[IC] THE OUSAMA GAME | a Short-Term Horror

[Karisma]

Nathaniel found himself in the same stance he had taken after jumping out of the coffin; it was as if the world had completely halted. Unable to focus, Nathaniel had to strain to remind his body that breathing and blinking were supposed to be involuntary actions. He had a few questions directed to him, but immediately after, he lost all the attention that he had accidentally garnered. He took this chance to relax his muscles and observe his surroundings once more, this time focusing on the details. He's gotten mugged before but it was never this elaborate, so he immediately discarded the idea that he was the sole victim of this peculiar situation. So, while there were some agonizing screams in the background come from a young girl, Nathaniel decided this was the best time to organize the sequence of events that had just transpired.

First, he was in a coffin. Not only did he wake up all sore and bloody, there was also a note with a matching leaf tailored specifically for him with information no one but himself--and Philip--would know. Then, totally skipping his little nap, he was awoken by another person who probably in the same situation as him from the other coffins littered about. There was also the rules on the wall, and the creepy people surrounding him. Nathaniel spared a glance at the girl who was speaking now--her number, he noticed, was one--and felt shivers run down his spine. It was the very last option anyone would've chosen as the solution to their problems, yet she said it as if it was the only way out. Nathaniel went back into his thoughts and quietly roamed the place. He stood in place before a boarded window, his foot tapping incessantly. The place was murky, downtrodden, and suffocating; everything was either boarded up or completely locked. The dumbwaiter, he briefly looked over, was too tiny for him to attempt to fit in.

Nathaniel sighed and continued his internal investigation. In all honesty, his thoughts were just going around in an endless loop and he was doing it more so to keep himself grounded. He was hoping he looked calm, since everyone else in this god-forsaken place was near psychopathic, but his body language betrayed him. "Oh.." Nathaniel quietly mumbles to himself, finally making the slow connection. He hadn't realized that the room they were in resembled more of a lobby than anything else. Normally, when you're kidnapped, you would assume you'd be in some dank basement in the middle of nowhere. But this place resembled more of an old--big--mansion. He looked to the stairs that would've led to the second floor--he didn't understand how he hadn't noticed them until now--with some hope that quickly vanished as soon as he noticed they were broken. His eyes, following the top of the broken stairs, lowered until they rested on the halls that were on the sides of the stairs. They were narrow, but he could faintly see some doors.

Nathaniel came to a conclusion.

One, no one in this place was to be trusted even if they seemed to be in the same situation as him. The fact that they (and he was trying so hard to ignore it) so easily inflicted such torturous pain to themselves proved that even if they were possibly victims, they still weren't right in the head. Two, the time he has is limited and he most likely will not survive. If the people he's with don't do him in first, then he might die from one of the orders being given. Three, this is all some sort of twisted game that was created solely for someone's entertainment--the one everyone else keeps referring to as the King.

Nathaniel decided that even if he could easily see the end, he sure as hell was going to make it as hard as possible for whoever it is that is enjoying this sick excuse for a game.

He was sweating bullets, his fingers rapidly tapping on his arms, he had unconsciously folded them. Nathaniel took one step forward, but then decided against it once he noticed his slasher--number seven--moving towards a door and trying out a key. Where did he get a key from...?

Nathaniel stood in place, when suddenly another screeching sound was heard and his whole body jolted to the sound. The dumbwaiter had come right back with what appeared to be another card. He figured laying low for the moment was most likely his best bet and waited until someone else had the guts to walk towards the dumbwaiter. What he really wanted to do most was explore the place, but it didn't seem like the right moment for him as of yet.

[Kautalya]

"Seems to me that he's more cautious than most... Six. In a sense, you could say this room is just one big coffin, too, if we lose the game."

Six.

Her eyebrows flinched.

