First round
Players: 9
Countdown[02:58:56]
*****
The square shaped room has ten doors .
From the four walls , only one has a single door . Beside each door , a locked black box was hang on the wall bearing the door number .
The eight people turned their heads toward that frivolous voice , the shabby man from room one gave them an awkward smile. Being looked at from all directions and becoming the center of attention made him feel quite uncomfortable .
"Sorry" He scratched his head "I just wanted to break the imposing silence "
"Tsk" the middle aged man from room two ignored him and walked toward the only still closed door .
Click!
Click!
No matter how much he turned the doorknob ,the door refused to open .
"Damn door...." Bang !
The irritated middle aged man kicked the door angrily. However , the pain received from the steel door promptly made him regret his action.
"No need to waste your strength" a handsome man with a ponytail glanced at him "As it said if we want to leave this place we must win the game "
"Ohh, The so-called game where we should uncover the evil wolf , sure sure let's play it , please take the lead I will follow suit" said the middle aged man in a mocking tone .
The handsome man's brow twitched, but he didn't respond .
"Ahhh , please " A long sigh was heard "....Don't you think this is just a prank"
Everyone turned toward the woman from room five.
"We are constantly watched , there are cameras in all corners of the room" the woman from room five pointed at the round shaped object in the corner.
There were really camera in every corner!
"It went a little too far for a prank " A young woman who was the occupant of room six mumbled to herself ,but it was loud enough to be heard by the others .
"I also don't think it's a prank, we got kidnapped after all " a serious looking man voiced his opinion , he swept his gaze over the group and added "When I returned home and before I could even pass the threshold of my house , someone grabbed me from behind then put a handkerchief on my nose and mouth , no matter how you look at it , that was clearly a kidnapping "
"Have we been kidnapped by a psycho who enjoys seeing his preys struggling with riddles?" the young woman from room seven said .
"Hmpff! Nonsense " the middle aged man from room two scoffed"Who would dare to play around with a revered judge ?" .
"Before we start making wild guesses , why not introduce ourselves first"The shabby man , who was the very first to speak ,suggested "then , I start, my name is Isaac Green, 31 years old , I'm a journalist from Bend New magazine, I would have preferred to meet you all in other circumstances , but still nice to meet you all " The shabby man , Isaac, smiled at the others .But no one followed , they just stared at each other .
"I'm Lucas Foster" Lucas spoke which made the journalist smile and sigh in relief "23 years old, a computer science student in university, nice to meet you too "
"Riley Wood, 21, also a university student "the girl from room seven followed.
The slightly shaking woman from room six lifted her hand up and with a stuttering voice she introduced herself "M-My name is Nathalie Davis , I'm 27 this year ,and ... I work as a nurse at St Gray Hospital "
"Carter Robinson , 43, a security guard" it was the serious looking man from room four .
"It's judge Jack Cruz "
"I'm Aaron Bloom , 41 years old , truck driver" he was the only person ,beside of Lucas,who kept silent from the beginning , the tenant of room nine.
"My name is Eva Moore , I'm an elementary school teacher" said the woman from room five who believes it's a prank .
"Jayden Jones ,I'm a barman " the handsome man who spoke to the judge , also the tenant of room three.
"It's certain" The judge looked at the group "I don't know anyone of you, so why are we gathered here together ?"
Everyone looked at each other, they were complete stranger to one another.
"Did the mastermind pick us randomly or was there a specific reason he chose all nine of us ?" Carter mumbled to himself.
"First , let confirm something, did you all got kidnapped like what Mr. Carter said ?" Isaac asked
Everyone nodded, the same incident happened to most of them . A person came from behind and made them faint , while the others went to sleep in their respective houses and just woke up in here .
"It was past 8 p.m when that happened to me ,what about you ?" Carter asked.
Aaron thought about it and said "I think it was around 7 p.m ,when I returned home "
"Same between 7 p.m and 8p.m" Isaac followed.
