"What do you want!" the man screams at the speaker.

"Please!" the woman on the floor begs. "Just let us go, my son has asthma, he needs his inhaler, please!"

"The game will begin shortly," the computerized voice responds. "You all must be wondering what you and your loved one are doing here. You have a bond with that person that you believe can never be broken, that can never be severed. I want you to test it. What would you do for your daughter, Brendon? Would you condemn another to a fate worse than death to save her? Someone in this very room?"

Brendon clenches his teeth and looks around the room, he meets our scared expressions in return.

"Fuck you!" he screams.

"What would you do for your sister, Bethany?" the voice continues. "You--a selfish, high school whore and her--a selfless, ambitious nerd. Would you condemn someone in this room to agonizing torment to spare her the same fate?"

"No!" the blonde girl, Bethany, squeals. "I don't know!"

"What would you do for your boyfriend, Cassidy?"

I fall into the wall as the voice says my name, I look sideways at Lotan, who is watching me with shock in his eyes.

"Would you push a child to the brink of death to save him from harm? The child sitting opposite you."

I stare at the young boy in his mother's arms. He's the same age as my nephew, hardly older than six. He looks sweet and innocent. So much innocence, so much for someone so small to handle. The mother glares up at me with raging, protective eyes, as though I had made the decision for her son to be brought into this.

"There are many types of selfishness and selflessness," the voice says. "Would you be selfish to save someone's life above another? Or, would you be selfless for only thinking about that person other than yourself? You are all here because you have something to lose in this room. Something so precious that you can't bear the idea of anything happening to them. You are all about to make some big decisions. In this game, there will be several rounds of decision making that will test your ultimate loyalty. As the game progresses, you will find the numbers will drop, some of you may not make it out alive. And the ones that are lucky enough to survive until the final round will face the ultimate test. Be aware, that while you were unconscious, implants were placed into the top of your spine."

Like everyone else, I'm suddenly scratching at the top of my back, and I swallow as I feel something small and metal implanted into my skin.

"The implants are an insurance policy. If anyone attempts to rig the game, commit suicide, or refuses to make a decision when it is their turn, the implant of your loved one will be activated and the consequences will be quite messy. Some rounds will be easy, some hard, and some will have special privileges, such as volunteering opportunities. You must follow the instructions given at all times, if you refuse to follow the instructions then your implant will electrocute you until you do. Do not be afraid of the unknown. If you love the person beside you as much as you say you do, then all of this will be over before you know it. I will be watching. Good luck."

The speakers muffle as they turn off, and then the wall opposite me begins to crack open, then slide open, revealing a gap big enough to fit a person. The ones in front of it jump into the centre of the room, including the mother and her child.

"They're going to kill us," Bethany screams. "We're going to die!"

"Calm down," her sister says to her. "Just breathe, okay? We're not going to die, it'll be fine."

"What's your name?" I ask her.

The girl turns around, her soaked blue eyes twinkling with tiredness. "Lily."

"You're sisters?"

"Twins," she says. "Even though it never really felt like it."

"Our parents are divorced," Bethany sniffles. "We live in different states."

"My name is Cassidy," I say, to everyone. "This is my boyfriend Lotan."

"What are you doing?" Brendon hisses, his arm squeezing over his daughter's shoulder. "If we waste time then we're all going to be subjected to whatever the hell the thing is in our backs. We need to move."

"If we go through that gap who knows what we're facing on the other side," Lotan says. "She's just trying to know everyone before that happens."

"I'm Travis," the teenage boy says. He's handsome with high shoulders, dark hair and childish dimples. He reminds me of a younger Lotan. "This is my Dad. Jake." He nods towards his tall, tattooed father, the man that has spent half of his time here yelling and bashing the walls.

"I'm Rachael," the red-head woman says. "This is Louis." The young boy brings his face out of his mother's stomach to briefly wave at us, a notion that breaks my heart.

"What about you?" Jake demands at the young blonde woman who stands beside her grandfather.

"Amy," she responds.

