The Hunt for Love

The Hunt for Love

“So, the camera’s straight ahead but look at me when you’re answering the questions. Okay?”

Lucy nodded.

“Fantastic. Right, are we ready? Rolling? Excellent. Let’s get this done quickly boys and girls.”

As if a switch had been flicked behind his blank eyes, the interviewer’s face suddenly cracked into a wide smile. He looked directly at Lucy for the first time and spoke in a voice that was cartoonishly loud, and in a strange new accent.

Fucking showbiz.

“So! Lucy. Welcome to The Hunt for Love. Can you tell me a bit about why you’ve come on this show?”

Lucy stared at him.

Because I had no choice. Because the judge made it clear it was either this or the Outlands. Because this is the only chance I have of staying alive, even if it is only 1 in 10.

“I suppose – I just wanted to find the one?”

The façade dropped again, and the interview sighed heavily.

“Alright, we’re going to need more than that. Have you been single for a while, maybe? Or have you just come out of a relationship and want to show your ex what’s what?”

Lucy was silent.

“Well, what’s your background? Were you a loner in school? A cool kid? Hopeless romantic? Did you play any sports? Give me something.”

“I was swimming captain. And I did lots of running.”

The interviewer looked bored, but the cartoon voice came back as he scribbled something in his notepad.

“That’s just awesome,” he shouted, not looking at her. “So, I’m thinking, let’s go with the angle that you’ve had your heart broken recently so you want to go in there and find the love of your life while simultaneously making your exes’ eat their hearts out, right?”

“Right?”

“And if you could also weave in that you’re great at solo sports and think that’s going to help you in this game for obvious reasons, bla-bla-bla. Yes? And say it with some conviction, please. Not like you’re asking me a question.”

“Okay.”

“And a little more enthusiasm, honey. We all want to be home before 7.”

He pointed at either corner of his mouth and then up at the sky, drawing his lips apart into a grotesque grin.

Lucy took a deep breath and then smiled at him. He gave her the thumbs up.

Go to hell.

When filming was over, the interviewer leaned in and put his hand on her knee. “You know, sweetie, if you keep channelling the energy you just gave me to the public, they will love you. And you’re such a pretty girl, you should lean into that more.”

The judge had said something similar when he’d ‘suggested’ she take part in the show. He’d said she was an attractive girl, she’d no doubt do well and get paired with a handsome man to join lockets with. And such athletic legs – she must be able to run fast? Which would come in useful, for obvious reasons.

She pushed the interviewer’s hand off her knee and, without looking at anyone in the room, got up and left.

A few days later, she watched the finished product on TV with her family. The show was releasing one interview a day in the run up to the competition. It was to reel the public in, encourage them to pick their favourites and get invested in the new season. It was already the trending topic on Twitter.

‘Hi, my name’s Lucy. I’m 23, I’m from Area 304 and I’m ready to join The Hunt for Love...’

The voice that floated up from the TV sounded alien to her, as did the face it was coming from. She looked caked in makeup.

“God, you don’t half look pretty Luce,” her mother whispered.

Then she started to cry.

***

The crowd was growing restless, Lucy could sense it from behind the curtain where she waited fourth in a line of ten girls. One of the girls had had a panic attack and fainted, and now the show was running half an hour behind. She’d had her makeup hastily reapplied before being pushed back in-line, but mascara was already dripping down her face again.

Lucy felt guilty for thinking it, but she was relieved that the weakest link had already been found. And that it wasn’t her.

“Whatever you do, hold it together when you’re up there, Luce,” her father had said as the van pulled up to collect them that afternoon. “They don’t like criers.”

She had to hold herself together.

The lights went out, hushing the crowd. Then the signature music blasted through the studio, the stage lights snapped on and Dolly Mortimer flounced into view, greeted by cheers. She bowed and smiled and touched her chest, showing gratitude for the audience’s appreciation. Lucy shook her head at the theatrics of it all.

Dolly’s predecessor had died unexpectedly two days before the end of the last season. There were rumours it was suicide – that she’d been in a romantic relationship with one of the contestants. He hadn’t made it to the end.

The show had done a brief tribute to her at the end of the last episode, donated to a mental health charity, and then that was that. It was never talked about again. Here’s hoping their shiny new Dolly knew better than to get involved with anyone from Areas 200 and above, where even petty crimes could be punished with The Hunt for Love. Not that people from Areas 109 and below knew that. Contestants were always painted as willing participants. Even the ones that collapsed in tears or begged for their mothers at the end.

Once Dolly had finished introducing the show, the competitors were called on. The girls filed out from one side of the stage and the boys from the other. They all wore swimsuits and the more attractive you were deemed the less coverage you got. The girl behind Lucy wore just a pair of nipple tassels and a tiny thong. Lucy didn’t have much more on herself. She avoided looking at the spot in the crowd where her family was.