Everyone confirmed what Isaac said . They got kidnapped in the same time frame.
Carter frowned "Then,there must be more than one person behind the scenes"
"But why all of us ?"Isaac asked " We are not friends, neighbors or colleagues, we don't know one another , why take the effort to kidnap people from different places ? I don't understand that"
"Perhaps all of us fulfilled a certain condition in the psycho mind" Miss Wood voiced her opinion .
"Or perhaps some friends or colleagues saw an ad in a website about a special kidnapping and enclosed prank to play on us , these days we can't imagine what others are ready to do to create a new entertainment for the audience " Madam Eva suggested.
"That's...not impossible" Jayden nodded yet he wasn't totally convinced by what Madam Eva.
"I'll sue them all , just wait and see" The judge purposely looked straight at the camera when he said his statement .
The security guard , Carter ,was frowning , deep in thought when he was suddenly woken up by the frivolous voice .
"So, should we play the game ? We don't have anything to do beside staring at each in silence , what do you think , Mr. Robinson?"
"Mm, I agree , and no need for formalities just call me Carter" he waved his hand at Isaac who smiled back at him. 'Finally a friendly character!
"Why should we tire ourselves with riddles ? let's just wait until they came to release us"
"You still think it's a prank , don't you?"
"Of course, the hypothesis of the psycho is hard for me to swallow" Madam Moore was a stubborn person.
"Let's play the game" Riley went to Isaac's side.
"We should vote" Carter made a suggestion "Those who want to play, raise your hands"
Five hands were raised. Isaac, Carter, Riley , Jayden and Lucas.
"Then it decided , let's find the wolf" Isaac excitedly spoke "We should use those hints , what do you think ?"
"Yeah , why not ?Let's see"
Isaac got back to his room and stood in front of the screen . Riley, Carter, Lucas, Jayden followed behind him .
The rest of the group stayed behind ,looking at them .
Madam Moore shook her head "Like elementary kids , they won't listen to you once they made their minds "
"Whatever , they can do what they want , I don't care" The judge shot a quick glance at Jayden before shifting his gaze to the cameras .
"Don't you think that Isaac Green seemed a little too relaxed ?"
Aaron looked at Isaac then asked madam Moore "What do you mean ?"
"It's just that usually to make sure that everything went according to the script , the prankster would put an accomplice among the victims"
"You think it's this fatty man ?" Judge Cruz joined their conversation.
Madam Moore shrugged and replied "It's just my intuition"
Aaron and the judge stared at Isaac , even the nurse who was quietly standing behind them and had heard their conversation , swept her gaze toward Isaac too.
Unaware of this , the person of interest ,Isaac, was looking at the screen . The countdown was still ongoing ,he didn't put his attention on the falling numbers, but only on the lower corner of the screen .He noticed it earlier . When the countdown started ,a small star icon appeared at the corner . Isaac lifted his finger to click on it and immediately a window appeared .
[ Hints Store:
1 star hint costs 30 minutes
2 stars hint costs 1 hour
3 stars hint costs 2 hours
Make your choice]
"What should we pick ? We have more than two hours and thirty minutes in the counter?" Issac turned toward the group.
"3 stars , the more important the clue the faster we will win the game and leave this place" Jayden was the first to answer .
"Why not take 2 stars first, we don't what those hints are like" Riley made another suggestion.
"But if we do that we won't be able to get the 3 stars hint"
"Guys, whatever, I agree with Miss Wood , let's take the medium one , and see what we will get " Carter gave Isaac nod.
"Okay" Isaac was about to click on the two stars icon , when a sudden voice stopped him.
"Wait ! Don't you think that someone may really die after those three hours ? Are you going to shorten the time a person is left with to live?" The nurse voice echoed from behind them .
Isaac, Jayden , Carter, Lucas and Riley , exchanged glances .Honestly ,they didn't take the threat seriously .
