Chapter 1 (The new arrival)
The story begins in a secluded village with a small, isolated population. There is a chilling secret behind this town: the government has replaced the standard salary system with a ruthless "Lottery." The rules are simple but absolute. Only those between the ages of 11 and 60 are permitted to participate. Once you exceed the age of 60, you are barred from the system—and then you vanish.
To keep the population steady, the government utilizes a "Replacement System." They do not seek volunteers; instead, they harvest the vulnerable. They bring in children and young adults from broken families, orphanages, or forced assignments. These people arrive as strangers with no background that "matters" to the town. They are simply parts to fill a hole. Because they have no history in the village, they don't know if the people they live with are good citizens or cold-blooded killers.
In every household, one child or teenager must step forward to face "The Challenges." Whether boy or girl, they compete for survival. The winners are granted a generous fortune—a prize so protected by the government that any attempt to steal it results in the perpetrator being exiled, or worse, their entire family suffering for their crime. But for the losers, the consequences are grim: they are either cast out to another town or sentenced to death. This is the "lifestyle" the villagers have accepted, including the mysterious law that anyone over 60 must disappear without a trace.
Alexis, a young girl from another town, arrives as a "replacement" for a 60-year-old man who has vanished. She is placed into a family of four—two parents and two siblings—and decides to participate in the Lottery to uncover the truth behind these rituals. When she wins second place, her adoptive family is overjoyed by the wealth, but Alexis’s heart sinks. In the shadows of the celebration, she spots a man in a masked hoodie. When their eyes meet, he flees. She feels a bone-chilling dread, yet tries to convince herself he was merely a bitter loser from the competition.
The next day, reality shatters. The police arrive and arrest Alexis. Her family is paralyzed with shock as she is dragged to an interrogation room. "Did you steal the money?" the officers demand. Alexis is defiant: "Why would I steal my own prize?" The officers exchange a knowing look before asking, "Did you see a man in a hoodie yesterday?" Suddenly, the realization clicks. She describes the man perfectly. As she is released, she sees a car waiting outside. Inside sits the same man—unmasked this time—smirking at her. A cold shiver races down her spine as she flees back to her house.
Traumatized, Alexis retreats to her room, refusing dinner and claiming exhaustion. Her family, unaware of the trap closing in, lets her rest. But Alexis never wakes up in her bed. In the middle of the night, she finds herself in a dark, unfamiliar room, bound with ropes. Because she dared to investigate and planned to write the truth about the town, the authorities—and the man she saw—silenced her forever. They killed her and burned the evidence.
Author:sheema farwa
14 year-old
