The Forum: An intense psychological thriller that will leave you breathless Read online

  Chapter Seven

  Michael was standing beside a public shopping centre, the location that he’d told Mr. Big Bucks to pick him up from. He was a bag of nerves as he stood there, waiting, for this so-called limo to pick him up.

  He had his reservations regarding the limo. Mr. Big Bucks sounded a little too good to be true. In his fifteen years on this planet, nobody had paid him much attention, so it struck him as odd that this fellow was doing just that.

  He’d not asked for any of this, and deep down, Michael was a little worried regarding the possible repercussions of jumping into a strange car, and being driven to a strange place, to meet an equally strange individual, who was trying to convince him that he wanted to show him the truth.

  But Michael already knew the truth, and it was this; nobody could be trusted. So why was it that he found himself trusting this man?

  “Don’t get raped, mate,” Michael muttered to himself, overly aware of the fact that this could be some sort of trap, a trap set up by a paedophile ring to lure good-looking boys to their demise. But then again, Michael wasn’t good-looking, so maybe he’d be alright?

  He was vulnerable though. And even though the lad was young, he wasn’t stupid, and knew that a boy in his current situation should exercise some form of caution. The world was a dangerous place, and being raped, fiddled with or killed was very much a possibility. So Michael had made sure that he was prepared for anything. Before getting to the shopping centre, he’d decided to pay the supermarket a visit, and nabbed a six-inch kitchen knife from the utensils section, as a potential remedy to any danger that he may end up in.

  “They come at me, and I come at them,” he said, kicking the hard floor underneath him, scuffing his school shoes, as he waited for the limo to show up. Every minute or so, the boy checked his watch, counting down the seconds until the hour hit. And truth be told, there wasn’t much time left until the big hand hit twelve and the little hand hit ten.

  He’d chosen this shopping centre because it was smack bang in the middle of the borough and would be busy. If he picked up any bad vibes or if a white van showed up and tried to get him in it, he’d kick up a fuss and hopefully divert people’s attention from themselves, to him, most likely saving his life, and as he put it earlier, his anal virginity…

  “I hope this is for real,” the young lad said, kicking at the floor once again.

  As he looked back up at the road in front of him, he saw a limousine approaching the kerb. Michael’s heart began to pound in his chest as the long vehicle pulled up beside him, and the back door automatically opened.

  He stood there for a few seconds, contemplating whether he should scream or not. So far, Mr. Big Bucks had lived up to his promise, and a limo had shown up. But anybody could rent a limo, so that didn’t mean that he trusted him. In fact, he started to distrust the man and his so called forum even more.

  But he couldn’t just ignore the car in front of him. There were other vehicles behind it, and they were growing impatient, so he had to either get in, or get the hell out of there. And he only had a few seconds to make that decision. He sensed that the car would either leave soon, or somebody would get out of theirs and make the limo leave by force.

  Suddenly, the driver’s window wound down, and a man popped his head out.

  “You getting in kid? Mr. B isn’t a patient man, and I can’t imagine the others want to be standing around waiting for you any longer than they have to,” the driver said.

  Michael stood there, staring at the driver’s face as he leaned out of the window slightly. Michael was scanning every visible inch of the driver, checking out the clothes he was wearing and the look in his eye.

  All the while he was doing so, he was trying to gauge whether the man was a threat or not. On first inspection, he came to the conclusion that so far, everything was above board. The man seemed genuine, and didn’t possess a single molecule of obvious malice or intent within him, so Michael decided to get in the limo.

  He slowly made his way toward the car, hands in his pocket, one hand on his concealed six-inch knife, and the other playing with a few loose pound coins that were rattling in his coat.

  “Come on mate, we’re hogging up traffic,” the driver said as Michael entered the back of the limo. It was mightily dark in the car, the only visible light coming from some tacky drinks cabinet on the right-hand side of the stretched-out car. There was nobody else in the back, just him, and from what he could tell, the driver was alone at the front as well.

  “Where’s Mr. Big Bucks?” Michael asked before the back door auto-locked shut and the car began to move. The partition between him and the driver went up and Michael was left reeling for air.

  Had he just voluntarily been kidnapped? Was he that dumb that he had actually walked into danger willingly? Where was the driver taking him?

  There was only one way that he was going to find out, and that’s by sitting back, strapping in and enjoying the ride.

  But Michael was finding it hard to enjoy anything lately, let alone being kidnapped and taken to the woods where a bunch of old men would have their way with him.

  He gritted his teeth and hoped that his gut was wrong; so wrong that everything would be all right. But Michael had seen enough horror movies in his time to know how this was going to end…

  Chapter Eight

  It had been a little more than an hour since Michael had stepped into the limo. The driver still had the partition up and Michael still thought he was being kidnapped. He hadn’t wasted his breath with any screaming or pleading. He knew that it was useless, even if this truly was a kidnapping, there was no point in crying for help. It was more or less over.

