《New Life Inc.》 1. Welcome ¡°Sorry Ethan, seems like the drug didn¡¯t work this time either.¡± It was the same sentence Ethan has been hearing from his doctor. A long line of failed experimental drugs has left him despondent, any prior hope for a successful cure has long since evaporated from his heart. Having been born with a rare genetic condition, he did not have much hope to live past the age of 20. ¡°But hey, there¡¯s this new experimental drug that just passed the early stages of testing. The company is called ''New Life Inc.'', and they have a great track record when it comes to pionerring breakthroughts! From what I¡¯ve seen, their product looks really promising! Shall I set an appointment for you tomorrow?¡± Hearing the doctor¡¯s energetic tone and seeing him try his best to look hopeful, Ethan could only squeeze out a smile of his own. After the doctor explained some key details of the experiment to Ethan and handed him a factsheet, Ethan left for home. Ethan had long given up on being cured, he only went for them to give his parents some sort of reassurance. Maybe a cure will be developed in a few generations, but he did not expect it to come within in his limited lifetime. Nowadays, he¡¯s been fully immersing himself in movies and TV shows during his free time. In a way. the ¡°lives¡± being portrayed were like the many potential future he would have if he had more time. Being able to think that way gave him some comfort when it came to facing his future. On reaching home, Ethan adamantly pushed aside any thoughts of the new experimental drug that the doctor introduced, refusing to believe any sort of hope that his doctor had hinted at. Sure, he yearned for it, but experience had taught him that chances were slim. Instead, Ethan started up Netflix and continued with the next episode of FRIENDS. It sure would be nice to have such close friends. Being able to hang out with them, fight, play, share stories¡­ Life sure would be fun¡­ It must be mentioned that due to Ethan¡¯s illness and his parent¡¯s fervent hope to cure it, Ethan had changed schools every time something hopeful had appeared in the next city over. This coupled with his sickly nature made it difficult for him to forge friendships, and any friends made quickly lost contact when distance became a variable. Sure, social media allowed some form of communication, but it felt different then when he could see them in school. So Ethan could yet again only rely on external means to enjoy the many things he life he had and will miss out on. ... The next day, Ethan set out to the address of the appointment. After wandering around the area, somewhat lost, he finally found the location. Entering the lobby of one of those skyscraper-like business building, he found the representative he was meeting with. After some quick introductions, he followed the representative, who introduced himself as George, through the security area and up the lift. George exuded the air of a typical businessman, wearing a suit and pasting on a friendly smile on his face. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Excuse the mess, we are just about done with renovations. Just a few minor details here and there that needs to be sorted out.¡± Ethan was greeted with the bare skeleton of an office space, and he could see how the office could transform into any of the many office scenes that he had seen and fantasized working in. ¡°But that¡¯s not what you are here for. You¡¯re the last volunteer we need, and I am very grateful for your participation. I really hope we¡¯ll have an enjoyable time, and I look forward to it. Now let me start by explaining what the ¡®New Life Inc.¡¯ has been working on.¡± George proceeded to explain the aims of the drug, its inner-workings and so on. Most of it were no different than gibberish to Ethan, and he just let the information flow in a ear and out the other. Nodding every so often to feign understanding, Ethan instead started wondering how George¡¯s life was like. Bet I could practice till I achieve that friendly and patient smile he has on. His hair looks neat, wonder how often he goes to the salon. Every week? Or is it every day? How much does his make, he has a Rolex watch. Come to think of it, his shoes looked expensive too. Wonder what other luxury stuff he has. A ring, he¡¯s married. Wonder if his love life is like anything I¡¯ve watched. Maybe he has kids too. Hmm, one of those distant fathers? Nah, he doesn¡¯t seem like it, he probably plays soccer with them every weekend. That what I would do¡­ ¡°So that¡¯s about it, do you have any questions for me Ethan?¡± Ethan quickly surfaced from his thoughts, shaking his head to indicate he had none. ¡°Ok then, well here are some papers for you to sign. I¡¯m sure you know how it is, the same typical non-liability waivers and forms that you have signed for those other experimental drug trials.¡± Ethan frowned mentally on hearing that. Did doc tell him that? Whatever happened to patient doctor confidentiality¡­ Well whatever, doesn¡¯t really matter, none of my information will matter in a few years Receiving the papers, Ethan proceeded to skim through and sign them. Having no expectations of living long, Ethan did not really care if the papers were actually some sort of authorisation for the New Life Inc. to sell off his organ. Not that it would actually be¡­ ¡°Great, everything is in order. Here¡¯s your participant card, do keep it on you at all times as it is very important. I shall go get the doctor on duty and proceed with the first steps.¡± With the same friendly, polite smile plastered on his face, George passed over a white plastic card before exiting the room. Looking at his participant card, Ethan couldn¡¯t help but laugh, especially at the ¡°goal¡± that was stated on it. ¡°Survive till the end¡±. That sure is a cheesy goal. But why do I have a nickname as ¡®White¡¯, and my role as a ¡®Civilian¡¯? Seems like an odd word to use¡­ But then again, having a goal as ¡®Survive till the end¡¯ and the name ¡®New Life Inc.¡¯, I guess this company is just a little quirky. George returned a few minutes later with an older man wearing a doctor¡¯s coat in tow. The doctor sat beside him and opened up his suitcase, revealing syringes, bottles and other medical equipment. Without a word, the doctor proceeded to swab his arm before using a syringe to inject Ethan with a clear transparent liquid. Ethan winced as he watched the fluid slowly get pushed into his arm. ¡°Hm, well give it a bit, and I shall see you soon. I wish you all the best Ethan.¡± Ethan glanced at George who had the usual friendly smile on his face. But Ethan noticed something else, a hint of mischief¡­ Or was it sarcasm? Trying to read the expression on George¡¯s face, Ethan realised that his consciousness was slipping away while George¡¯s grin seemed to grow wider and more sinister. Shit¡­ Did I actually sign my organs away? 2. Rules Ethan¡¯s eyes flew open. Fear and adrenaline flooded his mind as it worked in overdrive to process all the information his five senses sent over . Where am I? I¡¯m sitting. Its dark. The chair is soft, sofa? There¡¯s someone else sitting beside me. He¡¯s not moving. Wait, long hair, so ¡®she¡¯? There¡¯s movement, there are more people! I need to get out¡­ She¡¯s breathing I think¡­ Huh?! Ethan¡¯s attempt to get out of his seat was abruptly halted by a metal belt-like apparatus securing him to the chair. His hands flew to the belt, searching for some sort of latch or mechanism to unlock it. However, he quickly gave up when he found both ankles securely held in place as well. He next noticed a white metal bracelet of sorts, firmly wrapped around his right wrist. Ethan¡¯s intuition suggested that this bracelet would ensure any escape attempts would remain unsuccessful. Slightly despairing, Ethan shifted his focus to the others around him. They were in 2 rows, where the seats in the second row were slightly elevated. Ethan was seated at the end of the first row. The unknown person to his right suddenly jolted awake and started to replicate Ethan¡¯s prior actions. In fact, it seemed like everyone else were slowly stirring awake, or more accurately, jerking awake. Ethan could hear the man behind muttering a few choice words under his breath, and a few seats over the rattling of metal could be heard as someone tried to forcefully yank himself free. ¡°Did they seriously knock me out? Deal or not, I¡¯m going to punch that smile off his disgusting face.¡± Beside him, the person growled with frustrating as she grappled with her own restraints. The woman¡¯s voice clued Ethan to his neighbour¡¯s gender. They? Who¡¯s they? George¡¯s sinister smile surfaced in Ethan¡¯s mind as he recalled the events before his blackout. ¡°Ah great, it seems like everyone has woken up! I was starting to get worried that we would start late. Looks like I¡¯m going to have a talk with the good doctor after this, wouldn¡¯t want any sort of overdose next time, would we?¡± The speaker chuckled, and lights flooded the room. Ethan winced, shutting his eyes off from the sudden invasion of lights. He could hear groans of protest from his surroundings. ¡°Hm, maybe I should provide sunglasses next time. Oh wells, quit your whining its just a little bit of light. The theatrics is more important than some minor discomfort!¡± As his eyes got used to the light, Ethan saw George on a stage. Now with a wide, fiendish smile, and definitely more genuine in Ethan¡¯s opinion, plastered on his face, George surveyed the 13 individuals sitting before him. ¡°Some of you may know me, for those of you who don¡¯t, you can call me ¡®George¡¯, I¡¯ll be the person-in-charge of this game for the next 7 days. Now, since I wasn¡¯t entirely honest with some of you before this, let me explain what¡¯s going to happen.¡± Saying this, George purposefully looked over at Ethan and gave him an exaggerated wink. ¡°Here at New Life Inc., we are committed in helping anyone in need! No matter how impossible, or desperate, your situation is, we shall find a way to resolve them for you!¡± Taking on a serious expression, George fervently and whole-heartedly declared, eyes burning with fervour as he gazed towards Ethan¡¯s direction. The fa?ade lasted for a few seconds before George broke into his playful, sinister smile. ¡°Well, this solution comes at a cost. Not money mind you, instead ¨C¡± ¡°Yah yah yah, you want us to play your little game, do your little task and then you will help us. You will keep your end of the deal right? There better not be some sort of bullshit at the end of it!¡± A loud voice cut through George¡¯s overly enthusiastic monologue. Ethan realised it originated from the man sitting behind him. Twisting his body and head as far as he could, Ethan tried to get a better look at the man behind him. A stocky, somewhat muscular frame entered Ethan¡¯s vision. Wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, the tattoos on the man¡¯s arm were visible. He resembled a typical thug or gang member that Ethan would sometimes see on shows, but this time Ethan could almost feel the menacing aura radiating off the man. On the side, Ethan noticed a similar metallic bracelet on the man¡¯s wrist, except it was blue. Taken aback by the suddenly interrupted, George¡¯s smiling fa?ade cracked as a slight frown wormed its way onto his face. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Well yes, that¡¯s the idea. But give me awhile to ¨C ¡± Yet again, George was interrupted, but this time by yelps of surprise and shock from the rest of those present. Warm, sticky blood splattered over Ethan¡¯s head and arms, who had tried to avoid the sudden onslaught by turning away and using his arms to shield himself. Without waiting for George to complete his sentence, the man had swiftly reached over and ruthlessly tore his neighbour¡¯s neck open. This sudden, unexpected series of actions had caught everyone present unprepared, and only the man himself wore a satisfied smile on his face as he rested himself comfortably back onto his seat. ¡°There, done. Killed myself a poor soul. Now let me go enjoy my new life, heh heh heh.¡± With an audible sigh, George had completely given up the stage persona he was trying to be. Giving a hard stare at the man who had interrupted him twice, George continued his explanation. ¡°Yes, the deal is, you complete your task, and we guarantee you a new life. You have 7 days to do so, and you must stay all 7 days regardless of when you complete your task. No leaving halfway through, no leaving without completing your task.