"Have you seen it?" Lorna Bronson ran to her neighbor, who was watering their plants on the front yard. "They accepted us!" Lorna had a torn envelope and a letter in her hand.
"Really? I have to check our mail too," Diana Eastwood answered. She closed the tap and walked to the mail box. She opened it and took out an envelope, similar to Lorna had in her hand. She opened it carefully. Lorna was almost jumping from excitement beside her. Diana read the letter. "So far, we have only been accepted to an audition. It doesn't mean we are in," she tried to calm her friend.
"Yes, but that will be just a formality for us. I'm sure we can make it," Lorna replied.
It was a matter of a new TV show called "Best Neighbor". In this new format there would be four teams competing against each other. One team must consist of two families which are neighbors. Eastwoods and Bronsons had got an ad of this new show couple of weeks ago. The ad had revealed only a little about the contest. There would be some physical activities, but it was emphasized that the most important thing was to know you neighbor well. The best thing was the prize, $500.000. As soon Lorna had read the ad she had rushed to Diana. She knew this was for them. Both of the families were in good physical shape, although Lorna had to admit she had collected some weight during the last years. Diana had maintained her beautiful figure with constant work- outs.
Their husbands used to play baseball in college and they still played softball in a company league. Both families had an 18 years old daughter. Susan Bronson was not only a neighbor to Rita Eastwood, but also her best friend. That had been since the Eastwoods had moved to the area almost 14 years ago. The girls had their last year in high school and they were both cheerleaders. Susan had a twin brother Patrick, who was an exception in this sporty family. Though the girls considered him as a nerd, they still liked him. He had a good sense of humor and he was very clever. He was very shy with girls and had no experience of them. He secretly dreamed about her neighbor Rita.
Diana wasn't first very keen of the idea of attending to such a contest. However, Lorna's excitement was so overwhelming she finally agreed, but she set a condition that every member of these families must agree. She didn't want to push her husband and children. Soon they had a family meeting with Bronsons. The men had nothing against of sending an application and the girls were actually very excited of the idea to get in a TV show. Patrick went with the flow.
After that Diana had not really thought about it. She was sure there would be so many applicants that it would be improbable they would be chosen. She had mainly agreed only to satisfy her good friend Lorna. The letter they had received put the issue to a new perspective. To be chosen was still unlikely, but possible. The letter invited the families for an audition on the next Saturday. It said it would take half a day. The company would pick them at 10am.
Bronsons and Eastwoods waited by the road in the front of their yards on the Saturday morning. They had decided to dress casually in order to get an easy going expression of themselves. Diana and Lorna had light summer dresses, the men had light pants and short sleeved shirts. Patrick had jeans and a dark T-shirt. Rita wore blue pants and a yellow T-shirt. Susan had a similar T-Shirt, but had chosen a short skirt instead of jeans.
"Wow," Charles Eastwood cheered when he noticed the approaching car. It was not just any car; it was a long black limo. Also the girls got very excited.
"Dad, this will our way to luxury," Susan said. The car stopped in front of them.
The driver dressed to a formal suit came out and asked, "Bronsons and Eastwoods?"
"Yes, we are. Where are you taking us?" Lorna asked curiously.
"Mam, I'm sorry I'm not allowed to tell you. If the place will be revealed, it will be crowded of outsiders. The company can't take that risk." He politely opened the doors to families and went back to the driver's seat. "Ladies and gentlemen. The drive will take about 40 minutes. Please enjoy of the refreshments you can find back there. If you miss anything, please let me know."
The families were impressed of the behavior of the driver. He sure was a real professional. And now he was at their service. They felt they had got some extra into their normal life. They were sure the audition only would be an unforgettable experience. To get into the show was another thing.
After 40 minutes the driver slowed down and turned to a small road. In the end of the road was a huge mansion. The iron gates opened automatically when the car approached it. They could see several surveillance cameras in the area. 'The owner of this place must be loaded with money,' Derek thought. The car stopped in the front of the mansion and the driver came again and opened the car doors for them.
The confused families admired the building. "I love this place," Lorna said and the others nodded. At the same a man walked down the stairs leading to the main entrance.
"Good morning. I'm your host today. You can call me Nick. At this stage I rather keep my whole name in secret." He shook the hand with everyone. His outlook breathed warmth and wealth. The ladies were sold at once. Nick was a gentleman. "Please follow me. We must start at once."
He escorted Charles, Derek, Lorna, Diana, Susan, Patrick and Rita to his house. They walked through wide corridors which were decorated with paintings and small statues. He noticed the families' interest. "Art is a hobby of mine. I'd like to collect these small things around me."
"You must have spent a fortune to these," said Diana who was also interested in art.
"I have been lucky with my economics," he said.
"Are you a producer or do you own a TV company?" Derek dared to ask.
"Let's say I'm in film industry," he answered mysteriously.
They entered a big room which didn't have much furniture. There were only seven chairs in semi-circle. In addition to the chairs, there were two big men standing behind the chairs. They looked very serious. You could guess they were some kind of body guards or something.
"Please, take a seat," Nick said. Then he started to explain, "We will use this and some other rooms for the audition. We will ask some of you to the other room to perform some tasks. We really want to find out how you work as a team. After the task is completed you will return here and we will have new tasks with other team members. Understood?" He smiled politely and everyone just nodded.
"You, son. It was Patrick, am I right?"
"Yes," Pat replied.
"You will be our first victim, so to say," Nick laughed, "Please follow this man."
Pat stood up and followed the other "bodyguard". The other room was not in vicinity and they had to walk for a while. He was a little surprised when they entered the room. It deviated from the style of the mansion. There were no windows. Someway it looked like a dungeon. There was only one steel framed chair and a mattress on the floor in front of the chair. The chair was peculiar. The sitting part was very narrow and it would not give any support to thighs. There were also several cameras and spot lights in the room. 'These must be for filming our performance,' he thought.
Nick waited for a while in the other room with the families. "I think Patrick is prepared. For this task we need the girls and another of the fathers. I'm sure you will find this exciting. The girls will go first."
The other guard escorted the girls to the same room Pat was already in. When the man opened the door the girls shocked. "What have they done to you?" scared Susan cried out. Patrick was sitting on the chair. He had couple of bruises on his face. His hands and legs were tied to the chair. The worst thing was he was naked from the waist down. Even though it wasn't the biggest concern of Patrick, he felt ashamed seeing the girls stare at his soft penis.
The girls tried to escape, but the big man blocked their way. He closed the door behind him. The girls screamed and banged on the door. The man ignored them and returned to Nick.
"Is everything ready?" Nick asked when the man came back. The man nodded. "Good. Now I must ask you Charles to follow us. I will accompany you. After all, I will tell you what to do. I'm sure you will find this task very pleasant." This time his smile was a little creepy and raised goose bumps to Diana's skin.
Charles walked with Nick and the guard. "Can you give me a hint about the task?" he tried to ask.
Nick turned to him, "Let's say we will test how much you love your daughter. And what you think about your neighbor's children."
"Okay. That shouldn't be a problem. Susan and Pat are very nice."
Just before they reached the room, Charles felt something hard against her back. He turned to watch and found out it was a barrel of a gun. The guard was holding it against him.
"What is this?" he asked.
