Book excerpt: Indian Hill is about an ordinary boy who grows up in relatively normal times but who finds himself thrust into an extraordinary position. Growing up in suburban Boston, Michael enjoys the trials and tribulations that all adolescents go through, from the seemingly tyrannical mother, to girl problems, to run-ins with the law. From there he escapes to college out in Colorado with his best friend, Paul, where they begin to forge new relationships with those around them. It is one girl in particular that has caught Michael's eye, and he alternately pines for her and laments ever meeting her. It is on their true "first" date that things go strangely askew. This is where the story truly takes a paranormal twist. Mike soon finds himself captive aboard an alien vessel, fighting for his very survival. The aliens have devised gladiator-type games. The games are of two-fold importance for the aliens: one is their entertainment value, and the other is that the aliens want to see how combative humans are, what our weaknesses and strengths are. They want to better learn how to attack and defeat us. The battles are to the death on varying terrains that are computer-generated. Follow Mike and Paul as they battle for their lives and try to keep the U.S. safe, in the first book of Mark Tufo's Indian Hill series.