Chapter One
The Knights Fork
t was a quiet Friday afternoon. Much like every other Friday that Raymond had noticed. Raymond worked a bookstore in the downtown area and was used to things being quiet. Aside from the occasional customer that happened into the store, on average one per hour, no one talked to him and no one noticed him. He didn't mind the lack of attention because he liked the quiet time to collect his thoughts. Occasionally, during these quiet times he would read a book or play a game of chess against the computer, as he was doing today. He always seemed to lose when he played, but for some reason he never gave up.
I lost again. Oh well. I'll do better next time. Raymond thought. He looked up at the clock and realized that it was almost time to close the store.  He went over to the door and locked it then he flipped the open sign over and gathered his things together.
"Time to go home." Raymond said to himself. He went through the store and exited through the back door. He got in his car and drove away from the store.
***
Roughly half an hour later, Raymond was in his home. A tiny one bedroom apartment. It wasn't much to look at, but to him it was home. He was making himself some dinner when the phone began to ring - an odd occurrence for him. He walked over and hesitantly picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" he asked hesitantly.
"Is this Raymond?" the voice asked hesitantly.
"Yes." He replied.
"The same Raymond that went to Mississauga High School?" the voice asked.
"Yeah I went there? Who is this?" Raymond asked calmly
"It's me James. From the chess club?" he answered. Raymond thought back for a moment, then he remembered him.
"Oh hi James. Wow, what has it been? Ten years?" Raymond asked.
"About eleven. So what have you been doing?" James asked.
"Not much really. What about you?" Raymond replied. The two talked about old times and what all they had done since school. The conversation went on for the better part of an hour before they were talking about anything current.
"Oh, before I forget, I was surfing the net and learned that they are having a chess tournament somewhere in Manitoba." James started. He found the piece of paper he was looking for and read the address to him.
"It's been a while since I played professionally. I probably lost my edge." Raymond said quietly.
"Well, if you change your mind you have the address. Look, I have to run, but I'll be in touch. Keep it real buddy." James said politely.
"Take care of yourself." Raymond replied. He hung up the phone and began to prepare his dinner. As he did, he remembered what it was like to play other people. He looked over at the piece of paper that had the address.
"It might be fun..." he began. In his mind he weighed the pros and cons of going to a tournament. He shook his head and continued working on his dinner. But as he did, he kept looking over at the piece of paper.
"I might as well check it out." He decided. He put his dinner aside and studied the address. He tried to think back to the last time he took some time off to do something fun, but couldn't recall a thing. Raymond then went into his room and packed himself some clothes, some books and other things he would need for a lengthy journey. Once he had everything that he would need, he left his apartment to begin his journey.
***
One day later Raymond found himself stuck in gridlocked traffic. After a few hours of driving at one kilometer an hour, he managed to get onto an off ramp. Raymond was driving along a side road in a vain attempt to make up for lost time. Just then, he noticed a police car behind him. The siren was blaring and the lights were flashing. With a little bit of apprehension, Raymond pulled over. He got his license and registration ready and waited for the officer to approach him.
"May I see you license and registration please?" the officer asked calmly. Raymond handed the documents to him. The officer studied the documents carefully then handed them back.
"Is there a problem?" Raymond asked.
"One of your tail lights isn't working." The officer replied.
"I'll let you go with a warning this time. Get it fixed." The officer suggested.
"While you're here, I was wondering if you could help me. I'm on my way to a chess tournament and I sort of got kicked off the main road. Am I near this place?" he asked as he handed the paper to the officer. After looking at the paper for a few moments, the officer looked at Raymond then smiled.
"It's a little out of the way. Here, I'll draw you a map." The officer offered. He went back to his car and pulled out a notepad. After a few seconds of drawing, the map was done.
"Follow these directions and you'll make up for any time you lost." The officer stated calmly.
"Thanks." Raymond replied. He started his car and drove away. Once the car was out of site, the officer returned to his car.
"Patch me through to the chief." He said into his radio.
"Quinton here." The police chief answered.
"I've sent someone towards the old fork road. Tell Trevor the last piece is on its way." The officer stated.
"Good work. Follow him and make sure he doesn't get lost. Quinton out." The police chief concluded. The officer got into his car to follow Raymond.
***
Sometime later that day, Raymond was starting to lose hope in getting to his destination. He sighed as he noticed that the road was under heavy construction and that he had to detour away from his original route. With a forced sense of reluctance he pulled over and got out of his car.
"Excuse me? Do you know if there is a gas station near by?" he asked. The engineer in charge looked up from his plans.
"Gas station? Oh yeah, there's one about twenty minutes that way. You can't miss it." He replied.
"What happened to the road?" he asked.
"A mine near by caved in and made the road cave in by two feet." He answered.
