To Doubt A Rabbit v2

[Degree]

PROJECT RESTART.


Chapter 1 - Introduction

Part I : Rabbit Doubt

SPOILER: Click to show

    I felt as if I’ve been here before. It seemed just like a recent memory, a fragment of the past. Even though I couldn't see my surroundings, the noise reminded me of the numerous trips aboard New York subways. Was this a train? My eyes felt like an iron weight welded together to the back of these thin eyelids. No visible light could be seen through; only darkness. In all honesty, I was never afraid of the dark, but I was aware that it always made people feel uneasy. This was one of those times where I have to agree with that uneasy feeling. There was no way to know where I was, how I got there, or what time it was and it left me extremely unsettled. Why did it feel like I should have known? Could it be the doing of a tired body and mind? My head was putting together cloudy images, almost as if it lapsed during the certain parts of the day. Impossible, I’d remember how this happened if I was consciously going along with it all. I wanted an explanation to this, and an affirmation that I was still alive.



Finally, the weights dropped. My eyes rose the black sheets that covered them, awakening with a sense of relief. An overwhelming darkness remained in my view, hardly improving from before. This was definitely a train. I looked up to see a light flicker as if to notify the passengers of a nearby stop, but it wasn’t going to. While I was passed out on this merry ride, my mouth became dry and lips stuck together with a nasty sweat. Most of my other body parts either felt numb or refused to move.



Willing my eyes to squint at some objects past their shaded outline in the dark was a fruitless effort. I only managed to catch the line of green chairs and swaying ropes near windows where exits should be. After around a minute of trying, the lights flickered on again. The insides of the compartment I was in looked very maintained. For some reason, I had expected it to look worse. My eyes scanned from left and right, trying to see out of the windows that connected other train compartments. It looked the same from where I was sitting. Though, something was still off...what was it? Before, I was extremely tired, but after more of the same dim lights began to turn on, it evolved into a restless fit.



Nothing was as it once seemed; everything had gone to hell! The once well kept place I had been sitting in looked like a garbage dump fell onto a homeless community. The real ghetto everyday people are afraid to go in was now personified: tarnished floors that were past ‘dirty’, broken windows that were smashed by tough winds and hard objects, seats that have lost their upholster, and parts of the room had been laced with some kind of funk I hoped was just garbage. What the hell happened to this place in a matter of a second?! Even the lights had become dimmer and the air had become misty with the vague taste of chalk. The concentration of this air was very heavy but it seemed like it was thicker the higher-



-No, wait…its gas!



My eyes made rapid motions, scattering around the room while I tried to rip myself from my seat. Upon trying, I realized I couldn’t move. There was a rope tying my hands to the back of my seat, or a pole near it, I couldn’t tell. My mouth was covered with a dirty rag, juiced with sweat. The hallucinations my mind made up was a much more pleasant scenario. In my sporadic, fearful rush I looked to my left and right for a second time and saw a difference. There were figures lumped in chairs, like I was. They were, presumably, tied and gagged too. I started to assume other compartments of the train held more as well.



Why would we be here? What purpose was there to practically kidnap other people like this? What reason was there to put me here? I did nothing wrong! I was just an average Joe. Having to undergo this treatment became jarring and impossible, even scary to a certain extent. I would’ve panicked more if the numbness didn’t set in, quelling most of my clouded anxiety. I tried once again to writhe from my bindings, only to meet the same fate as before. It was too difficult to pull off, meaning that whoever tied it did so with a purpose. If only someone else was here to help, to put an end to this …



Then, I heard footsteps.



A figure marched into the room, stomping loudly against the worn out floor. It sounded like a fine pair of boots, since it was able to let out that great of a thud. They were courageous enough to brave the cross over from another car, but I didn’t feel as if it was the arrival of a savior. It felt more like…the executioner. Trying to not give up that tiny glint of hope, I assumed that the person had merely found their way out of our situations. I lifted my head with a slow, sluggish movement half-expecting to see someone standing before me.



What stood in front of me was a bit different than I imagined. This someone wore a uniform; a coat with silver buttons neatly fixed down the center, with shoulder fringe swaying in a delicate tousle. I clearly wore white pants along with the aforementioned boots, but the real puzzle was the person’s face…there wasn’t one. It was concealed by a mask of some animal. Like the chair, it looked like upholster was coming out near where its ear should have been. Some pieces looked crooked, meaning they were attached by a series of stitches to keep it attached. The large round eyes were hard to miss, as they gave off a red glow without any emotion. Although the antagonistic features should have made it clear, the fuzzy laugh it took the cake.



“To think, I made sure everyone was fast asleep for the ride.” The masked person remarked, giving away his intentions. The voice it was using wasn’t normal. Why would it need to change the sound of it’s voice? Unable to do anything, I watched silently as it came close enough for me to get a good look at it. It was indeed a mask- an animal mask. More specifically, it was a rabbit, and the gender of the person sounded male, but I couldn’t be too sure. “You know, it makes me happy that someone gets to see it before everyone else! Really, it does! It does!” The Rabbit laughed sadistically, but I didn’t see the point of it. The next thing it did was whipping its hands into the air and spun three-hundred-sixty degrees in a dramatic fashion.




“Do you appreciate this special welcome, contestant?”



Welcome to…what? As I thought that, the train reacted and emerged into a new area. The blinding light outside pushed through the darkness I was becoming familiar with. My eyes had to adjust to something that emitted a very bright light. As I was regaining my vision, I could make out a large wheel in the distance. There were a few other structures surrounding it at similar sizes. I knew just what it was when I could fully see again.



It was an amusement park. Although far, it had the same ‘rabbit’ theme from what I could see from my seat. It looked a lot like the carnival; purple and white lights piercing the night sky with rides and attractions all around. Despite the strange fascination of the new sight, I managed to catch a few more words.



“Welcome to Rabbit Doubt! Now, go back to dream land and wait for the game to start.”



As my world started to fade back into darkness, I found myself lucky to have lasted this long. I could barely keep one eye open any longer. But from the viewpoint of the person in front of me, it was already too long. A sharp pain whipped across my cheek before I could see what did the job. There were no chances to see what it was after it happened. The only thing I remember before I lost consciousness was that crazy Rabbit looming over me…

Part II : Escape

SPOILER: Click to show

    “Argh!” I groaned, the pain felt like I was hit by a bus squarely in the chest. My voice came out like it harbored a mouthful of sand when I tried to say something; anything at all, even if it wasn’t a word. The sweat rag that was in my mouth must have absorbed all the moisture. It was a good thing no one was here because I didn’t sound very attractive. Thinking this brought up an important topic; there was no trace of other people being here. The Rabbit couldn’t have been the only one, besides me.



Pushing away the question that couldn’t be answered, I started to look around for the first time. This was a room; a living quarter. That’s what they were called here, right? The amusement park shouldn’t even have these unless this was a trailer. Last time I checked, trailers don’t have the thin wooden beds that could fall apart any minute. In contrast, a dresser with the finest wood looked to be the only appealing thing in the room. The floor creaked in a very particular way that ended up helping to establish my bearings. There was a room below me, which meant that this building had at least one more floor to it. Closer inspection on the walls showed they were receding, while the ceilings hung cobwebs in their dusty corners. The room was near empty except a few pieces of cardboard in the bottom right corner, an older-model television in the top right corner across from the cardboard, and a dresser against the same wall as cardboard. All of this was across from me and the bed, and although spacious, wasn’t as big as it felt.



Before anything else, I also noticed a door leading to, hopefully, the exit. There was another door that looked linked to an adjoining room. One was in the space between the dresser and cardboard while the other was on the leftmost wall, near the dresser. To my surprise, the television turned on to a white noise and static screen. The television changed without any of my doing. The screen showed a few words that seemed easy enough to understand: ‘Find the paper - top drawer’.



Paper…? Initially I didn’t realize what drawer it was trying to tell me about till I checked it again and started to drag my sleeping feet over to it. I should have moved around more, who knows how long I was unconscious. Oddly, the knobs on the dressers were in very good condition. The knob was a neat crescent shape that turned easily in hand. The knobs gave me a surprise when I came up to my destination- the top drawer. The knob wasn’t there! It could have been a mistake, so I lowered myself to see if there was a knob rolling under the dresser or bed. No such luck. The next thing that came to my mind was to check the other drawers because there wasn’t any reliability to that strange TV. How does it work, anyways?



The bottom-most, third, drawer had nothing in it but a pin pushed into the bottom part of the drawer. It wasn’t anything special so I pulled the middle one next. There was a picture that was faced down and a dark red spot…probably nothing. Resistance followed the picture when I tried to pull up because there was some tape keeping it down. It was indeed this top drawer I needed to get to. I braced myself to open it with a large inhale. Sticking my fingers into the hole where the knob should be and gently pulling it back- ouch! Why did it hurt so much? I expected that I’d psyche myself out in that it would hurt me. This actually did hurt me.



The tip of my index finger allowed a red droplet to escape from the tiniest of openings. What did this mean…no, it couldn’t be. Was this a trap? Could there be poison on it? This place was turning into a closed room of paranoia. Dismissing the sharp object, I checked the doors to see if they could be opened. The one that looked like the exit had a keyhole under the handle, which was the easiest way to unlock the way through. All that was needed was to find the key. The other door which extended to another part of the room wasn’t budging, either. There was no keyhole or visible lock attached to this door, in contrast to the door before. Making an educated guess, the key had to be in the top drawer if only to make things more difficult. I was reluctant to hear the television’s words change, indicating something much more unfriendly than I wanted, to what now read: ‘Escape’.



No hints either…huh. I looked back to the drawer and steadily kneeled before it. Taking another breath, I felt around the hole to find a safe space to grip inside. No such luck, as all were ready to incapacitate my finger. I brushed my thumb against my lower lip and tried to concentrate on the solution. I couldn’t open it with my hands but there wasn’t any way to do it without doing so. That didn’t make any sense. In the corner of the drawer was a stain of dry, brown marker. The stain created an odd blot in the middle of the dresser’s wood pattern. Maybe…



I quickly licked my thumb and rubbed it slowly against the odd blot. My thumb moved up and back down once, then I repeated it with more force. Amazingly, some words were starting to show up with the next few strokes until it became legible. Words were scratched in with a knife or something sharp. It read: CARDBOARD + PIN. Another hidden message it seemed; which might have been the hint I wanted earlier. The ideas started to roll in about the pieces of cardboard in the corner and what it could be used for. Without this hint, the connection between the pin-trapped hole and that stiff paper wouldn’t have been made so easily. Needless to say, I went on to grab a piece without so much as a second thought.



Putting this new item on the dresser, I looked around for what I needed to pull this off. There was tape attached the picture lying down, which is what was needed to get inside the drawer. As I tried to rip off a piece of the tape, I thought about what it was trying to hold down. It was the backside of a small paper so it really could have been a picture of something. The tape finally gave way and ripped the picture in a singular, jagged direction. “Oops.” I remarked softly, although more of my worry went to escaping first. Scotch tape could was necessary for this plan to work. I grabbed the cardboard with both hands and ripped it into a smaller piece. From that rip, I took the smaller piece and wrapped it around my index and middle finger. The tape was needed to conjoin the piece that had been bent around these two fingers in order to perform this little experiment. Hopefully, this would be the answer to my dilemma.



I steadied myself as I stepped close to the objective, with my fingers making way slowly into the drawer. The cardboard attachment pressed down gently on the sharp pins until it was safe to press harder. The pin felt like a round nub over the protected fingers, as if read to penetrate. This was going to work; I had to continue! I pulled back and managed to get the drawer to crack open. This sight fueled me! Just a little more pull and…viola! It moved up and back smoothly, allowing me to get my hand inside to grab the rewards that waited. I tore off the cardboard and tossed it to the side as soon as I realized it was open—and went for the key.



What was in there wasn’t a key, though, just a paper. Only the many pins put into the side near the hole were the other objects of interest. “Who would have set this up?” I asked myself with an extreme sense of exasperation. Someone must have placed the pins there on purpose to try and keep me from opening it, but they also gave me the items I needed to open it as well. Whoever put the paper in there was giving some heavy mixed signals. Almost forgetting the paper, I quickly reached out for it before it had the chance to disappear. The paper held some strange looking information, as it read:



“Game Codename: Degree

How to Escape: Complete Pin Circle”



My codename was ‘Degree’. Did it mean something? I had no college degree, pretty sure I was no thermostat, and I shouldn’t have any particular angles everyone else wouldn’t have. I really didn’t understand what it meant. The next part wasn’t much better at being descriptive. The only pin circle I knew of was the one near the hole giving me trouble in the first place. I took the sides of the drawer and pulled it out farther until it stopped. Shouldn’t it have come out? That didn’t really matter.



The pins were actually in the incomplete circle, like the note had informed. An impression where one would go was right at the bottom. It didn’t take an idiot to guess what needed to be done. The dresser was now the only thing that stood out with the useless tape, ripped picture, and cardboard lying about. What was in the utmost bottom drawer of the dresser? A pin was the sole item in that specific drawer. My hand automatically reached for it and easily picked it up without some complicated work to go along with it. The puzzle was now finished and I could finally leave as soon as I fit it right in. Right in here…



Click.



As soon as the pin was fitted into the impression, it sounded an unlocking mechanism in the door without a keyhole. There must have been an intricate setup to this lock. I was still wary of what this place might have in store, so I was going to be opening the next room with a high level of cautiousness. Creeping closer to the door with paper in hand, it slipped right into the pocket as my hand instinctively turned the rusted door knob. I gulped a stream of saliva down my throat, coughed, and swung the door open like a breeze. And like a breeze…it only made a small, alerting noise. The inside of this room was extremely dark, much like the trip over to this place.