"What's the last thing you all remember?" Rachael questions. "I was picking Louis up from soccer practise. We were driving to my sister's house, and then it's all blank."

"I was talking to my boyfriend on the phone," Bethany says. "We were discussing prom. I was so happy. And then I had a nap, I think, and woke up here." She turns to her sister, her voice falling sad. "With you."

Lily takes a deep breath. "I was studying in the school's library. It was quiet, I think I was the only one there. And then nothing."

"Do you think we were drugged?" Rachael says, her eyes scanning each face. "How could one person do all of that in one day?"

"It's possible," Lotan says. "There's drugs that can keep someone unconscious for days. Today might not be the day we were drugged."

"But we all conveniently woke up at the same time?" Brendon says, denial rising in his tone. "As you can tell by my accent I'm from Montana, and as I can tell by hers." He points at Rachael. "She's from New York. That's over two thousand miles away."

"We're from California," I say. "And Bethany and Lily already said they live in different states. One person couldn't have done this."

"We're looking at a team of sickos," Jake spits, then looks up at the speakers. "Twisted-minded freaks!"

"What happens if we don't go in there?" Bethany asks. "Can't we just stay in here and force them to come out?"

"Are you dense?" Jake mutters. "We have implants in our spines. If we don't go in there then they're going to blow us up!"

At his remark, Brendon's daughter begins crying.

"Can you not say stuff like that?" Brendon roars. "You're scaring her."

"Well then maybe you should have prepared her for the real world."

"Maybe you shouldn't criticize a twelve-year-old's fear of dying!"

"Then maybe you should have toughened her up more," Jake shouts. "Because that's the truth. We're either getting blown up, electrocuted or we're going to have to kill someone to save the people we care about in here. And I'm telling you all here and now I will do anything for my son. I'd do it right now to make that brat stop crying."

Brendon let's go of his daughter to charge for Jake, and even though I attempt to restrain Lotan from getting involved, he shakes off my hand and stands between them, pushing Brendon back by his shoulders.

"See how hostile he is?" Jake shouts to each of us. "That man's dangerous! And he calls himself a doctor."

Lotan keeps pushing Brendon backwards until Brendon exceeds and re-joins his daughter and then an electrifying shiver runs down my spine like a wave of lightning. My entire body crumbles to the floor in spasms as a silent scream emerges from my lips. The pain only lasts for seconds, but it's enough to make me wish I was dead just for it to stop.

As my body springs back to life and I regain my bearings, I look around to find everyone else is also on the floor and turning over in agony. The first face I search for is Lotan, who is already crawling over to me eagerly.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

I nod.

"Cowards!" Jake screams upwards.

"We have to go through," Lotan says. "All of us."

"I know," I say. "I'm scared. How can I put someone's life above yours, Lotan? How can I do that?"

"The same way I'd do it for you," he says. "Remember it's not your fault, it's theirs. They're the ones forcing us to do it. Whatever happens, it won't change us. Deal?"

I nod. Lotan helps me to my feet, again, and everyone else is also helping their loved ones stand. The silence is excruciating, no one says a word. Even though everyone looks physically okay, the trauma of the pain they've just experienced is something that will stay with them.

"We have to go in there," I say. "All of us. If we stick together they can't break us."

"Then lead the way," Jake says, extending his arm towards the gap.

I approach the gap with Lotan next to me, my hand in his, my soul with his. I know that whatever waits for us at the end of the tunnel is going to be the hardest thing I will ever face. I've always been good with games. Mind games, board games, card games, theoretical games; I'm good at evaluating outcomes and beating my opponent with unpredictable moves.

But what if my opponent is a six-year-old boy? What if my opponent is a girl that's got the rest of her life to look forward to?

I'm not sure why we're here, or what is going to happen, but the only thing I'm sure of is that I would never kill anyone, not even to save Lotan's life. I'm not certain if he is thinking the same, and I'm scared to ask.

I take a deep breath, staring into the gateway of darkness.

And I enter it.