EXCERPT 1
Introduction
“However, that’s the shortest way!” Out of the corner of his eye, Zander Regan watched the rest of the group with his arms crossed. “Are you telling me that I have to crawl through a bush and then climb over a wall for a photo shoot? Really?” Yelka handed Vivian her sneakers. She was carrying her flip-flops in her right hand, like she was carrying a purse. Vivian’s outfit for the trip to the abandoned barracks was far from practical, especially her choice of hot pants and a spaghetti-strap top.“I must admit, Yelka,”  added her manager Damon, “I’m quite irritated about this location too. Isn’t there an official entrance to the site?” He lifted his sunglasses and glanced at Yelka and Zander, eyebrows raised.Zander ignored Damon’s gaze, pretending to check his watch. Vivian and Damon were already starting to get on his nerves. This could have been a fun trip, but he was used to their behavior. It was likely that one of them would become dramatic at the slightest opportunity. The other sure bet was that Yelka would try to appease her sister, his pretty Yelka. Oh, if only she knew how much he desired her …“Zander really tried everything, Viv. This is the fastest way to the barracks—and your photos.” She smiled. “You’re going to look more than gorgeous, darling sis. The barracks make an impressive backdrop, right, Zander?”There she was again, Yelka with her velvety voice and twinkling eyes that made his legs feel weak. Zander didn’t understand why Vivian, not Yelka, was the Instagram model. It was like a joke.I am a model on Instagram.Yes, and I’m a mercenary in Call of Duty.“Isn’t that right, Zander?” repeated Yelka.“Huh? Oh yes,” Zander stuttered as if he had been caught in a lie. “The barracks were abandoned after German reunification and have lain fallow ever since,” he explained. “The area is in the middle of a 6,000-acre woodland and consists of barracks, a civilian settlement, and a military hospital. All areas are separated from each other, but are supposed to be connected by underground bunkers …”

“For fuck’s sake, can you please wake me up when he’s done with his monologue?” Annoyed, Vivian glanced at Damon.

“Viv, please.”

“6,000 acres is pretty darn big,” Damon hooked in. “I hope we don’t have to trek for miles through the woods. Tonight we have to post our stories, and by tomorrow morning the pictures. And our designers still must retouch them before.”

“This is the fastest way. We’ll be there in half an hour,” Zander meekly assured.

“I’m supposed to spend another half hour …” 

“Get down! Down!” shouted Zander and Yelka at the same time.

As they walked along a dirt path next to a weathered stone wall, a car approached.

 

EXCERPT 2
The Gang Shows Up
“Good day to you all!” The words didn’t sound like a greeting, but more like a threat. “This is private property. No trespassing!” As if to underline his words, the dog growled insistently. The group slowly approached. Those two men carrying the batons grinned menacingly. “The whole compound is surrounded by a concrete wall.”

Yelka was the first to speak up, “Hey, we’re just taking pictures, we’re not destroying or stealing anything.”

“So what?” told Ryder Yelka. “Fuck it, you guys are still illegal. There are signs on the outside walls and gates that state that this place is off limits.”

“Yeah, but you’re still coming here,” the dark-haired boy with the scratched forearm shouted.

“Even though it’s forbidden.”

The group had surrounded the four, leaving no way out.

“What you are doing here is forbidden, you know that.”

“Okay, we made a mistake,” Yelka tried to concede. “How about we pack up and get out of here?” Seeking help, she looked over at Zander, but he was transfixed.

“Yeah, you just thought so.” A grim smile played around Ryder’s face. “I want to see everyone’s IDs!”

“IDs out!” repeated Jesse, roaring.

Yelka looked at Zander first, then at Damon. “Please, let us just go our merry way and everything will be cool,” she offered the boys.

Damon had regained his composure and was surveying the situation. There was danger in the air. They were in the middle of nowhere and were being threatened by a gang of rednecks, carrying a loose dog.

Dave lifted the steel pipe and touched Yelka’s chin. “Ain’t nothing cool here,” Ryder told them. “Either you show us your IDs or else.”

Yelka flinched. Gazoo jumped up at her, held back only by Ryder’s leash. “Chop, chop, IDs out!”  Ryder roared indignantly.

“I think we need to make a cut here!” With a brisk step, Damon put himself between Yelka and Ryder. “To me, it seems like a misunderstanding.”

For a moment, there was silence. Gazoo stopped barking, Dave’s steel pipe hovered in the air, and Ryder waited to see what Damon would say.