The light from the room behind me shed some light on the front pathway where a shiny object hung down from. It was exactly what I needed—the key to get out! The air felt damp, and filled with a thick gross odor. The smell was near unbearable. I continued to step forward until I was below the key and I grabbed hold of it firmly. I took a deep breath…and pulled! The key was detached from the string it was connected to and the room’s light bulb suddenly powered to life. A light switch must have been what it was connected to. Either way the key was mine, now, and shaped like a king’s crown in my hand. I felt a powerful rush of relief once I had the key in hand. This feeling didn’t last long.



I turned my head without thinking. The smell became even more prevalent and terrible. What awaited me was more than a disgusting feeling. The walls were painted with streaks of red wallpaper and words were drawn with impure wine that dripped into a pool. A figure contorted beyond recognition of it’s brutal fashion, maimed into a disgusting heap. My entire being was flipped upside down. It was a human carcass.



This place wasn’t normal. I made the mistake of underestimating my kidnapper’s attitude towards this game of his. There was no other choice but to go along with this horrible place, and there was nothing I could do to prevent it from happening.

[Evil Queen Jurie]

Ooo I really like it so far!!! Very interesting! ^.^ You are a very good writer!

[Degree]

Chapter 2 - Bloodbath


Part I : Blood...?!

SPOILER: Click to show

    My strength had been taken away. It felt like my recent accomplishments meant nothing, despite now having the ability to get out. There was no way I could ignore what was in this room now. The pungent smell, that couldn’t have been faked, had seized my thought process in a tight hold. That gory sight flipped my stomach and caused a very sickly feeling I didn’t want to remember. This was one of those moments a person can’t forget.



All the bloodied walls and floors started to affect my sanity; no longer was I in control of what I felt! I cried out for anything that could stop the madness but my voice wouldn’t escape. A sudden numbness irritated my legs causing me to drop to my knees. My body had already been grown weak since the train ride and these suspicious rooms were only furthering this upheaval. I swayed in my stance like a drunk and felt my stomach tighten, muscles contract, chest compress, and my throat blow a dry cough. With my insides rioting from the gruesome sight and pungent scent, I could handle the situation no more. The beat of the heart’s rapid pulse was the only sound that could be heard, until the delivery of a great deal of questionable fluids onto the floor ahead. I groaned, I cried…and I wasn’t even aware of it, only to be helplessly trying to regain control.



After that, I blacked out. There wasn’t any way to possibly tell how much time passed. My face was soaked; tears overlapping sweat that now was drying like sticky paste. My mind still felt a little hazy, but was clear enough to assess what was going on. My own stomach felt emptier than ever before, yet, it was a relief to release it. It didn’t seem that nasty compared to what the cause was, but then I noticed where I passed out. No time to worry about things like that.



The body was just as described: maimed beyond any recognition. The figure’s face had been bludgeoned and pierced; parts of the face had been smashed till the skin turned black and others had been ripped and punctured. Unnaturally, the jaw was loose and swayed on a downward pull. I had made the mistake of looking further up towards the eyes, which weren’t there anymore. A railroad spike was nailed where the right eye should have been, pinning it to the wall. The body’s shoulders had been given the same treatment; nailed at the joints, which made me hope it wasn’t pre-death. The other eye had been wide and clear, loosely attached by a nerve. It was indeed human, but it was entirely covered in blood and the body was slashed through the insides. Only the right hand was stainless. Bizarre, is what this scene would be called. The sick feeling was gradually returning as I stared onward, but I was done looking at it by the time I started.



Behind me was a sink with a mirror. The mirror was intact and clean, besides the years of gaining dirt and dust. I noticed then that I looked like utter PUPPIES, despite still doing better than the other guy in the room. My hair was a dark brown mess, albeit on the shorter side but worthy of the term ‘bed head’. Sticky sweat was glistening on the slightly pale face of the five foot, ten inches man in the mirror. That messy hair was sticking close to the forehead because the humid atmosphere of the room. Staring directly straight into my own brown eyes made me think it was someone else entirely. Was I really here? Did I happen to come across government secrets or was framed for a terrorist attack? I couldn’t recall why I would be here, so maybe that means I won’t be leaving either…



No, I couldn’t make this worse than it already was. I will get out of here! In all honesty, I wasn’t sure at all if I could make my claims come true. How could a sane person make it through this dead man wonderland? All the time it took to put me here and leave this body with me must have been on purpose. But, for what purpose did that need to happen? Only one thing was clear: the Rabbit had something to do with this. The most diabolical rabbit I had ever seen put me through the looking glass.



It was wrong for me to lower my guard because I looked to the side with a startled jump. I unintentionally focused a glance onto the dead body. The sight made me vomit a bit of something inside my mouth. I was done- screw the mirror!



My instincts told me to turn around again, blink, clear my head, focus on what was ahead, and find out if there is anything else important in here. I turned to check and there was a curtain right next to the corpse. The curtain concealed the innards of a bath, which could be seen clearly from where I stood. So this was a bathroom…Understood. My feet took the initiative and moved to the bath, powered by curiosity. My weak resistance to the curiosity forced me to stand in the stains of dry blood on the floor. I reached to grab hold of the ruby curtain. Griping onto the end, I quickly pulled it back.



…What? What was this? Below me in the bath was a crimson pool. It was stranger than what I had seen before, but it didn’t make the sight any more pleasant. I tried to imagine it as fruit punch or something, or anything really. But there was no sugarcoating it— it was a pool of blood! To top it all off…no, my mind was playing tricks on me. The thickness couldn’t easily let me see past the surface of the liquid so it was probably all faked anyways. I could have sworn I saw another body was in there. Nah, that couldn’t be. Haha…ha...



Why had I been wasting all this time in here? I had the key, so why not go and find some help? For one reason or another, this room pulled me further in. This room was a necessity, but I couldn’t settle with the minimum that was presented. I could have just taken the key and turned back without looking around. There would have been no need to start starving myself or to make myself piss my pants. I wouldn’t have needed to turn on the light, or look in the mirror, or hear a splash, or anything else! I could hardly imagine what- I stopped myself short. Something new had entered my train of thought. Something was splashing.



The dread in the air was back at whispering into my ear. Death was slowly stepping out of the tub, raising the level of the blood inside. The cool, thick liquid overflowed down the tub’s side and sound of droplets falling back into the bigger reservoir of blood started to resonate. Some inhumane sound, which I couldn’t stand to guess, echoed off the walls this small room had to offer. My eyes grew wide with surprise as a bloody foot stepped onto the floor. It made a loud thump, followed by a slosh, which put the fear into my senses. This was a different kind of fear than before; an urgent one. I didn’t even stay to see what else was about to come out. The only other sound was a series of thumping, in many different tones.



I ran for the door. That ‘thing’ was right there, right on my tip of my heels! My feet moved faster than I ever thought they could, pushing forward on the bathroom door. I couldn’t hear anything else but the smacking of my feet onto the ground which must have shook the whole room. I turned, ready to flee, but was stopped short when I tripped over the mess I made earlier. My knees flew against the dirty bathroom tiles and my face smacked right into the wooden floor past the door frame. “Ah! Ahhh!!” I yelled out loud, shaking off my pain through other distractions. I had no time to be whine about it. It was either I run or I die. What would anyone else go for?! Stop. I need…to move! My feet pushed forward, skidding out of the room. A large squeak bounced into the jumble of other sounds, but the loud moans of the ‘thing’ were the most powerful. This persuaded me to push on despite my pain, giving me no other option! I pushed my hands against the floor, creating an indent, but also putting me to my feet and flying back.



My balance was majorly off and was beyond help. The door was at a ninety degree angle to begin with, and my body swung against it without leniency. My head threw back and made another impact. I could feel a movement through my hair but I couldn’t care less. I slammed the door shut and shifted over to the dresser beside it. Snapping out my daze, I ran my hand alongside it to the other side and pushed with force. Harder, I told myself! It fell in front of the door. Then…silence.



Bang!


Bang!


Bang!



“Never mind it!” I hurriedly said to myself, my voice shaken by the trauma. Whatever was trying to get out was pushing it open with all of its power. I stopped thinking. I had to leave. This player of the crazy death game, Rabbit Doubt, went to the door and used the key to unlock it. Hopefully, this meant the time to renew his new life as his alias “Degree” arrived. For now, safety beyond the door was the next best thing. At least…that’s what I tried to tell myself. The death room door opened and the time for staying around was over.

Part II : Enter the First Group of Fo-- Five! Oh dear.

SPOILER: Click to show

    The outside was much nicer than I had imagined. The cool breeze blew against my face refreshingly. It was but a compliment to the lukewarm air coiling around my very being. The dark sky seemed still; as if time had stopped at this very moment. I wish it had really halted in that surreal situation a few minutes ago back. The lights shined a bright shade of purple, illuminating the area around me without any misplaced spots of shade. For the most part, the whole park seemed to be illuminated aside from the shadows that grew from the concession stands, park rides, and various buildings hovering tall. Although, I hadn’t taken a look around to really confirm that yet. On the way out of the building I woke in, I noticed that there weren’t many real sources of light.



There was a reason why the hallways and rooms were that way: it was a haunted house. This would explain the lack of maintenance and layout, but I knew that the body inside wasn’t a prop. Haunted houses generally aren’t as authentic and realistically horrifying. The exterior of the haunted house wasn’t anything special. The front sign read ‘Rabbit House of Horrors’ and had a picture of a Rabbit’s head; similar to the one that person wore to conceal their identity. It sure as hell lived up to the name, that’s for sure. When I took my leave from the haunted house, I seemed to notice a specific theme about these stalls.



They mainly consisted of rabbit dolls for prizes, as well as some other animals. The prizes seemed just as, if not more so, unusual as their appearances. With only a conservative glance, one could tell the games themselves aren’t much different than the ones at other amusement parks. The weirdest part about it was that there were high-definition monitors on the upper corner to some of them. Normally, speakers would be placed in case of announcements throughout the day. Cords ran along different paths, never going in the same direction for too long. This made the outlet even harder to find and probably even harder to power. On the monitors was what looked to be a clock, but the time was counting down. It stood at ’10:11’ which must have meant minutes, judging by the second-intervals losing rank. Then it was…a timer? What was the timer counting down to? I’ll figure it out later, I’m sure.



Conveniently, signs with arrows were planted into the hard ground. Signs of impact were shown on the top of the spoke, which meant someone put these here.



I decided to follow them until something more logical came along. By the time I got to where I was being led, that didn’t happen. The arrows pointed to a ‘main hall’ sort of building. It was possibly the central place of business when this place was in their prime. Perhaps there was an area map inside? If I was a spokesperson that had to represent this place, I would not recommend the haunted house to minors. Haha…yeah, this probably wasn’t the best time for jokes. The crickets chirping in the close distance was nicely timed. I was beginning to think that this place was soundless. The nearest screen’s timer had listed an individual number eight, so it meant that there were eight minutes left before whatever would happen. There was no reason to stay out here waiting so I grabbed the door handle and pulled it back with ease. I stepped inside to a surprising welcome.



“LOOK OVER THERE!”



It was the first thing I heard when I entered. Truthfully, it greatly startled me to hear it. The voice had been the most human I’ve heard in a long while. To even further my surprise, a girl had spoken. I don’t even know why that surprised me, but it did. When I looked up to see what the girl looked like, I had found three others as well. Not only that, but they were nothing alike in the slightest.



The loud girl who had gotten my attention looked to be of college age. It might have been the round glasses, but she looked mature enough, I suppose. Her crystal blue shone a bright reflection and her hair was short around the front. It was longer in the back and despite her lack of bangs covering her forehead, all of it seemed astray and not groomed. If we all had something in common, I can hardly blame her for the lack of hygiene. She had a pale face and some type of mischievous look complimented her ripped beige jacket over a T-shirt with a cursive ‘M’ on the front. The cargo shorts and combat boots, with striped purple-black knee socks, only continued to confuse me about her sense of fashion.



She was whistling nonchalantly, taking this situation to no serious level. Only was an inch or two shorter, as well. When I met her eyes, she noticed my staring and looked away. Great, probably thought I was a creep. I still couldn’t help but sweep over each one of them; not only because they were staring right back, but because we were staring at each other for the exact same reason. There was more surprise to me finding them all there than them seeing me, or it could have been the other way around for all I knew.



The next girl looked more normal and seemed to fit the idea of a casual business woman. The look on her face seemed to give away the fact she was trying to observe and understand me, which was understandable. Located near the other girl was this one, who was also happened gain observations back. This time, she was not Caucasian despite her white skin, at least not from my judgment. It looked like she was Asian, but I didn't want to assume a specific part of Asia. This agile looking woman was around the same height, whose emerald eyes made me feel unsure about continuing looking at them. Her solid black hair was going down a straight path to the midpoint of her back, which seemed long since she was around the same height as the other girl. The classiest part was her clothes that dressed to impress. She wore a Larry Levine Coat, double breasted wool blend walker with silver buttons, so it was hard to see what she wore under it. Accommodating the formal dress code of everyday people, she wore black dress pants.



Again, she looked quite professional. The distance between helped create the picture in mind, to point out the various differences between the two. Chances are, they were having a secret conversation in which I was too far away to hear. While on the topic, the two girls stood close while an African-American male sat on a taped-up cardboard box a few feet in front of them. The only one really taking advantage of the space given in this wide open area was another male leaning against the wall in the back, acting as if he was cool.



Now was the time for the man on the box to claim my attention. The first thing that stood was his dark skin, which was obvious to me. I bet anyone would kick my ass if I said this stuff out loud. Anyways; his hair was in a bushy mess in some kind of smaller sized afro. That itself might have been a little humorous if his face hadn’t shown how serious he was. I wasn’t in a mood to create a conflict so I was pushed back into my untrusting, scared corner I was pretending not to be in. The numerous television shows about animal packs taught me that showing weakness was only a hindrance to the herd. I puffed out my chest a little and tried to conceal my emotions that could be read from my facial expressions. This series of actions seemed to make the guy in the back want to stop caring; as if my presence was more of a nuisance than a curiosity.



