Hunter Games - Digital Eden

Storyline

Near future around 2100. Young person (Dave) while surfing in the "Digital Eden" - place where all human information is uploaded, Accidentally he founds a piece of information that reminds a photo in his home and rise many questions. The paper media is forbidden in this future but he keeps a pack of pics. He founds that his grandparents were from the high class(owning a corporation) and not like him - just an ordinary employee of a huge corporation. Unfortunately his investigation is stopped by someone..

Dave is quickly turned to a pray in a lonely island. He knows for a hunt - a ritual in which "criminals" are sent and become a pray for rich people. After him is "the tiger" and his gang of two "bandits" - known as tiger trio. The heavy armed group catch the pray in a trap but suddenly find that he is missing there...

Digital Eden

Dave went from sector to sector, he did not exactly know what he was looking for but something drove him on. “Digital Eden” was a complete compendium of the collected knowledge of the world. He was able to browse it at will but he was not allowed to alter or save the information. Though the administration bragged about how much people could access and it was free and unrestricted they put laws in place to restrict other things. You could not share things to people not in the room and all manner of paper or carbon copies of things were banned. This was a powerful tactic as no one could truly remember information as it really was. This allowed them to control people though their memories and prejudices and control the narrative. The administration of course could share things freely and only through their presentation can anyone share.
He began to browse through images until something caught his eye, a description of a place.

“A cabin on the lake at the end of the road, mountains kissing the sky surrounded by sharp clouds. Such places were thought to be a waste for the administration. Such wanton misuse of space in an overcrowded world. However, the more I looked at it I could see its value. It was a treasure beyond money and I feared I might be one of the last to freely see it.”
This caused familiarity in Dave’s mind, he got up and crossed the room of his small apartment. He opened a drawer and pulled it out. Behind was a makeshift shelf and on it several things that were not for prying eyes. He pulled out a small stack of photographs, a long obsolete and very banned technology. He began to flip through them, seeing images of his family in their youth at various places that likely were no longer there. They seemed free, happy, content. There was a specific photograph that he was looking for. After a few more he found it, his mother and father with his grandparents, on the edge of a lake. They looked serine, lost in a paradise around them.

knew that there were likely still places like this out there, beyond the closed cities and the cooperation estates. However, they were few and long forgotten. The world was overpopulated and every bit of land that could be used was…the idea of waste was forbidden and to keep the public from missing these places they only let them view the images. Never visiting, never discussing, just seeing and longing for something they would never see.

He had not thought of his grandparents in a while, he knew their names but only had the stories of his parents to really register them on his mind. He decided to search their names, going through the records of who they were. He discovered they were members of the high class, the upper, free-er sect of society that had been granted rights above others as they could easily afford them.

He wondered why his parents were not high class, and why he was relegated to just another cog in the corporate machine. He was a time clerk, tasked with the tedious task of going over when people arrived for work and looked for patterns in order to suggest delinquents in need of fining. He hated his job but hated the idea of not having it more. He realized the fear of uncertainty usually overwhelmed such trivial things such as enjoyment or desire.

The computer beeped, indicating he had enough browsing. Though the information was free and unfettered there were tight regulations to how much you could view in a day. Dave decided the information on his grandparents warranted more looking. He took one of the pictures, one of a pair of dogs and flipped it over. He took out some shoe polish and using a pin scrawled their basic information. He needed to have a record, something to make it more real. The computer clicked off, restricting him for the rest of the day.

The next day at work, Dave sat in his tiny cubicle and went over line for line of people and the exact times of their comings and goings. Most days Dave could just zone out and do it all day. He was no stranger to the grind and its monotonous drive. However, today he could not focus, he could not see patterns and he could not make himself want to do it…no matter how hard he tried.

Dave’s thoughts went to his grandparents, he absentmindedly put his hand in his pocket and felt the folded photograph that he had written on. He knew he should not carry it but something about having it on him made him feel like his family was more real. They existed and were not just names and numbers on a screen.

He took out the photograph, careful not to let anyone see it. It was beyond contraband, beyond restricted. He carefully hid it next to his monitor and took to his keyboard. He realized that he did have a resource that not manty people had, at work at least. He put in the information on his grandparents, wondering if they were still on the system. Their names came up instantly, they were still alive and in the city. How could this be? Dave struggled to think of why they would not reach out to him, how they were silent when his parents had died and let him go on alone. He wanted to take down their information, he had to do something. He decided to go to the washroom and get tome paper towel, he could use it as impromptu paper.

