detentionroom | [KIN'UN]

[You needed an escape.

For a moment– however brief, or however not– you longed to get away. Perhaps you envisioned a vacation upon sunny, beachy shores, palm trees at your back and seagulls floating in the air. Perhaps you envisioned nothing at all, and merely accepted that anywhere but here would do. Either way. . .?

You blink. . . and you wake up slouched on a school desk, arms folded with head resting between. You lift your gaze and realize that you've woken up in the middle of a classroom, seated in one of the. . . uh, very few functional desks that remain. The others have been broken into pieces, with legs and splinters of wood scattered across the floor. Deep claw marks decorate the walls, having gouged the sheetrock with jagged, violent gashes. The window curtains are closed, but they too have been torn and ripped to shreds, with holes showing a dark and unidentifiable landscape beyond the four walls which trap you.

And written on the blackboard, in large, white letters that seem to glow in the midst of the dim room lighting, is a warning]

DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR NAME.

[. . . you are not alone]

[Each and every new arrival awakens dressed in a high school-issued track uniform. The design is up to the players, but each uniform is already color-coded to match the group at large. Somewhere on your body is a new marking: a mysterious floral design shaded the same color as your track uniform. It is glowing very gently. And in your pocket you feel. . . something warm. Further investigation reveals a tiny little omamri, tucked away in your outfit, for safe keeping. Huh! What a nice gift!]

[For now, the front door to the classroom is locked. No matter how hard you try– with physical prowess or otherwise– the door cannot be opened.]

[But hey! You can poke around the area, if you'd like! Maybe get to know your new classmates. . . ? Try not to panic. For now, everything is. . . calm]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ For those who know the signs-- the dilation of pupils, a slight hitch in his breath, the way his fists momentarily ball up at his sides-- the anxiety hits him as much as anyone else. But he loosens his shoulders, his hands, forces his breathing to steady out. His tone is light when he speaks up. ]

Looks like we've got our next goal.

[ His eyes are sweeping the area, looking around. ]

[Oh yes, he notes that. But better still, he is keeping his nerve, and that is all that matters right now.]

Indeed. Any suggestions as to where we might find this key, Mr Schwarzer?

If I were to hazard a guess, my first instinct is that if it had been available from the beginning, that would've been the first message-- not the one about our names. There's no need to warn about our names if we can escape from the word "go." So I'd hazard it's probably being hidden deliberately by whoever or whatever that voice is.

[That is quite clever, yes, and there is more weight to this theory now that they can (most likely) trust the writing on the chalkboard.]

There is also the fact that it may be new, yes, but hidden in a benign spot nonetheless. Regardless, we can only hope we have enough time to test both options.

[ He nods in acknowledgement. ]

That's also true, and worth considering. I'd imagine we don't want to take too much time, regardless-- there's a feeling of urgency in this whole situation.

Ha! I have no doubt we are about to discover the true nature of this wretched school soon enough-

[Oops and then there's Girl screaming about something beyond the windows.]

That'll give us an idea of how much shit we're i--

[ When Girl starts screaming, his hand twitches up towards his back for a moment before he scowls and lets it deliberately drop back down to his side. ]

We need to figure out how to defend ourselves, if it comes down to it.

[A man instinctively reaching for his weapon. This would be helpful if he had one, but they’ll have to make do.

He, on the other hand, has no such instinct.]

Chair leg, desk leg. Whatever you can use to hit something with.

It's better than nothing.

[ He kneels down to examine a chair and test the leg to see how easy it might be to break it off. ]

[ and a timed one, how quaint! she, too, is forcing her breathing steady, but all other indications remain. she is not nearly so composed, having a temperament ill suited for holding back any emotion.

she's looking... up. at the skeins of red hanging above. ]

It is wanting to keep us in. If it can do this, it must know where key is.

[ He looks over at her and nods. ]

That's what I'm thinking, too. Which is all the more reason to get the hell out of here.

[ so, then—... ]

Places we are expected to recoil from, da? Inside these dolls, hidden behind...

[ turning in place, a few false starts. Mister Adair is diving for the shoe cubby. ]

[ He gives another half-nod, glancing over at a doll. ]

The dolls are what I thought of first too, not gonna lie.

Dolls, or wires, or hanging above—

[ she's trying to make a key out in the mass above, but the room is too dim for her to make it out without actually climbing up onto a desk, without reaching into them... ]

Yeah, something-- something that's deliberately trying to scare us away.

We should have been checking before.

[ stupid her! ]

[ His jaw clenches as he nods. ]

Yeah... yeah. But it's no time for regrets, we've gotta keep trying to figure this shit out now.

[ they have so very little time. ]

That is, of course...

[ correct. and for the sake of narrative, she begins to search... just not in any of the places that "count" as a decision. shoving her hands into the desks, feeling out in the far corners. ]

[ For his part, he's taking a moment to pry a chair leg off before he starts properly searching.

You know. Just in case. ]

[KIN'UN]

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