"Six?" She gulped, "I don't know when we decided to label one another--" With a small tremble, she crossed her arms and gripped tightly to her sleeves. The young girl, though with a lowered and weakened stance, she flicked glances among the others. A glare and spark escaping her dark colored eyes. That number--number six-- tasted like bile once it escaped her tight lips. A reminder to her that the people surrounding her(and her also) were like animals in cattle pens ready to be slaughtered. A tag to define who they were; and she didn't like that. "Somi. I'm Somi."

These people are not to be trusted.

Suddenly a screeching noise erupted once more, the dumbwaiter showed itself--throwing up a piece of pliers and a new order. She watched as the scene played itself like a movie, the chosen two proceeded to do as ordered. Somi stared as the woman ripped a nail off before thrashing the pliers off to the other one.

Just then, the air grew thick and something felt wrong.

"The fastest way out would be to draw lots and just kill from there."

The word kill seemed to have left the other person's mouth so easily, Somi wanted to throw up. Everything, every single order, had been brushed off by all the others as if this was something they'd do on a daily.

These people are not to be trusted.

The two people, who she nicknamed greasy black hair and creepy blondie, bickered between each other. She understood by both point of views, but it was strange--too strange. If there had been a king "watching" them, where were the cameras? They didn't all exactly search, instead all stood idly by, completing each order as if it was a sport. Plus, when she had read the rules--It was said to complete the orders under 3 hours, they all had time to sort each orders out. They all could've talked with one another and try to figure out a way out, what made them so certain we'd be punished from not completing the order? And if so, how would the king do so?

She sighed heavily under her breath, when would they be done with these orders? And what makes them think it wont be as worse as the others were? Somi bit onto her lip, sweating profoundly. The air was thick as it weighed down on her, for some reason Somi felt such an ominous aura escaping its way from the dumbwaiter's area. To take her mind off of it, her eyes went towards the writing on the wall--Oh?

Her eyes opened wide and immediately, Somi spoke up.

"Wait! What if we don't do an order?" She pointed towards the rules, "It says we'll be punished if we don't complete an order. But how?" Somi continued, "The king would have to specifically come to us personally." Hoping the others understood, she ended off her realization there--having a sudden thought that perhaps the king was listening. She just hoped the king would’ve been dumb enough to not understand.

And, once again, the screeching sound came once more. Somi feared the time she'll come to be used to the sound.

However, after her small analysis, Somi felt a little more brave. She took a big step and marched her way towards the dumbwaiter. An itching part inside her screamed and thrashed about, telling her to not do such a stupid thing--but Somi couldn't stop herself.

After what felt like years, she gulped tightly and arrived to her designated place.

"Who even decided that the punishment would be worse--" She stared down at the metallic object, "What we're already doing is punishment enough."

Inhaling and exhaling softly, Somi reached down to grab the menacing card and her eyes traced along the words.

Oh.

She kind of felt like laughing a little.

King's Order
Player #3, rip out all of Player #4's eyelashes.
Player #6, consume the blood, tooth, nail, and lashes.

Player #6, consume the blood, tooth, nail, and lashes.

Player #6

Six. Six. Six. Six. Six. Why did that word have such an effect on the young girl. Such animosity came from within the teen, she couldn't stand the sound--she couldn't stand seeing the word. Her palm, that traced and scarred itself of the one number she quickly grew to despise, worked it's way to her mouth. Such nausea hit Somi like a truck, her skin growing paler and paler--

She turned to face the crowd, releasing her tight grip from her mouth, Somi held up the card for all to see. Her eyes focused on the bloodied tooth.

Now how was she going to consume that.

[baraquiel]

Risa was still sitting down on the ground, clutching the finger where she plucked her nail from to let the pain subside from even a little. On second thought, she really would've just used the nail on her coffin as an alternative for the King's order, but she was still unsure about everything that's going on that she decided to play it safe. Since this game was all about pain and suffering, she might as well go with the flow to win. However, it might not be that worth it when all her limbs were cut off so she had to think of a way to outsmart the King. Risa also observed the looks on everyone's faces when she acted and pried her nail off. From her perspective, it seemed that they did believe her to be nothing but a weak-hearted little girl, which meant everything was going to plan.

