Justine ran through the streets crowded with Christmas shoppers. She barely felt the cool of the evening. Since the black car had dropped her in the centre of the city she had sprinted for five minutes without thought of direction. Her heart was beating frantically, overloading her with adrenaline. She had no idea what the men hunting her looked like, no idea how many of them there were. Maybe 20: maybe a 100. All she knew was they would all be aged between 18 and 50, able bodied, with a clean bill of health.

Rule One: Hunters must not be known to each other, or to prey.

Of course she wanted to be caught. That was the point of the game. But knowing she was being chased by unknown assailants with one purpose in mind drove her on.
Justine slowed to a fast walk. Her red hair hung free about her shoulders. She wore running shoes, a T-shirt, and a knee-length skirt. Her eyes darted left and right as she paused, breathless, in the crowded mall. They had been given her photo, they knew her by sight, knew she wore nothing under that skirt, nothing under her T-shirt. And they knew all they had to do was catch her.

Rule Two: Once caught the prey must offer no resistance, although the hunter must not use force.

She glanced behind her as she manoeuvred through the clueless holiday shoppers. Her breath was deep, her heart thumping. It was her first night hunted. She’d been told very little about the experience, except that you never knew exactly what to expect.
She’d asked, ‘But what am I supposed to look for if I don’t even know who they are?’
‘Don’t worry,’ she’d been assured by The Agency, ‘You’ll know.’
Pushing past the people that filled the open mall she scanned faces for clues. Only human faces passed by, utterly unremarkable. She glanced back again. Her eyes were halfway back when something she’d seen registered and she whipped her head around to look again. The man pushing past the people behind her seemed normal enough with his tan jacket, short dark hair. But it was his eyes that had jumped out at her, eyes dark and cemented to her excited stare.
And she knew that this was what she’d been told to expect. He’s going to catch me, she thought, taking in the stranger’s face. Whoever he is, he’s going to catch me and fuck me without hesitation. Her face drained, and then flushed immediately. She felt a thrill shudder between her legs.
A thin smile grew on the man’s face as he approached, and Justine realised she must look terrified. And that thought excited him. And that thought made her head rush.
With enormous effort Justine turned away from the man. She imagined the erection he already had that was now bearing down on her. I won’t run, she told herself. I won’t run. I won’t run. Even as she repeated the mantra Justine realised she was shoving her way through the crowd and racing forward at every opportunity. An area cleared of shoppers and she ran as fast as she could. Her skirt rode up, her breasts bounced under her T-shirt, the adrenaline surged through her. She ran to the entrance of a large department store, face flushed, out of breath.
Looking back, the man was shoving past people, wicked grin fixed on his face, those eyes never leaving Justine’s face.
Where to go? People everywhere. Nowhere to hide. Escalator? Too many on there. Where? Where?
Movement to her left and she saw the doors of an elevator opening. She didn’t think twice, just ran at the door before it could close. Inside, she hit the Close Door button. Nothing happened.
The dark haired man ran into the store and looked around. Come on! She hit the button again. He saw her. The doors began to close. Her heart thump-thump-thumped as he ran at her, but too late. The doors closed. The lift moved upwards. Justine collapsed exhausted against the wall, panting and red-faced.
‘Are you OK?’ The man in the suit asked kindly. Justine jumped. She hadn’t even seen him there. He was slightly taller than her, late thirties. She tried to laugh between gasps for air.
‘I’m fine.’ She smiled through the panting, ‘Just – playing a sort of game.’
The man looked her over and set down his plastic shopping bag.
‘Hmm. I know.’
She nodded. And then caught her breath as she understood. Oh, God.
Too late. She looked up at him, his eyes almost identical to those she’d just escaped. Eyes hot with lust and power. Her excited terror, relieved momentarily, instantly returned. The man was already at the panel by the door. He hit the Stop button. The elevator juddered to a halt.
Justine backed away along the wall. Nowhere to go. OK, she thought, this is what you signed up for. Time to walk the walk. Still, her instinct was to run, get away, to fight him despite her excitement, and the contract she’d signed.
The man walked closer. She backed into the corner. He took off his jacket and laid it neatly over the silver railing. Looking him up and down, she saw the bulge in his crotch. Justine heard the panting, felt the hotness in her face, the wet tension in her cunt. My God, it’s really happening. Can I go through with it? But even as she asked herself the question she knew she was not about to resist.