Instead, she turned her attention to the boys. She didn’t recognise any of them, which was a relief. Some of them looked nervous, others were holding it together and a couple even looked perfectly at ease. Lucy wondered if any of them had opted to come on the show voluntarily. That did sometimes happen. Psychos.

The show followed the same format it always did. One at a time, contestants introduced themselves and picked out who from the other line they hoped would hold their other half. The crowd would laugh on cue at the ensuing flirtatious banter, swallowing up the silent pockets where the families sat.

When it was Lucy’s turn, she scanned the boys’ faces. Number Nine, a boy called Caleb, looked the most nervous. He hadn’t been picked out by any girls yet.

“Number Nine. Caleb,” she said.

He flinched at his name. When Dolly asked him if he was pleased to have been singled out by such a pretty girl he shrugged and managed a shy smile. “Sure, it’s why we’re all here right?”

As Dolly moved on, he caught Lucy’s eye and dipped his head slightly. Thank you. She nodded back.

Soon, it was time for the ceremony. This began with the show’s theme song and introduction playing on the enormous screen behind their heads. Some of the contestants twisted round to watch it, but Lucy didn’t. She knew what it looked like.

Red and pink hearts in the background. A necklace shaped like half a heart in the foreground. A string of other necklaces appear, attempting to fit into the first. They’re flung to the side as they fail. Finally, one is successful. They click together and then open to reveal the show’s title: The Hunt for Love. Lucy had seen it enough times.

Once that was over, the competitors rearranged into a circle. Then, from a small pouch that hung from each of their wrists, they removed a necklace and fastened it around the neck of the person in front of them. They’d been made to practise countless times until they had it right. There could be no repeats of two years ago, where the order had gotten mixed up and two boys had ended up with the matching half hearts. A blood bath with no winners – the public had not been happy. Without a winning couple the show was just barbaric.

Across the circle, Lucy could see that Number Nine was having some trouble getting the locket on the girl in front of him. His hands were shaking. She hissed something at him then impatiently grabbed the necklace and did it herself. The audience ooh’d.

‘This one’s feisty,’ laughed Dolly.

The audience howled their approval.

The locket felt cold against Lucy’s skin, and heavier than she’d expected. It wasn’t just metal, of course. They’d been informed in the pre-show brief that the half-lockets contained tracking devices, as well as sensors. They could self-detonate quicker than anyone could hope to remove them. You’d lose your head trying.

At least if she ever got desperate, she had that option. At least her family would know it had been her choice.

***

Lying in bed, old seasons of The Hunt for Love played through Lucy’s mind. She could see the ‘highlights’ every time she closed her eyes and so she had to keep them open. She couldn’t sleep.

She remembered the famous episode where a boy had lured a girl that he’d stumbled across over to him. He’d held out his half-locket, telling her he hadn’t found his other half yet. They needed to see if theirs fitted together. He’d let her run away if they didn’t. He promised. When she’d gotten close, another girl stepped out from behind a tree and shot her between the eyes. They’d found each other on the first day. Now, they were systematically picking off everyone else.

When they had won, the boy sat on the ground and cried into his hands. He didn’t respond to the cheers and music that played over the arena’s speakers. The girl stood over him, staring blankly at the ground and with one hand placed on his head. It had been such a bleak scene that the cameras had been forced to cut back to the studio, where the host scrambled to fill the air time until the winners had been whipped into media-ready shape.

In a week, that blankly staring girl could be her. Or, she could be dead.

A frantic knock came from the door.

She climbed out of bed and opened it. Number Nine stood in front of her, his face grey.

“We need to check. Quickly.”

She looked down. In his shaking hand he held his half-heart locket away from his neck. He extended it out to her, his eyes desperate.

“Please. We only have a minute. I bribed the guard.”

Lucy fumbled with the locket around her neck, holding it out to him. He placed his and hers together, trying to find a connecting point. They tried reversing each one backwards, and then both backwards – this was something the show did to prevent contestants from spying who could be a potential fit at the ceremony. Lucy closed her eyes, praying for a click.

It didn’t come.

Instead, a sob ripped from the boy standing opposite her and he sank down to his knees.

“They don’t fit. I’m sorry, they don’t fit.”

She knelt and put her arms around him. They held onto each other. This time tomorrow, one – if not both – of them could be dead. For all they knew, one of them could kill the other. The Hunt for Love was always full of twists and turns like that.

“It’s okay,” she whispered.

This time tomorrow, they’d be pitted against each other from different corners of the arena as rivals. But, for now, they clung on to each other. Even as the guard’s cough from the end of the hallway told them that their time was up, Lucy held onto this stranger’s shoulders.

If she could just hold on for one more minute, she felt like she’d wake up and none of this would be real.

Just one more minute.