No matter how much fun Risa was having, her focus was still blurry from the pain brought by her finger. She saw something land next to her and realize it was a necktie. She looked up to the blond who motioned her to use it as a bandage, at which Risa replied with a grateful smile and nod. The blood stained through her red coat and she replaced it with Seven's necktie. Was this an alliance brewing or did he just feel pity for her? In any case, it definitely got her blushing a bit.

What she didn't realize was how One was so calm and collected throughout the entire process. Was she giving out an act like what Risa was doing? It definitely worked, and Risa thought of One as one bad-ass girl. Risa can't help but be excited to hear out how One will cry out in pain and agony as the game continued.

She turned her attention to Four, and Risa thought: Oh yay, looks like we have another scaredy-cat in our midst; of course, she didn't say that out loud. Then again, she doesn't blame him. Some of her 'playmates' back at her mansion were just like him: desperately trying to think of a way out, only to be met with the most excruciating way to die brought upon them by yours truly. Whoever's giving out these orders were definitely human, which meant they were kill-able.

What Seven said could also be true. If there was someone upstairs, no way would they be unarmed in any way. She looked up at the ceiling. It looked like it was so rundown and would collapse at anytime, but that might happen in a few years or so. Time was not something the group had.

She heard Seven sharing the idea of unlocking one of the doors using the key he had, which was quite questionable. "I-I want to go explore too", Risa said as she stood up and followed Seven. While he was walking towards the door, a girl with long black hair spoke up, suggesting that we try not to follow an order and that the punishment was just a bluff. Another interesting thought, but Risa didn't want to go beyond the line. After all, that's why she chose to pry her own nail off instead of getting the one on her coffin. She couldn't risk agitating the King and ordering her to take all of her fingernails out. However fun that may sound, the pain was still not worth it.

Just as Seven was inserting the key into the hole, the familiar sound of the dumbwaiter could be heard, descending from the second floor as it brought about another set of orders. The girl who spoke up was the one who approached the dumbwaiter to read the orders. Hope drained from her face while she was reading the card before she held it for everyone to see. Risa approached the girl and read the card aloud for everyone:

"Player #3, rip out all of Player #4's eyelashes. Player #6, consume the blood, tooth, nail, and lashes."

Risa's eyes lowered to look at the girl's bloodied hand and gasped, looking at her with pity. On the inside, she was bursting with laughter.

[Haha]

This panic was refreshing.
What an eventful day, though, I continue to evade the spotlight.
I guess we shall just enjoy the ride, yes?

Riley tapped her tongue around within their maw, the red-stained aftertaste not going away anytime soon but it distracted her from the chaos that ensued around them. We had a few paranoid folk within her midst, which was an entertaining spectacle in itself for Riley - and they would seemingly glance around even as new information wrought itself upon their minds and brought new questions. Not that Riley didn't have questions themselves, but questions were deeply internalized and being in danger wasn't exactly a new situation to them. In their youth, Riley had been kidnapped once before and held for ransom - though it was quickly resolved as the company hired some mercenaries to track the kidnappers down and dealt with them. Father was not entirely useless, just a slimy good-for-nothing and the company was in a much better handle now that he was dead.

King's Order
Player #3, rip out all of Player #4's eyelashes.
Player #6, consume the blood, tooth, nail, and lashes.

But it was when the King's new order was not so gracefully delivered upon them that Riley would speak out once again, in the same eccentric and bemused tone as before. Though, it would be difficult to discern if their response was more-so to garner attention or this was genuinely how they reacted to such grim and dangerous circumstances. "Oh how fun, eyelashes aren't that painful to remove. Hell, some people even do that for stylistic purposes. Number Four, Number Four, Number Four~ lets bust this out so we can clear this stage and move on to the next one 'eh?" They chimed nonchalantly, canting their back and forth as they spoke.