¡± The man gave an audible tongue click, but otherwise kept quiet. He seemed plenty satisfied to have completed his task with relative ease. ¡°Whenever one of you do complete a task, an announcement will be made for all to know. For example¡­¡± ¡°¨C Congratulations. Task completed. ¨C¡± ¡°This can be heard, regardless of where you are, so don¡¯t worry about missing out on your peer¡¯s achievements. Oh yes, all of you have been assigned a colour as your identity. Your bracelet¡¯s colour reflects this. Of course, feel free to share your real names, but given what could happen in the next 7 days, I highly discourage that sort of foolishness.¡± ¡°And lastly, have a look at the screen, these are some basic rules you will have to follow the next 7 days. Break any and you will see yourself disqualified permanently. That¡¯s what the bracelet is for too." Letting off an audible sigh, George pointed looked towards his serial interrupter before continuing. "Well, seeing as someone didn''t have the patience to sit through my wonderful performance, that will be all from me, I look forward to the excitement you 13, well 12 now, will bring. Welcome to your first day everyone.¡± With a carefree attitude, George announced his final words, and then exited the room chuckling at a joke only he found funny. As the door shut behind him, metallic clicks echoed through the room as the restraints finally set its captives free. Ethan didn¡¯t react. In fact, he had been frozen and motionless for a while. He kept reviewing the gruesome scenes he saw, watching in his mind¡¯s eye the blood spraying and splattering all over him as Blue ripped open the victim''s throat. Being so close in proximity to a still warm corpse flooded him with disgust and anxiety, his entire being frozen in inaction as he struggled to process. He was vaguely aware of the movements around him, as the other participants slowly explored their freedom from their chairs. ¡°Gwahaha, did I scare you shitless boy? First time seeing a dead body? And here I thought things would be more challenging, instead all I see are kids and weaklings. No one would survive a day in my old life.¡± Realising that Blue was right next to him, Ethan¡¯s body jerked up as he scrambled to gain some distance between him and Blue. Instead, Ethan only managed to fall off his chair, pain shooting through his body as he landed on his side. ¡°White eh? I¡¯ve already did what I need to do, it will be my last too. Got to start living that fresh new life I¡¯ve promised you know, hahaha. You though, I sure hope your task is different, I don¡¯t see how you will ever accomplish murder, you ain¡¯t got the mettle for that. In fact, I had anticipated for this to immediately descend into a bloody murder-fest, but I guess having everyone murder each other won¡¯t be that interesting huh.¡± Blue shrugged as he scanned the room, seemingly bored at the relative peacefulness displayed by the other, still alive, participants. Ethan stared at Blue in disbelief, not sure how a man could go from cold-blooded murder to having a seemingly normal conversation about the aforementioned gore and murder. Ethan briefly contemplated mentioning his task, before deciding against it. Its probably better not to trust him. Who knows if he¡¯ll just kill me to make things ¡®interesting¡¯¡­ A few horrifying scenes flashed through Ethan¡¯s mind, making him shudder. ¡°Cat¡¯s got your tongue boy? Seriously, do you need a nanny, or are you just born mute? Bah, you ain¡¯t any fun to talk to.¡± Blue lumbered off, having lost all interest in Ethan. Ethan shakily stood up, noting what the other participants were doing. Most were like him, simply standing in place and looking lost. Though there were a group or two that had formed and were seemed to be having some sort of discussion between themselves. Ethan¡¯s attention slowly wandered to the screen at the front of the room, displaying the rules that they will need to obey for the next 7 days. New Life Inc. welcomes you! 7 days to completely change your life Don¡¯t let this wonderful opportunity pass!!! Rules
  1. There will be no contact to the outside world, any attempts to do so will result in immediate disqualification and termination
  2. Any attempts to tamper or sabotage your bracelet will be met with immediate disqualification and termination
  3. Any attempts to tamper or sabotage the CCTVs throughout the building will be met with immediate disqualification and termination
  4. Food, water and amenities are provided, no one or group is allowed to monopolize them. Any attempts to do so will be met with immediate disqualification and termination
!We wish you all the best! 3. Suspiscion Priscilla Simmons scanned the grey card that was handed to her, doubt and unease flitted through her. She had listened to the explanation and signed the papers, forced in both instances, but she didn¡¯t have much choice. Her aging parents, husband and barely 5years old child would have met an unfortunate end otherwise. Mentally beating herself up for being careless, her eyes shifted back to George, willing her stare to convey all the hatred and anger she felt. ¡°Say I succeed, what¡¯s the guarantee that New Life will keep its promises? Willingly surrendering to the authorities is the last thing any criminal organisation would do.¡± George chuckled at the question, his smile only growing wider. ¡°New Life Inc prides itself in delivering any promises made! Though in your case, I guess you will just have to trust us, not that there¡¯s much of a choice for you here.¡± ¡°I must say though, it is a huge stroke of luck that you were discovered. All of these¡­ information that you managed to record on your phone, tsk tsk, it would have been a very troublesome matter indeed. Well, that¡¯s just too bad isn¡¯t it, Detective Simmons?¡± George¡¯s grin has transformed into a sinister sneer at this point. The detective¡¯s intrusion had certainly not been great for his heart, and now he was taking out all the accumulated stress on her. ¡°Fret not though, while all your previous hard work has already been disposed of, you now have a chance to gather new ones! As a very willing, and I¡¯m sure active, participant for our lovely game.¡± George nodded to the man standing behind Priscilla, indicating for him to proceed. Feeling the prick of the needle in her neck, indignation raged through her. Priscilla mustered whatever bravado she could, hurling curses and insults at her captives, as the anaesthetic quickly robbing her of her consciousness, Watching the detective slowly lose consciousness, George only continued to smile at the detective¡¯s ramblings. ¡­ The pounding headache was what woke Priscilla up. That and the soreness in her neck and back from having sat in an awkward manner for too long. Habitually cursing, she took stock of the situation only to find herself chained to the chair with an unknown grey bracelet around her wrist. Then came George and his god-damn, hateful smile, a reminder of her very recent and costly mistake. Watching the madman parade joyfully on stage made the anger boil within her. As much as she wanted to curse at the man, she knew better to draw unwanted attention. She was at a complete disadvantage, and she was very much aware of it. Although, the sudden and brutal death while grim, at least gave Priscilla an idea of where to start. One person has been added to her previously empty list of targets, and from some of the reactions, it seems like she may not be the only sane person involved in the game. That knowledge gave her some comfort. The only question was if they would be of help. When George finally ended his clown show, and everyone else released, Priscilla found herself in front of the corpse. Instinctually, she riffled through the dead man¡¯s pockets. Her hands found a plastic card. Giving it a quick glance, she recognised that it was similar to the card George had handed her, just that it was black, not grey. Glancing at the black bracelet on the dead man¡¯s wrist, she confirmed the correlation between the card and bracelet¡¯s colour. Without checking the contents, Priscilla surreptitiously kept the black card and stepped away from the body. Priscilla¡¯s actions were swift and covert, completing within a minute. Checking around her, she found that no one had noticed her actions. Rather, it may be that everyone had subconsciously decided to ignore the dead body. Next came making some friends. Helpful friends. From her initial analysis, Yellow and White seemed the safest to interact with. At the very least, their reactions to Blue¡¯s actions suggested that they weren¡¯t used to these sorts of violence. Although, whether they plan to, or must, commit something like that is a different story. One that Priscilla intends to find out of everyone. Glancing at her grey watch, she stepped towards Yellow who happened to be closer. ¡°I¡¯m Grey¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Hey boy! White! Stop staring into space!¡± It was the woman who had been seated beside him. Glancing at her wrist, Ethan mentally noted the yellow bracelet. Confused as to what Yellow wanted, he opened his mouth but wasn¡¯t given the chance to speak. ¡°Can¡¯t you see everyone else leaving the room? We should find out more about where we are. Also, Grey here says she¡¯s a detective, that¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it? We should stick together with her, it¡¯ll be safer and she can protect us from that crazed maniac.¡± Yellow pulled another woman over while surreptitiously glancing at Blue who was exiting the room alone. Looking over at the newcomer¡¯s wrist, Ethan saw what he expected, a grey bracelet. A small red smear on Grey¡¯s hands also registered in Ethan¡¯s eyes, who immediately associated it with blood and the incident that just occurred. He paled and stumbled back slightly, unsure if the red smear was really blood from the corpse, or something else entirely unrelated. Feeling the gaze of both women on him, Ethan flushed with embarrassment and quickly agreed to forming a team. He agreed with the idea of having strengths in numbers, and being in a group would definitely help him make better sense of this unknown, and possibly hostile, environment that he had been thrown in. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Following the 2 women out, Ethan was greeted by an empty courtyard. All 4 sides were walled off by 4 buildings, with each having their own flight of stairs. Scanning the walls, Ethan saw windows scattered uniformly throughout each wall, with a dull grey and brightly lit ceiling at the very top. Said ceiling blocked off the sun, sky, and any hope of escaping through there. Ethan could see the other participants milling about, slowly taking in their surroundings, and surveying the area. The trio started off their own exploration, heading through every door they found. A rough breakdown of the rooms in the area included a dining area, a kitchen, a storage facility, gymnasium, a showering area, a library, a small medical ward, and the theatre-like area they had woke up in. In addition to those, one building housed 13 identical bedrooms throughout its 4 floors. Each bedroom had a simple bed, table, chair, attached to a toilet. The door could be locked from the inside but knowing that failed to bring Ethan any sort of comfort or security. He had already planned to set both the table and chair against the door before he slept. Although, I don¡¯t think I will be able to fall asleep tonight¡­ The dining area was on the smaller side. There was enough tables and chairs for 13 people, and one corner held host to a few vending machines. These provided a range of items, from snacks to pre-made, ready-to-eat meals. All free of course, seeing as none of them had retained any of their personal belongings. If one was averse to pre-made meals, there was a kitchen right next door, stocked with various fresh vegetables and meat, all available for anyone to prepare themselves a warm meal. How would one prepare these ingredients? With the array of kitchenware made readily available of course. With the array of pots, pans and inevitable sharp, steel knives, anyone will find themselves at home, comfortably preparing a home-made meal for themselves. And easily commit murder¡­ Was the only comment that Grey had. It wasn¡¯t only the kitchen that had made dangerous tools and objects readily available for the participants. A medical room was also found, similar to that of a medical ward found in schools, the only thing out of place were