The African American man’s eyes seemed like black beads of a rosary, a rosary that had also been situated around his neck, which shot at me with displeasure. What was his problem? There wasn’t anything special about his clothing other than the rosary. A goatee lined his face shortly and neatly in such a way that I would barely notice the tired circles under his eyes. Other than that, he had dressed fairly casual with a solid black T-shirt and jeans. From what I could assume right now from just appearances, he was a fairly religious guy and was quite serious about it.



“What are you standing around looking stupid for? You’re starting to look like a creep.” The Asian woman said, approaching me while I was distracted by the others around her. I could tell the tone she used with me was a soft one, as if this woman had really tried to be friendly, with strict undertone. I had no real manly thing to say, no witty comeback or anything. It’s not like she was some scary monster or anything…hopefully.



“Uh…Yeah. I mean, uh, I’m, ah, sorry?” This gibberish came out like a rocky avalanche. I regretted saying anything the moment I did. However stupid I was, she just continued to roll with it.



“Speak up! You ARE a man, aren’t you? I swear, these uncivilized- never mind. As you can see, everyone else doesn’t want to greet you properly. I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised since you are the first person we’ve seen in a long while. Still, I suppose I DO have to be the one to organize things around here.”



I said nothing. Was I supposed to answer or was it rhetorical? No one seemed to mind when she pointed people out at their mention.



She continued, “Anyways, I am ‘Fallen’ for the time being. It’s very nice to see you, especially since you came to join us. The girl who very cleverly pointed out that you arrived- the one with her hair all over the place, see? - is called ‘Xetka’. The pokerfaced man on the soapbox with nothing to say would be ‘Assassin’ and that loner over there leisurely doing nothing has only mentioned one thing pertaining to his name: ‘D’. So I assumed that’s what he’s called since saying little to nothing the whole time we’ve been together. Did you get it? A lot of people to remember, I know, but deal with it. Now would you mind introducing yourself?”



I, again, said nothing. There was this nudging feeling that made me feel like she was implying something about all of us. Or even just me— that I was some kind of brain dead baboon. No, no…I mean, she seemed nice enough. This girl, whose name was now Fallen, added something else that snapped me out of it. What a weird name for her parents to give her…



“Just to be clear, everyone here has received a slip of paper with a word on it. You know that, don’t you? It has this clear label ‘Codename’ on it and all…so…?”



Right! Well, Fallen could have put that in a nicer way, sure, but I still understood what she meant in the end. “Yeah, I got it. Sorry. My codename is…Degree. It’s Degree.” That was far simpler to accomplish than I made it out to be. A drop of sweat rolled along my hairline and down the left side of my cheek, prickling up the tiny hairs on my face. Fallen made me nervous by how composed she was compared to how I was. I’ve never seen a prettier woman in all my life or I just happened to not remember any that could hold my attention. I attempted to show how well mannered I was by lifting my hand for her to shake; albeit a little clammy, but it’s still an offer nevertheless. The reaction to my polite offer was less than pleasing.



Those emerald eyes had grown darker and had some sort of irritated glint to them. For the first time, a few creases appeared along with a frightening glare. “If you try to touch me, I’ll kill you!” Threatened Fallen in an angry whisper that only the other girl named ‘Xetka’ seemed to hear. I’ve never seen that from her before, nor did I really expect it so soon. The disgust on Fallen’s face left me stunned, and her words sent me into a spiral. As soon as she turned around, her mask was back. It covered her true bitter feelings towards me. Was she just acting somewhat polite? Did she only despise me for whatever reason; like I did something she could resent me for? Why was she trying to maintain her appearance with everyone else?



Could I trust these people…? I wondered this when I got into the small circle forming with the three people located nearest to each other. A few more minutes passed in silence. I seemed to get an amused look and snickering from Xetka as if she thought what happened was funny, the other two just kept to themselves. Either it was that or they were secretly keeping checks on me when I passed my glance to the other. I really shouldn’t be complaining since they trust me enough to not kick me out of here. If I had to say there wasn’t one to trust by appearances alone: ‘D’. Fallen might have acted rude but D looked the type to go berserk first; the quiet ones always have to be watched. Perhaps that’s an outdated stereotype.



I only got to really see that he had a slight tan to his skin tone. His clothes were simplistic: a white shirt covered by a black jacket (that wasn’t leather, at least) and some windbreaker pants. This kid was a clearly rough in looks and personality. The color of his hair was black, similar to Fallen’s, except he had a heavy dose of red highlights mixed in it. Just the thing a delinquent or drop out would do to stand out. I only assumed he was because of that atmosphere he has around him.



Before I could try to get better acquainted with these people, a knocking sound interrupted. It wasn’t really a knock, but a slam of the door. There, in the doorway, was a man dripping blood and exhaling like a broken exhaust pipe. A loud, angry voice shattered the sound barrier, “Where the hell is the stupid Kanye West that slammed a door in my face?!” and I had this weird feeling this guy was talking about…me. There he stood with a twisted look, soaked with red fluid I had only presumed to be blood. The only reason I knew this was because his white polo was tainted with an odd pink. Memories of the past hour came rushing back at that instant. Before I could make a run for it, he rushed forward. Sh**.

Part III : The Plan

SPOILER: Click to show

    Assassin and D finally rose to the occasion and held the new guy back. Fallen had stood by my side, apparently just observing since it didn’t involve her. Xetka continued to be amused, swinging her legs blissfully as they hung down from the fold-up table she sat on nearby. As I said earlier, this was the ‘main lobby’. Folding chairs and tables easily fit inside and took up a large amount of space to accommodate to the majority. However, most of them were now shoved into corners or folded away because there wasn’t anyone to use them anymore. In this big empty room as a stack of tables that formed an unstable mound, which I had stood atop to ensure my own well being.



“Drowning me in a bathtub? Barricading me inside? You were trying to kill me, weren’t you? Weren’t you?! You sick son of a bitch; I swear I’ll kill you!” The man continued to curse and rage, amplifying the aggressive claims he was making. This guy definitely wasn’t joking around. Upon realizing this, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy and confused. The dots were slowly connecting to form an imperfect, yet understandable path in my mind. The tub monster and the angry man were the same person. Anxiety started to pulse through my veins, as the meeting had made much more sense. Strangely, there another feeling…



“What did you do to him?” Fallen inquired, as I expected she would. Judging from the look on her face, she wasn’t accusing me of anything because of how disinterested she seemed to be. She was more so curious, if not for the fact that I’ve been living up to doing stupid things since I arrived. Not that expecting such things were bad, per say. “I- I swear, I really had no intention to, err…You know, lock him in. I thought he was some weird creature! If you knew the circumstances, you’d understand why I did it.” Oh man, how was I going to get myself out of this predicament?



Looking back on what led up to this, the story wasn’t making as much sense. What was the guy doing in the tub while ‘that’ was on the side? I quelled my upset stomach earlier, but I still shouldn’t be thinking about it as much. I pretended to be in a deeper thought, in order to be able to ignore everyone else around me. However, I could hardly keep up with that kind of patience. I immediately noticed a coin was sent flying from Xetka’s fingers to the angry man’s forehead. What did she do that for? “Shut up,” she said with a sly snicker, “you need to chill.”



Eventually, the man shook the two off and snorted like a bull. It seemed like our problem was settled for now. “Fine,” He retorted, sulking away with a defeated attitude. When we asked his name, he replied “Unlucky” and said it ‘fits me too well', and gestured to his outward appearance. ‘Unlucky’ must have had some story behind it. Why was it we were practically located in the same room? Our placement was indeed something that can be called unlucky. The door that led outside made a slight clunk. Assassin went to investigate it to see it was unlocked and still on its hinges. Had it locked during the time me and Unlucky ‘argued’?



The door opened to our limited view of the park. The timer located on the screens had reset during the time of our group’s exchange, as it now read “20:00”. Timers were counting down for an unknown purpose, which became the most peculiar part about it. I looked around our current location to see where the television was located. There, I spotted it. Near the door to the outside at the left corner of the room was the same clunky model placed in my room. It was placed on a rolling stand with a compartment below it, but it had not been plugged in. Unlucky must have noticed my glance and seemed to not trust how I was looking at it, leading him to going over and trying to pry it open himself. No luck. For the next five minutes we took serious consideration of the timer and eventually decided on a plan of action.



“Whatever this clock is for, it’s in our best interest to get back before it’s up. It would be useful for us to assess the surroundings, if all of you can handle that. I’m sure no one else has a better idea.” Our ringleader Fallen said, easily taking charge of us five. How could she act the way she does without any hesitation? Passing looks from one side to the other, she assessed her current team as if unconvinced. “We will split into groups of two. This way, we will cover more ground. The teams will be: me and Assassin, Unlucky and Xetka, and D and Degree…any disagreements?”



I was totally fine with it. As long as Fallen or Unlucky wasn’t on my team, it was all cool. Both claimed the right to ‘kill’ me within a few minutes of meeting, so I thought that would just harm our ‘team effort’. To my surprise, D spoke up to disagree. “This is totally illogical! Why should we listen to you like you actually know what you’re doing? Well, news flash- you don’t know anything! Why the hell do I need to go with ‘that’ guy anyways?” After D finished that thought, I had this feeling that these people thought I was stupid or inept. D didn’t even look like he was finished speaking his mind yet. I don’t even remember doing anything to him to make him hate me either! Well…not yet. I was about to say something when Assassin put his lengthy arm in my path. Fallen went forward and got in his face, D retaliated and started fighting back, and I felt relieved Assassin stopped me. I nodded toward him even if he wasn’t paying attention.



“You really want to play this game? What’s your idea then, tough guy?” Fallen started, guns blazing.

“I don’t have one, but I’m sure someone else has some clue!” D shot back, with no improvement.

“Well guess what, you’re the only one that spoke up! Now you better say something or you can shut that smart mouth.”
Silence. That led to such an anticlimactic finish.



I decided to butt into this conversation, “D, ah, let’s just go. Just stop fighting for a few minutes and you two can continue when we get back. Deal, eh?” Fallen walked away quickly with an “Hmph!” to follow, D grunted and then proceeded on his way out. I just sighed and decided not to dwell on the subject. Hopefully no one would be yelling again for at least a few minutes. Thankfully, D was the silent type.



________________________________________




D and I were the first to leave, so we ended up not being able to know the directions the other groups chose to go down. We had taken a sharp right going out and proceeded deeper into the park. D ignored everything besides the gravel road ahead; it was necessary to not get distracted by all the things around that would waste more precious time. Flag poles, stands, trash cans, and the other usual things you’d find were pretty basic. Though you wouldn’t be surprised that all of it was themed around the ‘Rabbit’ I saw earlier. It just happened to fit right into everything else. The garbage cans could also be lifted by pulling on some cool looking bunny ears! “What are you doing…?” D asked, looking at me as if I lost my mind. I guess I asked for a look like that.



The only time we had stopped to look at anything was when we arrived at this large purple and black striped tent. Only a simple curtain worked as the door and the overall size was smaller than the main building, but seemed to be lengthier than the haunted house. This place seemed to be big enough for a large audience to crowd in. Yet, I was having a premonition that this circus tent was used for dark entertainment. There was something sinister about this tent, but I had no idea what that could mean. How much worse could it get? D took the lead and was about to enter the tent.



I stopped him from going inside as I urgently made a compromise, “Look, I’ll take a peek inside. You can stay out here to watch the time for me. I promise I won’t be long, and well…I seem to have a bad image with you guys right now so…please, allow me to up for it!” I swallowed my saliva nervously, breathing erratically. D rolled his brown eyes, ruffled his dyed hair and stepped aside. “Make it quick.” He told me with a lack of interest. I took a deep breath and stepped through the curtain, making my way into the mysterious tent. The inside was nothing like I expected it to be.



Almost nothing inside looked fit for an audience; without any stands or stages, there really wasn’t anywhere to perform for a group. Along the center aisle, straight from where I stood, was a space four feet wide and over three dozen feet long. On each side of this center space were chairs edging along for the gravel road ahead. The wooden chairs had been perfectly stable and each had a single rabbit doll sitting on them. Every one of them had identical stitching over what ripped in the past and pink colored fabric which appeared to be the lights fault. At the end of the aisle was a figure sitting in front of a table. The table had numerous cards scattered over, but that wasn’t the thing that made me freeze in my tracks. It was a short girl with heavily tanned skin, hugged a rabbit doll to her chest, and wore a black gothic dress. She stared at me with glowing purple crescents, smiling as the glow intensified. But, they didn’t…look sane. Then, she spoke.



“Welcome! Would you like me to…”



My chest started to beat like a drum, my ears pounding with a rush of blood. A new fatigue washed over when this girl stared over…with those ‘lunatic eyes’.



“…Predict your future?”

[Blood stained bunny]

^_^ This is awesome!!!

[Degree]

Chapter 3 - Mistress of the Night

Part I : Ithiliel

SPOILER: Click to show

“Excuse me?” I asked, uncertain of why I received such an interesting welcome. Something strange followed her question; was it a motive? Perhaps it was nothing more than her ominous, enticing tone? She looked genuine, but that wasn’t the full story.


The girl’s expression became something mischievous and playful, opposite from what I was used to here. It was like this when I first arrived but was hidden behind scripted words and devious undertones. “I’ll predict your future.” She repeated, unchanging. Quiet, empty tent and a strange girl sitting at a table wanting to tell fortunes; nothing could have looked shadier.


“No, I don’t believe I could…” I told this straight to her face, but it seemed like the girl’s reaction was the complete opposite of what I expected.

“Great! I get to try out my new tarot cards for the first time!” It was followed by a cute little giggle. The girl was short, with dyed purple contacts, and wore a black gothic dress. Those unnatural eyes truly did glow in the light. Was that violet dye fundamentally safe? I felt almost obliged to ask before she continued to misconstrue facts.