“My name is Duke. Damon Duke, of Duke Executives.” He spread his arms and stood between Ryder and Yelka.

“We rented this location today to hold a photo shoot.”

He pointed to Vivian, who was still sitting on the steps. “This is Vivian Donahue, one of our most important models, known as Violet-D.”

Damon waited a moment, watching the gang as they stared over at Vivian. He could see the aggression draining from the young men’s faces. Desire appeared in their eyes.

“We are taking pictures for the centerfold today. Vivian’s work needs a relaxed atmosphere. So, I’d be grateful if we could do the shoot without any further disruptions. Later, I’m sure she’ll have time for a short meet and greet with autographs. If you have any further questions, please contact Councilor Wilbanks. Please carry on, we don’t have any time to lose. Hush, hush!”

A stunned silence hung over the scene. The gang hadn’t quite taken their eyes off Vivian when it dawned on them that they had just been set up. Yelka and Vivian were already preparing to resume the photo shoot when Ryder suddenly straightened up again. “Are you kidding me? I want to see your fucking IDs–no photos until I say so!”

“Good,” Damon turned abruptly and held out his ID to Ryder, “that’s me, Damon Duke.” He gave him a moment to compare ID photo and face, then pulled out his cell phone. “And now I’d like to know what company you’re with.”

Damon held the phone to his ear and waited for Ryder’s answer. But he remained silent.

“Mr. Wilbanks, this is Damon Duke speaking. I apologize for the interruption. Contrary to our agreements, we were evicted from the place by security.” His and Ryder’s eyes met. “They didn’t hire any security at all? Then I assume this is a misunderstanding.”

Dave looked at Ryder, waiting for any reaction. But he just stared at Damon indecisively.

“No, I don’t think we need police here. Thank you very much, and again, I’m sorry to bother you.”

Damon dropped the phone into his purse, then pulled out a slew of business cards. “Here you go.”

First, he handed Ryder his card, then to the rest of the gang. “We’re still looking for security employees. If any of you want to make money, you’re more than welcome to contact me.”

Dazzled, the gang looked at each other. “Have a nice day! Now, starlets, we’ll move on to the next location.”

Ryder looked grimly after the Urbexers as they walked on. Soon they would find out what kind of a nice day they were going to have.

 

EXCERPT 3
On The Run
With a skeptical eye, Yelka watched him. She raised her voice to say something in reply, but Damon interrupted her.

“We should find the others in the first place and then get out of here as soon as possible.” He smiled. “A-S-A-P.”

Yelka nodded in agreement. “Yet, how can we make this happen without being discovered?”

Damon pointed backward, in the direction from which he had approached Yelka. “I came from there. Vivian was behind me and in front of you, right?”

“Yeah, right.”

“She must have passed somewhere between those two lines,” he speculated. “So, let’s go in that direction. Quietly. Carefully.”

Yelka nodded. Damon’s plan was better than nothing.

“That makes sense, doesn’t it? We would run into these psychopaths going the other way.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Once we find Vivian,” he continued, “we will return to the old settlement and then make it through the forest back to the original route.”

Yelka listened to him, but then another idea came to her. “We could just go back to the wall. Back to where we started.”

Defensively, Damon raised his hand. “What are we going to do there? It’s a dead end.”

“No, wait!” Energetically, Yelka shook her head. “If we move around a bit, we might find a Wi-Fi connection and be able to call for help.”

“You want to call the cops?” Damon gazed at her with wide eyes.

“Sure–we got robbed.”

“Yes,” he agreed with her, “but we’re also trespassing. We’ll get in trouble.”

“Come on, that’s …”

“And they’re going to confiscate your camera. Is that what you want?”

Yelka pondered. “Nonsense, why would they do that?”

“Standard procedure,” Damon asserted. “This is more trouble than we want.”

“Damon, I beg you.”

“Shh, quite,” he hissed. “They’ll find us if you make such a fuss.” He put his index finger to her lips. “This is all taking far too long. Remember, Duke Executives funded the trip.”

Oh, that’s how the land lay. Yelka understood Damon’s bidding.

“I still have a schedule to meet. That still hasn’t changed.”

For a moment, they were silent. Yelka was unsure what she should do. She knew Damon–when he had set his mind on something, it worked. But could she trust him in a situation like this?

