Chapter 1: The Casting Call

Thora POV

"Date of birth." The woman across the table quipped. Her pen hovered above her clipboard while her eyes stayed fixed on Thora's face, like something incriminating was written underneath the skin.

"June 14^th, 2001."

"Parents?"

Thora arched her brow. “I already filled out these details online.”

Now, the woman’s eyes narrowed. “Parents?” She repeated.

Thora breathed deeply. "They’re deceased."

"Any siblings."

"None."

"Next of kin?"

Thora gritted her teeth. "You're looking at her."

The woman's expression didn't shift. She made a quick mark on her clipboard and then set it face-down on the table between them.

"Roll up your sleeve, please."

Immediately, Thora's eyes cut to the medical tray on the side table where needles and collection vials lay. Something uncomfortable unfurled in her belly. She hated needles.

"Nobody said anything about bloodwork in the listing."

"It's routine procedure." The woman finally smiled. "Our sponsors are health conscious. We screen every candidate to ensure no existing conditions affect production."

Thora glanced at the huge hall where other women waited. They exhibited various states of patience and nerves; nail biting, feet tapping, eyes darting, hands trembling, scowling etc. Most of them would roll up their sleeves without question when their turn came. The pay was that good.

Thora looked back at the impatient woman across from her, took a gulp of air and rolled up her sleeve.

The needle went in smooth and clean. The woman filled a vial with Thora's blood before pressing a cotton swab to the punctured area.

"Keep pressure on that." She capped the vial, scribbled something on it and set it aside. Thora eyed the strange language scribbled on all the blood-filled vials.

"Um, can I ask what production company is behind this project?"

"You'll receive a full brief if you're selected for the residency." The woman retrieved her clipboard. "Thank you, Next."

Thora nodded and joined the other screened candidates upstairs. In the elevator going up, she pulled out her phone and typed the characters she had memorized from her vial label into G****e. The results came back stating it was an old, Gaelic dialect. She thought that was strange.

The next phase went by pretty quickly. She was given a script and a scene to study. It was a wedding scene. Stifling the urge to roll her eyes at yet another cheesy romance script, she powered through her performance, giving her best. It was easy when she thought about the forty-eight hours eviction notice on her door.

“That was really good, Ms. Thora Storm.”

“Thank you.” Thora replied, beaming. Then, she stepped out of the audition room.

Outside, she realized a bunch of girls got cut off after their auditions. Thora and five other girls made the shortlist while the others were escorted out of the Vermont estate.

After lunch, a man in a crisp dark suit took the girls on a tour of the grounds. Thora stood for a moment looking up at the main house. It was three stories of dark stone and tall windows. The grounds rolled out in every direction. The impeccable gardening stood out like a statement piece.

While the man dutifully explained the dietary restrictions, photoshoots and stunt trainings to be done during the residency, the girls murmured quietly among themselves.

"They're paying thirty thousand for a two-week shoot in this mansion? That’s fucking generous" Penny, the girl next to Thora murmured.

Thora eyed the faces on the balcony, wondered why she was yet to spot a single camera with the crew members.

“Did anyone catch the name of the production company yet?” She asked. The girls shrugged.

"Who cares?” One quipped. “For thirty grand, I’ll do whatever they want, including not ask too many questions."

Penny laughed with the others. Thora said nothing and kept walking. Quietly, she mapped the entire ground floor, noted which corridors held the staff wing, and knew the way to the archive room at the east end of the main hall. The day ended with the girls being handed their itinerary.

***

The next day, the girls met a male instructor at a tree line, in the dense forest behind the mansion. They all wore activewear, clutching water bottles. Penny shuddered, eying the slobbering dogs flanked on both sides of their instructor.

“This is for the movie. It is going to test your stamina and ability to think rationally in danger. In five minutes, I’ll release these dogs. You must make sure they don’t catch you. Hide, climb, fight, whatever you can do to prevent an assault but don’t maim them. They’re trained to capture you only.”