"Thanks for the help." Raymond said politely.
"Glad I could be of assistance." The engineer replied. Raymond got in his car and drove away. It was then that one of the workers approached him.
"A mine caved in?" the worker asked in disbelief.
"Don't knock it - it worked." The engineer replied. Just then the police car pulled up beside the two.
"Did he come this way Trevor?" the officer asked calmly.
"Not more than a minute ago. If you follow, you might be able to give him a ride. He'll run out of gas in about twenty minutes or so." Trevor suggested.
"Keep up the good work - and get the road back to normal. We don't want any undue attention." The officer stated as he drove away.
"What does he take me for? An amateur?" Trevor asked. He was a little insulted, but he knew how the officer thought so he pushed it out of his mind. Within ten minutes, there was no trace that any work had been done there.
***
Roughly a half-hour later, Raymond was in the middle of no where and had run out of gas.
"Twenty minutes..." he muttered. It was then that he noticed a police car driving down the road.
"Finally - some good luck." Raymond muttered. He waved at the police car. To his delight, the officer pulled over.
"What seems to be the problem?" he asked.
"I ran out of gas. Can you give me a lift to the nearest town?" Raymond asked.
	"Sure, hop in." the officer offered. Raymond gathered his things together and got into the police car.
***
The scenery along this long winding road was nothing short of breath taking. For roughly fifty kilometers, aside from the road, the area looked untouched by man. It was then, after they drove around one wide turn that a large city could be seen in the distance. After Raymond finished allowing himself to be impressed with the scenery, he remembered how the engineer told him that a gas station was twenty minutes down the road. From the calculations he had done in his head, this city had to be over an hour's travel away from where that construction was taking place.
"What city is that?" Raymond asked calmly.
"Unionsburge." The officer replied. As the car got closer, Raymond noticed a large billboard with the name of the town and its slogan 'Unionsburge the big city with the small town values.'
"I've never heard of Unionsburge before. What is the population?" Raymond asked curiously.
"Over three hundred thousand. There are four major industries that generate close to twenty million dollars a week. The unemployment rate is under point five percent and the average household income is eighty to a hundred thousand a year. I've done a lot of traveling in my days - there is no city on earth like Unionsburge." The officer said proudly. Raymond leaned back and took in all the statistics.
"That's beyond incredible - how is that possible?" he asked. The police car pulled over by a gas station.
"This is the closest gas station around." The officer stated. Raymond looked in disbelief at the price - almost ten cents per liter.
"It's going to be getting dark soon. You should get a room for the night." The officer stated. Raymond snapped out of his trance. Much to his surprise, the sun was beginning to set.
"Is there a hotel near here?" he asked. The officer smiled and pointed to an elegant looking building.
"Best place in town. It bills by the week, but the prices are amazing." The officer answered. Raymond slowly got out of the car and looked at the exquisite example of eighteenth century architecture. He was going to ask the officer something else, but before he could, the car sped away.  Calmly he walked towards the building.
"Welcome to the Citadel, may your stay here be enjoyable sir." The doorman greeted him in a friendly manner and opened the door for him.
"Thanks..." he replied. As impressive as the building was on the outside - was even more so inside. Before he could even ask a question, the manager of the establishment hurried over to where he was.
"Good afternoon sir. Welcome to the Citadel - the finest establishment in all of Unionsburge." He said proudly. Just by the look of the lobby - Raymond was inclined to agree. Lavish paintings were on every wall. Eye catching sculptures were displayed on brass pillars by every window and doorway. From the roof of the lobby hung a crystal chandelier that had to be worth over ten thousand dollars.
"I doubt that claim is ever challenged." Raymond said in quiet awe of the place.
"How very true. My name is Luis Freemore. I am the manager of this humble establishment." Luis introduced.
"There are many words to describe this place - humble isn't one of them." Raymond retorted. Luis smiled and gestured for Raymond to follow him to the main desk. Once there, Raymond quickly opened the reservation book and studied it intensely. After a few seconds he looked up and smiled.
"As luck would have it sir, we have a vacancy - if you are interested." He offered.
"I don't think I can afford this place..." Raymond answered. The manager looked shocked by the answer.
"You can't afford one fifty dollars a week?" he asked.
"That's the price? In that case, sure." Raymond replied he was nothing short of astonished. In a quick motion he pulled out his wallet and handed the manager the money. The manager smiled and handed Raymond a key.
"Top of the stairs - last room on your right." Luis stated. Raymond hurried up the stairs and vanished from sight. Once the manager was sure that he was gone, he picked up the phone.
"Edward - he's here." He said quietly. He then hung up the phone and resumed his other duties.