As they paced around the newly lit room, Riley made their way to the kitchen as they awaited response from the titular figure of their request. The assumption was, they would likely not react well to the calling. Perhaps some hostility, or perhaps just disgust, the matter didn't really affect them directly as stated before - Riley was honestly just enjoying the ride. Perhaps even they would win and come face-to-face with this person who knew a little too much about the circumstances with their father. We would have to wait and see! Hands slid down countertops brushing the gray residue off and onto the ground, then they'd make to the drawers as they opened up to reveal the utensils that were so-obviously left for these people to turn on eachother. This was so well prepared, Riley was quite impressed, beaming a smile and huffing out in amorous sighs as puzzle pieces slid into place within their mind.

[Duoya]

The situation was dire - but all things considered, it could be a hell of a lot worse. Luckily, Ryan could rely on one major thing, which was the fact that they had time to complete their orders.

"We have about seventy two hours before we die of thirst - probably even less for those already injured, unless we decide to start drinking blood, or unless the King decides to send us some supplies, which I find highly unlikely."

"It might also be true that someone... maybe even another player... is up the stairs, but it would mean sending one smaller person up there to check. If there is someone up there, they are likely to be armed. Let me know if any volunteers are willing to put their neck on the line for a shot in the dark."

Ryan didn't agree with the blond man, Number 7's first statement. How many orders was he expecting? Ryan honestly doubted that the king would give them more than a day to live - the place they found themselves in seemed pretty decrepit, and Ryan felt that by the time 3 days went by, they might be able to find an exit or make one. The King, if he had enough resources to kidnap them without notice, probably wouldn't give them the chance to live long enough to find an escape. A very chilling thought, that Ryan was eager to abandon in favor of the man's second statement.

The possibility of a weapon was there, and honestly, going up the stairs would almost certainly kill them. But the king had to have been up there - why would he be down here where he could be killed by the other participants? The girl that tore out her teeth said as much - they could simply draw ballots to decide who lives and dies, so that was a massive risk to take...

Then again, kidnapping 7 people was also a huge risk. He might just be crazy? Whatever the case, Ryan didn't feel like being paranoid and suspecting the other victims was a wise choice, considering they might just turn on him and kill him. Besides, he'd need them if he wanted any chance of even making it to the top of the stairs, let alone fighting the King if he was up there.

The blond opened a door with a key that he had - where did he get that? One conclusion would be that he was the king, but there was no way he would do something so obvious as opening a door that was locked with a key. No, it was more likely that he saw it in the coffin when he woke up, like the teeth that Ryan could have used to spare the girl with the #1 carved in her hand. The others probably had similar items, but Ryan didn't feel like suggesting something like that - he already seemed suspicious for trying to dissuade the others from killing each other.

A few of the others, notably the girl who tore her fingernail off and the blond who opened the door, entered into what appeared to be a decaying kitchen. Ryan thought of following, but decided against it - the blond seemed a bit too eager to try and dismiss Ryan's idea of waiting before doing orders, and no matter how much Ryan rationalized it, he didn't feel comfortable about the whole key situation. Or the fact that he still held onto the glass shard... Instead, Ryan stayed in the Lobby they awoke in a few minutes ago.

That's when the dumbwaiter started again. Ryan chose to stay away, nervous - so far it had been different people each order, so he was probably going to be within the next 2 orders... and reading out his own fate was a little difficult. The messy haired girl was the one who chose to go for the cards when the dumbwaiter finally arrived - Ryan knew from her reaction that she was a part of it, but moved closer to read the card she held out for them.

He was part of it, but it would be a lie to say that Ryan didn't sigh in relief. He got off easy compared to the girls who self-mutilated themselves, and the messy haired girl might vomit the human parts up. Ryan was slightly envious of the girl who actually introtuced themselves, Riley, since they only had to inflict the harm, but he felt bad for the girl that was about to eat his eyelashes. Ryan would have dealt with that far better, since he was... you know, a cannibal - but still, eating hard parts like nails and teeth was quite unpleasant, and Ryan could only imagine the struggle if the one eating was a normal person.