Carter sighed and replayed to the nurse "Miss, if the threat is real , even if we don't do anything someone would die ,we are just trying to find some clues to win the game in the first round so that everyone can leave this place unharmed"
"Yeah , it's not like we are enjoying ourselves right now, whether we die in three hours or in thirty minutes, it's the same " Isaac added.
"But...."
"Miss.Davis" Carter looked at the nurse "Our hands are tightened , we don't have a choice beside playing the game and win it "
The nurse lowered her head and clenched her fist ,she couldn't talk back to them , they were right after all, but ... they are still playing with humans lives here .
"Then it's decided " Isaac clicked and a new sentence popped on the screen .
[The wolf is great with disguise , don't trust what you see]
Isaac read the hints with a loud voice so that everyone could hear ,even the people at the back , but he still read it a second time to confirm that he didn't miss any hidden clue . However, no matter how much he did it , he wasn't able to find the hidden meaning of this useless hint .
"This is not helping at all "Isaak sighed .
"If the hints are all like this one , we won't be able to go anywhere" Riley said in disappointment .
"I told you that all this is just a nonsensical prank , but you didn't want to believe me" Madam Moore looked at the group in contempt .
"What should we do now?"Lucas asked Isaac.
"Mmh, should we pick out another hint , perhaps we draw the worst of the 2 stars "
Carter looked once more at the sentence , before saying" Let's take a 1 star hint this time"
Isaac nodded. Seeing the others not objection and the silent group behind them not complaining, he turned around and clicked on the one star hint icon . As soon as his finger touched the screen another sentence appeared .
[The wolf knows all the sheep's secret and has the right to choose which will be his next meal]
From the sentence they easily deduced two things: One , someone in the group knows all the information related to the others , two, the wolf can kill whoever he wants . In other words ,if they tell any lies regarding their identities or background , they would be spotted by the wolf , second , as the wolf goal is to hide until the end of the game , if someone shows his skills and seemed more perceptive than the others , the wolf would certainly kill him , to not let any chance for them to win the game .
"And now ?" Isaac asked.
"Pick a 2 stars hint" Carter ordered.
"Roger"
Isaac clicked once more on the icon and a new clue appeared immediately .
[The wolf can enter any room]
"We have forty minutes , we can pick another 1 star hint "Isaak turned toward the group , but they didn't respond .
"It's better than doing nothing" Jayden nudged his shoulder .
Following Isaac command, the sentence on the screen changed once again.
[The wolf knows where the exit is]
"Now, that you spend all the time that is left in useless things that could not even be called proper hints, what are you going to do ?" Madam Eva asked.
"Wait" Carter just said that and walked toward room number four, his own room "There is only less than ten minutes left , let's return to our rooms first"
Riley , Lucas and Jayden agreed and went to their rooms .
"Tsk, what a waste of my precious time"Although Judge Cruz was in a bad mood, he still returned to his room .
Madam Eva shook her head and walked back to room five .
The silence returned and no one spoke , only the sound of judge Cruz's foot tapping on the ground impatiently could be heard .Eva was glancing at the camera in the corner from time to time , she would make sure to create a ruckus about this once she exited the room ,she would sue the bastards responsible of this and drag them to jail .How dare they do such despicable deeds to a refined lady like her ? Eva won't let them off.
Nathatlie has her head lowered, but her shaking hands were still visible . Jayden closed his eyes to rest . Journalist Isaac was bored, but still held himself back from speaking .Carter was staring at the black box on the wall , seemingly puzzled about something .Aaron , Riley and Lucas , stayed quietly in their rooms watching the white walls , no one knows what was in their minds.
In this suffocating atmosphere, those ten minutes seemed like eternity . Lucas watched the last seconds pass on the screen .
Five, four, three, two, one ....Beep! Beep!Beep!
The sound was higher than earlier . The screen was blooming red . As the countdown ended, a sentence popped on the screen .
[All players enter your rooms immediately! ]
Jayden, who was leaning on the wall outside , entered his room .
Clack!
