In the year 2112, reality television shows are more popular than ever. Thanks to the incredible advances made in technology, Hollywood has begun to look to the stars to film their shows and movies. Survival is a very popular show that pits a group of people against one another in an isolated location. The winner or survivor is the contestant that has outlasted the others. Having exhausted all the possibilities for filming on Earth, the producers looked to take the show to a whole new level. Survival: Mars was the next logical step.

Royal Collier has been the host of the show from the beginning. A relative unknown when he began, Collier has become a megastar in his own right. Today was going to be the biggest day of his career. He would become the first human to host a reality game show on another planet. Unlike the previous versions of Survival, there would be no tropical islands, no oceans, and no exotic beaches. Mars was a cold and barren planet and didn't seem to be an exciting location for a show built on amazing scenery and intrigue. But the producers made sure there would be plenty of 'reality' for this edition of the show.

A group of 8 men and 8 women were ejected from a space ship and left to find their way to the Survival: Mars set. The contestants were split into two factions: The Grox and The Igons. They would compete in physical challenges, form alliances with their fellow players, and look to avoid elimination. It was pretty much the same game as the one played on Earth. Well, at least that's what they were lead to believe. James, a truck driver from Delaware was voted off the planet by the remaining contestants. But when it was time to leave, he didn't look disappointed. He was terrified!

Before I knew it, there were only four of us left. I remember voting some of the other contestants off the show but I think the others simply disappeared. I have no idea what happened to them. What was the point of this whole game anyway? There was a cash prize back on Earth but the host never mentioned what we were competing for on Mars. The other players began to become suspicious of this whole thing as well. We all decided to forgo the game and focus our energy on trying to survive. We needed to find a spaceship and get off this planet. That was easier said than done however as we were constantly being followed by cameras.

STARMOTION

STUDIOS

EARTH

Back on Earth a concerned group of executives from Starmotion Studios held an emergency meeting. "Thank you for joining me on such short notice" CEO, Dewayne Exline began. "This season of Survival has been a disaster. Last week we got lower ratings than a rerun of NCIS: Pluto! Our show has been #1 in the ratings for over 100 years. This edition of the show has been boring. We're getting good money from the Martian government to promote extraterrestrial tourism. There are no rivalries, no romances, and the planet is a wasteland. We need to do something spectacular or else we're going to lose a lot of money and some of you might just lose your jobs."

As Royal Collier was about to enjoy dinner in his luxurious home on Mars, he was interrupted by a hologram from his boss. "Good evening Mr. Exline. Care to join me for some dinner?" "I'm a hologram you fool. Listen Collier, the ratings for this season are terrible. You helped pick out the contestants and none of them have any personality. They all seem so robotic." "Only one of them was a robot actually. We had to have him exit the show early due to technical difficulties." "What about the others?" "Once they're eliminated we fed them to the cavemorphs. Keeps them away from the crew." "Well you better make some changes to this show or I'll end up feeding you to the cavemorphs myself!"

"How do you like them apples?"

While Collier and the crew were enjoying their stay on the planet in their modern bungalows, the contestants were forced to camp outside. The climate on Mars was extremely harsh. Over the years, the Martians have worked hard to make the planet more hospitable for humans. And while humans were able to survive on the 'Red Planet', it was still very cold, desolate, and there was nothing to eat or drink. After a couple of weeks we were all getting tired of eating Mars Bars. Thankfully beloved film star, Matt Damon would occasionally stop by with some apples. We were all so thirsty and had to make due with what little water we could find in the Martian soil.

One morning we all received and incredible shock. Carl had returned to the show after having gone missing a couple of weeks ago. We figured that he had wandered off, got lost, and succumbed to the unforgiving Martian terrain. "Carl? Is that you?" Sara asked. "I said that I'll be back." "Uh, okay. What's with the outfit?" But before he could answer, Royal Collier appeared with a series of new challenges for us. After a grueling day of intense physical contests, all of the participants collapsed from fatigue. All except for Carl. He didn't even break a sweat. Later tonight we'd be voting another contestant off the planet. At this stage, I didn't even care about playing the game. I needed to get off this rotten planet right away.

"Muriel Werner, The Colony has spoken. It's time for you to go" Collier announced. I'm still not sure how she was eliminated from the show when none of the other contestants bothered to cast a vote. Something was very fishy about this entire show. I'm not even a Reality TV fan. I've always been good at sports and thought I'd have the advantage when it came to some of the more physical aspects of this game. But the longer this farce continued, the more I was convinced that the game was being rigged. After Muriel put out her torch, she was escorted away by two crew members. I decided to quietly follow behind them.

"You know what, I'm actually relieved to be going home. I have not enjoyed my time on Mars at all" Muriel said to the crewmen. "Oh, and I promise not to spoil anything about my time on the show when I get back to Earth." "That, uh, won't be a problem" the red-headed cameraman smirked. "What do you mean by that?" "Oh nothing. Just enter that cave to receive your parting gifts." "It's so dark in here" Muriel said. "Keep walking and you'll find it......or it will find you" the other crewman snickered. All the while, I stood behind the cave and eavesdropped. What did they mean by 'it'? After the men walked back to the set, I decided to enter the cave to take a look around.

When I entered the cave it was bitter cold, damp, and I couldn't see a thing. It was silent except for the sound of water dripping from the cave into puddles below. Where could Muriel have gone? As I continued on I was shocked to find three skeletons piled up in the corner. Wait! That hat looks very familiar as do those glasses. Those bones belong to former contestants Whitman, Price, and Haddad! Is this what happens when players are voted off the show? I gotta get out of here with the others. We're in serious danger. "NO!" a voice echoed throughout the cave. That sounded like Muriel screaming. Holding up my torch, I raced through the cave only to come face-to-face with a cavemorph!

STARMOTION

STUDIOS

EARTH

"Great news everyone!" Mr. Exline proclaimed. "Our ratings have gone through the roof. Not only are we the #1 show on Earth, we're #1 in the entire universe! People are loving the changes we've made: a deadly cyborg, giant monsters lurking in caves back, and frightened contestants. Those creepy cavemorphs have been trending on Twitter for the past week! Sure hope I never run into one of those savage creatures. Saturn just put in an offer to host to next installment so we're going to need a big finale! Now let's grab some champagne and celebrate!"