"Oh how fun, eyelashes aren't that painful to remove. Hell, some people even do that for stylistic purposes. Number Four, Number Four, Number Four~ lets bust this out so we can clear this stage and move on to the next one 'eh?"

Riley walked into the kitchen as they said this, and Ryan found himself quickly appreciating the yeares of exercise he went through. He obviously couldn't handle Riley if she found some kind of weapon in the kitchen, but unarmed, Ryan felt confident he could keep them off of him. Unless Riley grouped up with the others to manhandle him, in which case he would lose instantly.

"J-Jesus Christ, no! We have three hours, right? Why would we rush an order then? W-we could use this time to find a way out, or find the King if he is... one of us. Losing track of time wouldn't even be a problem, right? One of us has a watch! I mean, I only know one person's name here!"

It was suprising that thought had just occured to Ryan. It was expected, considering the cirsumstances - why would they want to make buddies when they were tearing off bodyparts? Still, Ryan felt he was in hot water, so trying to humanize himself to the others might save his skin if they try and lynch someone. And he did mean what he said - there would be no chance of finding the King if they didn't even know each other's names - well, unless they did go through with the plan the girl who ripped out her tooth made.

"My name's Ryan Watts. I, uh, work as a Mortician - like, funerals and stuff. I'm pretty stresed right now so that's all I can really think to say right now, but I'll try and answer questiosn if anyone has any."

Ryan gulped. Losing track, stammering, he was getting nervous because of the situation. He had to keep focused on the Order, and delaying it for a while before these guys forcibly ripped his eyelashes out...

"O-oh, and I'd prefer it if we could cut my eyelashes off instead of pulling them, Riley."

There - hopefully now everyone knew he was going to go through with things, and his appeal for more time wasn't just to prolong his time before being injured. Hopefully, they could find a blade, or the Blond guy would be willing to part with the glass for a few minutes.

[rabidbacon]

"Six? I don't know when we decided to label one another--"

While he took note of her name, Orwell didn't much care whatever she called herself. The less everyone knew, the better, and she was giving information away for free. Then again, she was just a teenager. Two more of them were, and both of them looked just as - if not more - unstable than Somi did. Whatever the case, Orwell had already walked away as she continued her tirade. Did she really want to risk being the first one to experience the King's punishment? By all means, she was welcome to. At least that would answer a few questions.

The door did open to the key he was given, and as he activated the light switch, it revealed something like a kitchen. The sound of the dumbwaiter made him look back, and doing so, he realized that Five had decided to follow him, but then went back to read whatever it was on the card that Somi had just taken from the dumbwaiter.

"Player #3, rip out all of Player #4's eyelashes. Player #6, consume the blood, tooth, nail, and lashes."

Whoever the King was, he had a sick mind, Orwell decided. The order was almost surreal in its violence - who in their right minds would get a kick out of watching someone eat eyelashes? He thought of people like Corvus and wondered if this was all a part of their plan to get back at him. It wasn't impossible. Money could buy anything, even amusement like this. Perhaps they were being filmed for a snuff production, commissioned by rich bastards. Nothing was out of the question.

He stepped into the room, quickly followed by Three and Four. Three's presence irked Orwell and he wished the King would order someone to shut him - he was about eighty percent certain that Three was a him - up. He listened as his eyes roved around the room, looking for answers, or at least clues to answers. The dining table was covered with several sheets of paper - receipts, upon closer inspection, and he went over to read them silently as both Three and Four -who now identified as Ryan Watts- bickered about the details on how to fulfill the newest order. His head started to ache given the fumes from whatever was in the sink, and he started breathing slowly in an attept to take in less of the fumes.

Several details in each receipt were blacked out with a marker, and try as he might, Orwell could not read any of the hidden information even as he held them up against the light. Giving up on that attempt, he continued to read the information that remained unhidden.