Clack! Clack!Clack!
The doors all closed automatically .Lucas looked at the glowing red screen, after ten seconds it quieted down , and a window appeared .
[Time to vote, write below the name of the person suspected to be the wolf]
Lucas glanced at the white space below the sentence and the virtual keyboard that appeared .
'I don't know who is the wolf , should I write a random name ?'
Lucas was conflicted , he has one chance in eight to make the right choice , but it's still a vote, if the others don't pick the same person , it won't work even if he was right , also , if they were wrong , they would get a penalty .Lucas decided to ignore the window , and just leaned against the door .
After two minutes , another sentence appeared .
[Three players voted, each a different name , vote invalid]
'They are still some who voted?' Lucas was stunned.
[The first round ended, the sheep weren't able to find the wolf, the wolf will kill one sheep]
As he read the sentence , Lucas felt uncomfortable.
'What if someone really dies?'
It would be a lie to say that this thought didn't cross his mind.
After some minutes , more sentences appeared.
[The second round starts , the bonus was enticed,
You have the right to know about one of the players information,
Write down the number of the person's room you wish to know about]
Lucas thought for a second before writing the number '1'in the blank space .The screen changed and a document provided with a photo of a familiar person appeared .
[Isaac Green
Age:31
Profession: Journalist
Hobbies: Drawing , Reading books, collecting mangas
Weight: 96 kg
Length: 1.71 m
Likes: Pokemon series...
.....]
Lucas was shocked about the amount of information before his eyes.
From his birth to his professional career , all events of his life, all relationships either past or present , all his achievement , and medical records even his schedule and the things Lucas liked to never know about . All were displayed before his eyes .
'Did they do the same for me ?'That the first thought that came across his mind.
Being seen through like this it would be an awkward situation, he didn't know how he would face Isaac in the future .
Lucas was reluctant to surf in someone else personal life ,but in this situation he needs all the information possible . Moreover he was sure that the others would do the same .
It took him more than ten minutes to read through all the data, but he didn't find anything unusual , but Lucas won't trust someone just because on the surface they looked fine. The rotten people all hid their true personalities deep inside their heart , that even a complete background search, won't be able to expose their true selves .
After two more minutes the window disappeared and the countdown started once more from three hours .
Tic!
The door opened with the familiar sound and Lucas directly exited his room .He met once again with the others.
"We are still alive" It was Isaac who started speaking like the first time .
"Yeah, we are" Carter replied.
Judge Cruz didn't wait and rushed toward the 'Exit' , but the door wasn't opened .
"Sh*t! How long are they going to keep us here ?"
"Until we win the game" Jayden responded casually .
"There is no game , they are just trying to piss us off"
"Oh , didn't notice?"
Judge turned toward Jayden angrily "Notice what ?"
Jayden glanced at Carter before shifting his gaze to the slightly opened door of room five, then he added
"Someone is already missing"
"Madam Eva" Nathalie was the closest to room five , she knocked on the door "Please , can you come out ?"
"...." No replay was heard.
The nurse turned to the others "W-Why is she not coming out ?"
"Please , step aside , Miss"
Carter took the lead and headed toward door number five , he waved toward the nurse to step back before pushing the ajar door .
All eyes were on the slowly opening door , when the sight inside finally revealed itself , Lucas tensed up ,the hair allover his body stood upright .
"Ahhhhh!!!"
The nurse collapsed on the ground screaming at the scene ,she was trembling from head to toe .
The others weren't much better , their faces turned white like sheet , they were rotted in their spot like frozen statues .
In the middle of room five, madam Eva's lifeless body was laying on the floor with a tight rope around her neck. Her face was white blue and her eyes were wide open , expressing the shock and horror she felt before dying.
Madam Eva who was chatting with them just several minutes ago was ... dead.
A note was left on her chest .
(This is far from being a prank, try to find me , I'm just beside you ,always watching you .
Your dear friend ,
THE WOLF)
