The Hunt begins

The first gunshot echoed through the forest at exactly 12:03 AM.

Then silence followed.

Cold.

Heavy.

Final.

The girl collapsed face-first into the mud before her body even fully understood it had died. Blood spread slowly beneath her blonde hair while rain continued pouring through the trees as if nature itself had grown used to scenes like this.

No one stopped running.

Because stopping meant joining her.

...

...

Five girls sprinted desperately through the darkness, barefoot and shaking, their breathing uneven from exhaustion and terror.

Wet soil clung to their legs while sharp branches tore against exposed skin during every desperate step forward.

Each of them wore the same thing around their necks:

A black leather collar.

Metal tags attached beneath it.

Numbers instead of names.

Property instead of humanity. They are just a product in human form.

Somewhere deeper in the forest, men laughed.

The girls ran harder.

...

...

A mechanical voice suddenly echoed through hidden speakers across the hunting grounds.

> “Ten seconds remaining.”

One girl stumbled violently against the rocks, crying as she forced herself back up again.

Another vomited while running.

None of them dared to stop.

Because somewhere above them

people were watching.

---

Several kilometers away from the forest, inside a private underground hall glowing in dim gold lights, dozens of wealthy guests sat comfortably with champagne glasses resting lazily in their hands.

Massive screens covered the walls.

Live footage.

...

...

Every camera angle displayed another terrified girl fighting to survive.

Numbers flashed beneath each face.

#17

#08

#31

#22

The betting amounts kept rising beside them.

Like racehorses.

Like entertainment.

One man smirked while placing another bid.

“Number twenty-two won’t survive another minute.”

“She’s panicking too much,” another agreed calmly.

“Pretty though.”

Laughter followed.

Soft.

Casual.

As if human lives had stopped meaning anything inside this room long ago.

Suddenly—

another scream echoed through the speakers.

Camera three captured a guard dragging Girl #22 backward through the mud while she cried violently, clawing at the ground desperately enough to break her nails.

“Please... please don’t..”

The gunshot interrupted her.

The room barely reacted.

A few guests looked disappointed.

Others continued drinking.

And high above them all, inside the darkest section of the room, three men watched silently from behind tinted glass.

Untouched by emotion.

Untouched by guilt.

Because monsters do not flinch at suffering they created themselves.

One of them finally spoke.

“Bring the next shipment."

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Hello, my beautiful souls. I hope all of you are doing well and taking care of yourselves.

So… how was the first chapter? Did it make you curious enough to enter this dark world with me?

Your likes, comments, and support genuinely mean a lot because they motivate me to continue writing and improving this story. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts I would truly love to know how you felt while reading.

And lastly, please don’t report the story. It is purely fictional and written only for entertainment purposes for readers who enjoy dark psychological fiction.

Thank you for giving my story a chance.

See you in the next chapter, my beautiful souls. ♡

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