“I said— hear the emphasis on ‘said’— that I did NOT want my future told. What I do want is-“

“A cake? Mm-mmm-mmm, sounds delicious!”

What the hell was she saying? This girl must have been deprived of oxygen for a very long time.

“That isn’t a nice thought, DeeDee.” She continued on, completely taking me aback. The things she was saying were so random. It was as if she could read my mind. “You’re silly, you know! It’s an adorable quality dear, hehe. No tricks, the Lady of the Night told me about it, is all.”

…Okay. “Told you what, exactly?”

The girl stuck out her tongue and gave a bright smile. Honestly, I wondered why I even had this bad feeling since I came here. Sure this girl was odd, but what was so bad about her? Nothing from what I could see. Images of past events flickered quickly in my mind, reminding me that the surface doesn’t reveal all. Even so, maybe I can trust her.


“Every girl has her secrets, DeeDee.” I assumed she got my name from the ‘Lady of the Night’ too or else this wouldn’t have made sense. Wait…did I accept her words that easily? For all I knew, she could be the person who took me here or the helper of said person. At first, I was hesitant. But now I was being pulled into a comfort zone. So she is that type of person. It was an interesting claim, of course.


The girl then gestured to the other chair at the table, now placing herself on a chair vertically across from mine. On the table was a toy rabbit identical to the others, next to a sprawled out deck of cards. Nimble fingers swooped down to collect them and she shuffled the cards with finesse and delicacy. The way she handled the bunch of cards showed she took pride in them. Knowing how these cards worked meant she had done it before, so I had no reason to doubt her ability. Earlier, she mentioned they were new. But why exactly did she have such happiness over the possession of simple cards? If she had been kidnapped like rest of us, then she was suspiciously enjoying it. While her hands worked the cards, her mouth spoke something like a proper greeting. Though, it was more of an introduction than anything.


“I am ‘Priestess Liel’. The Night’s Mistress I spoke of before gave me the title ‘Ithiliel’. You may call me whichever you please. She told me that everyone here was here to partake in a game. You are probably wondering why I refer to it as a ‘game’, but I assure you that it is no lie. Right now, however, we aren’t playing that game, but another kind; a very fun one!” Meaning, there was indeed a catch to the woman’s impish smile. ‘Liel’ tilted her head, unfazed at the possibility that her words had some negative effect. Shortly after speaking, she fished a hand into her one pocket and a card was shown with Liel’s name on it. “I was ordered to make use of this room and the unique tools given for the next person who walked in. By the cards of your future, no less! You’d be surprised how fate happens to get pulled into these unlikely scenarios, hehe! Yep-yep, so…what was next?”

Part II : Explosive Future

SPOILER: Click to show

Liel bore her radiant eyes into the back of the white card and then her features perked back up. “Right, now watch closely as I explain the rules.” She began, reaching back into her pockets to take out a shapelier object. It didn’t really tickle my fancy all that much. It was a small, rod-shaped object with a cherry colored button on the top. It looked like a new model pen, I guess…


“This is an explosives detonator,”


What the hell did she mean? So, it was used to trigger a bomb. That is a joke…right? The next few seconds repeated the feeling upon finding the ‘body’ and the ‘blood bathing’ Unlucky. This was just another way to break down my spirit. I had no reason to get more panicked and frustrated, yet.


“Each of the chairs rests a bunny that contains an explosive in that furry chest. This is a slight variation to the game called ‘Musical Chairs’. In simpleton terms, if you pick the wrong chair to sit in; it’ll explode and you’ll die. That’s about it!” The joyful ring of her voice threw me even more off guard. In her own weird way, she was enjoying relaying the mission she was called upon for. It didn’t look as though she took this anymore seriously than a loose screw on a squeaking door. Nothing that’s been said or done would indicate her as the mastermind who thought up this wonderful idea. This only brought more questions up: Did she come here willingly? Why is she choosing to do this, even if it’s not as dangerous as it tried to sound? If it is true then WHY is she doing this? This woman was going to answer everything after this little game finishes.


Tarot cards were meant to read into a specific person’s future. It had the intentions of determining your individual fate by what card is chosen, and what direction it was turned to. I don’t blame her for being super interested in her cards, but there was more that needed to be explained that she just wasn’t telling. I snatched the card from her side of the table and read it to myself. Liel was truthful. However, there was one particular NOTE that tied up a loose end:


"Failure to complete the task with anyone, or your residential leave of tent, will result in death. No playing favorites!”


I shivered at how well and clear it was written. The message proclaimed a straightforward message with the utmost relevancy. It made sense that she was being forced to do this too, which only confirmed a previous fear. The other being that she was actually enjoying it. Maybe she had a different plan in mind, but that didn’t seem likely at this current moment. I found myself staring as I thought this. A small gap parted between her lips as her tongue slithered out to moisten the upper and lower exteriors. I felt my face start to burn in a childish embarrassment. My free hand slammed against my left cheek with an unruly amount of pain that intended to snap me out of drawn conclusions. Liel angled her head and was followed by a sweep of long, gleaming black hair. I dodged the question with a flustered snap when she asked about what I just did.



By this time, Liel gleefully retrieved the card from my loosened grip and took her spot at the table. Judging by the bright white smile flashed in my direction, she played me like a fiddle. It would seem that women were aware of their own charms, or rather, my weakness to them. “Are you ready? You can’t stand around forever. Hehe.” Raising the trigger with her right hand, she smoothed her thumb around the slick device till it reached the glaring, retractable ruby. I became more attentive, but less focused on my own mission. Actually, this is the first time I know what I’ll be dying from. What’s more interesting than a game of exploding musical chairs?


“Thrilling, isn’t it? But there is no need to worry; you only need to go three rounds with sixteen chairs. You don't need to do any more and you aren’t allowed to do any less.” I wondered what her decision in not using the word ‘we’ meant. I wasn’t the only one with my life on the line. Still, it was morbidly reassuring of her to clarify for me that I had a huge chance of not dying. “It’s going to be alright.” She further reassured with an endearing tone, which tugged at my sympathetic strings. Normally, I would be embarrassed by what she said but then I got to thinking. Liel might just be a kind girl at heart that got roped into this unpleasant place. Sadly, the reasonable part of me was avoiding trusting her for a reason.


“Hahahahaha!” I laughed abruptly to get my blood flowing. To get my mind out of the negatives and to let my primal instincts take over. That’s how I made it here and that is how I plan to leave. Sure, I had a bucket list that I wasn’t planning on using this soon, if I would still get the chance. I was hoping I could ride a horse into the sunset with a maiden of my dreams or walk away from an explosion like some cool action movie. Last wishes weren’t supposed to be this accurate, were they? At this point, I was ready for anything; nothing could stop me from finding the truth!

Part III : Destructible Mistakes...

SPOILER: Click to show

Screeeeech. That was the overhead speakers turning on and starting to play a classic symphonic tune. All that blood that rushed in had left in a familiar rush out. I could feel my face whiten, and I thought that talking up a big game was supposed to psyche someone into doing something. Instead, I managed to get my hopes up with unreal expectations. It was during my reliving of fears that I heard the dreadful noise start again. It was on its second loop? “The game didn’t start yet, ri—“


Click. Bam!


I warily looked over to the second in line on the same row I was on. The bunny was blown to bunny-heaven and the chair was fractured in multiple places. “That was a demonstration, which sadly turned sixteen to fifteen. Hehe, I’m sorry!” No more music, but it wasn’t just her talking anymore. I heard a voice beyond the entrance and saw a hand slide through to open it. Damn! I forgot about D waiting outside. “What the hell are you doing?!” D blurted out, obviously the type to speak before thinking. Then again, I’m surprised he didn’t overhear the entire conversation and come in sooner.


“No, don’t come in! I got this!” I yelled over, starting to break out in a cold sweat. I sure as hell didn’t want to involve D. But, as expected, he ignored me. An explosion in a shady circus tent warranted enough suspicion, so it’s my fault for thinking he would stay put no matter what I said. D came in stone-faced with an eyebrow arched above his bangs. “Yeah…” the red-haired, angry fellow looked over to me standing inside a field of wooden chairs and then to Liel in her tiny appearance. “If little girls are your type, then I can’t judge dude. We need to leave soon so we can get back to the others.” It was almost like he pretended to not be interested in any of this. Gritting my teeth, I try to hold back a remark at the ‘my type’ comment, which was totally not true!


“Little girl?” repeated the offended Liel, who was trying to hide the irritation in her expression. Would D understand that the question was rhetorical? I noticed her small, soft looking hand clench onto the trigger and a twitch at the side of her mouth. “Why don’t you join us, it’ll be fun!” Although her face looked innocent, I could have sworn she was just glaring at D a second ago…


It didn’t take long for him to become comfortable; enough so that all he tried was to wiggle more on the chair by wedging the rabbit doll back some. I started to wonder how surprised he’d be to hear that he was potentially becoming little pieces of a former red-haired punk. A sudden, familiar chill ran down my neck. This past night already made me extremely anxious on multiple occasions and another go at my mental health was the least of my wants. Having an innocent fellow bystander die here with me is unthinkable. That’s why I can’t lose now without first figuring out why we are here and what our captors intend to use us for.


With fifteen chairs now, she rearranged them in a pattern of two-by-four extending in rows of four and columns of two. After setting it up, she deemed that it was unfair to be one chair down so she called it a ‘favor’ and blew up another. Coincidentally, it was next to the empty spot on the right side. I wasn’t sure if that was lucky or unlucky considering she limited us to only having one side to go to each. Of course, my side happened to be the right of the center path. Another precaution she took was in leaving the chairs spaced out enough to be threatening, but not life endangering. The game would have ended too quickly if it toppled over like dominoes. Then, we took our seats.


If I had to write this down on a piece of paper, the layout would resemble this:

1   2   3   4    ===    1   2   3   4

5   6   7   8    ===    5   6   7   8


My guess as to which spot would be taken next would be far from the previous spots. Logically, they would never explode three in a row unless they expect you to make such a move. I was willing to risk it, so I sat in number three. D, through his own whims, chose to sit in six on his side. We were pretty far from each other. Before I had a chance to stand up to ready myself for another round, Liel clicked it four times. That equaled two more bombs. The fifth chair on my side and the seventh on D’s were unsalvageable.


“What the hell!” I blurted out, eyes wide at the scene. I looked over to Liel who stuck out her tongue like it wasn’t a big deal. “Oopsie.” Replied Liel simply and then stating something else as she clicked it on again, “Sorry about that. Please move to another chair. Also, you are wondering how a time-sensitive bomb is exploding when I press the button twice in quick succession. It’s because of the short fuse, silly! Doing it hurriedly surely isn’t as fun, but it does override the time needed to wait for the music to stop. Which you could now say means your fate rests solely in my hands.”


Answering every question that came to mind is starting to get really creepy. If she were to reapond to that thought, I’d submit immediately to her power. Although, I still wondered the one question she had yet to answer. Why did she seem so serious about accomplishing her task? There was more to it than just her performing her duty so she could live. I moved to another seat across from me just as she clicked the button again. I continued to stare to see if something would change in her appearance, but she no longer gave any of her attention to me. Her threatening glare was getting pretty shifty, so I assumed she was still just mad at D but…something didn’t feel right.  


The bomb in seat three snapped off into bits of burnt cotton as soon as I got in my seat. I inhaled a quick breath because of the quick fright at the chair in front of me. If I had stayed in that same chair…I would have died! Blood started rushing faster to my head, forcing away my calm appearance for a couple minutes. I was being way too easy-going up till now. Could I really have died? It was inhumane to force people to do this! That sick bastard was making us all do things like this for his own enjoyment. I could only wonder what torment Fallen and the others were going through. If I was having second thoughts now, I surely needed some kind of plan. One more chair was all it took to finish this. Our chances of winning are far higher than losing. Right now, the chairs look like this:



1   2   3   4    ===    1   2   3   4

5   6   7   8    ===    5   6   7   8



Speaking of which, I wasn’t sure why D was still sitting in his chair if he didn’t need to. Perhaps he was just challenging her to just try and kill him. It was about time that his side lost another chair, but he sat there silent, unnerved. I observed Liel and her movements, expressions, and just about anything to understand the secret to winning. “Are you sure about that chair?” she asked curiously, with an underlying voice of contempt. She was making it sound like that chair was going to go next. Liel clicked the device to sound the music one final time. I was hoping D would move from that chair but instead…he was smirking. What point was he trying to prove?! I looked back to Liel and saw something change. No, there was something else that D knew long before! What was it?


D was confident in his chair and sat there, instigating her to blow him up. Liel continued testing his resolve, on the edge of letting her thumb drop over the button, with a tormented look on her face. Wait, why did she look distraught in the first place? Did D know where the next chair would explode? Just then, an answer was given.


An explosion erupted on the other side, and I no longer saw the man I came with. Instead it was smoke and pile of burning woods that halted the old music. There was nothing there. “He…he’s dead.” So it really was possible to die here, just like that. Living a life only to have it stopped short by this twisted, stupid game. “I…I am…so sorry.”

Part IV : Children of the Tarot

SPOILER: Click to show

From that spot of smoldering wood, only a dense gray screen remained. The smoke spread a brooding signal of defeat that touched my once trump and optimistic heart. In a fit birthed from upset, I lashed out at our fellow captive fortune teller. At least, that’s what I wanted to do. Deep down, I knew that none of this was her idea to begin with and so it should end the same way. Unfortunately that was no longer possible, as I would be leaving with same amount people I came in with. Faking her shocked expression, Liel could be waiting to take me out any time she wishes like she had done with D. I would be dumb enough to believe her play acting…so should I?



Whatever expression my face held told my current emotions perfectly. Liel read them as accurately as she has been tonight. “Degree, it’s not what you believe.” I shook my head before I could process her words. Nothing she said could change anything. “It’s not as you perceive, dear.” Once more, I shook my head. “Degree!” her frustrated shout snapped my thoughts back into place and I had the chance to take a look at her unkempt appearance. D had shaken her before he…died. Just as quickly, I could feel my mind reel back into a dark place but I no longer had the willpower to crawl out of it.


