I’m struggling naked and resisting trying not to be put in the cage, fighting desperately to keep from being forced inside the metal cage made for larger animals. Lord only knows what they are up to and why they want me in there, but I’m not going in. Derek and the new guy are trying to get me into the cage and I don’t want to go in. I can see the smirk on the new guy’s face, his hand grappling for control of my five feet, four inches feminine naked frame, but I keep eluding his hold.

“What the fuck is going on here!” Joe yelling as he storms in, “Get her in the damn cage already!”

The new guy’s smirk suddenly disappearing as Joe’s hand clamp the back of my neck and his other hand firmly taking hold of my wrist and twists it behind my back. In an instant, my struggle is gone as I let out a painful squeal as my head and body are lowering into the cage with little resistance. I’m shoved, sending me stumbling inside the tight, cramped cage with the floor lined with a filthy piece of old shag carpet.

“Why,...? let me out!”, I plead and cry out as it goes ignored as Derek locks the cage door with a firm hard click. From the corner of my eye, I catch the new guy’s smirk reappears, laced with quiet amusement.

The tailgate of a big 4X4 truck is opened and both Derek and the new guy lift the cage and secure it to the bed of the truck. Derek gets an old dirty paint canvas and throw it over the cage, as my world becomes dark. Some further wrestling around the cage, then the tailgate slams shut as distorted background conversation continues. After several long minutes, someone gets into the truck and then sound of the roll up door opening. Sunlight floods the cage, making the inside of the cage brighter. I’m startled by the sudden and loud rumble of the engine coming to life with a deafening roar. With every deliberate rev of the engine, a violent tremor seizes the entire cage, making my heartbeat faster and my naked body convulse having no idea of the unknown scheme ahead. The truck pulls out onto the road, the cage is too low for me to sit up in, so I am forced to lie flat against the stain and grime of the shag carpet. My body shifting and moving around inside the confinement of the cage with every constant decelerating motions, stops and accelerations.

After what felt like hours of confinement along the open-road travel and feeling hopeless, I was able to get some random sleep. The truck finally slows, the crunch of gravel signaling that we left the pavement behind. Soon, the ride grew rougher, the uneven terrain jostling and bouncing my naked body from side to side. Though I was desperate to get out of the cage, I dreaded whatever terror was next even more. After a long ride on the rough terrain, the truck rumbles and the tires slide on the dirt to a halt, hearing muffled, celebratory voices. Then, as the engine cuts out, the sudden silence is deafening and the annoyance of engine running lingers in my numb ears as the dialogue becomes clear. There is no comfort in their words, on the contrary, a creeping dread begins takes hold as I realize my new situation.

The tailgate door opens, moments after that the sound of the canvas being wrestled and pulled off the cage, and then the sudden brightness becomes overwhelming. Men are gathered around the truck bed looking at me, being evaluated, and instantly both favorable and obscene comments. A tone of excitement and anticipation is conveyed by everyone as every pair of eyes are locks on me. I glance around squinting as my eyes adjust, terrified and trembling, my fear and humiliation exposed for everyone to see as I lie in the cage naked and helpless, stripped of all my dignity and pride. Lewd and offensive remarks continue as I want to plead out for someone to help me but instinctively, I know this will only excite more demeaning remarks. I see Joe come up, reach to unsecure the cage from the bed of the truck and eventually begin to pull it out. As the cage nears the edge, another man steps in, and together they lower it to the ground.

Now having been lowered to the ground and feeling even more dehumanized as all eyes and attention remains on me, Joe reaches down, unlocks the cage door and opens it.

“Come on sweetheart, step out.” Joe tells to me with a stern tone.

Hesitating, still stiff from the long ride, I look up at the circle of men now waiting for me to get out. Then, several sharp foot taps on the back of the cage to hustle me along. Slowly, I crawl out of the open cage, encountering everyone at knee level. Joe reaches down again, takes me by the armpit, and pulls me upright. A slight grimace of distress flashed across my face as I’m yanked to my feet, only to be met by the lustful expressions of the men surrounding me. There are about a dozen of them, all wearing hunting or camouflage gear. Some holding rifles and other firearms; a few have guns holstered at their hips, while others let their rifles hang from their shoulders. Someone hands Joe a bottle of water. He opens it and tilts it to my mouth. I nervously reach up to take it, but he slaps my hand away and continued to feed it to me as if I were an infant calf. Having gone without water for hours, I drink eagerly, drawing a few reactions from the burly, masculine men that tower over me as I stand timidly naked surrounded by them.

