This was written by Stephen King aka Richard Bachman: The future is a very dark place, where people work in dangerous jobs for low wages, but employment is still extremely hard to get. Ben Richards knows that the only way his wife and daughter can get out of the low class lifestyle is for him to try to win money on one of the many gameshows on television. But these are no ordinary gameshows, because they make you suffer, or even die, and Richards has been chosen for the top show of all, The Running Man.

The rules are fairly straightforward a $100.00 for every hour that you stay alive, and if you manage to stay alive for 30 days, you win One Billion Dollars. The game is not rigged, but no one has ever won it, and nor are they expected to, as the people tracking the contestants are experts, and shoot to kill, and they actively get the public to help turn in the contestants. Ben knows the risks, but plays the game. Caught in a trap, he decides to make those people responsible for his pain, pay for their actions.