Suddenly, a chair fell to the floor and I thought the impossible would happen. However, instead of a red-haired punk, it was a short woman who looked too much like a doll. Her small hands snatched up a paper with a few things scribbled down and had given me a full view of it. This was the seat set-up, so what? Did she so badly want to remind me that my companion was long dead? The nerve of this girl was starting to tick me off. Given her powerful perception into others emotions, she had already deduced that what I was feeling again. So, to give me no time to speak, she had shoved a fistful of information at me.


“What do the first and second chairs add up to? Adding the third and fourth?”


1   2   3   4    ===     1   2   3   4



5   6   7   8    ===     5   6   7   8


I did as she asked, only to satisfy a new curiosity to keep my mind away from other subjects:


1 + 2 = 3

5 + 7 = 12


“Now add the last pair.” An order I could only take as a grim joke, but I did it to see her point.


3 + 6 = 9


They were just a bunch of numbers, weren’t they? I wanted to announce that thought until the words got caught in my throat. My mind was growing hazy with a numbing thought, that perhaps the numbers had significance. Unsure about what that significance was, I remained wondering as if it were to come rushing at me any minute. Liel noticed the glint of interest I had in discovering what answer her riddle had, and she was satisfied with just that. “DeeDee, I think it’s time your friend stopped playing. Hehe, you can play with him later, okay?” She faced away, towards the smoldering pile that still gave off a light colored smoke. Two statements with no mention of explanations; it was like she was still playing the game and wanted me to have the satisfaction of getting the correct answer without hints. Since I didn’t understand, I opened my mouth to question her again. However, I was drawn back to her mysterious overlooking gaze and where it leads.


An unbelievable sight was staring me straight in the face. Unlike how you would imagine an ashy pile of old chair, there was a tall figure looming over the mess. It was absolutely daunting in comprehension of what could be, but this was as straightforward an answer as any other I sought after. D stood there in the pile clear of smoke with a finger scratching above his ear while his usual insensitive and nonchalant attitude spoke in those body gestures. “Don’t go killing me off yet.” This small, simple phrase crippled me. The feelings were just that relentless and continued to pour out.


I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to get a good look at a man who I’ve only known for a short time. My warm, salty tears sped to the ground at a breakneck pace. It wasn’t as if I cried for him, since I hardly knew the guy. Exhaustion; I’ve been feeling fatigued for a while now, and it finally came loose as soon as the string of hope reattached. I let my mind wander into multiple conclusions that made this place feel even more surreal. Now, I see that nothing that happened was actually life threatening.


“Hey, man…” D spoke aloud as he now stood over me with a look of pity, which I would have thought to be a ghost if Liel didn’t react. Then again, she was a nutty ‘priestess’ and they usually see ghosts. That theory didn’t seem too farfetched. “You’re making me feel pretty guilty about not saying something sooner. Geez, dude.” Yeah, he was definitely dead and spoke to me in ghost form. The D I knew was never that friendly. Never would that punk have held out his hand to me so I can stand on my own unless it was to get something in return. I reached for him anyways, and oddly enough, his hand was able to be grabbed. I was hoisted back unto my feet and time moved forward once more.



One question had still been left unanswered: “I don’t mean to undermine your survival and all, but…how?” I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the method he used to survive the bombing. Liel hinted that the numbers and order the chairs exploded were the solution. I didn’t quite understand, but that may be because I just wasn’t clever enough. Surely enough it was D who had figured it out first. Liel spoke for the first time since D and I were ‘reunited’ with the answer to my question.



“Hehe, oh dear Deggie. You’re an interestingly silly guy, you know? When added in pairs to get a single digit number, they all add up to a factor of three.” D nodded to confirm his suspicions, and I’m not sure I would get that even if I had another chance. My partner interjected with his own comments about it, “It was too easy to see coming. In case you didn’t realize, she could have killed us when we first arrived. Had to be some reason why we were alive without involving her stupid musical chairs excuse.” Now Liel nodded, reluctantly. There was definitely more to this explanation, but that would be for later.



“I guess it’s done and all…” Liel spoke, now with a surprisingly defeated sigh. All that energy and lively giggles vanished, making her appearance worn. I knew how exhausted she must have been feeling if that were the case. “You can leave…I’ll be just fine.” Her voice rang new with a detectable sadness. I wasn’t the type to identify how the person was feeling but I felt the atmosphere get heavy as she said the word “leave”. Leaving could be an emotional ‘trigger’ for her in an ironic way, which added to the level of pity. Despite all of the threats I received tonight, I can’t say these people are bad or evil. If she really is a normal human being standing in the same place I was, then what could possess someone to do this to such an innocent girl like her. Although I’m not a saint, could a small, cute woman do anything to be punished like this?


…Unless…she wasn’t innocent in the slightest. Enwrapped in a fabricated darkness of impossibilities that could easily be possibilities, my thoughts were getting cloudy on what I could trust. No, that’s not quite right. My judgment to trust her innocent act—on the ‘who’ I could believe in, when I don’t even know who she is under the surface. Is it a matter of can or will when it comes to trusting somebody? I hesitantly glanced back to D and I could no longer recognize the man behind me. Was he attempting to pull the wool over my eyes? That was thing about the Rabbit; that person’s face and voice remained a secret. Could keeping me alive and safe be a part of his plan? No…no, I can’t have doubt creeping on me in such a fragile state of mind.


Seeing as we needed to get back as soon as possible, I held out my hand to the girl who put me through so much danger. The firm doubt that she was still going to try and kill one of us was still there, but I couldn’t bear to leave her be even if I wanted to. “Pfft, and you’re supposed to be a mindreading priestess? If you can’t even figure out that we had no intention of not bringing you along back to our group- oh, what a shame! I overestimated your abilities! Woe is me…woe is me…” I smirked, obviously trying my best at fooling around in order to cheer her up. On cue, she smiled lightly and let out a little giggle. My weird jokes seem to pull it off every now and then.


“I don’t mind really.” She told me, just following the lead. Hah! Her caramel skin seemed to tint a glossy texture on her cheeks. It was a nice compliment to her look already.


I waved it off jokingly, “Sure, sure.” She proceeded to grasp my outstretched hand. For better or worse, our party grew to three. Obviously she looked pretty happy now but I don’t know how well she’ll be getting along with the others. No amount of friendliness could deal with their individualities. Now that it was getting silent, I became instinctively more aware to my surroundings. There were a few disturbances in my observations: a distorted aroma about the air had been blended with the ever so pungent gunpowder. Besides that, I could have sworn I heard a little noise from somewhere near. It took me a moment to realize D and Liel were off discussing something by themselves; this being the first official normal conversation since the end of ‘Musical Chairs’.


“Hey, hey…Quiet down for a second.” After hearing the same inaudible sound, I ordered this quickly. The murmur was much closer than I initially thought and this definitely felt like something I should be taking seriously. “Why don’t you?” D retorted, speaking as if he wasn’t presumed dead a few minutes ago. I started scanning around for the faint inconsistent mumbling to reach my ears in the dead silence, trying to hear out whoever or whatever was out there. Pacing in a few random directions, the backside of the tent gave off a clear mumbling. So it wasn’t another explosive, but a second person in hiding.


Behind me, I could hear D make a remark about the other fidgeting. I barely took notice of this. Of course Liel would have something to do with it. Thump, thump, thump. My boiling blood was making it hard to get rid of my courageous rhythm I’ve been holding onto which each step. Thump. Thump. My heart pounded like a set of exotic drums. Then I heard something unbelievable: the crying of a little kid. Younger than me by quite a lot, I’d say. The entrance to this truth was a slightly different color than the rest of the tent’s fabric, which may have been the first clue.


When I reached out to the curtain that subtly blended in with the tent’s texture I got a shaken to my nerves. It revealed a little boy, despite my wild imaginations on whatever accompanied him. It was an odd sight to see mops, brooms, and all the other utility supplies stashed in this corner room with a whimpering child in the collection. The little apartment managed to barely fit this kid! I stared down at the bleary-eyed child, who only appeared a tiny amount younger than me by his dirty facial features alone. Of course, the grime could make a five-year-old into an eight-year-old but that wasn’t the kind of feeling I got from him. It was one of those types who matured early, mentally, but his emotions still ran similar as any other child. The physical body was stereotypically small for those emotional-geniuses type of kids, hair being a ruffle of wavy silver going nowhere past his ears, and blue eyes surrounded by swollen red. It seemed this ten-year-old-or-so has been here for quite a while.


The oddest feature about him would be his ragged clothes. A grey jacket was zipped around a solid teal shirt, neck covered by a mismatching black scarf with orange polka dots, and black slate slacks and dark shoes with bright trims. Actually, they looked like plain slippers. His complexion was mostly pale due to his crying and partly because of a makeover a homeless person would have, which made his cerulean eyes stand out because of the slight contrast. Did I see a hint of blush on his cheeks?


I whispered softly to the boy, trying not to frighten him “Hey there…” At best, he was no more than thirteen years old. The two other members of my little group came to see what I was doing. One, as I correctly guessed, already knew what was hiding behind the curtain: Liel. I looked back with weighted suspicions, aware of her strangeness from recent experiences. What could she be doing with a kid like this? Starting to doubt her reliability again, I tried to think of possible connections that would make sense. For all I knew, they were adopted siblings who liked to dress up. I mean, they looked TOO different, so they couldn’t have been blood related. “So, mind explaining this?” I inquired curiously to Liel, who was starting to smile and blush. What, did I have something funny on my face?


The boy in the closet was starting to whimper an uncontrollable rate. I tried to reach over to reassure that everything would be alright but it wasn’t helping; his problem was with someone else here.


Like lightning, Liel swooped down and hugged the boy tight. “Cute! Cute! Cuuuute! He is SO adorable!” She exclaimed with joy, like a kid in the candy shop. That meant the boy she clung to was like candy, who didn’t seem like he gave consent to be eaten. “L- L- Lemme’ go! Pleeeeease take me away!” the boy whined in reply, pleading for one of us to take him away.. Liel pressed her cheek against and rubbed their rosy blushes (or glowing frustration) against each other with only the force of Liel’s affection. She kept repeating how cute he was to the point it was sickening, or delightful, depending how you look at it. I had a hard time figuring out what to officially describe her as. I looked over to D who seemed just as lost as I was.


D bent down to pick up a little slip of paper. It was the same type of card the rest of us received, so I assumed it was the same notations. D read out a surprisingly normal name from the card: “Leum.” I believe this trip would have gone much faster if all we had to do was look around and find papers. I still wasn’t sure what the numbers from earlier meant, or why they held such an important clue for us. There’s no way it could mean anything else.


Resigning to this weird comedy routine, I scratched my head on the enigma and looked to ‘Leum’ who was still being cuddled by Liel. I legitimately felt bad for the kid. “You’re killing meeeee!” Leum whined further, trying to push her away. Being squeezed to suffocation was not something I liked when I was younger either. Pushing away didn’t work when he tried prying away with his hands on her chest or against her knees with his feet. It surprised me that he was smaller than her (it’s terrible, but that isn’t a joke). “Combo breaker! Combo breaker!” he shouted out like a fighting game character, trying to break away from the opponent’s combos— obviously, but this wasn’t exactly the same situation as a fight.


As if my first impressions haven’t been proved wrong enough, it happened again. “Sorry kid. Your name is Leum, right? Not to burst your solitary bubble, but we can’t leave you cooped up here so you better have no problem coming along with us.” I totally had D stuck as an ‘arrogant, badass delinquent who is easily angered’ kind of guy. Perhaps I did have a wrong first impression or maybe something unusual happen while I wasn’t looking? For now, I’ll just assume it was bad indigestion and that’s why he can’t act melodramatic and full of angst right now. The boy nodded with an unpleasant frown to show us but his eyes sure lit up. The only problem was getting Liel restrained so he could stand up on his own two feet. When Leum regained his composure, all four of us set outside to rendezvous with the main group. We now were able to have conversations, properly introduce each other, and got to achieve a slightly more personal foundation. Even though our designated time limit went over the amount given to explore, it truly didn’t matter that we had our personal restrictions. The true countdown had begun…

[Degree]

Now Chapter 3 [Old Version] and Chapter 3 [New Version] are done and up again, I can start reworking the last bit till new stuff. All of my college necessities are done, for the most part! Hopefully I won't have a lot of work next week, sorry about that guys.

Chapter 3 has a lot of small changes from the old version, and I plan to take it in a different path than when I started. Hopefully with age, my word choice and grammar also improved. See you guys for Chapter 4!

[Kuro]

I was really surprised when D blew up.

[Requiem]

Its really good degree

[Degree]

Chapter 4 - Players Guide


Part I : Rulebook

SPOILER: Click to show

“The timer reset…” I mumbled under my breath, pointing out the obvious revelations to the rest of our group. Before we set out of the tent, our newest members brought their supplies to our attention. In that closet was canned food, water, rations, a few utensils, and even some spare change. There is only so much one could do with a handful of coins in a park—without any rides taking priority, of course. Vending machines were seen near restrooms and inside buildings for a quick snack purchase. ‘Strange’ was the beginning of this place. Lights were shining bright and all of this equipment was still operating, all that was left was the rides themselves. Who was caring for their condition so closely?



Speaking of unresolved issues, there were still some questions that could be answered right now. “So, what was that back there? Pulling that stunt almost got you killed and yet, you drew an unreliable theory from nowhere and won. After you came back you were unsurprised that it worked.” Although accusatory, hopefully the good intentions were extending through. It was a little suspicious. “Even now, you are reluctant to announce your winning strategy.” D shook his head to this, saying that ‘wasn’t his intention’. Good intentions or not, this confirmed that he was hiding something. It turned out he was hiding literature in his back pocket. Never pictured him as a reader but you can’t judge a book by the cover; although I must say that it was a little creepy, since it was theme’d the same way as everything else and read ‘Guide Book’. That must be how he survived so grandly, but it doesn’t make sense.