  He was in their hands now. They were the ones that decided his fate, not him. So begging for his life when he still had it made no sense. So far, this was little more than a slight inconvenience. He didn’t know how deep or far this inconvenience was going to take him, but he’d made his own bed, so he’d have to lie in it for now…

  Besides, he had a nice equalizer in his pocket. A six-inch knife that he planned on plunging into the driver if he caught a single off-centre side-look or glare. Michael wasn’t fixing to play around, he knew that if the opportunity was to present itself, then he would have to act on it. There was no point in waiting for somebody to raise a red flag and find out where he was, or who had him. It would be completely up to him to get himself out of this, after all, he was the one that got himself in this predicament in the first place.

  The car began to slow down slightly. They were now out of London, that much was obvious at least. The tall skyscrapers and stern-faced sidewalk dwellers had disappeared and all that was left were rolling hills and the odd big house here and there. Michael found himself wondering where the heck he was, but he didn’t have long to think about that before another hurdle halted his thought process.

  The car had now stopped. They were parked near some bushes on some country road. There wasn’t a car or person for miles. And the driver had left the limo, and was now on foot, approaching Michael’s door.

  “Shit,” Michael said, breathing fast and heavy. This was it. This was his moment. He could grab his knife, take it out and plunge it into this sick bastard’s throat. But before he could even do that, the side door had been opened and the man was standing there, smiling at him.

  “Where the hell am I?” Michael asked.

  The driver moved in closer. He was holding something in his hands. It looked like a hood of some sorts. Michael’s heart began to race in his chest once again, beating against his rib cage, sending the blood within its chambers to his brain, where there was a fireworks display of activity going off, urging him to act fast.

  “Relax kid, we’re nearly there, but seeing that you aren’t a fully-fledged member of The Forum yet, you’ll have to wear this hood. The location of the building will remain a secret to you until you decide to join. And if the club isn’t a fit for you and you want no part of it, then we’ll pop this hood back on your head, and drop you off back in the city,” the driver said.

  He moved in toward Michael to put the hood on. The lad thought about making his move, his hand firmly on his knife in his right pocket, but then the hood got shoved onto his head, and the door closed once again. His breathing felt restricted, and for a few seconds, all he could hear was his lungs wheezing, but then the car’s engine came roaring back to life, and they began to move once again.

  He’d missed his opportunity to strike, and now he was in complete darkness for the rest of the journey. He thought about taking the hood off, but then wondered what would happen to him if he did so.

  No, he’d leave it on. It was all he could do. Either way, he was most likely dead. If he played by the rules, maybe he’d get out of this alive.

  But Michael was never one for playing by the rules.

  Chapter Nine

  The car suddenly stopped, and the driver’s door opened. Michael could hear the driver’s footsteps crunching on what sounded like a driveway of some sorts. Then Michael’s door was opened, and he was helped out of the car, the hood still firmly on his head.

  He could feel the driver gently prodding him as he escorted him down the driveway, his feet now also crunching against the loose gravel underneath him.

  Michael thought about making a break for it, and taking his chances, but he decided not to, he had no idea where the hell he was or if he could even escape this place he now found himself in.

  So he continued to walk, and the driver continued to escort him until Michael noticed that the air around him had changed. There was no wind, and he now found himself inside a building. Both his footsteps and the driver’s footsteps were echoing off the walls. It felt as if they were in some sort of abandoned building, like there was nothin
g around them, other than air - like a vacuum where all sound went to die. And all people suffered the same fate.

  But then he heard the sound of breathing. Michael was told to stop. He was now standing still, trying to decipher the various nuances in the new atmosphere that surrounded him. It was then that he heard somebody standing next to him. They smelled different. The driver was wearing some cologne. This person wasn’t. They were sweating profusely, much like Michael was.

  “Let there be light!” Somebody said, Michael’s hood being ripped off his head as soon as the last word was spoken.

  His eyes were blurry, and he couldn’t see all that well, but then he began to focus, and standing in front of him and around him were other people. Seven in total. Eight including himself. And they were scrunching their eyes up just like Michael was. It seemed as if they had been wearing hoods as well, judging by the matching black sacks on the floor directly in front of them.

  Standing beside each one of them was another person, dressed in similar attire to his driver. It was then that Michael realised that each one of them had been driven to this location, blindfolded and stuck in this room together.

  Suddenly, Michael wasn’t feeling as nervous. If there were others just like him, then for some reason, he felt safer.

  Safety in numbers and all that malarkey.

  “What’s going on?” Michael said, before the sound of approaching footsteps made everybody but him turn their heads.

  “Ladies and gentleman, welcome! I’m ever so glad you could make it! Sorry about the state of this place, but we’ve been ever so busy trying to get everybody together. We’ll give this place a lick of paint in due time,” the approaching voice said.

  Michael finally turned his head and saw a man in a lavish black pin-striped suit making his way toward the group. By now, the drivers had walked off, leaving them alone with this mystery man, in this mysteriously eerie place.

  The man finally reached Michael and the others, and stopped dead in the middle of what was now basically a semi-circle.

  “I’d like to welcome you all to The Forum. My name is Mr. Big Bucks, and I’m about to make you all very rich,” the guy said, smiling from ear to ear, winking at Michael and taking a bow.

  “Shall we begin?” he said, standing up straight and staring at each one of them, a smile plastered on his well-maintained face.