“Yelka,” he said appeasing. “We’ll head off, that way. We’ll find Vivian, we’ll go straight home, and tonight you’ll be in your cozy hotel bed. And tomorrow,” he assured her, “we’ll go to the police and press charges. Are you in?”

Yelka nodded hesitantly. That sounded convincing, but hadn’t he missed something?

“And what about Zander?”

“Oh, come on, he’s a pro.”

Yelka gave him a questioning gaze.

“Eventually, that freak will show up.”

 

EXCERPT 4
Caught
“Go on, over there,” Ryder commanded. “Let’s see what you brought us.”

“At least I wasn’t as incompetent as you!” Dave grinned derisively. “Next time, don’t trip over your own feet.”

Ryder joined in his laughter. “That’s a lot of booty, my boy.” He let the sentence sink in, then continued. “Not bad, considering you were trying to fuck off earlier.” Jesse, Mike, and Mousey silently grinned.

“Exactly, because otherwise you would be lost in the forest right now.”

Vivian stood with her back to the railing, behind her was the dark forest. Bluntly, the group stared at her. She was trembling and had lowered her view.

“Now, before you run your mouth like that,” Ryder snapped at him, “what does that girl have with her? Anything worthy?”

Dave grabbed Vivian and turned her around so that Ryder could examine her from all sides.

“Nothing” he hissed, “except those ugly flip-flops.”

“Purse? Money? Cell phone? Anything?” Ryder was impatient.

Dave grabbed her butt, feeling her back pockets. “She’s got nothing on her.”

With a firm grip, Ryder pulled Vivian’s chin up. “Hey, is anybody home?” He gazed at her. When their eyes met, Vivian gushed.

“You must be out of your minds,” she scolded. Vivian wanted to gesture, but Dave held her tight. “Do you actually know who I am? And what kind of trouble you’re getting into right now?”

Astonished, Ryder let go of her chin. “She can talk” he laughed mockingly.

“You bet I can! My name is Vivian Donahue and I will give you hell!”

“Now I recognize her!” Ryder laughed enthusiastically. “This is today’s afternoon model!” Delighted, he turned to his gang. “Where’s the rest of you?”

“They’ve already gone to the police,” she sneered, “and they’ll show up here any minute!”

Ryder examined her from top to bottom. “You had such expensive equipment with you. Where is it now?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Don’t be sassy, bitch!” Dave grabbed her hair and yanked her head back.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Vivian tried desperately to fight back, but she was no match for the boy.

“I bet your manager takes care of the camera and your photos, am I right?”

Vivian was silent.

 

EXCERPT 5
Zander
After a few minutes, he reached the edge of a clearing. From his position, the outlines of people in pale torchlight were visible. The ground beneath them was partially tiled. Zander guessed an empty pool next to them. This had to be the outdoor swimming pool. His heart beat faster. Normally trespassing was exciting enough, but this situation pushed him to his limits. His instincts drove him to flee, but something inside kept him there.

As a black figure, he stood upright among the trees and watched the outdoor pool. The gang was up to something, but he couldn’t see what it was. Slowly, seemingly on his own, his hand reached into his pocket. The knife was still there. He produced it and unfolded the blade. Bright metal glinted in the moonlight. Zander felt a certain kind of security emanating from the cold steel. The knife can be both a tool and a weapon. Zander would stay right here.

He didn’t know what drove him—was it the abandoned place he wanted to see so badly? Did he want to save his friends? Or was it simply danger that drove him?

He remained in a crouched position, attempting to get closer to the group. There were three or four people there, Zander couldn’t tell for sure. Just a little further out of the forest and behind the bush, and he would be as close to them as possible.

At that moment, the person standing closest to him turned in his direction. By a hair’s breadth, the glow of a flashlight shone on Sander. Even his perfect camouflage would not have saved him, though. But he was lucky and remained undiscovered.

Now he realized who was lighting a cigarette at the edge of the pool. It was the only girl from the group. In the dim light, he saw her face and parts of her upper body. Dark blond hair, slender features, full lips, and a hard look that was atypical of most girls he knew. When the lighter went out, she took a drag on the cigarette and gazed in his direction. Without knowing it, their eyes met. She then turned around, and the flashlight fell on a second person. It was the guy with the red t-shirt, wearing heavy gold chains. Like frozen, he stared into the light. Zander saw his eyes twinkling maliciously. Evil seemed to be staring right back at him.

Like spellbound, he remained in his place. Now, Zander would stay.