***
Upstairs, Raymond was in awe at the size of the room. There were two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a lavish, spacious living area. This place was easily three times the size of his apartment. He walked over to the window and opened the curtains. Just then someone quickly grabbed him and held a rag over his mouth. Everything was getting blurry - he then passed out at the feet of his attacker - the police officer who had led him there.
"Is everything in order?" the hotel manager asked from the doorway.
"Everything is fine.  Call Edward. Tell him to send someone to pick him up. I have to continue my rounds." He instructed.
"I already did. He said Trevor was on his way." He replied.
"Do you think he will do better than the last one?" he asked. The officer didn't even pretend to care.
"Who knows? Anything is possible. Watch him until Trevor picks him up." The officer stated as he walked out of the room.
***
Some undetermined time later, Raymond slowly woke up to find himself in a roomful of people who were dressed in black, body armor. As he slowly got up he noticed that he was wearing body armor as well. Of all the people in front of him, only one was familiar - the engineer Trevor.
"It looks like the new recruit is finally awake." Trevor said pleasantly.
"What's going on? Why am I here?" Raymond asked hesitantly. Just then, another entered the room. He too was wearing black armor, but his was more elegant and finely crafted. All talking ceased.
"All hail the Black King." One of them called out.
"Everybody is here? Good. Have a seat people. What I have to say is important and could save your life. You are here to fight a war. If we win - it will be a profitable experience for us all - if we lose - we will all be dead." Edward T. Gregory said seriously. An uncomfortable silence followed.
"I have your undivided attention? Good. In each of your pockets you will find an electronic access card. Please take it out of your pocket and hold it up." He continued. There was a bit of mumbling but everyone did as he said.
"The card you are holding is your life. Without it, no gun or vehicle at your disposal will work." He stated.
"What if we just take someone else's card and use that?" one of the people asked.
"Only your card works for you. Some of you might notice that some here have better weapons than others." The Black King began.
"Better? I don't have any." A voice stated.
"True. Weapons help show rank. For example, Tymonia here has a very powerful laser rifle. Rachel has a SMG. Tina has a sniper rifle. Trevor has an automatic pistol. I have a laser pistol. Eight of you have no weapons and can not use any type of weapon I have mentioned unless you upgrade your card at the White Citadel. Until then, you will have to make due with what you can get." He stated seriously.
"What the hell is going on here? Black King? White Citadel? Is this some sort of sick joke?" one in the crowd asked.
"This is no joke and if each of you has any hopes of getting out of this alive, I'd suggest you listen." Trevor recommended calmly.
"Thank you Trevor.  I think it is about time that we introduce ourselves to the new pawns. Please step forward my inner circle." Edward requested.
"My name is Trevor Harbor. I am the king's knight." He stated.
"I am Jason Tweede. I'm the queen's knight." He said proudly.
"I am Michael Goul. I am the king's bishop." He added.
"Tina Lasten. I am the queen's bishop." She introduced.
"I am Rachel Gunner. King's rook." She stated.
"Wendy Ther. Queen's rook." She added.
"Tymonia Green - black queen." Tymonia stated coldly with a sinister smile.
"And I - am Edward T. Gregory. The exalted black king. The rest of you are pawns - nothing more. None of us care who you are, where you came from or whatever. You will be told what to do and you will do it." The king stated. The sound of weapons being readied followed.
"Are there any questions?" he asked casually. Silence was his answer.
"Good. I will continue then. As you will notice, there are sixteen of us. Likewise, there are sixteen people on the other side. When you kill one of them - take the card that he or she carried. Each card will be worth money to you at the end of the game." The king stated.
"How much?" one of the pawns asked curiously.
"Depending on the rank of the person it could be between one hundred dollars and half a million dollars. The more you collect, the more money you can get. It is really that simple. Plus, if you survive you get an additional bonus. The amount you get from this bonus will depend on your rank at the end of the game." The king answered. Just then a monitor slowly lowered from the roof and showed a topographical map of a city. It was divided into sixty-four squares.
"This is where we are right now. In the Black Citadel on the king's square. Coincidentally, the White Citadel is on the king's square on the other side. Our primary goal is to kill the white king and any white warrior who is foolish enough to try to stop us."  The king instructed. He lifted up a box from behind the table and handed it to Trevor.
"Pass these to the pawns." He instructed. Trevor tossed a small, hand sized computerized map to each of the eight  people. Once everyone had one, Trevor stepped back and stood beside the king.
"What if we don't want to fight in your little game?" one of the pawns asked.
"If you feel that adamant about it - I can't force you to fight - but there is a price on your life that those on the other side will try to collect. If you don't want to fight - it is of course your choice." He replied.
"You pawns wait here. I must discuss some important matters with my inner circle." The king instructed. On that note, the king and everyone but the eight pawns left the room.
"Does anyone know exactly what is going on?" one of them asked.
