Some things in this world just click and naturally fit together perfectly, but some things were never meant to be.  Kendrick Bishop was never intended to be a lucky man.  He was constantly getting into trouble and fights in high school.  Even though he excelled in school, he never made it into college, and when he was a grown man, he struggled to make a life for himself.

Kendrick Bishop’s life was full of misfortune and bad luck. “Ever since I was a child in grade school, bad luck has followed me wherever I go,” Bishop said, “I was constantly getting in trouble for things I did not do, getting injured, and got into fights all the time.”  He always had to avoid bad luck.  “I guess you could say I was cursed or something,” he once said.  For example, he was shot in the arm in a drive-by shooting, his parents were taken and killed when he was a teenager, and he fell down the stairs and broke bones all the time.  He had to learn to adapt to this and taught himself to always be aware.  Kendrick was a big guy.  He graduated high school at 6 feet 3 inches and 220 pounds.  He was considered a miracle and a blessing at his high school.  He was a big, athletic running back at a small, nonathletic school.  He was fast and he was strong.  His football career was short-lived though.  His junior year, he had a career ending torn rotator cup in his shoulder.

In the year 3017, the government was feared by the citizens of America.  Even though the government never really were the “good” guys, now they were definitely the bad guys.  The government was overrun in 2997, and began to be run by militia.  Bishop was walking through his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania one day, but made sure he was on the lookout for anything that could possibly end up bad luck.  A black van speeding and weaving through traffic up ahead caught his attention.  He watched it accelerate through a red light and sideswipe a car on the side of the road before it slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road.  Three men jumped out and grabbed Kendrick on the sidewalk.  He fought one man off by hitting him in the head with a trashcan lid and shoved another to the ground as the third pulled out a stun gun and jammed it into his side.  He felt the electricity run through his veins as the three men dragged him into the van.  “Where are you taking me?”  Kendrick pleaded.  They pulled a black bag over his head and held what he assumed to be a chlorophyll rag to his face.  There had been some bad luck in his days, but this was terrifying.  He realized this was the van that took his parents.  This, he thought, was government, as everything went dark.

When Kendrick woke up, he was in what looked to be a rehabilitation center.  He was strapped to a hospital bed with needles in his arm.  He also noticed a sharp pain behind his eye as he let out a grunt.  “That is just a fraction of what it can do,” said a man that walked in the door.  “What is doing this?”  Kendrick asked.  “The locating chip we inserted behind your eye,” the man replied with a grin, “If you go somewhere you should not be, or do something you should not be doing, then I will proceed to press this button,” showing him a small remote in his hand, “and the chip will shock you.”  “Who are you?” Kendrick asked.  “You do not know me, Mr. Bishop, but I know you, and I hope you do not turn out like your parents.  Such cowards.  They never even got to begin the challenge before they got themselves killed,” he replied.  “You killed them!  You!”  Kendrick was cut off by a pain in his eye.  The man laughed and said, “They call me the Governor.  We will proceed in two hours, as the rules will be read to you.”  Those two hours were the longest ones of his life.  Kendrick sat in wait and watched the minute hand on the clock hit one hour and 59 minutes.  He felt the familiar chlorophyll rag go over his nose, and when he woke up, he was in a small room that looked like a garage as he heard a computerized voice come over an intercom, “Good evening, Mr. Bishop.  It is now 5:58 pm.  Starting at 6 o’clock, you will have until midnight to complete you challenge.  If you fail to succeed, the microchip will explode.  Your challenge is an obstacle course.  You must make your way from here to the river, marking the outside of the city.  You must avoid being killed.  If you fail to cooperate, you will die.  If you fail to make it out of the city, you will die.”  His heart was pounding now and he was very confused and angry.  “Good luck, Mr. Bishop.  Begin.”

The garage door raised and Kendrick stood there.  He did not know what to do.  Then a grenade came flying into the garage and he ran out of the garage to protection.  He realized this was serious and it was time to get focused.  He ran to the protection of a wall and analyzed the situation.  There were government men everywhere that he had to avoid.  He had nothing to defend or protect himself with.  He had to rely on his own wits and instincts.  He peeked around the corner of the cinderblock wall and saw a knife and a pistol.  He took off and started fighting for his life.  And hour into it and he was still going strong.  He ran by an intersection and a knife came flying at him and cut open the side of his eye.  He turned to the man who threw it and shot him.  He saw this as an opportunity, so he ran into an alley, hid under some stairs, and went to work.  By the time he was finished, he was two and a half hours into the challenge.  He kept going until he was four hours into the race.  He was very tired and did not know how much farther he could go.  He had picked up two grenades during the race off of a dead body.  He was on a bridge over the road when he was shot in the calf.  He fell over the railing landing on one leg.  He heard a snap and realized he had broken it, but he could not slow down.  He splinted his leg and ran as the clock tower struck 11 o’clock.

Kendrick kept going during the last hour.  As he rounded a corner, he saw the river.  He also saw a truck on the other side.  It was a getaway vehicle.  His adrenaline was pumping at this point.  He saw the Governor standing on a platform by the bridge that crossed the river.  The Governor said, “Nice of you to join us.  You have exactly one minute.”  Kendrick ran as fast as he could as the Governor began counting down seconds, “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  Sorry Mr. Bishop.  You have failed.”  Kendrick fell to the ground.  The governor and 5 men walked up and a helicopter landed next to them to collect Kendrick’s body.  They were all standing around when Kendrick quickly pulled out his grenades and threw it at the 5 men and the other in the helicopter.  The 5 men tried to escape, but it was too late.  The helicopter burst into flames.  Kendrick grabbed his gun and pointed it at the Governor.  The Governor was terrified as he said, “Why are you not dead?”  Kendrick answered, “One of your men so thoughtfully threw a knife at my head and cut my eye open.  I thanked him for his helpfulness and shot him.  The cut allowed me to cut your chip out of my eye.  I programmed it not to detonate when time ran out, but when you press that button you tortured me with.  When you were turned towards the river laughing at my failure, I also had the chance to place the chip behind your ear and take your remote.  Goodbye, Mr. Governor.  Your time has run out.”  He pressed the button.