the cabinets that were stock full of both medical supplies and unknown chemical compounds. A few of which Grey had identified as lethal poison, and instantly removed by pouring the contents down the nearby basin. There was also a medium sized room that was house to various items, which the trio had dubbed as the ¡°Storage Room¡±. The things of note, or of concern, were the items which could easily become instruments of harm in the wrong hands. This had included a saw, both electrical and otherwise, long steel pipes, and surprisingly a huge sledgehammer. Items which Ethan had commonly seen at construction sites, or in gardens, but never would associate them as tools for murder. This dissociation in viewpoints was disconcerting, which only served to heighten the stress and anxiety that Ethan was struggling to keep down. The only room that did not seem to promote any sort of ill-intentions was a library. The only thing present in it were rows upon rows of books, haphazardly arranged on the bookshelves. Although¡­ This dim lighting would make it easy to ambush someone, or hide a body. Was the intrusive thought that Ethan could not dismiss. At times the trio would pass by other participants and may exchange a word or two. During their interactions, Ethan could not help but perceive them as ordinary people. If he had passed any one of them on the street, they would not have made any sort of impression on him. However, with the situation they were in, and Blue¡¯s very out of the ordinary actions, Ethan found himself analysing every word and action. Whether it the lack of eye contact, shifting body movements, etc., Ethan noted them all, but with only the limited knowledge he had obtained from detective shows, he quickly found himself unable to come to any sort of conclusion. For instance, there was Red, who gave off a very warm and friendly vibe. The faint smile on his face seemed genuine enough, and Ethan had found himself trusting the man. But then again, Ethan had watched shows where the nicest, friendliest character had turned out to be the villain. With this ¡°experience¡±, Ethan then felt himself shuddering as he imagined Red stabbing him in the back, except now with the previously friendly smile somehow turning sinister. All in all, Ethan found himself going round in circles trying to read the others. With only a mild headache to show for all that effort, he quickly gave up on the fruitless task. Or rather, he had decided to focus on the other 2 in the team, Grey and Yellow. If he was going to stick with them, he should first try to figure out if they could be trusted. Only 2 hours had passed when they were done exploring the area they had been confined in. As the time passed, Ethan found himself adapting and adjusting to the bizarre scenario he had been thrown in. As his nerves settled, he simultaneously felt the complains that his stomach had seemingly been making for quite a while. It seemed that the same applied to the other participants too, as when the trio entered the dining area, they found most of the participants now gathered in the room. The tables and chairs were pushed towards the centre, allowing for those gathered to converse. Except for Blue of course, who no one wanted to interact with, and who was happy to pack his table full of food and enjoy them in solitude. Not wanting to be left out of the discussion, Ethan had instinctively joined the group after taking some food. At one point, Purple had brought up the topic of escaping, claiming to have been misled into participation, but with the less than enthusiastic response and no potential methods of escape, that topic was quickly shut down. Out of na?ve curiosity, Ethan had asked Purple what his goal was, thinking that it would be like his. However, Purple hesitated to answer, opting to mutter something incomprehensible before retreating into his seat. Seeing that awkward reaction, the atmosphere around the table had turned tensed. It was then Ethan realised that the rest either had given up on escaping, or most likely never planned to do so. Ethan recalled what was mentioned during George''s fancy introduction. Fulfill their given conditions and their problems would be solved. Unlike himself, most of the participants were probably here willingly, aiming to accomplish their personalized task in exchange for whatever deal they have made. If their tasks are anything close to Blue''s, I guess the lesser that is known, the easier it will be for them.. Ethan found himself becoming even more reserved and tight-lipped, once again eyeing everyone with suspiscion. Although his task only required him to survive, he worried that this may earn the ire of others. It was better to avoid unnecessarily painting a target on his own back. The same went for the others, anyone who spoke did so carefully and with measured words. Ultimately, this had resulted in everyone purposefully withholding information, ending in an uneventful and fruitless discussion. With the discussion halted and the group disbanded, Ethan retired to one of the many bedrooms available. He chose the one closest to the flight of stairs, reasoning that if anything were to happen, it would be best to be closest to an exit. Upon entering the room, Ethan immediately locked the door, and stacked the table and chair against the locked door. Having achieved some sense of security, Ethan laid down on the bed. It was then that Ethan felt his nerves finally unwinding. While he knew he was in a constant state of vigilance, he did not realise how taxing it had been for him both mentally and physically. Only now realising the slight pounding in his head, he closed his eyes in an attempt to soothe his headache. Soon after, helped by the overwhelming fatigue accumulated through the day, Ethan found himself quickly drifting off to sleep. 4. Once again Ethan woke up disoriented, confused for a moment by the unfamiliar room that greeted his groggy eyes. Unpleasant memories of the previous day resurfaced instantly, kindly reminding Ethan of the danger he was in, which then segued right into slight paranoia that he was somehow next. This was made all the worse when Ethan heard footsteps in the hallway, passing by his door. Ethan''s head instinctively swivelled towards the bedroom door, heart pounding at the thought that his bad premonition was actually coming true. In his mind''s eye, he imagined Blue fervently breaking down the door before taking his life. Here''s Johnny. The internet meme would often crack him up, except Ethan found it difficult to appreciate the joke this time. Fortunately, the footsteps simple passed by his door and continued towards the stairs before fading away. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ethan started preparing to leave his room. ¡°¨C Congratulations. Task completed. ¨C¡± The announcement blared throughout the compound. Task completed? Did... did someone else die...? It might not be murder... Maybe its something less... gruesome? However, Ethan could not shake off the sinister feeling of the situation he is in. It was more than likely that the sort of "entertainment" that George seeks is more in line to what Blue had done. This sudden development threw Ethan off, who was in the midst of removing his shabbily made barricade from the door. All the announcement had served was to reinforce the danger that Ethan as in, forcing him to seriously consider his mortality with every decision he has to make. But at the same time, his curiousity and desire to understand what had happened kept nagging at him, pushing him to brave the danger instead. This mental tug of war made him indecisive, unsure of how to proceed. There was the possibility that the footsteps he had heard was related, which would make things more dangerous for him. But its won''t do me any good to hole up ignorant, there''s no way I can just hide for the next 6 days without leaving for food and water. It''ll probably be better for me to know what is going on instead, then I can get a better sensing of what to do. Ethan''s eternal pondering was interrupted by a sudden thumping on his door. "Hey White, you alright in there? Its me, Grey. That announcement has nothing to do with you right?" Ethan''s heart had shot to his mouth by the sudden banging. Reminding himself that Grey was probably safe and trustworthy, he breathed deep in an attempt to calm himself. "Yeah I''m fine. Let me just get some stuff out of the way." As Ethan proceeded to remove his blockade, a sudden thought struck him. How did Grey know where I am? Ethan''s hand held onto the door knob, but hesitated to open it. "Hey, um, how did you know I am in here?" There was a short pause, which to Ethan felt like an eternity, before Grey gave a reply. "Mm its good to be cautious kid. You looked out of it last night when you left the dining hall, so I followed you. I didn''t have any ill intentions though, just wanted to make sure you were ok." Grey''s reply did help to ease some of Ethan''s doubt, though not all of it. Sounds understandable I guess... Well, its probably too early to be making enemies, and her and Yellow are the only 2 I can trust right now. Ethan steeled his nerves before proceeding to unlock and open the door. Fortunately, a gory death did not happen next. Grey stood before the door, but her attention was towards the dimly lit hallway, face grim. Turning her attention back to Ethan, she showed a satisfied smile. "Good, you don''t seem as jittery as yesterday. Lets go see if we can find out what this completed task is." Without waiting for Ethan''s reply, she started to walk towards the neighbouring door. Silently following Grey, Ethan contemplated mentioning the footsteps he had heard prior to Grey''s arrival. If they do find something on this floor, its likely that the owner of the footsteps was linked to it. On reaching the next room, Grey managed to open the door without resistance. A cursory glance suggested that no one had occupied the room during the night. The next few rooms were similarly unlocked, though some showed signs of previously being occupied, they too did not yield any results. Reaching the end of the hallway, Grey tried the last room and found it to be locked. No answer followed by Grey knocked on the door, whose patience quickly wore out. She proceeded to give the door a few solid kicks before the handle broke loose, granting her, and Ethan, entry to the room. Grey strode into the room without hesitation, but then immediately stopped in her tracks. Following her gaze, Ethan looked into the room. There, on the bed, displayed the outcome of the latest accomplished task. A man in his late 30s laid still and lifeless. He was naked, though his lower half was patially covered. The 1st thing that Ethan registed in his shock was the man''s hands. They were at his throat, as though he had been clawing at them in his final moments. The gold bracelet on the man''s wrist informed of his identity. Well, given identity anyway. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "Poison?" While Ethan had been frozen in shock, Grey had already proceeded to examine the body, doing so with practiced ease. Hearing Grey mutters, Ethan registered the blood on the man''s face, from his mouth, nose, and even oozing out of the eyes. Once again, Ethan felt the all too familiar sensation of nausea as he staggered out of the door gagging and retching air, tears forming in his eyes. "Yep, that''s an injection site right there. Right there on the thigh! Now... where is his card?" When Ethan finally recollected himself, he re-entered the room. This time though, he resolutely looked at everywhere but where the corpse was. "Why are you so interested in this? It just sick but... does it matter who did what? I mean, once they''re done, they''re done, you know..." Grey simply gave Ethan a searching look. It was the type of gaze that made Ethan felt like he was being studied, as if every little detail of himself was being unravelled infront of Grey. After an uncomfortably long silence, Grey finally spoke. "What''s your group? The one on your card." "Wha- Um, it says ''Civilian''. Why?" Flustered, Ethan replied uneasily, unsure of the intent behind Grey''s question. "Same here, and as for why I''m interested in the death of gold? Well, I think its simplier if you just read this." Grey produced a Grey card from her pocket and handed it over to Ethan. Apart from the color, it was in every way identical the Ethan''s own white card. Realising what he had just recieved, Ethan quickly browsed the information printed.