  Chapter Ten

  “Each one of you has been specifically chosen to join this club, The Forum, for a very specific reason, each one of you possesses the ability to see the world and the people that live in it for what they are, and what the world truly is – and that is one gigantic mess. There is no shame in that. There is no reason to feel down on yourself just because you so happen to think differently than the common man.

  “There’s a reason they call them the common man, you know. It isn’t a derogatory term, it’s a term of fact. The reason they are common is because they choose to be so. And the reason you are not, is because you have all decided collectively to open your eyes and see your surroundings more clearly. You all have the ability to question authority and question the quintessential reasons behind our existence, and our inevitable forthcoming implosion.

  “You see, as you all know, the media is scared of the truth. But we all know the truth. And if more people like us existed in the world, if there were more people willing to accept the cold hard truths of this planet, then maybe we wouldn’t be in such a mess. I trust that the eight of you feel the same way as me. And because I admire such thinking, I am willing to reward each one of you financially, so hopefully one day, you can do the same, and maybe, in turn, change this horrid world of ours for the better,” Mr. Big Bucks said, pacing in front of his captive audience.

  Michael was standing still, staring at the enigmatic man in front of him, wondering what the heck was going on. So far, he had many questions, but he thought it better to keep them to himself for the time being. He didn’t want to blow any first impressions with the others, because he already noticed that all of them had stared at him at some point since Mr. Big Bucks’ little speech had commenced. It was obvious to Michael that these people didn’t trust him. They must have taken his age into account, and the fact that all of them were over the age of twenty was making the young lad feel even more nervous.

  He’d have to act grown up if he was going to be a part of this club, not that he even knew whether he actually wanted any part of it yet. Sure, he was a rebel, but this all sounded a little too good to be true.

  “You see ladies, and gents, this club isn’t some weird organisation where we all sit around a table and discuss our thoughts on the world and society as a whole. This is much bigger than that. This is a club of action,” Mr. Big Bucks said, continuing his speech.

  Michael and the others looked on in awe as the man paced and spoke, each word that left his lips was like a seal, a seal that was gradually locking them into his way of thinking.

  “The Forum exists for one reason, and one reason only; to enlighten its members both personally and financially. Most people don’t get a fair shot at life. Most people struggle to keep their heads above water, let alone make something of themselves, and better the world in some way.

  “And there’s a reason that this rings true. The powers that be have put up hurdles, hurdles that stop the common man from becoming something better. Something of force. A force that can start a change. A change that can affect everybody on this planet equally, because this is what this is about. Making sure that we can all share knowledge and financial gain equally, and hopefully, down the line, use the things we’ve learned in The Forum to positively affect the world.

  “I’m not asking a lot of you. But I do ask this; what goes on in The Forum, remains firmly within The Forum. Many people will say that what we are doing is illegal. But to them I say this; who decides what is just in the world, other than the men and women who make things unjust in the first place? I’m here to make a change. And I hope that each one of you feels the same. And if you do, then we can get started with our modus operandi,” Mr. Big Bucks said, suddenly stopping in his tracks and staring at everybody one by one.

  “If we are all in agreement, and want to be a part of this group, then please remain silent for three seconds,” he said, staring and waiting for somebody to speak up.

  But nobody did. They all had stern faces, and they all remained quiet. Even the fifteen-year-old lad directly in front of him was silent.

  Mr. Big Bucks smiled.

  “Good. We are all in agreement then. It’s ever so nice to finally meet a bunch of people that have the same dreams and aspirations as I do. The difference between me and you is that I have seen those dreams and aspirations through, and I am now a multimillionaire. A millionaire that is willing to give you the chance to do the same.”

  He then turned around and clapped his hands. A man carrying a metal briefcase then appeared from the shadows. He handed the briefcase to Mr. Big Bucks and walked away. Mr. Big Bucks then placed the case on the floor, opened it and turned it around so the others could see what was inside.

  “In this case is ten thousand pounds. The winner of challenge one will walk away with this cash. After every challenge, the winner can decide to walk and quit The Forum, or carry on with their journey. There is no right or wrong answer. If ten thousand pounds is all you need to affect change in this world, then so be it. The Forum comes with no strings attached. If you truly want to walk away and spend it on prostitutes or hard liquor, then I cannot or will not stop you. But the true riches in this place are to be found at the top of the table.

  “After every challenge, I will eliminate one person. It doesn’t matter if they were a previous winner or not. I choose who stays and who goes. There will be seven challenges in total. Each challenge will take place here. Some will be on-site, while others will be outside The Forum. But each challenge is mandatory. They will become harder and harder. The challenges will push each of you to your very limits.

  “Now, I know you may be asking yourself, why is this a competition? Why am I pitting you against each other? Is it for my entertainment? No. It’s not. It’s simple really; life throws challenges at us every day of our lives. The people that get through life are the ones that take on these challenges with effectiveness and fearlessness. This is what I’m trying to instil. And the person who finishes this tournament of self-discovery and financial gain will be in-line to not only win a lot of money, they will also be in-line to work for me, side-by-side, affecting change until each of us passes away.