There was a veterinary bill, a receipt for repairs done to a funeral home - Four identified himself as a mortician, clearly a link to him -, a medical bill for a boy with the surname Cruz - his eyes narrowed upon seeing this, but he set it aside for now -, a receipt for industrial strength cleaning supplies - a highly suspicious purchase, given the bleak context they were in -, a college tuition bill - not surprising, given the age of the people involved -, as well as two payments. One payment was addressed to Somi Baek - Six, apparently did use her real first name and now her identity was fully revealed -, and the other payment involved Three - apparently the Velskaya family was an affluent one.

Here were some clues, but they only led to more questions than answers. There were exactly seven receipts, and it would be a fair guess to say that each receipt had something to do with each player. Six and Three, Somi and Riley, were possibly linked to something shady involving an exchange of money, while Four, Ryan, was linked to a funeral home, perhaps as someone linked to the mob to hide bodies. Strangely enough, Orwell did not have the same receipt of payments - a testament to how careful Corvus was, perhaps, only paying him in cold, hard, untraceable cash.

The only receipt that could possibly be linked to him was the medical bill, and then again, perhaps it was a bluff. Iris wouldn't be stupid enough to keep their kid, would she? After all, she wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility - hell, she couldn't even take care of herself after ladies' night. As far as Orwell was concerned, that kid didn't exist, and if he did, he was on his own. He took the medical bill, folded it, and kept it in his pocket, leaving the rest of the receipts on the table. Then he turned to Riley and Ryan, who were still undecided about the order.

"The order said to rip your lashes out, Ryan. That's what the order said, and it's not as bad as losing a tooth or a nail. It's your call to make. I think you're risking your neck for nothing. And maybe you're not the only one who gets punished by your mistake - what about Thr- ah, Riley and Somi?"

Orwell picked out two receipts and held it towards them.

"Funeral home maintenance bills and some kind of big transfer to the Velskaya Corporation. Sounds like you two might know something about this. I found mine too, and Somi's. This King sure did some research before he went after us, didn't he."

[Haha]

"My name's Ryan Watts. I, uh, work as a Mortician - like, funerals and stuff. I'm pretty stresed right now so that's all I can really think to say right now, but I'll try and answer questiosn if anyone has any."

"O-oh, and I'd prefer it if we could cut my eyelashes off instead of pulling them, Riley."

@Duoya

"Funeral home maintenance bills and some kind of big transfer to the Velskaya Corporation. Sounds like you two might know something about this. I found mine too, and Somi's. This King sure did some research before he went after us, didn't he."

@crouchingbacon

^{What are they going on about?
I don't care about any of it.}

"We have to follow the rules, darling, please don't be so fussy." Riley flashed a smile once again, their eyelashes batted at the young mortician - what an interesting occupation he had.

This other voice though was incredibly perceptive, and had enough common sense to take cues from the environment they were in when they made decisions. Riley would have to watch out for them, maybe befriending them, perhaps making an enemy out of them, whatever benefits them in this lovely devil's game. Her eyes opened as they fixated on the two who spoke, her golden sights absorbing every detail of their physicality with expertise - Riley's job title would not be detective like some of the others. No, predator would suit them quite a deal better, so much so that to those that were perceptive could easily see the signs of someone taking advantage of the situation they now found themselves in.

"But yes, I'm Riley Velskaya, that's my name and if any of you survive this I promise a well-paying lawsuit will follow." Their smile beamed innocently, pristine ivories sparkling in the dusty jail cell of an environment they currently occupied. These words were aimed at our detective over here. Speaking of -

"While everyone is shitting bricks and I'm giving cute Mortician boy a makeover. Somebody should start making rounds at a wall, I'm sure with our numbers we could break a hole into one! I don't think Sherlocke Holmes over here is making any progress with his detective work." Riley's words turned to venom, seeking to dissuade any interruptions that may interfere them from their fun. What a twisted psyche they had - finding this game fun, nonetheless, Riley continued her adventure through the kitchen until she found the cutlery drawer and revealed it to the mortician.

"So, shall we now begin the game?" They doted at him, canting their head and pointing the six-inch chef's knife out at the man.