Twisting the cover to face me, he opened it to the first couple of pages. It read ‘Rules’ at the top and before I got to the bullet points listed half-way down, another set of lines were pointed out to me. In this game, there are three players among you who—“Wait a minute, what IS this? Three players among us are the killers who will murder one of us each night? That’s crazy! It’s not funny, man.”



Again, D shook his head to this. I must have looked pretty foolish to keep asking questions that were answered like this. That guy was asking for my detective skills to be put to use by brazenly flaunting information only he had. “I’m not showing you because I think it’s funny. Throughout this rulebook are references to the number ‘three’, so I did some math during the super-fun-explosion-time. Sure, I acted casually, but you would understand if you were thinking straight. If you added up the results of some chairs, they would arrive at a sum of three or a number with a factor of three.” But wasn’t that too convenient to be true? Strangely enough, he was still correct.



Three was undoubtedly the name of this game. As twisted as it may have been, I couldn’t fake the right emotions to deny that everything in this book were true. It was a set of guidelines. That being normal fare for any multiplayer game it was somehow perturbing to consider it as such. The rules flatly stated that three people in this designated location would hunt a single player each night and kill them without being caught. If seen or captured red-handed, they were put on ‘trial’ to be judged by their peers. Judging a single person wasn’t described to be easy, coming off to be tedious and tiresome but worth the effort. A good example would be saying this was like grinding for an RPG, not that human lives should be demoted to common virtual beasts.



        • At dusk, one of you will be killed by a member of the guilty party. The objective of the game is to prevent murders and catch the killers. Majority will be simple bystanders who fodder the kill pool; the ‘rabbits’. Only a few chosen players will commit these acts by using their true natures to judge each of you; the ‘wolves’. Other roles will be mixed in with discretion. If you aren’t sure what role you have, it will be rabbit as all other roles would have been notified prior to the distribution of this book.



        [*] All roles separate from rabbit and wolf could be helpful to oneself or for one of the teams.

        [*] Only the wolves are aware of each other. They do not know the roles of others, vice versa.



        • In order to accommodate some players lack of strength and mental power not being on equal levels, each night will hold a trial to signal who one of the killers is. These trials are run by majority vote. No one player is restricted from voting another, to make it as fair as possible. Those chosen will not live past the night, no matter what they do. Any rule-breaking will result in a death penalty.


        [*] Death penalties occur when the chosen, by jury, tries to impede the flow of the game. The team they are a part of         receives a     lasting penalty against them.



        [*] Those chosen to die will be strung up by rope. Other methods are applicable.



        • Voting will take place in the same large, center hall located around the middle of the park. Maps scattered around the park will show you the way if you happen to get lost. It is a necessity to make it to the meetings on time, which start at eleven pm. Once you enter, all exits will lock and therefore can only be opened from the outside. Failure to arrive in time could result in death (hounds are unpredictable depending on how much food they are given that day). Voting will always begin shortly and once they do, only ends after an hour. Polls close and the decision is made.


At this point in the text, I wasn’t sure what to think about it. From the sounds and elaborations, we weren’t the first group of people. Chances were that Liel and Leum weren’t the only bunnies who strayed from the hole. Fallen and the others could have gotten them already and are waiting for us to get back. Our set time limit was also deviating from the initial course. Besides the casualness these descriptive rules had taken shape of, there was one other part that was menacing without being long.



“The Hare is the mastermind of this game and will be testing you as a wolf himself/herself, along with the two other wolves. If the rabbits uncover their identities and judge them correctly, they win. If all of the innocent rabbits die, the wolves win.”

Part II : Three New Players Arrive

SPOILER: Click to show

After the blurb of text was read, a long silence drew in an unsettled force. I could see the looks the others had, and it wasn’t anything good, not that I could believe it any farther than arm’s lengths. In their eyes, it was probably a reflection of the same bewildered, accusatory stare. “What a bunch of baloney. A short chick, small child, clueless punk, and a handsome leader don’t fit a group of killers. None of us do, in the slightest.” D said, which everyone else thought was his own way of cutting the tension. I was inclined to say he was the most observant and outspoken one of us all.


“Yeah! You guys aren’t bad.” Leum agreed wholly, not letting another thought despair his thoughts about us. Liel pinched his still rosy cheeks and that conversation ended just like that. It gave me the time to think about what was going on. Despite the fiasco, we still had time to get back to the others. I would rather not take the chance to be lenient with the countdown. Liel was also one of the mysteries I wanted to solve. Reading minds was one of those super convenient superhero gifts no one really thinks twice about. Ironic, but there’s more to it, I know that for sure.



“…the left, right? Hey! I’m talking to you, dumbass!”


“Huh?” I snapped back as quick as a whip. Paying too much attention to things happening disconnected me from the sounds headed my way. Somehow, I knew this would probably add fuel to the fire on people’s complaints about me.


“The goddamn way we fu-…, the way we came. It was to the left, right?”


At least he was being considerate to the child. I looked from side-to-side to take in the environment. Yeah, it looked like the right way to me, at least. There really wasn’t much to distinguish the route we came from besides standout rides and buildings being the only memorable landmarks. Concession stands and game centers were too similar and the ground never changed no matter where you went; you could barely tell the difference. No paths lead to anywhere you haven’t seen before, except for the Ferris Wheel out in the distance. Every tent and stand was illuminated by purple light bulbs wrapped around the top, the cloth covering a yellow-purple striped combo. Nothing here was all that special, besides the creepy theme and deadly sounding game, if you were a fan of carnivals as a kid. Carnivals and amusement parks were close enough to being the same thing, yet this place remained as a subtle mix of the two cultures.


“Hello?”

“Oh, right, yeah. It’s left of the left!”

“So…is it two lefts?”

“No, just one left. I think. Where are we?”



Our travel leader let out an exhausted huff but we continued following the little landmarks along the way that we remembered. The monotone gravel scattered like a dropped bag of marbles with each step through the zone. The crisp wind tugged me in one specific direction, but the only nice part was a breeze on my sweat encrusted face. With the Main Hall only a little farther away, a set of strange happenings occurred. The first was the short disappearance of two similar lettered companions; the little one was hunched over one of the game stalls with Liel crouching behind him. It reminded me of heartwarming scenes between a mother and her son that you rarely see outside of theatres. These two were befitting for each other in their similar unlikeness and produced a common, ageless nostalgia I wouldn’t dare interrupt.



“Gimme! Gimmie!” A popular phrase many children use to get what they want. Leum insistently repeated the word until he obtained whatever he was reaching out for. Because of the angle, I couldn’t tell. I yelled over to D intending for him to stop for us, since no longer was he being followed. When I found him only a few paces ahead, by only scanning, he had already found a place to discontinue movement. Not only that, but he made no sudden movements to acknowledge my call. That was when the second strange happening occurred.



Between D and I was only a few feet of distance. Similarly, an identical amount of distance now spaced apart us from an entirely new set of faces. One face was a thin jolly man, another being an artful looking woman, and then a pair of teenager and young adult who stuck closer together than a clamshell. “Hahaha, I hope we aren’t interrupting your guys’ fun!” The skinny man chuckled, holding his beige trousers at his waist. It wasn’t that I could read body language well, or anything complicated like it, but he had a relaxing vibe. Bellowing a laugh with his long, pale fingers at his side made him look unthreatening. In his words, you could also hear the charisma that felt very much like a beloved leader-type. Sizing him up more, his black and white striped dress shirt and black shoes looked much more professional than his act. Flashing a bright, close-lipped smile at us, he fixed his smoothened his wrinkles and stepped closer.



“Lee-Lee, we need to go now. We’ll come back for it later.” Liel tried to shake Leum’s attention with her motherly charm, but he wouldn’t have any of it. The boy let out a few groans as he stretched his little arms forward to reach something. The skinny man, who we were prepared to deal with if he tried anything, had walked on over and reached inside. With a smile that looked genuine, he pulled out a doll to give to our party. “Here you go, little guy.” Unlike the other merchandise and themes, this doll was not a rabbit. It was a stuffed wolf.



Being more than delighted, he squealed. “Got’cha! My doggie!” Leum hugged the animal to his chest, which was indeed a dog. Not a normal dog, mind you; it had piercing eyes, some sharp teeth too, with tufts of ragged fur all over the body. It resembled everything a wolf stood for. When I looked around the prize selections a bit more, I noticed just one more animal that differed from the previous: an owl. Specifically a white-and-black barred owl. I suppose there was more diversity to this place than I had initially thought. But nothing in the booklet said anything about an owl.



The skinny man held out his hand to Liel, whom he thought was the mother of the child. “Excuse me, please, all of you. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Kuro, and behind me is my group.”



As he had told, there were three people right behind him. They included a young woman, teenage girl, and a guy who wasn’t too much older. In that order, their names were Kura, Haruhi, and Happy.

Part III : Introducing 'Betrothed' and 'Siblings'

SPOILER: Click to show

In a matter of minutes, we became properly acquainted with each other. Both groups jointed in hopes of figuring out the mysteries of this place. The only problem would be how well the chemistry will mix with the others at the hall…



At first, D declined the idea of a partnership because they came to us in a suspicious manner. I assume that was his reason, seeing as I was along the same lines of thinking. It wasn’t the same reason, as he was planning to bring me up to speed.



“Those two are super suspicious. Think about it, look how well they get along with each other, they could be working together in plain sight. Obviously it’s not the kids because there are only three bad guys; they’re just a safeguard for them.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. You could be right.”



Another person in his group interjected before the idea was completely ridden. It was a woman who, like Kuro, was in her early twenties. In fact she looked younger than him by a few years. Despite that, she managed to have a mature aura about her. That was probably the biggest difference I found between the two in terms of outer personality. This woman’s name was Kura.



“I didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but I do have an explanation for our behavior.” She held up her left hand to show a glinting stone, “We’re married.” Both of our jaws must have dropped because I heard an irritated whisper to my right. I was speechless, honestly, as it threw in some tragic variables. “I understand your surprise, but back to point, this should clear up the problem.”


There was already a crystal clear difference between her and the others among us. Playful, cautious, untrusting, scared, confused, and many more words described people we met so far. They all had an eccentric quality in one way or another, and I would put myself in that group. Kura felt more mature and well put together, giving no indication this situation was off-putting. Something about her calm composure made me think everyone else were faking their distress. I know that isn’t true, since what I felt was real, but what was going inside her head? Only one person would be that straight-faced.


Kuro married a woman who was very similar to another woman I recently gained the pleasure of knowing: Fallen. Kura had cold eyes, chilling to subzero temperatures that one stare could help freeze hell over. A pale complexion with thin, small lips and a torrent of long brown, brushed neatly to the side, over her shoulders to combat the wind. She wore a white button-down sweater over a silky red blouse. Kura pulled her sweater down immediately after, so it was rare to see it. She wore knee-high stockings that were half covered by brown lace-up boots. From her waist to a high part of her leg was a short, black lace, gypsy style skirt. I didn’t expect people to dress so fashionably during their daily lives.



As reluctant as we were to have them accompany us, we set off for the main hall once more. During that time, our group’s leader and the couple discussed and bickered numerous things. Meanwhile, I stuck behind with Liel and the children in her care. Yes, no longer was it limited to the one we found. The duo our new comrades stumbled upon were young, able bodies.



The girl was named Haruhi; featuring blue eyes, a bright smile and short, brown-reddish hair. Like Kura, she wore a red shirt but nothing underneath. It was easy to determine by the bit of midriff still shown between her shirt and denim shorts. It was more than casual for girls her age to show a good deal of skin, but I wasn’t sure if she knew what they were truly revealing. Scars and bruises spanned across her legs, faint, but noticeable. I decided it was best not to mention them. The only strange part was how much dirtier her clothes were compared to ours, as they looked to be stained with dirt or grease for quite some time.



The other one wasn’t very alike. It was a guy with messy dirty-blonde hair that went to the base of his neck. His bangs rested along the upper rim of his glasses. He looked more tired than the girl, but was still very lively. After speaking with both he and Haruhi, I learned they were siblings. “Half-siblings,” he, who was named Happy, clarified. “Even so, she’s my sweet, beautiful sis! Hahaha…I’ll do anything to keep her safe. I will never let anything bad happen to her.” The impression he gave off was a very strong one, that he was the support of the two. You could tell that he was the type to do whatever he had to in order for things to get done. We looked each other in the eyes and what I saw in his stormy sea was a light of determination. The long-sleeved grey shirt and black jeans complimented his tired, blue eyes.




“Awe don’t mind my big bro too much! He’s always been there for me…he only has the best interests in mind, I swear it. Hehe, I love him but sometimes he can be a bit of a pain.” She stuck out her tongue playfully and giggled joyfully. “Uh-huh, is that how it is?!” Happy retorted with a sarcastic, and equally teasing tone. He dashed after her as she skipped away laughing. The more people I seem to meet here, the less tense it seems to get.



Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. “Are you…smiling? Hehe.” It was Liel and once again she caught me at my most vulnerable point! “N- no!” As if I could fool her with that. She gave me a curious stare, but I knew it meant something that was very true. ‘You’re glad to see people having fun and enjoying themselves after all that’s happened. That’s adorable.’ Geez, as if I could deny that. I was grateful for the release of tension these quirky people brought. It was kind of unnatural.




Kuro, Kura, Haruhi, and Happy joining us became more than a little strange. They were a family with near to no relation to each other, but still getting along so well despite our situations. Different from everyone else I’ve met so far in the most important way: they knew each other. That was definitely something important. However, it seems that wasn’t all that was important.



