Welcome.

[trustfellows]

Rise and shine. There are a few things that matter right now - the fact that you're waking up in an unfamiliar but decently comfortable bed, the fact that you don't recognize the room you're in, the fact that you seem to have some sort of headache... Nothing severe, mind. Just the sort of odd, heavy fuzziness that comes with having slept far too long. You don't really remember where you were immediately before this, not upon waking. Something will come to you eventually if you think long enough, however - a couple of seconds of consideration will bring to mind a place, a memory, a recollection of where you were and what you were doing. It probably wasn't anything that would result in you being here, though. Welcome to Graceside Preparatory Academy. You may want to pick up the key to your room before you leave the room, but don't worry too much - your door won't lock automatically, so you won't be locked out if you've forgotten to pick it up. It seems you're not alone, either; the hallway outside your room is most likely full of other confused people by now, and should you turn around to look at the door of the room you just left, you'll find a nameplate with your name printed on it. There's a single word underneath it with no explanation. This is your title, but don't worry about that right now. Depending on when you left your room there may be a clock chiming in the foyer up ahead. It seems like it's seven, though it's difficult to tell if it's seven in the morning or seven at night. There aren't any windows, after all. Should you venture into the room with the clock, you'll find that the only exit is closed - there's absolutely no way to break down that steel bulkhead. It looks like you're not getting out of here anytime soon. The foyer also holds some very interesting information. There's a bulletin board with thirty-five pictures on it. Beside each picture is some very specific and very familiar information. Feel free to examine it. The bulletin board is large enough for plenty of you to gather around and gawk. Don't try to get at it though, that glass in front of it is very thick. If you try to break it, you'll find out the hard way that it's shatterproof. Sorry about that. Perhaps even more of a concern than the glass is the list beside the profiles. It looks like a set of rules. You might want to examine those, though they're not providing much of an explanation for why you're here or how you got here. So relax and get to know your fellow Participants. You might be stuck here for awhile.

Comments

[bloodisthicker]

I think it means "It's late and I'm behind on my kidnapping quota, so I'm just going to fudge my made up ages."

[ninehundredlives]

[Susan snorts.]

You'd think they could work a little harder at it? They had plenty of time to prepare.

[bloodisthicker]

Well, you know how it is. There's always someone who puts things off until the very last second.

[ninehundredlives]

I guess you're right. You get that type even in murder schools.

[bloodisthicker]

I do wonder what management has to say about it. Do you think they know?

[ninehundredlives]

I wonder what that's like, for them...there's probably a lot of people working on something like this. It can't be just one psycho.

[bloodisthicker]

No, I agree. This is extremely elaborate, and that's not even getting into the fact that some parts of this seem borderline impossible. I'd expect there to be a fairly large group ultimately behind this.

[ninehundredlives]

What do you think they all get out of it? It has to be more than just...fun.

[bloodisthicker]

I really have no idea. An experiment? Some sort of ransom...? That doesn't make sense for most people here, though.

[ninehundredlives]

There's nobody who'd pay a ransom for me. I guess it could be some kind of experiment...but proving what? That people will kill each other for survival?

[Her tone is skeptical. We know that already.]

[bloodisthicker]

...I'm an influential figure, so I can at least understand why people would kidnap me. But... yes, I suppose that isn't really something that needs to be proven, is it?

[ninehundredlives]

Not even a little.

I might have just died anyway, if they'd let me alone. What was the point of bringing me here to do it?

[bloodisthicker]

[...well that got dark all of a sudden, um]

Well, everyone dies eventually anyway, so really, what's the point in doing this for anyone?

[ninehundredlives]

Entertainment? Or something like it, probably. They get to watch.

[bloodisthicker]

What kind of minds are we even dealing with here, though? That's just bizarre.

[ninehundredlives]

It is a little more involved than the normal kind of serial killer, or whatever. You would think it'd just be one or two at a time. In some awful basement somewhere.

[bloodisthicker]

Well, you know what they say, don't you? Go big or go home.

[there's a bit of scoffing to his tone of voice.]

[ninehundredlives]

It could be some kind of record.

[yeah okay she's here for this]

[bloodisthicker]

At the very least, I imagine it's a local record. Maybe even a national one. I doubt it's a universal record, though.

[ninehundredlives]

Look at all of us, from all these places. I don't know how you can define "universal" anymore.

[bloodisthicker]

...Universal for wherever we are, I suppose. That's... something, isn't it.

[ninehundredlives]

I guess there's that. [.....] I wonder what it looks like outside.