“Okay sweetheart, listen up as I’m only going to explain this once.” Joe tells me and continues, “you are our game for the day, our prey. You will get a 30-minute head start into the woods directly ahead of us. Once the 30-minutes are up, the boys here will go in after you, hunt and track you down like wild game. There are five groups here, the boys are teamed up in groups of 2. They will use their paintball guns to shoot at you, they are not allowed to take any head shots or they will lose points. Each group has their own color paintballs. Each group also has two net guns which can only be discharged once. If you get captured, then that group gets to use you anyway they please.”

Immediate chuckles along with several lewd remarks are voiced as I stand naked around the group of hunters. I look around at the circle of men and cry out in a desperate, timid voice, “Why, ... why you doing this to me!” But my plea only incites more laughter from the men.

“The why isn’t important, sweetheart,” Joe states and then continues, “Quiet please!” Everyone settles down a bit with some descending chuckles. “Okay, let’s continue, if you manage somehow to avoid capture until dusk, which by the way, has never happened, then you earn the privilege of returning untouched. Do you have any questions, sweety?”

Pouting, I look at Joe and ask, “Can I, ... I, ... have some clothes please?” A roar of laughter erupts from the men again, I flinch at the sudden outburst.

“NO, no absolutely not!”, Joe quickly answers with a chuckling smile. “Okay gentlemen, we all know the rules, right? Any last-minute questions or comments to the newcomers?” Joe asks.

One hunter raises his hand and with a smirk asks, “Where did this one come from? She’s very tantalizing and curvy, ... like she could be a fitness model or something. Is she Latina?”

“I’m not sure, Matt” Joe replies jokingly and without missing a beat says. “I think they put an ad out for a ‘tantalizing, curvy, fitness-model Latina’!” His remark is met with a ripple of laughter from the hunters.

“You have to admit Joe, this is certainly a nice break from the previous games we’ve had lately”, another hunter comments while looking at me with a predatory smile.

“You’re right Jason, no doubt about that! Enjoy tracking this one, there’s certainly much incentive with this quarry,” Joe states to more chuckles from the hunters as I notice Jason looking at his apparent teammate with a mischievous grin spreading across their faces.

Another hunter raises his hand and asks, “How will we know if the game has been captured?”

“It will be announced over the radio, so keep your radios on but in low volume as it won’t give you away. This is your first time here, right Mr. Belford?” Joe replies, waiting for his nod before continuing, “Okay, good we will all meet at the closest designated camp site, depending where the capture is made. That information will also be announced once it’s known, so don’t lose your map and keep it handy,” Joe finishes. “And of course, make sure you report your capture on my private channel once you’ve secured the game, so you get the credit.” Joe further tells everyone. My heart continues beating fast as I’m openly discussed, feeling demeaned and objectified as I’m being stripped of my dignity.

“Okay then, if there are no more questions or comments, be safe out there, play fair and let the hunt begin!”, Joe announces. Joe then grabs his cell, shows me a 30 minute timer that is now counting down,...

29:59

29:58

29:57

Briefly staring at the numbers as a cold clarity floods me, I must now run for my preservation, my survival.

“Okay, sweetheart, ... you need to go, ... Start running!” Joe tells me as he points towards the dirt road leading further into the woods. “Good luck, sweetheart!” Joe says to me as cheering, celebrating and more obscene remarks begin. Clearly the hunters are excited and motivated to begin the hunt as I hesitantly begin walking down the dirt road and eventually pick up the pace and jog away from the group.

Tearful and terrified as I break into a frantic sprint fleeing the laughter and bashing as I’m still in disbelief that this is happening to me. This can’t be real, it’s like a bad dream, a nightmare. I manage to put some distance behind me, I can still hear cheering and celebrating from afar. After what felt like ten or fifteen minutes, I slow my jog, but still desperate to maintain my pace and the distance I have gained. The sharp rocks in the unpredictable dirt road were unavoidable, jabbing randomly at my bare feet. Ahead, a clearing opens on the left side, revealing an open field and a distant tree line. My instinct is to head for it, knowing I have to get off the road before my thirty minutes are up. But a quick, careful thought ran through my mind, perhaps the opposite side was the less predictable choice. That side, however, was covered in heavy brush, rough terrain, and dense trees. It’s not a preferable path, but perhaps a safer one precisely because it seemed so impassable.