While I was off my guard, Liel dug her fingers into my arm to get me to pay attention to what she was about to say. “Degree, there’s something I want you to know. No…I think you’re the only person I can ask right now. But just not right now.” Huh? Where did that come from? I didn’t have the time to ask her before the group knit itself back together. I wouldn’t have the time to inquire until we met back up with the other groups. What could she possibly want to talk about?

[Siren]

Super late to the party! ^_^

This is amazing. How have I never seen this before?

[Yukihime-tan]

I like this it has more thought into it then the original but I'm slightly sad that i'm not mentioned. I think last time i entered in with maou and someone else.

[Kuro]

You were introduced after this with Maou and Kon.

[Degree]

Part IV : Something Strange...

   

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Part IV}

         “Bunch of idiots.” D mumbled in a subjective manner, gawking at the adjoining group. I wouldn’t go as far as to call them idiots, but I understand his irritation with all of their playing and joking accounted for. While I have that understanding, I also realize that they don’t know the big picture like we did. I saw a bathtub of blood and something crucified. In a collective of minutes we almost became bits of Degree and D. What wasn’t that long ago already felt like hours of time. Denial is what I wanted most in this world. I wondered what would happen once we met up with the others, and what they found out on their explorations. We were getting close. 

Only, they had to wait just a little bit longer.

    Shortly after the entire group came together, D forcibly took charge. I believe his command was “Get in line, you bastards. There’s no time for dawdling!” which suddenly snapped even the siblings into shape. He wasn’t making any friends with name calling, but it did the job. Once again we split off into different sections, more-so halves this time with the couple ahead of us joining D for a discussion. Behind them followed the rest of us. “What do you think about those two?” Happy asked us with a troubled look on his face, as though he played with the thought multiple times. Haruhi was detached from the conversation judging by her bored expression, so she must have talked about this with him prior this time.  

    I had to ask what Happy meant or I’d never know. “Which two?” I inquired, but as I did the answer came to me like a massive truck. Kuro and Kura were the two he was asking about. “All I know is that they are married and wound up in the same room. They told us about themselves; their meeting, occupations, interests, pets...but none of it adds up.” The information poured out with a thoughtful remark at the end. It wasn’t something you’d expect to be questioned or the person doing the questioning. It could have been paranoia, but I don’t know what would lead him to believe there was something to hide. 

    “Hmm, is that so? It isn’t that peculiar.” said Liel offhandedly. Being preoccupied beforehand, I assumed she was still inattentive to our discussion. “They could have been taken while together. Judging by your aura, you two also were a pair much like them.” The logic seemed to fit. Everyone else found it hard to argue. 

    Well, mostly everyone. In a snap, you could see a true darkness wrapped around his next statement. “We are nothing like anyone else.” Suddenly a more serious Happy took the state and we weren’t sure how to handle it. He didn’t say anything after it, nor did he expect us to reply. We left it be because another voice, although quieter and smaller, spoke up with a question none of us knew how to answer. 

    “What’s ‘taken’ mean?” Leum asked while looking at us with his small, glossy, uncertain eyes. The elder sibling looked down with a guilty stare. Happy crouched down and put his hand on the boy’s head and said, “She means taken to an amusement park. To have fun.” We knew his smile was fake and he forced out those words, but Leum smiled and said “Yeah! That sounds really fun!” which only served to increase our burdens. 

    When I looked back ahead, I noticed Kura glaring back at us. She raised two slim fingers, much like a ‘peace’ sign, and quickly erased the space between her fingers in one swift motion. I wondered if it was some kind of inside joke, but she looked quite serious. “Scissors…” The two siblings whispered in unison, their faces more pale than a ghost.  

    “I-I’m sorry, scissors?” I expected the answer to be unusually exaggerated, so I don’t know why I bothered. There wasn’t a need to answer. It must have been a grave threat if they were quieted down this quick! I didn’t really mind not knowing, honestly. I probably should prefer to keep it that way. The impression I had was one of those ‘you don’t want to know’ feelings tacked on.  

        Something was clearly amiss. Although we’ve trekked to the Main Hall, it was booming with sound and yet at the same time, silence. The feeling that crawled up was more than just plain scary movie paranoia and it was not only I that felt the same. “Wait.” Kuro waved out his hand to prevent us from turning the knob to get inside. He, too, noticed something strange about the area around us. Everyone in our group whipped their heads from one side to the other, studied the ground and air, and focused on that same brooding feeling. It was then that three shadows covered us head to toe in darkness. All of them were on top of a random game stand only a few feet away, each shrouded inside their own unique silhouettes. 

        “Something interesting has presented itself, gals.” Said a man’s voice; close enough to know where it was being directed towards. It was to us who were standing infront of a very noisy, closed room. This bulky silhouette had a deep voice with a heavy southern accent. 

        “Indeed, indeed. I do so much agree.” A girl’s voice chanted. It sounded as ecstatic as a child; the energy was pleasant, young and careless. As well as having no care in the world, she sounded like an actress playing a role she has lived all her life.  

        If it wasn’t already weird, there was someone in a bear costume. Yeah, I was sure it was a large cartoony brown bear with someone inside. Instead of a serious mascot type of bear, it was like an oversized plushy with rounded hands and feet. I wouldn’t be surprised if Liel stole it away and never gave it back. The imagery was quite funny. “I beary much agree.” She added onto the other one liners after the two to her right. Yeah, ‘it’ wasn’t the right pronoun anymore. My overall awareness picked up on the voice being girlish with typical qualities: soft and cute, but still assertive in its own way. Even though she was behind a stifling mask, it was definitely a human girl in that suit.    

        The undersized sow hopped down to a box leveraged by the others around the back and then proceeded to leap off into a three-point landing. “That was a tremendously good landing.” She remarked about herself as the dust filtered around her feet, which were actually just soft, brown, foam nubs with tiny paw markings etched onto the tips. “…Rawr.” That came shortly after her secured arrival on flat land. Did she just…?

Part V : Uh oh...Entering, the 'Cosplay Duo'! 

        

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Part V}

 

        “Did she just roar?” Har asked her brother, in a confused state of mind; her wavering tassels of embers performing ballet with the breeze. With one quick sweep of her hand, she whipped her short hair upward and back into the breeze. I gathered that she would do this very often, even if she didn’t mean to. Maybe hair tossing is a trait all girls have. 

        “I think she growled, Sis. Real quiet.” Happy replied, his own tuft of hair being thrown about by the warm, dry air. Growling from a human was already weird, but a human dressed as a bear growling is bizarrely unfitting given the situation we were in. 

        Gliding down the staircase of crates was another woman. She had been in waiting, now to follow her ally with the click-clack of tap shoes. The first clear difference was the lack of animal in her costume; the costume being of a fictional character who most knew of, but younger than the woman herself. The one in front of me, in question, was a lady in her early twenties with a face as white as snow. In any other circumstance, I would have viewed her as a symbol of purity and innocence. The odd mixture between her bright skin and slightly untidy, natural dirty blonde hair fit her character costume well. wasn’t that bad, but the main shine came because of the odd mixture between her skin and slightly untidy, dirty blonde hair. Head to toe she was dressed in a light blue dress covered over the front with an apron draping over, with a pair of white stockings following underneath. Every fiber of my being resisted calling her ‘Alice’ to her face, incase she’d have been offended. 

        “Kon!” Alice exclaimed with joy, throwing her arms wide around the bear and receiving a tight grip back. They held this for a few seconds and then Alice tapped back with her shoes and sounded off a low, childish giggle. The way they acted was like close friends both in and out of their costumed roles. Alice even diverged from the original material; never did she have a pet bear in her wonderland in any rendition of her story. “You are too adorable in that. I will not allow these strange people mess it up!” She raised her voice to us ‘weird people’ (the irony was a home run). ‘Kon’ was the name she shouted, which was what the mascot was being called. An odd name; it probably wasn’t her real name, more so the codenames we’ve been given or a shortened pet name her friend gave her.  

        Even so, a blazing connection sparked between those two quirky ladies. Not to go as far as to say they were unlikely of friends, but it certainly wasn’t a normal hot spot for meeting new folk. Bonding with near strangers was questionable at this stage of the game. I definitely will find out more about their relationship. 

        “I know that without you telling me, Yuki.” Kon said, pleased by the gentle hand rubbing her head. She made a low growl, much like purring. The girl from the rabbit hole was named Yuki, from the friendly bear’s response. “What are you looking at?” Yuki pressed, catching a distasteful glare from Happy.  

        “I’m just observing you. Any other obvious questions, Yuki-hime?” Happy, who I’ve found to have a hidden aggression, seemed to make fun of, or mock, Yuki’s appearance and voice. Perhaps there was a purpose to him saying that because he couldn’t have been that dumb. Not like it made her any happier. Strangers getting angry at other strangers fit into an hourly routine here. Last few times I was involved so I’m very relieved to not be a part of this. 

        The woman who was as white as snow grew even colder. Looking directly at her could kill you. All that needed to be seen was the chilling passive-aggressive hatred deep into her icy stare. “Hmm~? Hime, as in ‘Princess’? Yes, a pathetic commoner like you should be bowing to my excellence.” There was no playfulness left in her words, but a similar chill that a certain other woman with similar prowess possessed. With all of these insults getting thrown in when we’ve just met I could only imagine what would happen when it all comes together. This definitely wasn’t going to end well. 

        The guy smirked, rested one knee on the ground and crouched with a bowed head angled towards Yuki. “What an honor to be in the same area as an elegant woman such as yourself, your Majesty. I only have put one request, Princess. Please, allow me to feed you with that silver spoon protruding from your regal ass!” One comment was all it took to melt off all the fluff and into a sharp ball of thorns.  

        On point, Kon backed up her friend with a grizzly arrangement of posture. “Oh, was that a little too much fire for the Snow Queen?” He continued to instigate, for gods know whatever reason he had now. Haruhi stood right behind her brother like an RPG party member in the rear guard. Both sides looked ready to snap at the other. “Why, you insignificant little—!” Yuki snarled, but was caught off guard by Kura stepping in between them. Had she not interfered, who knows what would have gone down. 

        “Settle down!” She scolded both sides. “If you want to act like children, I’m going to get my scissors! Bad children are the best test subjects.” I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to laugh or be as uncomfortable and afraid as that made me. Yuki was bewildered by this attempt at a threat, while Happy was frightened to the bone. Almost all of his blood drained from his face. That’s yet another good question to ask later. 

        The soft feel of the bear costume gave the irrational woman a few giggles to ruin the mood a little more. “…You’re right.” Yuki finally answered, turning her joyful face to Kura, ignoring Happy. “I’m sorry; I hope you forgive me Miss. But please do refrain from letting your belligerent children say as they please.” She curtseyed with her hands stretching her apron out forward. Kuro stepped in to correct that it was ‘Missus’, as if anyone was really questioning how legitimate their relationship was. Yuki most likely didn’t even notice Kuro before he had said this, but it still wasn’t enough to leave a lasting imprint in her mind. Poor guy...

Part VI : Let's just go, Wall Street Cowboy...

  

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Part VI}

     

         Behind us echoed a series of dry, hard claps to grab our attention. We had all faced away from this man who had been just as impressionable as the others were. “Wall Street” was wearing formal business attire; a white collar suit voicing his professional, cut-throat prowess. His large hands were in the pocket of his purple buttoned jacket, overlaying the dress shirt which held a bright red tie in between the crevice. As he stepped down from up above the boxes with polished dress shoes, you could clearly catch onto how he engrossed us all. Icy, pale blue eyes glided from one unfamiliar along to the next unfamiliar until freezing on one person: Happy. For a split second I could have sworn his lips curled into a dangerous grin. If there was one thought he had on all of us then it would have been ‘expendable’. Any person with common sense could pin superior authority unto him, without even a word edgewise.  

        “Yes, yes, ladies…please, don’t make the lad unhappy.” Said the suited man, nonchalantly walking towards where his teammates were. A southern accent with sophistication is what he was pegged as to having, which certainly wouldn’t have been my first guess. A born leader as well, I thought, as Yuk skipped over to tag on beside him. Kon stood in place, saluted, and ended up behind him as well. No, this was the kind of guy who prides himself on his self-attained power. “Excuse me for the trouble they’ve caused you,” he continued, looking more amused than apologetic. “The fair gal who had her dress in a bunch, to my right, and the mascot bear, on my left, are deeply sorry. Yuki and Kon, respectively, but you intelligent folk must have picked up on that. I am Maou, pleasure to meet ya’ll.” 

        “Brother...” Haruhi tugged her brother for reassurance, feeling unease in the presence of Maou. Happy had gone into an eerie silence ever since Maou entered the scene. Fierce eyes full of awareness focused a straightforward attack into his foe. His dagger-like glare thrust into Maou’s impenetrable Wall Street attire. There were no words spoken, but the existence of everyone else was already fading for those two. 

        “I don’t know you,” Happy narrowed his sight on his target, “but you’re familiar. And I don’t like it.” If I were to compliment his personality, it would be his straightforwardness. I had been thinking the same about him. “Brother!” Har tugged him a second time to avert his attention. It was probably to avoid this confrontation from going any further. Once again, he ignored her attempt. 

        “Is that why you’re lookin’ so addled, boy?” Maou asked, straining his words to fit a specific accent. Natural, yet it sounded strained at the same time. The southern accent had fit his tall, wide frame very well. Assuming where he lived by his dapper clothes and dangerous aura was going to be an easy fit. Dressed for the success, Wall Street would have fit this cowboy well. Best to find out after this was all settled.  

        Unfortunately, neither of them had any intention of backing down. I saw Maou squeeze the outer side of his pocket with his idle thumb to show distaste in Happy’s attitude. On the other side, Happy was gripping his fist tightly in a clear, unmediated anger. I would not have guessed this was their first time meeting.  

