Monstrous Game: An Identity V Short Story

CHAPTER 2 || ROAD TO SOMETHING NEW

The owner of the Oletus Manor, though remaining unseen by the eyes of all participants, spoke with such excitement in their tone. Whatever they had in mind, it definitely had everyone intrigued. The first person to not be too phased however, was Naib, who simply gave a roll of his eyes. Whatever this surprise is, it probably won't be good.

"Ooh! Maybe it's a new set of costumes! Oh oh! Or graffiti! Or even accessories!"
Tracy Reznik piped up, clapping her hands together excitedly. However, this only caused gossip to start between the girls, with theories and whatnot from the guys.

"Or maybe I'm getting my eyesight back so I can see where I'm going for once."
Helena Adams quietly mumbled, averting her gaze from everyone else. 

The owner on the other hand simply cleared their throat to gain everyone's attention once again, if no one let them speak, they would never find out after all.

"If you all could kindly simmer down, maybe you'll finally know what it is!"
They said, rather sternly and mildly annoyed. It was amazing how much everyone can speak about something based off of virtually nothing at all. How annoying. Regardless, everyone began to simmer down, now sitting quietly in their seats.
"Thank you. Now as I was saying, I have a surprise for you all. The surprise is....... A new game mode!"

Everyone exchanged glances with each other. A new game mode? Well that's definitely a nice surprise, isn't it? It had been a while since Tarot mode was released, so it's nice to have another mode to play around with.

"Though I must admit, this mode is more of a... Test... More or less. Something we have been wanting to try out for quite a while now."
The voice spoke up once more, the sound of hands being rubbed together could vaguely be heard.
"There will be instructions on how to play when it is time for you all to enter, but for now, I will provide a brief rundown. For those who know of the game Gang Up, this mode is similar to that. Same rules apply, however with chairs. One person gets chaired, they join the hunter. Last person standing must escape, else he or she will be caught and it will be game over."

"Gang Up? So basically what you're saying is you're giving us some sort of disadvantage against the hunter and our turned teammates?"
Naib questioned, not seeming to like this idea at all. It would seem he won't enjoy being out in the field either. The eyes of Emily trailed over towards the Mercenary, already very much concerned. He already seemed as though he didn't get enough sleep. Would that make him an easy target?

"Disadvantage? Oh no, not at all, Mr. Subedar. As I said, this first match will merely be a test. If this mode succeeds, we will alter it a bit to make it even better. If it fails, we will eliminate it accordingly. Now, enough chit-chat. Enjoy your breakfast! And may the nightingale's singing follow you into your dream so you can find yourself again."
The owner of the manor concluded before ceasing conversation with the residents.

~

After having been informed of what's to come from this point onward, each participant glanced towards each other with slight fear plastered on their faces. Well... All except one. Naib Subedar, the Mercenary. This man didn't exactly seem too phased, he is a rescuer after all so he could just focus on rescuing those who are on rocket chairs while others provide a distraction towards the original hunter.

"This will be easy enough. Free those who need rescuing, avoid the hunter, and all will be fine."
Naib reassured himself, he wasn't scared. Oh no. In fact he was slightly on edge. Of course he isn't the only rescuer out of this group of survivors, there were others as well, such as Martha Behamfil, Jose Baden, Andrew Kreiss, Murro, and William. Teaming up with them to rescue anyone else in trouble would be part of his strategy. If anyone were to get caught, this would prove to be a problem for not only himself, but for the others too.

The Mercenary thought for a moment, seeming to be zoning out. As a result of this, Martha brought her attention across to him, along with Jose and William. The three of them exchanged worried glances, all wondering how Naib would cope with this.

"We'll have to do our best to support him during this time and in the game as well. Who knows what will happen after it's over. Murro, Andrew, and ourselves are the only other rescuers after all, though everyone else will rescue as well if they get the opportunities to do so." The Coordinator spoke up, clearly concerned enough. What if Naib had some sort of breakdown during the game?

Given Naib's experience in the battlefield, decoding ciphers would probably be tougher with the extra stress and paranoia. After all, he was scarred from the war's effects, so the noises would always make him panic and throw him off.

Martha continued to chat with the other rescuers, until she moved on to the decoders of the group: Freddy, Kurt, Tracy, Helena, and Luca. She wanted to discuss methods on how to support Naib during this new game mode test, and to decrease any sign of panic if it were to arise. The Mercenary on the other hand distanced himself from the others, trying to come up with his own support plan.

"As long as I get a fair distance between myself and the hunter, I'll be fine when I rescue others. Get in there, rescue, get back out and maintain distance again." The brunette muttered to himself, shaky hands sliding underneath his hood and running through his tied up hair.
This worried behaviour was noticed by none other than Norton Campbell, who walked over to Naib in an attempt to try and calm him down. 

"Hey bud, I get you're worried about what this game mode will do. I'm worried too."
The Prospector spoke up, trying to remain as calm and comforting as possible. Not only did Naib have a troubled past, Norton could relate. The two would rather not bring up their pasts nor talk about it. And despite Naib's cold behaviour, Norton figured it would be better to at least try and warm him up.
"I'm sure we'll get through this. And who knows? Maybe none of us will be affected by... Whatever happens after we've been chaired."
He continued on, of course Norton is unsure about what he had just said, but if it gave Naib at least some hope, that's fine with him.

Naib pondered over this for a little while, the other male's words swimming around in his mind. The Mercenary had to admit, Norton could actually be right about this. If no one gets chaired and nothing bad happens, everyone could escape and win with no problems.
"I suppose you're right. I still have my doubts, but I take your word for it, Norton."
The man spoke up with a small nod of his head, a frown still formed on his lips. Both men exchanged words for a while until they finally decided to finish off their breakfast, along with everyone else still in the dining room. This new mode would definitely be up for more discussion later.

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Word Count: 1,225

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Yoooooo, chapter 2 is finally done and dusted! So sorry this one took longer than expected to come out, I've been busy with classes and assignments and hadn't found the time to continue writing until now. So, with that being said, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter of Monstrous Game, and please let me know if there are any errors in the comment section and I will fix them when I can!