When Kate had woken up, she felt severely nauseous. 'What the Hell happened?' she wondered; the last thing that she remembered was that she was on her way to the preplanned meeting place for her answer to...the offer! Shit! But how did they know that she would have accepted? Maybe her showing up had been a clue enough?

Then she had felt something...a cloth maybe, being pressed against her mouth and the vague feeling of being carried before she had lost consciousness. Now she had no idea where she was and was the room spinning? 'Just close your eyes and wait a bit,' she told herself. She kept them closed for about a few minutes before opening them again.

She seemed to be in a small room, she was lying on a floor mattress and the room was very dimly lit; only enough to see a little detail. The floor in front of her makeshift bed had a few items on it; some protein bars and...a tape recorder. 'It's weird enough that they're feeding me, but leaving me instructions as well?' How did she end up in this situation?

Right, her little brothers' gambling debts. 'Lee, you idiot!' Kate's one side said, the other side said 'you didn't have to answer that summons either.' No she hadn't had to follow the instructions of the weird letter that promised half of a million dollars if she showed up at a specific place and time. Now she was stuck in a situation reminiscent of the Saw films.

'Might as well see what it says,' she thought with resignation as she pulled the tape recorder towards her. Looking at the viewing window and confirming that there was a tape inside, she pressed play.

"Kate, I knew you could not resist such a tempting offer; with a screw up for a brother how could you not? Of course you could always take the money for yourself, start a new life...assuming you survive the night. Ah, coming to the challenge you must face: simply stay alive until one minute after midnight."

"However, there are a few catches; number one: there are five others in the same location as you just as desperate for money and number two: there are only four weapons hidden around the house, so unless you know how to fight with your fists I suggest you hurry up as soon as I let you out which will be in a few minutes after you are well nourished. Good luck to you."

'The voice has been scrambled so I can't tell if it's a man or a woman. But if they are going to know when I'm finished eating does that mean that they can see me?' Seeing that as a possibility but knowing that she shouldn't be slow in eating if she wanted to attempt her escape quicker, she ate the bars at a reasonable pace because she didn't want to run the risk of throwing up.

After finishing up her rations, she parked herself by the door and waited for the time that it would be opened. When a few minutes had passed, an alarm blared quite loudly and the door swung open rapidly. She had peered out cautiously into what looked like an ordinary mansion hallway, except the paint on the walls was old and peeling.

Getting impatient, she just darted out; just wanting to get out there, money or no money. She didn't even hear the sound of someone screaming as they were being hacked to bits; nor did she notice the woman with the gun pointing at the back of her head. She certainly didn't hear the shot that was fired and penetrated her skull.