Name: Grey Group: Civilian Task: Ensure no Outlaw leaves
So his task is to stop outlaws. So... those like Blue? "I guess you need to find out who the criminals are then. So if someone completes their task illegally, their grouping changes to ''Outlaw''? Wait, then why are you sharing this with me? I mean, not that I will murder anyone or the likes, but isn''t it detrimental to you if I did need to?" Without answering Ethan''s questions, Grey silently took back her card, and then handed a black card over to Ethan. "That card belongs to Black. He''s the one Blue got." Ethan heart skipped a beat when he heard that. Resisting the urge to fling the card away, he proceeded to read the blood-stained card
Name: Black Group: Outl¨~¨~ Tas¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~¨~
Parts of the text was unreadable, but Ethan could easily guess the group that Black was assigned to. "Oh... I see. Then um, how many Outlaws are there...?" "Well, so far at least 3. Black, Blue, and whoever did this to Gold. It would be nice if it was just these 3, but I highly doubt a game so steeped with sinister intent will stop there. Its best to assume we are the only two in the ''Civilian'' group..." Ethan shuddered at Grey''s words. It seems like his chances for survival were much slimmer than he had thought. Ethan sank to the ground in despair, clutching himself in desperation as he found his body shivering in absolute terror at this new found knowledge. If every Outlaw''s task leads to murder, then... """ We''re screwed then. I knew I was going to die soon, but... In a place like this? No way... I, I don''t want to die here, not like this! Mom, save me mummy... """ "Snap out of it White. You aren''t alone. If we work together, we can both survive. There''s still hope you know, don''t write yourself off like that." Grey patted the half-crying Ethan on the back, attempting to console him the same way she would pacify her crying child. "I may be a detective now but I was a cop before, protecting citizens is still my job. We''ll stick together and I''ll keep you safe. And hey, I can even help out with your task. Does that sound good White?" Somehow, Grey''s words sounded reliable and reassuring to Ethan. Clinging onto the hope that Grey offered, Ethan found himself regaining his sense, blushing as he imagined the pitiful display he had shown moments ago. "Yea sounds good. Thanks Grey. And well, my task isn''t all that much. I just need to survive all the way, which I had almost already gave up on just now... Hahaha..." Ethan handed his own card over to Grey, forcing out a laugh as he said that. Grey gave the white card a quick scan and then returned it, pleasantly surprised that such an innocent task would be handed out. She had mentally prepared herself for the worst case scenario where White had to do something borderline illegal, if not outrightly so. "Well, that makes things easier then. Best to not let anyone else know about it. There may be some who will go out of their way to ensure you don''t succeed." "Also, you should know that Blue-" A sudden shrill scream came from the doorway, interrupting Grey mid-sentence. Ethan whirled around, coming face to face with Yellow standing at the door way. Her eyes bulged as she stared at Gold''s lifeless body, one hand gripping the doorframe for support, while the other covered her mouth in shock. Ethan could not help but empathise with Yellow. He too had reacted similarly. "Is- Is he dead?" Yellow''s question was barely a whisper, her eyes darting between Ethan and Grey. Nodding grimly, Grey updated Yellow on what had been discovered, mainly that the deceased was Gold, who was very likely poisoned. Ethan noted that Grey had purposefully left out the 2nd part of the conversation regarding ''Outlaws'' and ''Civilians'', and Grey''s own task. Does Grey not plan to involve Yellow? Does she suspect Yellow too? To Ethan, it had seemed that Grey had decided to trust him without much effort on his own part. Hence, he was unsure on why Yellow had been purposely left out of the loop, or by what criteria he had obtained Grey''s favour. Nonetheless, he had took it as a hint that unless he knew the contents of a participant''s card, it would probably be best to be more wary. Maybe Grey simply decided to take a gamble with me. I guess no one would think 17yo teen would pose much of a threat. At least, not to a full grown adult. Well, either way, its good to know I''m not alone. I should support Grey as much as I can too. Which reminds me... "Oh! A few minutes before the announcement, I heard someone walk past my door. Since its this floor, it may have been the killer..." Ethan blurted out, faintly hoping that this information would be of use to Grey. "Hmm, that would help narrow it down. Orange was the last person to enter the dining area before the announcement. When I left to find you, Silver had been loitering around the toilet, which is odd. I never saw Brown or Green, though that may not mean anything." Grey stood in place for a few minutes, arms crossed, frowning in contemplation. "Well, its a good start, but we''re going to need more clues to pinpoint the killer. That said, your stomach has been growling for a while now White..." Ethan blushed furiously at that comment. It was true that he was starting to feel famished. All the excitement early in the morning without any breakfast finally caught up to him. Out of consideration for him, Grey and him headed to the dining area to continue their discussion. In their tow was a somewhat confused Yellow, who had probably misunderstood the reason for Grey''s, and somehow White''s, interest in finding the killer. 5. New friends? Their discussion resumed in the dining area, after Ethan had obtained a decent helping of noodles for breakfast. Along the way, Grey had taken a solo detour to the storage room, where she found some paper and fashioned herself a notebook of sorts with the help of some aluminium wire found there too. Seated around the table, Grey was writing in her notebook, occasionally muttering under her breath or rubbing her brows in contemplation. Both Ethan and Yellow watched her work with a mix of curiousity and fascination, neither having seen a detective at work before. Ethan even took extra care to eat as silently as possible, not wanting to disturb the detective in any way. "Oookay, I have narrowed down the suspects to Brown." As Ethan was polishing up the remaining bits of noodles, Grey resurfaced from her notebook and declared. In response, there was only confused silenc, neither sure of how Grey had arrived at her conclusion. Having already expected this, Grey smoothly went on to explain her reasonings. "Of the 4 initial suspects, Brown is the only female. This is important if we focus on Gold'' state of undress when he''s dead, which would suggest that both him and the perpetrator had been... intimate prior to the injection of the poison. This act I then confirmed after checking on his... member." Ethan blushed furiously at this, fidgeting and ducking his head as he felt his face and ears heating up. A fact which did not go unnoticed by Grey and Yellow. Where the former tactfully ignored it as a sign of understanding, the latter decided to tease him with suggestive phrases and actions. "Ahem, Yellow. Anyway, there''s a possibility that Gold had different tastes, so keep that in mind. For now, we should confront Brown and see how things play out with her. With any luck, we should have the poisoner immediately." With the new goal in mind, the 3 decided to each search a building, except for the domitory building. Taking the east building, Ethan started his search. It was the first time he was alone, having always enjoyed the safety in numbers. His hand felt clammy as he nervously toyed with the pepper spray in his pocket. Yellow had passed it to him, stating that it was a spare and that unlike the detective, she could not see him defending himself well. As insulting as it may have sounded, Ethan did not take it as such. Having long come to terms with the weakness of his ill body, he knew he was definitely no match for most of his peers, much less fully grown adults. With the exception of the few special rooms and bedrooms, the rest of the rooms resembled classrooms. There were desks and chairs within, some placed neatly while others were haphazardly strewn across the room. As Ethan searched each empty room, the stronger the impression of an abandoned school grew. There would be the occasional whiteboard, or computer, or projector found within these rooms. Searching through the 2nd floor, Ethan did not find Brown, nor did he encounter anyone else. This unexpected solitude helped calm Ethan down, who was starting to hope that he would not be the one to find Brown. This peaceful solitude did not last long however. He had walked into Green, quite literally, as he rounded a corner. Spluttering out an apology while staggered backwards, Ethan has to strain his neck to look up at the lanky giant who towered over him. Unfazed by Ethan, Green''s face remained unperturbed, calmly studying the flustered boy who had just walked into him. Standing before Green''s calm, analytical gaze, Ethan once again felt like his secrets were slowly being unravelled before him. However, unlike with Grey, this time the discomfort was accompanied with a sense of danger. Squeezing out the last of an apology, Ethan hurriedly walked away, extracting himself from Green''s gaze. "Watch where you''re going next time boy. You may not run into someone nice next time." A low gravelly voice trailed after him, almost lazily, as if the intention behind the words were nothing more than friendly advice. However, Ethan could not help but shudder, as if his body was reacting to some unknown threat lurking beneath those words. Hastening his pace, Ethan almost barged into the first room he came across. It was another "classroom", messily filled with desk, chairs, and this time a computer. But, Ethan was not the first, there was someone occupying the computer. Said occupant peered over the computer screen and locked eyes with Ethan. This lasted for less than a second before the occupant let out a small squeak and hid back behind the screen. "Ple-please go away." The whisper was barely audible, Ethan was surprised he had even heard the words, much less understood what was said. Ethan hesistated, before silently sliding out the door. The occupant perfectly matched Grey''s description of Brown. Black hair with streaks of purple and a mousy-looking face donning a pair of over-sized glasses. Caught off-guard by his sudden finding, stood dumbly at the door before coming up with his next course of action. He quickly sped down the stairs over to the next building, hoping to inform Grey before Brown decided to disappear elsewhere, an understandable concern Ethan had after witnessing Brown''s incredibly timid behaviour. It didn''t take long for Ethan to find Grey. After informing her of Brown''s location, he then continued on to find Yellow, while Grey made her way to Brown''s location. When Ethan returned with Yellow in tow, they were greeted with a curious sight. Brown was curled up in her chair, seemingly trying to shrink herself as much as possible. Her tear-filled eyes darted about, reflecting fear and anxiety, she gave Ethan the impression of a cornered mice furiously trying to figure out a path to survival. Opposite sat Grey, straddling a chair, arms folded on the chair''s backrest. Grey had, what Ethan would call, her thinking face on. With a slight frown, Grey silently observed the panicking, half-sobbing Brown, she too was unsure of what to make of the scene before her. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Eventually, Grey got up with a sigh and join Ethan and Yellow. "So as you can see, she''s basically a mess. If I were to put it nicely, extremely introverted. I did manage to have some semblance of a conversation with her, but really she was either just crying the entire time or just too distracted to answer me properly." "Unless she''s a really exceptional actor, I don''t see how she will be able to even have a proper conversation with someone else, much less lure a stranger into bed. As for her task, seems like she has no faith in being able to complete it, so there''s that. Anyway, back to the drawing board, lets go find someone else to interrogate..." With a huff, Grey left the room. Ethan followed suit, glancing back in worry. Viewing the frail figure curled up in her chair, Ethan could not imagine her with any sort of malicious intent. If anything, she felt similiar to him, tricked into participating in a game that they were unprepared for. ... The rest of the day passed relatively peacefully, though barely yielding any results. Grey had somewhat relunctantly crossed Silver off the suspect list, even though he did not explain his actions, he had been eating in the dining room close to the time of the announcement. A fact that disgruntled Grey who had somehow forgot that fact. As for Green, Ethan witnessed a tense exchange between him and Grey. Every word spoke between them had been carefully measured and calculated, and seeing Grey''s guarded stance towards the man only deepened Ethan''s fear of Green. It seems like his intution was right on Green being a dangerous individual. And lastly Orange, search as they might, they failed to locate him throughout the day. "Not being able to find him in an enclosed area tells us something too. One of two possible things happened. One, Orange is dead and someone has disposed of his body. Though this is unlikely since no announcement has gone off. So its very likely that, two, he is our poisoner, and he is actively avoiding us. He probably got wind of our investigation, and decided to hide from us to avoid trouble. But its alright, I have a plan, he won''t be able to hide from me for too long." This was how the day concluded. On the advice of Grey, Ethan went to a different bedroom. After setting up the simple barricade at the door, Ethan finally let himself relax. Fortunately, his nerves had not been as high-strung as it was on the first day. Seems like I''m getting used to this... Not sure if that''s good or not... Ethan found his mind wandering back to Brown. Recalling the events in the day, Ethan felt sympathy for her. I got pretty lucky huh. If I were alone like her, I probably would''ve ended up the same way too... Pity for Brown slowly turned into worry. He could not help but imagine himself in her shoes, resulting in a constant worry for her safety. Alone, scared and helpless. And probably an easy target, especially someone like Blue... This constant nagging in his mind kept him awake, eventually driving him out of the safety of his bed and room. Even though the clock showed night, everywhere remained lit by the various lights installed. Ethan headed straight to the classroom where he had previously found Brown at. Unfortunately, though expected, she was not there. Ethan proceeded to search for her room by room again. With each passing second, each empty room, Ethan''s unease grew along with a sense of foreboding. He hastened his actions, his body starting to fill with adrenaline, his overly active mind creating endless hell-like scenarios if he were to find Brown too late. Voices were heard when Ethan started his search at the top-most floor. It came from one of the rooms, and the voices were barely audible. Despite that, Ethan was sure one of them belonged to Brown. Well at least, he desperately hoped so. He excitedly pushed opened the door where the voices were coming from, and Yellow and Brown entered his view. Brown seemed less fearful than she had been during the day, she looked more calm and wasn''t on the verge of a breakdown. Due to Ethan''s over-excitement, the door slammed into the wall. The loud bang was furthered amplified when compared to the calm and quietness the room held moments before, startling not only Yellow and Brown, but Ethan as well. Brown gave a yelp of surprise, pushing back on her chair, nearly toppling over as a result. "White! Be gentler next time, don''t scare us..." Yellow quickly recovered from her initial surprise, giving Ethan a reproachful look. "Its alright Brown, White means you no harm, there''s no need to be afraid. I''ll go talk to him outside while you calm down, is that alright?" Towards Brown, Yellow''s voice was calm and smooth, it gave Ethan the impression of warmth and honey. Brown gave a small nod, hands pressed against her chest as she tried to calm her breathing down, eyes remaining downcast. Ethan saw a hint of relief appear on Yellow''s face when Brown responded to her, though this immediately disappeared when she faced towards him. Expression laced with slight annoyance instead, Yellow headed out of the room, half-dragging Ethan along, as though worried that Ethan''s prescence would further upset Brown. After Ethan explained his worry about Brown, Yellow''s annoyance quickly vanished, replaced with an understanding smile. "Its nice that you were looking out for her. Don''t worry, you can leave her to me. Truth be told, I used to work as a psychologist before, so I know my way around these sorts of things." Surprised at Yellow''s sudden self-disclosure, Ethan wasn''t sure of how to respond, instead choosing to mutely nod. "When she gets better, I''ll see if she''s comfortable enough to talk to you. I can even talk you up if you''re interested in her." Chuckling, Yellow added the 2nd part to lightly tease Ethan, winking playfully at the same time. Blushing, Ethan resolutely ignored what Yellow was implying, choosing to focus on the relief knowing that Brown was safe, and better yet, had someone that she could rely on as well. Even if its not me... No no no, what am I saying. Argh, Yellow got into my head. Shaking his head to clear it of intrusive thoughts, Ethan headed back. This time with his heart at ease, sleep came easier. 6. Heart troubles "You''re sure then? It''s her?" Leaning slightly out the window, the man''s gaze directed to the courtyard beneath. Down below was a group of three who had just exited the dining area. The three each headed to a different building, each with a different stride, but all with a certain intent behind them. "Seeing as they are the only ones interested in the killings, I''m pretty confident." A lazy reply came from within the room. Lounging on the chair with his legs on the table, he gave off the impression of being bored and detached. The sharp glint in his eyes accompanied by his sinister smiled told of otherwise. "As for my target, I already know who I want it to be, but when would be best. When would shatter his hope so thoroughly, so finely that only helpless terror will be left on that delicate face of his. Hehehe." Slightly revolted by his companion''s words, the man seeked to change the subject. "You said that my target would have gotten to you by now, but apart from me, no one else has even gotten close to you. Heck, no one wants to even be in your vicinity." "Nothing much I can say, the previous guy playing that ''vigilante'' role came right for me, like some dumb mule. Straight up tried to challenge me, and it did catch me by surprise but he was such a wimp. Man was he bad at it, he did most of the work for me hahaha." The man chuckled, reminiscing at fond memories. "Maybe she was smart enough to figure out that I actually didn''t complete my task. Well either way, my actions already fished her out for you, so you''re welcome." The man kept silent, eyeing the blue bracelet, a slight shiver ran down his spine as he recalled his near death experience. His target was whoever that was playing this ''vigilante'' role, as Blue had put it, and he figured that Blue would be the best bait, seeing as the insane man had commited murder in front of everyone else. Even so, having been caught tailing Blue, misunderstanding had almost resulted in death, though fortunately he had been quick enough to explain himself. Even so, being near Blue did not make him feel comfortable in anyway, he would much preferably follow his gut instincts and have nothing to do with the man. "Inform me before you go ahead with your task, I want to be prepared." The man exited the room, trying his best to excude a calm and confident demeanor. It would be best if Blue did not think of him as an easy target either. ... When Ethan woke up, his thoughts immediately went to Brown. Recalling the previous night''s events, he instinctively wanted to go find her. I just want to see how she''s doing that''s all. Not sure why, Ethan reasoned his actions with himself. Ethan eventually resisted the urge, choosing to stay patient and have faith in Yellow. He wasn''t sure how therapy works, but part of him hoped to speak with Brown soon. I don''t think I''ll have the chance to see her when this whole thing is over... A somewhat saddening thought. Nonetheless, Ethan headed to the dining area, expecting to find Grey. Breakfast came and went, on to his plate and then into his stomach. However, he did not catch a glimpse of Grey or Yellow. Not seeing Yellow was understandable, but Grey''s lack of presence made him feel uneasy. At first, he was concerned that something had happened to her, but the lack of any congratulatory announcement gave him some comfort, so he opted for more optimistic thinking. Maybe she found the poisoner from yesterday. But then came a different sort of unease. Watching the other participants come and go, Ethan could not figure out the source of the unease, gnawing at his heart. When Blue entered the room and casually threw a wink in his direction, Ethan had figuratively jumped out of his skin. Half-scrabbling out of the dining area, seeking the safety of being somewhere that did not contain Blue, Ethan then had his epiphany, I''m alone. Right now, he did not have the protection of a trained detective, nor does he have the safety in numbers. In that instant, Ethan felt like day 1 all over again, plunged into a horror movie with murderers and madmen at every corner. All the while rushing somewhere aimlessly, he kept his head low. Eventually, he entered a random room, and instinctively pushed over tables and chair to barricade the entrance. Collapsing in the corner of the room, Ethan became aware of how soaked his shirt was, a joint-effort of cold-sweat and physical exertion. Ethan had no realised how dependent he had become on Grey''s presence over a short span of two days. Apparently, without her or Yellow, he could function no better than a newborn chick. Scared, fearful, steps away from being paralyzed by fear, Ethan felt a growing sense of disgust at himself. I''m so weak, and pathetic at that... Whenever he watched movies, he always identified with the heroic and brave main leads, often scoffing at cowardly characters and ridiculing their lack of spine. Seems like I''m less heroic than I thought... However, the self-pity did not last long. Having been forced to come to terms with death due to his illness, Ethan had learnt to not dwell on things for too long. His mentality was strong in that aspect at least. Keeping in mind said heroic leads from movies, Ethan sought to bolster his own heart with courage, to bravely exit the room and face any dangers that goes his way. Resolutely shifting the barricade he had constructed, he aimed to find Grey and help her out with her task. ... Resolutely has a nice ring to it... What Ethan imagined for himself was vastly different than his actual actions. Hands shaking, heart still filled with uncertainty, the barricade was dismantled after much hesitation and deliberation. Eventually, Ethan found himself nervously stepping out of the room, slowly and carefully, as though any sudden actions would trigger something terrible. While his cautious behaviour could be argued as extreme, this time it had paid off. Ethan''s exit into the corridor did not alert the person passing by the room, hence Ethan was not noticed. Ethan quickly recovered from his shock, hurriedly closing the door till a thin gap remained, allowing him to continue observing the man. With short, hurried steps, the man walked down the corridor, before entering a room two doors away from where Ethan was. The entire time, he had been clutching onto a black duffle bag, and frequently looking around him, exuding nervous energy. Curiousity surfaced and Ethan had to fight the urge to dash over and sneak a peek into the room, a fight which he easily won thanks to the lingering fear in his heart. No no no, I should just leave. Better safe than sorry, I can just tell Grey what I saw and if there''s an announcement, then he will just be the prime suspect. Despite all his reasoning, Ethan found himself struggling to regain the courage to open the door again. He found himself rooted, staring at the now empty corridor, as if expecting something to happen. And something did, though nothing very much dramatic. The nervous man simply exited the room, this time hands empty, allowing Ethan to see the purple bracelet on the man''s wrist. Purple''s face was scrunched up, reflecting a curious combination of contemplation, nervousness and resolution, as he walked in Ethan''s direction. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The fear of being discovered unshackled Ethan''s limbs, who prompty jumped away from the door and went to hide under the pile of tables and chairs. With bated breath, Ethan listened to Purple''s footsteps, wishing for the man to quickly leave. To Ethan''s dismay, the footsteps stopped right outside his door, followed by the creaking of hinges. "Weird, was this door always opened? Is- Ahem. Is anyone here?" Purple''s voice was tensed and soft, but the man never entered the room. Probably deciding it was nothing, the door eventually closed with a click, and Ethan let oxygen back into his lungs again. Quietly, silently, very much carefully, Ethan crawled out of his hiding spot. Halfway out, he frozed, realising what he had missed. Is... is he still outside? Ethan had heard no footsteps after the door has closed but he had heard the poisoner''s footsteps through closed doors the previous day. He''s out there, waiting for me. Does he know I''m in here? Oh no, I''m trapped. Icy cold terror coursed through his body, freezing his entire body in place, his mind racing a thousand miles a second, coming up with all sorts of scenarios and possibilities, but not a single solution. What is he doing? Am I going to be trapped here forever? Time dragged slowly, almost torturously as he felt his knees and wrist go sore. He still had no solution in mind, well, no good solution. The best involved ramming the door open in hopes of disorientating Purple enough that he would have time to run away, but he rightfully lacked confidence in his own physical attributes. A minute passed, and then footsteps leaving the door could be heard. To Ethan, it was the sound of salvation, and the terror that gripped his heart slowly loosened. The rollercoasting of fear and relief he had experienced in the short span of an hour had him exhausted, both mentally and physically. This can''t be good for my heart... Collapsing on the floor, Ethan weakly laid there, recovering himself. His thoughts slowly wandered to the duffle bag Purple had been holding, wondering what Purple had been hiding away. Certain that Purple would not be coming back anytime soon, Ethan felt that it was safe for him to satiate his curiousity. Dragging himself out from under the tables, he headed over to investigate, his gait somewhat unsteady. Entering the room, Ethan was surprised at what he saw. The centre of the room had been cleared, all the desks and chairs were messily pushed to a corner. At the centre were three tables neatly placed in a row, with a plastic sheet over them, forming a makeshift bed of sorts. At the side, a table held many items, and a closer look revealed these to be medical related tools. Ethan realised that these were items that he could commonly find in surgery scenes. Looking through the duffle bag, Ethan found an IV bag, as well as bottles containing various liquids. Its a makeshift surgery room! The discovery sent a chill down Ethan''s spine. This setup is for Purple''s task! Crap, I need to get out of here. It was the only reason Ethan could come up to explain why one would bother with the trouble of setting a makeshift surgery room up, and highly unlikely Purple was planning to save lives. Unfortunately for Ethan, footsteps and voices filled the hallway, and Ethan recognised Purple''s voice. Left with no choice, Ethan once again seeked refuge under the furniture, crawling as far in as possible to avoid detection. "H-Here, its all setup and ready to go. I just need your help to get someone here, a-and I''ll take care of the rest." Ethan could only see their lower halves, unable to make out who Purple''s partner was. The duo walked towards the makeshift surgery table, where purple gestured towards it, or something in the vicinity. "S-see this? O-once I''m done, you can just wr-wrap the body up and do whatever you need with it." "Wonderful doc. You sure are as meticulous as ever! Wow, how ever did you find all these items?" Purple''s partner sounded genuine impressed, the clings of glass suggested that he was looking through the duffle bag. Ethan watched as Purple positioned himself behind his partner, pulling out a syringe and resolutely stabbing it into the man''s right arm, injecting the contents. The partner, well I think victim, reacted violently. He swiftly turned around and shoved Purple away, sending him sprawling onto the floor. It was fortunate that Purple was focused on his victim, else Ethan would have easily been discovered, given that he was in Purple''s line of sight. "What the fuck doc. What was that? You little shit, wha-" The man suddenly stumbled, unable to keep his balance. Ethan knew what he was seeing, Purple had injected some sort of anesthesia into his victim, but Ethan was completely unprepared for what Purple had planned to do. Ethan nervously watched Purple drag his victim to the makeshift surgical table and setup the IV drip. Using the same syringe, Purple carefully measured and injected some amount of anesthesia into the IV drip bag and then hooked it up to the victim''s hand. Finally, Purple shifted his attention to the tools laid out on the table. Ethan knew that the gory, often not included in shows and movies part was coming up, and he mentally prepared himself, screwing his eyes tightly shut. The next few hours were torture for Ethan. No matter how hard he tried, he could not completely block out the sounds, which cued his overly active imaginations to come up with horrible, disgusting images. Mid-way through, Purple''s victim had seemingly become half-conscious, which prompted Purple to tie the man''s hands and feet to the table. The groans of pain and barely audible begging for mercy did not improve the situation for Ethan, nor did the pungent smell of blood which has filled the enclosed room. Silently sobbing and thoroughly sick to the stomach, it was through sheer willpower that Ethan somehow managed to keep his silence, going so far as to bite onto his arm. It is only much later that Ethan would realise he had drawn blood from his arms. Eventually, the activity of movement died down, the moans and groans ceasing as well. The lack of any audible sound from Purple scared Ethan, forcing him to open his eyes. Dark red liquid sliding off the table and pooling onto the floor, caught Ethan''s eye immediately. Standing in it was Purple, as though he was taking in his handiwork, and the only proof that the man was still alive came from the occasional spasm of his bloody hand, a bright red bracelet to match. "H-He''s still alive! Look!" Purple suddenly announced, which was followed by a short, sharp scream from Red, proving Purple''s point on still being alive. There was no reply. Purple faced the tool table, seemingly hesitating at it. A few seconds passed in silence before he turned back to Red, and in one swift motion, pulled something out from Red''s chest, causing the man to scream in agony, body arching in an attempt to escape, before immediately falling back to the table, lifeless. "T-there! I removed his heart, and h-he was still alive! I did it, g-give it to me!" Purple waved the freshly removed heart towards the ceiling, blood splattering everywhere, further completing the hell-like scene. ¡°¨C Congratulations. Task completed. ¨C¡± Purple cackled madly at that, dropping the heart with a plop. "S-Sorry James, I''m going to get a new identity after all this is over, l-leave my shitty past behind. Can''t have anyone know I l-left here alive. Its just to-too bad for you." With that, Purple hurriedly exited the room, leaving a trail of bloody footprints in his wake. Time passed, maybe an hour or so, Ethan found himself curled up, motionless under the desk. The only source of sound came from blood slowly dripping from the table to the floor. Listening to the sound itself, it was almost therapeutic, one would just have to think of the blood as water with red dye. The past few hour felt surreal, almost dream-like for Ethan, and he was exhausted. He knew he should leave and find Grey, inform her of Purple''s actions, but he lacked the strength to do so, his willpower fully spent. I''ll tell her later.. Right now... Right now... Right now he did not feel like doing anything. 7. Exitus Letalis Well, here I am, staring at my ''The End'', walking the last few steps of my journey. I still have a choice of course, I don''t have to take the short path to the end, the other choice is much longer, extending beyond what I or anyone can see. But its not too difficult to foretell what this alternative journey of mine will be like, and I don''t welcome it very much. Choosing the shorter path is much easier, and I''m sure there are many who would agree with me. Though, objectively speaking, many more would probably call it the "coward''s way out", and I can see why they would think that way, its simply because they don''t understand. I don''t mean the pains of life, everyone has their own, and people suffer through these pains and difficulties until things get better, until their goals are reached and they enjoy their happiness and wealth and richess and whatnots. Humans are made that way, to be tough and resilient, because life is not easy. And I''m jealous, my heart bursting to its seams with this single emotion everytime I think of those who had this experience, and of those who will have this experience. I wish I could experience it too. Just once. Just once would be great. But there are a subset of us, a minority of humans, who fail to see that beautiful sunrise at the end of a dark stormy night. They failed to be tough, to be resilient, they chose the easy way out. That''s what I always believed anyway. Like them, this option was always available to me, at every step of the way, with every decision I made, it was there. Most of the times it was inconspicuous, though sometimes it does show its presence, even so I never once took it... Obviously. I braved the discomfort, misery, and torment, faced every curveball that life threw at me. I held onto my hope. This remained true even after my incident. It had hurt me both physical and otherwise. My physical wounds recovered fast, not much of a surprise, children always heal fast. However, children don''t heal well emotionally and mentally, in fact, the incident had severely scarred for life and cursed me with a phobia. I did not understand much of this when I was young, all I knew then was that I become very scared, very easily. I had started to avoid everyone, especially the teachers. The teachers were scary. The only ones I felt safe around were my parents, and they became my friends. They were my only friends for a long period of time. Actually, now that I think about it, I don''t recall ever being alone with my father. Maybe it was just coincidence or my failing memory, but I guess it does make sense if my young self had sub-consciously avoided such a situation. As I grew older, and my understanding of my situation got better, mostly thanks to Dr Clennon and the therapy sessions with her. With her help, I slowly came to terms with my past, and working towards my future. Even so, it did nothing for my current self. My trauma remained deep rooted within me, refusing to release me from its horrendous, twisted grasp. I still found myself unable to converse properly with others, and very much friendless. Well, I am at the age where I can''t really consider my parents as friends, as sad as that it. But like I said, I didn''t give up. I greatly desired to overcome this phobia of mine, I constantly fantasised of the day when I''ll be able to start talking to others, have friends, and maybe even start a romantic relationship or two. I yearned for it, maybe even to the point of desperation, for a normal life. In the beginning, Dr Clennon had encouraged to socialise virtually as a way to familiarise myself with interacting with others, a simulation of sorts as she had put it. Having the ability to interact, chat, and even make virtual friends all the while staying in the comfort of safety of my own protective bubble did wonders. It felt like the first major steps in my recovery process, it gave me my hope. At some point, I found myself part of a close, tight-knit community of online DnD. Within this community, I made some really great friends, best friends maybe. At least I hope so, I have never met any of them in-person, only interacted with them virtually. All of my early DnD