Before they can protest, he blew a whistle. “GO, GO, GOOO.”

The girls scampered away in different directions, some tossing their bottles and screaming. Thora blazed through the undergrowth for what seemed like a blur. She took a sharp turn and narrowly missed bumping into Penny who was already sweaty and panicky. The sound of barking echoed behind them.

“I c-can’t. I can’t run anymore.” Penny gasped for breath while holding her knees.

Thora’s ears twitched at the sound of water rushing. Just then, a loud scream ripped through the air.

“Shit. That sounded like Lucy got caught.” Penny said with fearful eyes.

Wordlessly, Thora grabbed her hand and dashed into the forest. A dog burst out, right on their heels and narrowly missed Penny’s ankle before the girls dove into a nearby river and swam halfway over to the other side. Penny threw her head back and laughed when the dog stopped chasing them. Thora let herself laugh too, then began floating while smiling up at the sky.

***

"You're doing it again, the thing where you look at a room like you're planning an exit route." Penny said at the dinner table that night, after the other four girls had been eliminated for failing the test.

Thora picked up her fork. She was indeed worried. “All of this is just not what I expected.”

She had been trying to identify exactly what it was that felt wrong about this place.

When Penny remained speechless, she continued. “They haven't told us anything about the actual project, Penny. They just make us prepare for certain scenes. I haven’t seen any decent script to get a full picture of the project. We haven’t met the crew members. Why is the production company’s name not on any of the paperwork?"

"They said at the audition that we'd get a brief after the first week, remember?” Penny shook her head, tired of Thora’s paranoia. “It’s only day five and in that time, we’ve had language and etiquette lessons for the ceremonial scenes in the movie. We’ve trained in the forest to be fit for the hunt scenes. Besides, it’s not our business to critique the script they pick. I think you’re being unnecessarily paranoid.”

“Have you at least spoken to anyone who's worked with this company before? What about the male lead? Why haven’t we seen any guys auditioning? This place is too big to host just the female cast."

A small frown crossed Penny's face. "I think it's an indie project. They probably don't have a big catalog yet."

“You seem to have all the answers…”

“And you have all the questions.” Penny snapped, then caught herself when Thora glanced at her. She wiped her brow and stabbed a piece of chicken. “I’m sorry. I just think you have this in the bag and it’s such a huge opportunity but you can’t see it because you’re too busy finding faults.”

Thora ground her teeth and stood up. “I’m off to bed.”

“No, T, I didn’t mean it like that…”

But Thora walked away.

She wasn’t paranoid. She had checked. The company name from the contracts they signed returned zero results across every database she could access on the estate's carefully throttled WiFi. How odd was that?

Thora had actually considered leaving four times. Each time she packed her bag, the number thirty thousand dollars flashed in her head. She needed the money badly. Shamelessly, she stayed.

Perturbed, she ditched the elevator and took the stairs to her room to think. On the second floor, something caught her eye through a half-open door at the end of the hallway. She should have ignored it but somehow, she found herself walking towards the room, like an invisible string was tugging at her.

She pushed it open. Fire crackled in a hearth. Thora let herself in cautiously, eyes darting around. The bed looked barely slept in. There were muddy footprints that led to the edge of a massive window. On close inspection, they looked a bit larger than normal. Behind her, a shadow moved.

She spun and saw the eyes first; amber and fiery. Then came the low growl. She shuddered, squinting at what looked like a dog, though it seemed larger. Heart pounding furiously, she inhaled to calm herself, then calculated bolting for the door. Fortunately, the dog shadow disappeared through the bathroom door.

Thora hurried out of the room. Outside, she turned for one last look and found a tall man had filled the door frame. Shocked, she inhaled sharply.

“Are you lost, Ms.? I believe your room should be on the next floor.”

His face wasn’t visible in the dim hallway but his voice was deep and gritty.

“I-I’m sorry for prying.”

“Goodnight, Ms. Storm.” He shut the door silently.

When she got to her room, one thought stood out to her.

She never told him her name.