"It's a game of chess." Raymond stated.
"What?" one of them asked.
"The board - the names - we are the pieces in a human game of chess." He repeated. Raymond sat down on the floor and held his head.
"What the hell is chess?" one pawn asked.
"It's a game - a thinking based strategy game." One of the others stated.
"I like the way this sounds. All I have to do is off some people and get money for doing it - this is too sweet." One pawn said with an evil smile.
"I hate to be the one to break this to you, but I doubt you will see any of that money. Even if you do manage to nail one of them - one of the ?inner circle' would probably rob you for it." Raymond stated calmly.
"In other words - they are using us as bait." One of the others stated.
"That's what pawns are used for." Raymond said calmly. One of the others sat down beside him.
"Name's Bill." He introduced.
"Raymond." He replied.
"By the sound of it, you play chess a lot." Bill said.
"I used to play in tournaments - now I just play against computers. How about you?" Raymond asked casually.
"I dabbled in it. I know how the pieces move but I had difficulty seeing moves in advance. But I still had fun playing." He replied.
"Do you think we have a chance of escaping?" Bill asked.
"I doubt it. These people are pretty thorough. Plus this is a very isolated area. Even if we were able to get away from these maniacs - where would we go?" Raymond answered quietly. Just then, two of the other pawns towered over them.
"Look at what we have here. Two wimps who want to run away." The pawn goaded. Raymond slowly got up and stood toe to toe with the person.
"Out of curiosity, who are you?" Raymond asked curiously.
"I'm John. Why? Are you going to make something of it?" he goaded. Raymond sighed. In the course of five seconds, John was on the ground and being held down with a painful arm lock.
"I would like you to understand something John. I play chess to enlighten myself. To learn new things and to be able to see things at least two moves in advance. But I am also a black belt in judo. So please respect my space." Raymond said politely. He released his hold on John's arm. John quickly staggered to his feet and glared at Raymond.
"This is far from over! You just wait!" John hissed.
"Is it wise to make enemies on our side?" Bill asked hesitantly.
"I'm not trying to make any enemies. But I'll be damned if I let someone walk all over me. I got enough of that nonsense when I was in high school.  If John wants to make this personal, that is his business. I have more important things to concern myself with." Raymond replied analytically.
"If you say so." Bill added. He noticed how intently Raymond was studying the computer map of the game board.
"I have a feeling that this is going to be messy." Raymond stated.
"Why?" Bill asked.
"If we are being used as bait - which we are - so will they. It will be difficult to see what might be lurking if you are defending yourself." He replied. Some of the other pawns walked over to where he and Bill were. Calmly, Raymond looked up at the small gathering before them.
"You sound like you've done this sort of thing before." The pawn in front stated calmly. Raymond shook his head.
"I've played the game - I haven't lived it." He replied.
"I have. Of all the pawns, I've lasted the longest." He said proudly.
"I didn't get your name." Raymond hinted.
"I'm Kevin. I wish you the best of luck. God only knows how much you'll need it." Kevin said politely.
"I'm Chris, he's Tim, and the two guys who were with John are East and Gordan." Chris said with a smile.
"I'm Raymond. He's Bill." Raymond replied.
"By the look of this crew of misfits - no disrespect intended - I take it black did not win the last game?" Raymond asked curiously.
"That would be an understatement. Black has lost the past six games. The only pieces who have survived are Kevin and Jason Tweede. Every other piece has been replaced or substituted." Chris answered.
"Then whoever has assembled this together must want this color to keep losing." Raymond muttered to himself.
"That's a possibility. Look, here's a little bit of friendly advice. You look like a nice enough guy so don't try to play the hero. I've seen a lot of good people go down in flames because of needless heroics. If you chose to strike at someone - do it quick." Chris warned. Without saying anymore, he turned and walked away.
"What was that about?" Bill asked.
"Just giving advice." Raymond replied. Suddenly, his train of thought was derailed as the inner circle came back.
"We don't have much time so I'll lose the pleasantries. The enemy has made its first move.  The war has begun. Now get out there and get ready to fight." The king ordered. With a sense of forced reluctance the group of eight left through the door that was marked exit. After the last of them were out the king frowned.
"What's wrong Edward?" Trevor asked curiously.
"It's those pawns. I doubt that they have what it takes to get the job done. Plus there is something about that one pawn - the one called Raymond. I don't like him. I have a feeling he will be a problem for us." The king replied.
"If at any time he starts to become a problem - sacrifice him as bait. It's been done before. Just remember - no piece is inexpendable - except the king." Trevor reminded. The king sighed and then smiled.
"I'm glad you are on my side. Positions people! It is time to get ready for the game." The king stated calmly. The rest of the people left through the same door that the pawns had gone through before.
To be Continued...
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