[Duoya]

"The order said to rip your lashes out, Ryan. That's what the order said, and it's not as bad as losing a tooth or a nail. It's your call to make. I think you're risking your neck for nothing. And maybe you're not the only one who gets punished by your mistake - what about Thr- ah, Riley and Somi? Funeral home maintenance bills and some kind of big transfer to the Velskaya Corporation. Sounds like you two might know something about this. I found mine too, and Somi's. This King sure did some research before he went after us, didn't he."

Ryan hated to admit it, but the blond man was right - he'd have to let these guys rip his eyelashes out, and while it sucked he couldn't have them cut instead, it was indeed better than losing a tooth or nail. Still, Ryan was quick to notice that the blond man still refrained from giving out his name, and still had possession of the blade of glass. Ryan didn't feel comfortable pushing the issue of names when he didn't have a weapon, so he'd settle for simply using the blond man moniker. Still, Ryan wasn't sure why the blond felt the need to conceal his identity. It wasn't like the King didn't know everything about them already...

Why was Ryan humoring this? He had been calling the Kidnapper a King when in reality he was just a kidnapper. Did they call themself that in orer to appear more intimidating, or to try and elicit a specific emotion from his victims?

It didn't really matter. Ryan was going to have his eyelashes plucked, and that was going to sting like a bitch. Even if it's better than a tooth or nail, it still wasn't something to be happy about. Riley at least was willing to reintroduce themselves - she was pretty creepy, but all things considered, Ryan had some habits others would call psychotic, so he had no place saying that about someone else.

At least, that's how he felt until Riley pulled a knife on him.

"So, shall we now begin the game?"

Ryan took a step back and had to restrain himself from cursing out the kid in front of him. He understood being nervous in a situation like this, but this kid almost seemed like they were threatening him. This was the first time Ryan had been held at knifepoint, even if this wasn't really direct and more implicating than anything else. He chose to handle the situation calmly, and diffuse Riley before she stabbed him in the throat.

"Sure thing, but you should probably put the knife down first - you guys are right, my eyebrows need to be plucked, not cut."

Ryan walked forwards and gingerly kneeled on the disgusting floor, allowing Riley to have a much better vantage point for ripping out his follicles.

"Please try to be quick - the less time we spend doing this, the more time we have to find the 'King.'"

Ryan wanted to finish as fast as possible - this was going to hurt no matter what, so finishing fast and giving him time to nurse his wounds would be the best. He had tried to buy time at first, but he had to settle for having Somi wait for a while to eat the various parts. They needed time to investigate the situation on the Kidnapper and introduce each other, so this was probably for the best. Whatever happened, Ryan was hoping to get out of here as fast as possible.

[Kautalya]

Somi sighed, which wasn't a normal response from someone who had spent their entire time freaking out. After the lady beside her finished reading the order for all to hear, Somi had just realized the new opened door. Did she care? Not really. It's not like it was their way out, so what was the use of gleefully entering the new area as if they were all on a treasure hunt. If anything, Somi wondered if they would all stay in one room and complete the orders; how many more would it be till the 'king' would get bored and they'd all just die?

The king was dangerous, but whats more dangerous is a group of strangers stuck in a tight-lipped building desperate to survive.

After the woman spoke aloud, reciting the order for all to hear--Somi reread it. Player #3, rip out all of Player #4's eyelashes. Player #6, consume the blood, tooth, nail, and lashes. Never would Somi have thought to ever do this in her life, none of the orders she took back at home were as intense as this one--she had hoped it would've never gotten to this point. But Somi, as hypocritical as she was, would've done it all for the money. Was she getting money here? Not exactly, but maybe something as equally important. She was just betting her life. And her family.

