thing occurs, you are to kill the other person or run.

“If you are the remaining player, Number Sixteen, then you shall be awarded an insurmountable prize, which will not to disclosed until there are five remaining players. I pray for your success in the game and hope to see you succeed. In one minute a man will enter to adjust a bracelet to your wrist, give you a credit card loaded with four billion American dollars, and a cell phone to be used to reach me and allies you may meet along your journey. The money you are receiving is to be used to survive.

“There is only one rule to this game. Survive.”

The TV screen blacked out, leaving me in the dark once again. I waited for nearly thirty seconds before the door opened once again. A light flickered on, blinding me momentarily as my pupils adjusted to the sudden increase in light. I turned to see who had entered the room and was caught off guard as the sight of a small, frail old man with balding white hair came up to him. He carried a tray with a thin silver bracelet, numerous tools, and a card inscribed with the name I'd been given, “Number Sixteen”.

“I ask that you extend your right arm,” the old geezer instructed and I obliged, wincing when muscles pulled. He fit the circular piece of metal to my wrist and tightened it down to the point I could not get it off without first getting my arm sawed off.

“Geez, thanks,” I murmured cruelly when he was done. The man slipped the credit card into a clear pouch on a string and placed it around my neck.

“When you wake up sir, you'll be in an airport with a cell phone, a plane ticket back to your location in Germany, and no fingerprints,” and with that the guy pulled a syringe from no where and plunged it into my forearm.

“Damn!” I yelled as my vision slowly faded. My body numbed completely before I lost control of myself and slipped sideways onto the hard tiled floor. I was swimming in darkness by the time it registered what had happened.

Chapter One:

European Adventure

Mechelen, Belgium, 10:03 AM local time:

“Oi, Leo!” I heard from reality, interrupting the deep dream I was having. Something pounced on my chest and I sat straight up, sending my roommate's tabby cat tumbling off my bare yet muscled chest.

“Damn it Keith. It's not noon so why the hell are you waking me up?!” I blurted, pissed at the fact that my digital clock read, in bright red letters, 10:03.

I heard a laugh from the kitchen of the apartment we shared and looked at him. Keith was making coffee, grinding the beans in a small blender. Just the smell of the grounds was enough to get me out of bed.

“Geez, I just thought I'd tell you that a cop came around looking for you,” he muttered, pouring water into the coffee maker. This set me off immediately. Why would would the police be looking for me?!

“Did he say what he wanted?” I asked casually, sitting down on a stool in order to pull socks onto my feet.

Keith looked at me and frowned. “He said he wanted to question you about the attacks on Hawaii and Oregon.”

“What?!” I yelled. “Why the-” I stopped. Why me? I hadn't done anything but lie low since... well since I became Number Sixteen so I had no idea why the Belgium police would be looking for me. “Did he leave a number?” I asked as I slipped into a pair of tennis shoes and pulled a tank top on.

Keith opened the fridge and pulled out eggs and milk. “Yeah, it's by your phone. I went ahead and told him it would be about noon when you called. You know, I figured with your run, lunch, and a shower that would be about the time you'd get around to it.” I snorted, knowing he was right.

“Well, as you have already guessed, I'm going on my run. I think I'll go to the city center and back. That's about two miles one way, right? Ah, who cares. It's far enough that I'll get a workout.”

Without further chatter I snatched up a key to the apartment, my cell, the passport I'd obtained in Germany, and the plastic card that my life depended on. When I got downstairs I would grab the Browning Hi-Power Mark III that was in my safe at the office of the apartments.

“See ya in a bit,” I said as I walked out of the apartment. Carefully placing all of my picked up items in the pockets of my shorts, I made my way down three flights of stairs to the lobby. From here I picked up my weapon and started my jog.

The day was nice for the middle of May with clear skies and warm weather. Twelve minutes of running in the streets of Mechelen and I arrived at the city center.

Mechelen, Belgium, 10:21 AM local time:

A light blue was coming from the silver bracelet I'd grown accustomed to wearing for the last two months. “Does that mean... another player is closing in on me?” I whispered, looking around.

“Sir,” I heard to my left in plain spoken English. I spun to look at the feminine woman who'd addressed me, first checking her wrist for the same jewelry as I wore; nothing. I was relieved to find the person who had dared approach me was not only American such as myself but also she was not an enemy of mine.

“Hullo,” I replied, glancing around. The woman who had spoke to me appeared to be my own age, her curly blonde hair and dark green eyes an immediate attraction. She smiled, no doubt thankful that I too spoke English.

“You look like you live here and all, I need some help finding the hotel where my father is staying. Do you think you'd-” I cut her off raising an eyebrow at the sight of a man wearing a lit up silver bracelet and a long tan trench coat. He was looking into a store with eager hazel eyes, absorbing the people inside and was no doubt looking for the same thing I had been only moment ago. The man ran long fingers through his short brown hair and frowned.

“Uh, yeah. I just need to take care of something,” I informed her. I didn't want to fire into the crowd that surrounded him yet I couldn't tell if he felt the same.

I ran away from the girl, leaving her standing alone in a group of people. I needed to get the guy's attention but how? I came to a stop near the man, tapped his shoulder, and smiled as I raised my wrist to show the bracelet.

“Looking for me no doubt,” I said to him, nearly laughing at the expression he gave. As soon as I saw him reach into that large coat I was off, running for a secluded area that I knew was close by.

Two shots rang out and people were screaming as the man I'd encountered began to give chase.

“Number One versus Number Sixteen,” I heard my bracelet state. So he was Number One, truly an enemy of mine. I reached for my pistol as I rounded into an alley that dead ended, praying that One had noticed me turn. Footsteps echoed loudly on the cobble path I'd taken and I raised my weapon as a figure also rounded the corner.

I nearly pulled the trigger before realizing that it wasn't the man but the girl I'd encountered in the center. She seemed didn't seem phased that I was pointing a gun at her head, which seemed unusual. I lowered my weapon as she came.

“I thought you said you'd help me so why did you run off like that?!” she asked. “Are you some sort of criminal or something? Is that why that cop was shooting at you?”

Damn, she already was asking too many questions. I didn't want her here to see what was about to unfold yet I had no choice. Another set of footsteps was getting closer, forcing me to grab the girl and shove her down in a corner of the dead end.

“Stay there. I'll explain it in a few minutes,” I instructed, taking a firm stance as I raised the Browning to the exact spot that the man's head would pass, unless he knew I was coming and ducked.

Two shots rang out as he turned the corner, one from my gun and the other from his. A burning pain shot through my shoulder and I cried out, unable to stop myself. However my shot had been better, penetrating my opponent through the left eye. I watched as he dropped to the ground, dead the moment I'd pulled the trigger and I fell to my knees.

The girl had screamed at the sound of the two shots yet she was now crawling to me from what I could hear.

“You are a criminal, aren't you?!” she cried, grabbing my pistol from the ground between my knees. She rose to her feet and I felt my own gun being pressed to my head as police sirens went off.

I would have replied but I was preoccupied with digging a bullet from my shoulder. Blood darkened the black tank top I'd thrown on for my run. My fingers rummaged around small hole, finally coming across the pellet I'd been intent on finding.

“W-why won't you answer me?!” she screamed, jamming the barrel against my head. A small flare of pain raced across the back of my skull before being dulled by my shoulder.

“Victor, Number Sixteen,” I heard both bracelets say before I blacked out.

Author's Note

So yeah... here's my latest piece of work and I rather hope you enjoy it :D
Let me know if there are any grammatical errors and also your comments
would be nice ;D

~Jordyn