        Even in the most heated of moments, we all synchronized the turning of our heads to the door of the main building. The creaking was accompanied by the slow opening of the door. Straying locks of hair poked out in a familiar fashion followed by a familiar face. It was Xetka. She was trying her hardest to not laugh but was giggling out of control. Whatever Xetka was amused with, she was going to be amused with until something else attracted her attention. “Calm yo’ tits, kids. Haha, we thought it was you. ‘I want to be really mad’ and ‘Grr, I have a brother and stuff’. You were so loud.” The lady mocked, looking the same way I saw her earlier today; messy hair, large glasses, and a crescent curve of her amused lips that showed bright teeth. I was thankful she came out to stop us, at any rate. I was dreading the possibilities of where this fight would have gone if someone like her didn’t treat it jokingly. I would have laughed, but I feared that would be extra costly right now. 

        D slipped past her while she held the door open. “So annoying.” He muttered on his way past, but made no intention to hide his true feelings. He picked up on the hint quickly. The next to follow were the other two uninvolved. “Come on Leum honey, let’s go.” Liel took him by his hand and walked through the door.  

        Maou broke the contest of aggression first, but it didn’t feel as though he lost the fight. In fact, it felt like that’s exactly how he wanted this to go. “Let us follow suit, ladies. We don’t have time to play with children.” and his group proceeded into the main building smiling like nothing happened. Kuro and Kura prodded the two siblings who weren’t obliged to go anywhere. Happy wasn’t too keen on their encounter being interrupted, but even he knew when to back down. “Hmph.” He grunted, and took the lead inside. The rest followed without another word. It was better to figure all of this out before doing anything else. 

        What was going to happen from here on? Could that little rulebook from earlier have something to do with why we were here? Xetka told me to hurry, so I did. “Always causing trouble, huh?” She remarked with a little chuckle, enjoying the petty drama happening all around. I passed through the door with low expectations. As soon as those doors closed, I wasn’t expecting anything to go our way. 

[Delirious]

Your writing is very interesting to read!

100%

[Degree]

May 31, 2015 13:13:27 GMT -5 Delirious said:

Your writing is very interesting to read!

100%

Haha, 100%? Thanks!

Because of school, I just kept to writing it bit by bit. Hopefully the next additions will be just as enjoyable!

[Venelop3]

FINALLY FINISHED READING THIS THING.

It is really good so far, hope you write more soon :3

[Degree]

Chapter 5 -- Prelude to Battle

SPOILER: Click to show

{Part I: An Eternal Vocaloid}

    In-between the last visit to the main building and the current were a few noticeable changes. One was the most explicit which had everyone’s attention: there were many more people than before. It had started with Fallen, Xetka, Assassin, and D before Unlucky and I came along. As D and I ventured out, we stumbled upon an out-of-place spiritualist and her sidekick with Liel and Leum. At this point I had expected to find stragglers who haven’t been found yet. Instead of that were Kuro’s group consisting of Kura, Happy, Haruhi and Maou’s group of Yuki and Kon. This was already a strange, quirky bunch of personalities. As it turned out, Fallen and Assassin had found two more.

    Both of them were male with a number of comparable similarities. Their complexions matched Xetka’s and both were generally around the same height. Those are where the physical similarities ended. Mentally, they were in tune with each other’s thoughts and actions. Just from one glimpse was enough to judge their closeness to one another, but not in the same way for those like Happy and his sister. ‘Best friends’ would be a fitting title.

    One of them went by the name ‘Eternal’. He had short brown hair that had been neatly trimmed in the front, leaving more than necessary briskly swaying in the back. Over his yellow shirt was an orange-sleeved zip-up hoodie with a white torso. The brightness of his shirt glowed while he stood next to his friend. Etna also wore a darker pair of shorts that must have been chosen before he put on his zip-up and had grey sneakers. In a fast minute of readjustment, his hazel eyes peered down to the bulging orange pouch near the hem of the hoodie. What he took out had been a pair of orange headphones that hadn’t been attached to any electrical device. Since he must have felt the weight pulling him down at his center, he decided to put the headphones around his neck for the time being. As he did so, I noticed a black wristband on his right wrist. 

    The other guy looked just a tad younger. He by far had the brightest appearance out of us all. Blonde hair and blue eyes, ‘Len’ was the silent type who could get the most attention and still remain unnoticeable. Strangely, he wore a white lab coat over his other clothes, so it was hard to see what he wore underneath. Black shorts, white shirt, and a bright yellow tie that really stuck out from what I could see. Around his neck was a similar pair of headphones to Eternal, except they were in a signature yellow. It was the little features and quips that made them seem so similar.

    Yuki, being one of the first to be introduced to these two, had more than a hello to say. “Eternal is such a dreeeeaaaadfully long name. Who would ever take the time to say it?” With that, she yawned and hummed while presumably thinking up a nickname for Eternal. I looked over to see Fallen blankly stare at the girl and her bear…and I could have sworn her face twitched in irritation. 

    “Longer than what a child can say, anyways.” D interjected with an apparent lack of courtesy. Chances were high that his honest words were leaving an impression on the new people. That rough way of speaking to others is going to end up getting him into more trouble; even though he was basically asking for it. 

    Eternal spoke up before anyone else could, even if Yuki was blatantly ignoring D again. “…Eh-heh, it’s fine. I don’t mind a shorter nickname as long as it’s cool.” Despite his smile, it seemed as though D made him feel uneasy. Yuki clapped her hands on the bright lightbulb that popped above her head. That little noisemaker had us attentive to her position and we were ready to hear whatever she had came up with. Eternal especially, since he still seemed a little taken aback by the people surrounding him. 

    She grinned widely at him before saying it, which had caught him off guard. His cheeks flared a bright red but he was ready to hear the name she chose. ‘Cool’ is how he wanted it done. Whatever she came up with would most likely be ‘cool’ just for her. “Etna. ET-er-NA-l. I am a genius~.” She hummed triumphantly and performed a little victory dance. An oddball, most definitely. However, her idea had got a few people to laugh, myself included. Len who refused to speak had smirked in an agreeing amusement. 

    “Ugh! Not you too!” Etna cried out, but to no favorable response from his friend or from anyone. A little more laughter ensued before I noticed the second major change.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Part II: New World Rules}

    Centered in the middle of the room in a large, decently spaced apart circle were an abundant amount of podiums. They were all wooden with a quality display laid in the center hole. It was impossible to remove one without damaging the exterior shielding it; which would also be unlikely to attempt with just one’s hands. Upon further inspection, these screens displayed a singular, bright white name in the top left that named each one of us. Everyone had ownership of one of the podiums, but there was one left empty after everyone gathered at their respective places. “Why is that one unmanned?” Etna wondered, as all of us had also the same question. I met a few others there to see who owned it and the name was…Ellie. However, it wasn’t like the rest. The name was bolded in a dark red. 

    “Don’t dare tamper with it. We haven’t a clue what their purpose is, so just sit still and be quiet.” Fallen smacked Etna’s hand away, giving him a good scolding. I was too caught up with the podiums themselves to hear her complain about how she has to take care of some of us like we were mindless adolescents. Okay…she was pretty loud, so I heard that bit. In the meantime, I figured it be a good idea to examine anything new closer to try and find a clue. With Fallen handling the missing person’s podium, I went to the next closest and noticed they had a similar smooth handle that opened to a lower compartment. Inside the podium was an open cardboard box with a butcher’s knife, a coil of rope, and the guide booklet D had his hands on earlier.

    Creaking softly in the distance was another door to the podium’s inner compartment. “I reckon this’ll have an idea as to what they’re for.” Maou held up the little booklet, referring to Fallen’s earlier statement. We had only read the section about the rules and trials, but there was a good amount that had yet to be read. Everyone went to their own podiums to retrieve their own booklets, so I left the one I found before leaving. As I was on my way, I noticed D hadn’t opened his podium yet, but since he had one then it really didn’t matter if he did. 

We all had gone through the information in the book and proceeded to write down the important bits. 

• Eighteen Players (in Alphabetical Order): Assassin, D, Degree, Ellie, Eternal, Fallen, Happy, Haruhi, Kon, Kura, Kuro, Len, Leum, Liel, Maou, Unlucky, Xetka, and Yuki.

• Roles: Three wolves (Mastermind and two others) and fifteen rabbits.

    While reading over the roles, there appeared to be something we missed on the first read. This role in particular stood out: “Due to the nature of the game, it may be hard to find the culprit. To help speed things along is an ‘Owl’ who will inquire about the role of a singular player as an addendum after voting. They will be answered in the morning, so that their identity is hidden from everyone but the Mastermind. They are one of the fifteen rabbits.” The book made it appear that they were helpful, which only helped to resurge the memory of the crucified body. Seventeen people already arrived, so it only made sense for whoever that was to be the eighteenth that has been missing.

    “Who is this owl?” Etna inquired, skipping his careless glances around. The response was silent but justified, leaving the night wind to answer his call. If a rare beast were to come by his beckoning, it would be disadvantageous to have revealed themselves to the supposed evil lurking about. As members of this company read more into the rules, their thoughts must have started to consider that all this work couldn’t simply have been done for a prank.

    Happy breathed a heavy sigh, cupping his face with an exhausted exasperation. “No…” Etna returned a quizzical expression as he assumed this was an answer to his question. Then, Happy relocated his grasp to the booklet and flipped to the page corresponding with the specific role, “If we believe this all to be true, there’s only a few people that would be interested in the identity of the owl. It would not be in the favor of the innocent bunnies.” Hoping he triumphed in this simplified explanation, he resigned a look over his way. Unfortunately, Eternal appeared incredulous to the notion.

    “Why not? If we know who the owl is, we can find the wolves and be over with this! It makes the most sense!” As soon as he started speaking, his voice wavered with lost confidence. His opponent had been staring sternly at him, no longer was he going to treat this ‘game’ lightly. Etna’s jaw tightened, losing eye contact every few seconds in favor of the peerless ground. 

    “If the owl reveals itself, then it isn’t just revealing to the fellow rabbits; but to the wolves hiding amongst us as well. Doing as you want will be the same as giving a pig to a slaughterhouse: condemning them to death.”

    “Like pigs to the slaughter.” Liel corrected, although neither were relieved of their tension. Xetka chuckled, and I saw a few smirks from Kura and the others. This was definitely a conversation we should get out of the way early but it’s awkward to watch. 

    “But…but we can protect them, or pair up, or do something to keep them safe. That shouldn’t be too hard for us to manage!” Etna refused to give up his idea, continuing on with on-the-spot solutions. It was a very appealing idea. Keeping one person safe with over ten bodyguards wouldn’t be a difficult task. Yet, I can’t believe that would work. Given all the work put into this booklet and our situation, they should have planned for something like this. “Besides, we don’t even know if this is really that serious!”

    Annoyed, Happy spat out exactly what I was thinking. His face started to burn with an accompanying anger to his annoyance. “Haven’t you considered that they knew we’d plan something like you are suggesting?! These people are prepared, maybe even trained, to kill us! What makes you think that supposedly foolproof plan doesn’t already have a way around it? You’re a goddamn fool if you think that’s possible!” Suddenly, Happy clenched his fists and donned an even more serious expression. For someone who should know so little, it was odd to have a reaction that was so extreme. In some ways, there was a short fuse that was waiting to be lit. His sister was a podium away from Happy and a few more down were the married pair, all of whom were looking downcast. They were all aware of what Happy was going to say. “I saw it. I…saw a woman covered in blood and scars…pinned to the wall by rusty nails. It wasn’t just me who saw it, the others did too. Even my precious sister had to witness something like that!”

    Unlucky and I glanced over at each other as everyone else was in shock, as we knew exactly what he was talking about. “I…” At a loss for words, Etna was cut off by Happy who quickly regained his composure. Even though one side was prepared to back down from his foolhardy plan, the other still had one bullet left to fire. “Are you prepared to take responsibility when the owl dies because of your plan?” At that, Etna winced and everyone else reacted similarly. After that vivid imagery reentering my thoughts, another person being killed similarly made me queasy. “Let’s just calm down, everyone…” Kuro tried to manage to the best of his mediating abilities, but the damage to our morale was already done. The tension filling the room was becoming much more potent the more it lingered, but we simply had no time to relax.

The next part we read involved how to find and catch the wolves.

“Rules of the Trial:

• Trials are held at night, most likely preceded by an innocent death during the day.

• During the trial, the innocents will have one hour to deduce who the guilty party are.

• Someone must be deemed guilty through majority-rule voting. If a majority is not reached, the player chosen will be selected at random. Every player must also vote or they will receive penalties.

• All votes are final and cannot be changed after the time-limit ends.

• The results will be displayed after the hour is over.

• The player that has the most votes must be hanged with the rope in their podium.

• The hanging of a rabbit receives no rewards. However, a successful hanging of a wolf will bring the rabbits one step closer to winning the game and returning home.

Best of Luck!”

    After we read the rules, there was no time to mull over how we should go about the trial or if we should participate in it at all. Sounding below us were a series of beeps as the podiums flickered a new dialogue box onscreen. With all of our attentions caught by what was below our faces, more machines started to operate around us. A projector on the far side of the room revved to life, buzzing with an antique hum as it booted up. An image we only had in our thoughts had now been provided on the wall like some twisted painting. It was the bloody body nailed to the wall, which a few of us were already familiar with. On the other side of the room was a lever-operated pulley lowering a thick metal wire from the ceiling. The end of the wire was tied together to form a small hoop. Lastly, there were the heavy clicks to the door behind us. 

    After we pulled our eyes away from all the distractions, we read our podium screens. On it said: “Ellie has died. Find the killer!” The font for the first sentence was bolded red, while the other remained pure white against the blue screen. After the words registered, the words had disappeared and a new timer had taken its place. ‘1:00:00’ which had been the hour we were given for our trials. Ellie, the missing eighteenth person, was the same person as the one nailed to the wall. Before anyone could gather their bearings, one of us had already been brutally murdered. This only meant one thing.

The first round of doubt had officially begun...