sessions involved me using only text to communicate with the rest, while the others usually opted for voice communications, after all, being able to hear one another does make the game much more interesting. Anyway, this realisation pushed me to my next step, and eventually I managed to gather up my courage to finally "buy a mic". I still remember how I felt. It started of as harrowing, my heart was pounding in both fear and anticipation, thousands of thoughts were constantly racing through my mind, mostly thoughts of "what if things went wrong". After the initial rounds of welcomes and congratulations for having "obtained a mic", things quickly settled into the setting that I was familiar with, playing DnD. My worries and fears had melted away, and I enjoyed myself. Dr Clennon called this a major milestone in my recovery. I was inclined to agree with her, but I think there was a part of me that was anxious, worried about the speed of my progress. The above events had taken place many years later, I had already reached adulthood but I still lacked ability to hold any sort of real life interactions with other. Any attempts of such communications, always from others, always leads to the same result, me recieving some level of panic attacks. However, I tucked this worry at the corner of my heart, compressed it to the deepest recesses of my mind. I rather believe. Soon after, it would seem like my next big breakthrough had arrived. When the "First ever physical meet-up!!!!!" event had been announced, my friends had expressed their interest in attending. At some point, probably due to the many youtube videos I watched, my fantasy had turned specific, mainly revolving around playing DnD with others in real life and not through a screen. Sometimes during a session, I would imagine that the others were in the same room as me, interacting with each other physically rather than through the screen. And so, attending this event, especially since my friends were going to, seemed like the right choice. Even now, I''m still sure it was the right choice. Even... even if it lead to this... When the day came, I froze, hesitated and then retreated. I had ran away, quite literally, from the event, and shut myself back into the warm embrace of my small and very familiar room. As much as I had tried to convince myself, my body frozed, refusing to step through the doors. I spent the rest of my night stewing in shame and self-loathing, endlessly recalling the scenes that I saw. The place was brightly lit, and people were milling about in there. The place was comfortably full, brightly lit and packed with all sorts of figurines and boards. it gave a warm homely feel. I had stood at the window, taking all these in. I recall my excitement, the flutter of my heart, and the countless butterflies in my stomach. All I needed to do was walk in, and I was sure I would recieve the same warm welcome. Then someone happened to glance in my direction, and for a brief second locked eyes with me before moving on. That was all it took to shatter my courage and willpower. Fuck my weak lousy self. All that excitement and anticipation just drained away, replaced completely by soul-crushing paranoia. I don''t even know what happened next, all I recall was needing to get away. I had to run, had to escape, I had to get myself safe. And then I was safe in my room. Again. My hard earned safety gifted me the agony of disappointment and sorrow. I cried for myself. At some point I had dragged myself infront of my computer. I realised then that I have became too dependent on the distance that the online world provided. I had stopped crying by then, but I was still depressed. Even then, I still held onto my hope, as small and impossible it had seemed then, I still held onto it. The online world held many mysteries and answers, whether they be good, bad, grey, or some weird mix. With nothing else I could do, I searched there. Searched for another way, another solution, any seemed fine as long as it held some form of hope. Then I found it, in some obscure forum that I had randomly came across on a random Google page in the double digits.
Try link. I was in a rough spot a few years back and they really helped out! The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The website page was simple, it consisted only of the company''s name, a description of themselves. A cursory search did not reveal any information of where their business was located, nor was there any number or email for one to contact them with. The only other thing apart from the home page was a link to an application form.
Welcome to New Life Inc. Facing troubles in your life? Need a solution but can''t find one? Here at New Life Inc., our team of experts and specialists will work tirelessly to provide you a solution! Contact us for more information!
I have never heard of this company before, and if I had to be honest, the whole thing looked sketchy and dubious. The original poster never did reply, and maybe that should have been a warning, but the me then didn''t care. Rather, I did not have the luxury to, I was only looking for a solution. The form too was simple. In addition to my name, email, contact number and occupation, it asked for a brief description of the problem I needed help with, to which I simply entered "Social anxiety disorder". The email response came the very next day. The contents were straight-forward, thanking me for choosing their services and informing me that a representative has been assigned to me. Included was a link to download a chat app made by the company and instructions on how to use it, in which I can use to contact my representative. I was thankful for this app, slightly impressed that they had taken my social anxiety into consideration. Seems like this company isn''t just a cold, unfeeling machine. Unsuspectingly, I proceeded to download and install the app. Here goes nothing. I took a deep, calming breath, and then sent a simple greeting via the app. The reply was instant, my representative introduced himself as "George", once again thanking me for choosing the services of New Life Inc., and making promises of delivering the finest service. You know, the usual pleasantries. And yes, its probably that George. Crazy, slightly manical, over-the-top guy claiming to be a top notch host. But of course, I only knew that afterwards. The conversation went in the direction I expected. George asked me for more details of my troubles, probing as much as he could. He could probably tell how uncomfortable I was discussing my issue as he kept reminding me that unless he gets the full picture, he may not be able to properly help me out. The logic presented was reasonable, my rational mind understood it very well, but the emotional, scared part of me was still very much uncooperative. Despite my uncooperativeness, which I''m sure was very annoying, George had remained patient and professional, at least in his typed words. If I had to guess, he probably felt that the conversation with me was no different than an adult trying his best to wrestle a kid''s favourite candy for the sake of said kid''s health. At the end of two very exhausting hours, George finally ended the "QnA" session, thanking me for my cooperation and that he would get back to me in a few days. It was only later on that I realised that not once had we discussed payment, but I figured it would be fine to postpone the financial talk to next time. And then there was no "next time". Or rather, "next time" happened not via the app, but in person. There I was minding my own business in my cozy apartment and surfing the net, when I heard the door open. The locked door to my apartment, to which I had never made a duplicate of, much less gave it to anyone, had opened while I was still inside. I will skip over the rest of what happened, but basically I panicked and shutdown on the spot, I''m sure you would understand. Not immediately of course, I was more confuse at first I guess, but then when the realisation stepped in... You get the idea. And then when I came to, it was in the same room as you, so you know what went down. After that, I just bolted from the room, ran aimlessly before entering this room at random. Out of habit, I sat here, right infront of the computer and booted it up, which did not work much to my disappointment. Even so, having the computer right here gives me a sense of familiarity and safety. It was then I found my card too. Yes, the card I showed you. I''m not sure when I got it, but from what you said, they probably just placed it in my pocket when I was busy shutting down.
Name: Brown Group: Civilian Task: Make a good friend
Can you believe how I felt when I saw my task? Its such a stupid, simple task, but it is impossible for me. I couldn''t make any friends for 34 years, how could I in 7 days? The worst part is that they highlighted the word "friend", see? They''re taunting me, I know it. Its a failed task right from the get go. ... ¡°¨C Congratulations. Task completed. ¨C¡± Sigh... I never told you this out of shame, but I guess now it wouldn''t matter. You know the first time I heard the task completed announcement, I immediately felt envy. Envious that someone else had completed their task so early and easily. Even after you told me that it had resulted in the murder, that ugly, disgusting feeling still remains. And with that announcement just now, its back, even stronger this time. And the worst part is, I still don''t care if this was yet another murder or not. I just wished it was me. I want it to be me. A friend... ... You''re sure you can''t be my friend? Yeah... Yeah I guess... It wouldn''t be professional for you. And I guess, who would want to be friends with sad, anti-social me? I wasted the first 3 days away, and with basically today over... It wouldn''t make sense to prolong my own suffering... Yeah... Its too late even if I met that boy now... White right? He seemed nice... At least from the way you had described him... Maybe if I had talked to him from the very start, maybe, maybe things would be different... That''s life I guess, I just made some bad choices... That''s just too bad... ... All that crying, and snivelling. Why am I so weak..? So... pathetic? I wish I wasn''t so much of a coward.... Sorry, you''re right, I should at least remain positive towards myself. ... Its still scary, the idea of it. I know I made my choice... But its still scary. A different sort of scary. I can feel my heart, its beating like crazy, but its nothing like the ones before. This time, my thoughts are calm, almost detached from my emotions I guess. Its like my heart knows, and its trying to get in as much heartbeats as possible. Maybe its trying to encourage me in its own way hahaha... Take my time huh? I guess I should savour these last few minutes. ... ... Brown stared at the small bottle in her hands, she had been staring at it the entire day as she talked. Eventually, silence fell, and it remained so for awhile. Yellow sat by her patiently, as she had been the past 2 days. It didn''t take Yellow long to get the socially anxious, panic-stricken Brown to calm down and trust her, she was not a veteran psychologist for no reason. "I''m ready." It was barely a whisper, but it was clear as day in the deathly silence of the place. For the first time in a very long time, Brown voluntarily locked eyes with Yellow, her eyes were resolute, but if one were to look carefully, they may be able to detect a hint of pleading and desperation, and Yellow saw this. Yellow kept silent, steadfastly returning the gaze, silently encouraging Brown who was slowly lifting the bottle to her lips. Not once did they break eye contact, nor did the desperationg disappear, if anything, it seemed to grow more profound each second. Yellow was not nervous, she already knew the outcome. After her two days of hard work, she had essentially made Brown her marionette, and Brown was none the wiser. Yellow''s manipulation had been subtle and discrete, some may even consider it an art in deceit. Brown''s desire to live had been effectively sedated, and no matter how much it struggled, it would not be enough to cause Brown to even hesitate. This was evident in Brown''s action, who did not even pause when the bottle reached her lips and tipped the contents down her throat. In one smooth motion, the poison was drunk, voluntarily. The contents were simple, it was essentially highly concentrated solution of liquid sleeping pills. Brown let out a small sigh, and leaned back on her