Monstrous Game: An Identity V Short Story

CHAPTER 1 || THE SURPRISE

Another wonderful day at the Oletus Manor, the residents making their way out of their rooms and towards the dining room for a well needed breakfast. A few of them were already in the room, those people being Naib Subedar, William Ellis, Kurt Frank, Kevin Ayuso, and Murro. Others slowly started to file in, lead by none other than the main four, Emily Dyer, Freddy Riley, Kreacher Pierson, and Emma Woods. All nine of them caught glimpses of each other, waves here and there as well as a small and curt nod of acknowledgement from Naib.

"Ah! Good morning everyone!"
Freddy greets with a simple wave of his hand, making his way towards the five other men and shaking their hands as he passed them by, followed by Emily and Kreacher, whom Emma did her best to keep her distance from. The Gardener in particular felt rather uncomfortable around this man, seeing as he gives her the creeps. Always looking for her, always stalking her.

"Morning Freddy, sleep well?"
William asked the lawyer with a big grin displayed on his lips. The Forward was always rearing and ready to go, even before breakfast time.
While the two were conversating, with Kreacher approaching the others, Kevin made his way up to both Emily and Emma, the latter hiding behind the former. Being the ladies man he is, it's Kevin's top priority to greet them first.

"Morning ladies, I hope you both had a pleasant rest. Nothing like a good night's sleep to get everyone up and running, right?"
The cowboy bows as he speaks, such a polite gentleman.
Emma pokes her head out from behind Emily, the Gardener focusing on the moustached man in front of the two. She made sure the Thief wasn't paying attention before responding to Kevin.

"Good morning, Mister Ayuso! My slumber was just fine, how about yours?"
The smiley girl tilts her head slightly, arms now held behind her back as she steps out from behind the Doctor, who waited for the Cowboy to speak again before doing so herself.

"Ah, I slept mighty fine, thank you for asking, Miss Woods!"
Kevin said in response with a tip of his hat like the gentleman he is.

Both Emily and Emma giggled softly, glad that Kevin at least got a good night's sleep. However, Emily glanced across to the others who were in the dining hall already, eyes landing on Naib. She knew he was more of a rescuer than a decoder and he had valid reasons for that, though the brunette couldn't help but wonder if the Mercenary had gotten any sleep whatsoever. Hmmm.
Eyes blinking a couple of times, the Doctor calmly made her way over to the male, tapping his shoulder lightly.

"Erm. Pardon me for intruding, Naib. But... Did you... Get any sleep last night?"
Emily asked the taller one, tilting her head to the right ever so slightly. Being the doctor of the group, it is her job to make sure everyone is healthy and to provide assistance when required, especially in game.
Naib fixed his gaze onto the woman, an eyebrow raised as he bears his teeth. Aside from his fellow mercenaries, he wasn't particularly used to other people caring about his health and wellbeing, especially Emily's concern. Letting out a huff, the male closes his eyes and turns his head away.

"What's it to you? That's none of your business, doctor or not."
He spoke up nonchalantly, arms folding across his chest as his eyebrows slightly furrow. Why was this woman even worried about how much sleep he gets anyway?

"Oh, um. My apologies."
Emily bowed only once before straightening back up, she didn't mean to seem nosy or anything of the sort, as a friend to everyone, she couldn't help but check up on them. It's part of what she does after all.
"I'll uh. Leave you be now. Sorry again."
She continued on before making her way back over to Emma, now by herself as the Cowboy had left her to conversate with Luca Balsa and Andrew Kreiss. The two girls spoke for a while before grouping up with the others within the room.

~

After what felt like hours, the last few stragglers made their way in, greeting everyone with a wave, a nod, and even a few words were exchanged. Aside from Aesop Carl, the Embalmer. This man always seemed rather quiet, and he had good reason to. Aesop didn't particularly enjoy being around other people, growing anxious whenever anyone so much as glances at him or even speaks to him. Even the Gravekeeper was rather quiet. The two would often spend time with each other outside of matches, the only time anyone would have a chance to relax and recover from what the previous matches had thrown at them. Aesop didn't usually talk much, Andrew on the other hand would in somewhat small sentences as to not annoy the other.

~

Soon enough, it was time for the group of teammates to sit down at the table in their designated seats. Breakfast is upon them, and today's menu consists of cereals, toast with jam, waffles and pancakes with maple syrup and an assortment of berries to top them off, etc. Each resident went for their own choices of breakfast, some even offering to serve those around them. Such a polite bunch.
However, as everyone got halfway through their morning meals, a voice rang out through the dining room, the voice of the manor's owner.
"Good morning everyone, I assume you have all had a good night's sleep and thus have gotten plenty of rest."
They spoke up, bringing the attention of the residents to every part of the room. It was evident they were all confused, as the owner never really speaks to them.
"I have a special surprise for you all, something you'll all enjoy very much, I hope."

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Word Count: 985

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Hey hey! So chapter 1 is finally here after a lot of uhh- procrastination and writer's block. It is almost 11pm at night so I apologise if there are any errors or sentences that don't make sense. If there are, please let me know in the comments, and I will fix them tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy chapter 1 of Monstrous Game!