The hunt begins

David entered the washroom and looked around, there was no one in the washroom. He went to the paper towel dispenser, looking right at the sign. “Use as recording device prohibited.” He took out a piece and folded it in his pocket. As he walked back to his desk he thought of a few things he could use to write with but was immediately interrupted as he met with a most terrifying sight. At his desk were a pair of compliance men. He went to turn around but they already had seem him. They were on him in a flash, restraining his arms and taking him out of the building. He looked down and saw that one of them carried his photograph.
“Give that back!” Dave shouted without thinking. “That is mine!”
“Did you hear that?” One of the compliance men asked. “A confession!”
“Looks like and easy day after all.” The other man replied.
As Dave was brought to a van outside the building a black bag was out over his head. He had little time to ponder his future before he felt a device press against his head and a shock was emitted, bringing with it utter unconsciousness.

Dave had no way of knowing how long he was out but as he awoke his whole body felt sore and leaden. He drifted slowly into full consciousness and feeling came back to his mind and slowly thereafter, his body.
“Greetings criminal.” A recorded voice stated. “Please wake up and pay attention as there will be no repeat of this message.”
Dave groaned, pulling the hood off his eyes…he grunted as his vision was filled with blinding light. He shielded his eyes with his hand and tried to look beyond. In front of him was a small terminal screen in a metal housing. It was a couple feet off the ground and bolted into the stone.
“You have been deemed a criminal and therefore an enemy of the state.” The voice replied, Dave slowly was able to make out a face of an older man. “However, all is not for not. As you know waste in this world is not to be tolerated. You are to be used for a hunt, a way for others to profit by betting and sport. You have been assigned to the Tiger, one of the best hunters in the sport. Do what you may, prepare how you want, but your time is soon coming. Please take solace in the fact that your demise will now provide entertainment to the rich and not be a waste.”
“A hunt?” Dave said as he stood up. He seemed to be on some sort of tropical island. His eyes could almost not believe what he was seeing, it was an unspoiled paradise, like few others left on earth…figured it still existed as a playground for the very rich.

He decided that he had better get moving, the warning was likely just a pleasantry and there were soon to be those after him that would kill him with no recourse or reasoning. He decided that he had to get to higher ground. Though Dave had no equipment or weapons he did pride himself on his cunning. He quickly climbed up a nearby tree, struggling to get to the top. He had never climbed a tree before but remembered climbing scaffolds in times misspent in his youth. Soon enough he was high up and could see a trio of men on the beach. There was a large man, heavily armed with a tiger on his vest. This was undoubtedly the hunter known as the Tiger. At his side were two men, also heavily armed and serving him like a gang. They were rapidly running toward his position and would be on him within moments. Dave knew better than to think the tree would hide him. He climbed down and began to run, searching for somewhere to hide, or some way to defend himself.

As he ran he came to a clearing. He stopped for a second, turning around to look back. He feared to see the armed men on his back with weapons ready and murder on their eyes. He was relieved to see that they were not there. He heard a crack under his feet and the grass shifted. He looked around, careful not to move more than he had to. He whole ground looked just like short grass at first but on closer examination it was placed, and placed to cover something underneath. He followed the disturbance to the edge of the clearing to see a rope hidden that went up a tree. It was tight and if disturbed would lose a counterweight. It was a net trap, and unless Dave was careful he would be hoisted up with it and held at the mercy of the oncoming hinters. He could hear them trudging up the hill to his position. He guessed that he would only have about a minute, maybe less.

He had once chance, one opportunity to escape the trap and if he screwed up he would be a goner for sure. He looked at the net and figured that the left side was likely to be slower to move since it was the furthest from the guide rope. He took a deep breath before heaving his body to the side. His legs caught on the edge of the net as they went up but luckily the force rolled him into the bush instead of pulling him into the net.
Dave found himself on his back in a bush, he went to get up but heard the Tiger and his gang coming. He stayed very still, hoping against hope that they could not see him.

“He in there?” One of the men, presumably the tiger asked.
“Can’t tell.” A gang member replied. “There’s a lot of grass.”
“Well climb up and cut it down.” The Tiger demanded. “If he is in there we take him to base camp at the bottom of the hill, If not we keep moving.”
Dave stayed very still as they cut open the net and found he was indeed not inside. The men shouted obscenities then ran off further into the forest. Dave slowly got up…he decided that he would go the other way and find this base camp of theirs. He needed supplies and weapons. He knew he could not go back, but maybe he could hunt the hunters. He would live, he would survive and soon find the answers he sought.