chair. Finally, the eye contact was broken as Brown closed her eyes, maybe even relieved at finishing her journey. Still remaining in her seat, Yellow patiently waited, watching Brown fall asleep, as her breathing slowed to a complete stop. ¡°¨C Congratulations. Task completed. ¨C¡± That was her. Her task was completed. Satisfied, Yellow stood up and made for the exit. 8. Doubts & Fear Hours had passed when Ethan finally found the energy to move again. Slowly and mechanically, he extracted himself from under the table, feet shuffling as he made his way to the door. He kept his eyes downcast, resolutely refusing to look at the bloody depiction of the human anatomy in the center of the room. Ethan exited the room, firmly closing the door behind him. Taking in a deep breath, he savored the odourless, if slightly stale, air, a stark contrast to the air which had been filled with nothing but the smell of blood, innards and excretion. I have to find Grey. I need to tell her about this. The first clear idea struggled to make its way through Ethan''s dulled and sluggish mind, taking him a few seconds to process these thoughts and decide on his next course of action. In an almost trance like state, Ethan slowly made his way down the staircase, his mind slowly recovering from the shock it had received. As it did so, Ethan was unfortunately forced to recall the events that took place hours prior. The sounds of flesh being cut and bones breaking were the first to assault Ethan''s psyche. Next came the whimpers and desperate pleas that had escaped Red''s lips, occasionally mixed with the twisted laughter and taunting that came from Purple. "Should have treated me better", "This is what arses like you get!" It did not take long for his mind to turn against himself, twisting his memories. Somehow, Red''s please started directing itself towards Ethan, the despair filled voice blaming Ethan for its demise. Purple''s taunts too were directed towards Ethan, laughing at him for being so weak and cowardly, unable to do anything and then even if he tried, his actions would''ve meant nothing. Tortured by his own imagination and a mounting headache, Ethan managed to get himself halfway down the stairs before he involuntarily stopped. Dropping into a sitting position, he clutched his head with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to somehow shut off the torturous imagery his own mind was conjuring up. It took awhile for Ethan to calm himself down. Although he could continue on his search for Grey, the torturous imagery conjured from his imagination were not completely quelled. Forcefully pushing these thoughts to a small corner of his mind, and leaving it to suffer in his stead. ... Time passed, and eventually Ethan managed to find Grey, or rather, he happened to wander pass her completely oblivious to her presence. It was not until Grey reached out for him that he took notice, giving him a slight scare in the process. "Whao calm down White. You look like shit, everything alright?" Numbly, Ethan recounted what he had bore witness to. With each detail that escaped Ethan''s lips, Grey''s expression grew graver. Towards the end, Ethan found himself half-crying, but mysteriously his mind and body felt lighter, as if an invisible weight had just been lifted off him. "That''s... Its unfortunate you had to see that White... But if its any comfort, at least we know who the culprit is. So um, thanks for the help.." Wincing at her own words, Grey realised that the teen boy very likely was not looking to be thanked in anyway. "A-anyway, I found out where Orange is, so I''m on the way to find him. Do you want to come along? Things may, uh, get ugly." Ethan agreed without much hesitation. Right now, his wish to not be alone did not stem from the sense of danger he felt on the first day, and if anything, the word of thanks from Grey did help to ease his guilty conscious slightly. Even if I didn''t save the man, at least I can help avenge him. Following Grey, Ethan realised that they had entered the kitchen. Confused, Ethan looked around the area, unsure of where one could hide in here. Anyone entering the door would have the full unobstructed view of the area immediately. Unless.. In the oven? I guess I could squeeze myself in if I tried, but I don''t think I would be able to stay in there for long... The kitchen did make sense though, if someone wanted to hide for days straight, they would still need access to food and water at least. However, Grey did not hesitate, making a beeline towards the back area of the kitchen, grabbing a stool on the way. Upon reaching the wall, Grey sat the chair down, climbed onto it, and yanked the ventilation cover off the wall in one smooth motion. Orange was revealed to be lying in the ventilation shaft, in his hand a half eaten banana. Perplexed at what had just happened, his mind and emotions were in disarray, unsure of how to feel about his sudden reveal, and what his next course of action should be. After all, he had not expected to be found only after 2 days. Grey, on the other hand, had a clear purpose in mind. With precision, she grabbed onto Orange''s hand and pulled him out fluidly, not giving him any chance to resist. It was only when Orange was mid-air did he manage to react, flailing and screaming as he watched the floor get closer to him. Scrabbling off the floor, Orange wasted no time in trying to escape, but a solid kick from Grey on his legs immediately discouraged him. Laying on the floor and clutching his leg, Orange groaned in pain and cursed at them. Watching the poor guy in pain, Ethan realised that the mysterious poisoner was not much older than him, at best a year or 2 older. The boy had a mysterious oriental charm about him, and his tight fitting clothes revealed a slim and alluring build. Recalling the details of Gold''s death, Ethan could hazard a guess as to the boy''s "occupation" outside of the game, causing him to fidget about uncomfortably. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "What in the actual fuck, what was that for?! You''re lucky you didn''t break anything, but I''m definitely bruised all over damn it!" "Please, you were asking for it. Now stop whining and tell me, you''re the one who poisoned Gold didn''t you?" Orange went silent, his face turned weary and grim as his full concentration fell onto Grey and her question, contemplating on how he should answer. The silence grew and eventually Grey''s patience ran thin. "I''ll take that silence as a ''yes'' then." "Why do you care who killed who? You should know what sort of place this is now! It would be better for you to just get your task done and over with, then go hide like I did. This way you get to survive and whatever deal you made fulfilled. Anyone with brains would figure this out immediately!" Listening to Orange''s words, Ethan felt sick in the stomach, instantly recalled Blue''s and Purple''s actions. Four days into the game and the gravity of the situation finally started to sink into him, he was completely surrounded by murderers and psychopaths, caring only for themselves, not a shred of thought put into the pain or suffering others may have to go through. Some part of him midly surprised that he had managed to stay out of the crosshairs of these people for so long. ¡°¨C Congratulations. Task completed. ¨C¡± "See! Everyone here is either a murderer, or turns into one anyway. Kill or be killed you know?" As if to put emphasis on Orange''s declaration, the announcement rang throughout the compound. Who died this time? Ethan''s mind was reeling, the pitable image of Brown surfacing in his mind. No,Yellow is with her, nothing should happen. However, the idea that anyone would turn murderous plagued his thoughts. "So if you''re just here to ask me that, then the answer is yes. Now leave me alone, I still want to live!" The whole time, Orange had been slowly and conspicuously inching backwards to the kitchen counter top. When he got close enough, he swiftly stood up and reached for a knife, all pretense of injury and pain evapourating instantly. However, Orange''s suspiscious actions did not escape the watchful eye of Grey, who swiftly reacted, grabbing his right arm before he could reach the knife, she placed him in an arm lock and pushed his head onto the counter top. "Move and I break your arm." Came a threatening growl from Grey. Ethan, on the other hand had been completely oblivious, and was taken aback by the sudden chain of events. "White, I''m going to do my task... You should probably not see this." Of course, she also has to... complete her own task... Ethan silently left the room, trying his best to ignore Orange who had just realised his predicament. "No, wait! Come back! Please! Nononono!" Orange struggled to break free, watching from the corner of his eyes as Ethan''s figure exited the room. As if watching the embodiment of hope leaving, this caused Orange to struggle even harder, however Grey''s grip was firm and despite her numerous warnings, a clear sharp crack was heard followed by a wail of anguish. Grey promptly released Orange, who collapsed onto the floor, heaving and in tears. His left hand hovering over his right, unsure if he should hold onto it or not. This time, it was Grey''s turn to reach for the knife. Slowly, but with determination, her fingers curled around the handle, her gaze lingering on the sharp edge of the knife before shifting towards Orange. Sensing her gaze, Orange turn to look at her, his eyes snapping to the knife in her hands. His face distorted, poisoned by a mixture of fear and fury, he wasn''t suppose to die! His freedom was so close! Spouting whatever came to his mouth, Orange pleaded for his life while trying to distance himself from Grey. "Why me? You have that boy on your tail, go kill him instead! Why choose me?! I did everything right, I''m not suppose to die!" The boy''s pleading fell on deaf ears, for every inch he tried to distance himself, Grey easily covered for it with a slow, heavy step. All the while her gaze remained on the boy''s face, as if trying to etch him into her memory. Taking a deep breath, Grey finally bent over and stabbed the knife into Orange''s chest, letting his ribcage guide the knife to his heart. A heartbeat later, she swiftly pulled it out and took several step backs, her eyes still remained on his face. Orange froze in shock upon getting stabbed, his mind struggling to process the situation. The sensation was surreal, maybe due to the adrenaline, he did not feel the pain as the knife entered or exited, but instead just a strange sensation. The pain only came afterwards, after his shirt started pooling with blood, after his punctured left lung had started flooding with blood. Instinctively, he started coughing, attempting to expel the liquid to make room for air, but this quickly became futile. Each cough only served to wreck him body with pain, his body spasming as it drowned in itself. Grey watched in muted horror, leaving only when the light finally left the poor boy''s eyes. "¨C The vigilante has made a move. ¨C" ... Ethan stood outside the door. Grey''s task never mentioned killing, right? Ethan had troubles recalling the exact content of Grey''s task, suddenly unsure if he had made the right choice in leaving. He paced about in contemplation, occasionally glancing at the door which leaked the screams and shouts of desperation. The decision was soon made for him. The room fell silent, and Ethan stopped in his tracks in response. "¨C The vigilante has made a move. ¨C" The announcement rang, and soon after a haggard looking Grey exited the room. Facing Ethan, Grey let out a small sigh. "Its done. Didn''t expect that the announcement, but doesn''t matter. It doesn''t change what I need to do." "But... Do you need to kill them? I mean, you just need to catch them right?" Hesitating, Ethan voiced his doubts. "No, my task is to make sure no one in the ''Outlaw'' group leaves, and anyone who completes their task gets to leave. So yes, I have to unfortunately... Anyway, people like Orange commited a crime anyway, and even if this isn''t ''proper procedure''. As much as I hate this, I have to leave this place and inform the captain. I can only hope that they keep their end of the deal..." Grey''s tone was firm and resolute, hiding in it was a trace of resignation as well. Ethan said nothing, Grey''s words did not alleviate the sense of unease he was feeling. His own task did not require him to end a life, not directly anyway. But if it is self-defense, its acceptable, right?