Riley was an extra 'nope' in her list of people to never interact with. As they were acting like this whole ordeal was like a game to them. Which she found stupid but was she going to ever say that? No. Somi didn't want to get stabbed. Her eyes traced the crowd as they disappeared into the second room, but her mind was still on the tooth. She'd have to swallow it. She'd have to imagine it as a pill and just swallow it whole with no second guessing. Somi stared longingly at the bloodied tooth. With one step at a time, she eventually made her way towards the tooth. As uninviting as it was, Somi still picked it up, her body immediately shuddered as a response. She started trembling once more, it was still hard for her to overcome it. Sure it wasn't as horrible as inflicting pain on herself, but it's not like Somi found this meal a delicacy. Hell, if she had been the type to normally enjoy human body parts a la carte, this would've came naturally to her. However, that not being the case here, this was going to be difficult. She stuffed the cursed tooth in her pocket and scanned the floor in search for the nail.

She eventually found a red coated nail, without a second thought(because Somi did not want to keep thinking about it)she grabbed it and once again stuffed it into her pocket. She had two of the needed items, the one thing left that she needed was to consume blood and lashes. Was she to consume the blood of the ladies finger? Or could she consume the seeping blood from her hand? Or did the blood already oozing off the nail and the tooth count? Somi cradled her chin in thought. In any case, the order only says 'blood,' not that they have to consume a certain someone's blood. Plus, she didn't exactly want to lick someone else's bloody finger--at least not in front of so many people. It's awkward, she reasoned. Then Somi instantly thought, what if she didn't swallow the needed necessities? How would the King know that she consumed it? If she would just hold it in her mouth, under her tongue; the king wouldn't exactly know. Although consume does mean to "ingest" something, Somi found it hard to believe the king could exactly see what she was doing.

Unless they were among us.

Oh.

Oh?

Somi stood still for a moment. Silence lay like a down-filled duvet over the area, muffling the slightest sound and creating an atmosphere of total tranquility. The quietness was almost tangible, no rustle of clothing, breathing slow and barely audible, even the once creaking of the building settling was stilled completely. Somi began to suspect.

She entered the new found room, watching everyone stand by and examining their area. Ryan, the first person she noticed--was trying his best to get out of this order. Which she didn't blame him, she wanted every chance to just drop everything and run away. But that didn't mean he wasn't under suspicion. It could all be an act. Everyone could be playing an act. Don't trust anyone.

"...Riley and Somi? Funeral home maintenance bills and some kind of big transfer to the Velskaya Corporation. Sounds like you two might know something about this. I found mine too, and Somi's. This King sure did some research before he went after us, didn't he."

This caught Somi out of her trance as she heard her name called. The blond macho man spoke up about certain bills and papers and money that she herself didn't kno--

Suddenly, Somi remembered the countless of bills she paid. All the money she received from others when she completed requests, all went towards bills and debts her father couldn't pay. She squinted her eyes at him, she kept this life of her a secret; but as long as it wasn't said how she got the money, Somi stayed quiet.

Somi turned her attention to the Ryan and Riley talking it out with one another, Ryan going back and forth with the blond man and Riley insisting on just pulling the lashes out. She did however agree with the blond man that cutting wasn't going to work since it does say to "pull," which showed Somi that these orders are a play on words. Blond man proved her theory that necessarily, Somi can consume the blood by just swallowing the nail and tooth--as the two were both coated in the substance. She covered her mouth as a smile rose, she could win; win against the despicable, disgusting, sly king. Listening to the exasperated begging of Ryan and the pointing of a knife by Riley, Somi made her way towards the sinks.

Not wanting to excitably admit it, Somi was ready to consume the denticle and the nail. She was ready to hold a mouthful of water in her mouth, pop in the tooth, swallow, repeat--and then get on with her day. As she let the hand leave her mouth, a smile rose higher and higher, Somi reached for the handles of the sink and began to turn.

She pulled again.

Again.

Somi, turned around in a defeated posture and spoke out.

"I can't..." Her pride broke, "I don't..I don't know how to swallow pills without water." Her hand gripped onto her arm, "I need--I know this is--I know I'm being annoying right now. But, I need...Someone to push their finger down and help me.... swallow it." She propped the tooth and nail above eye length, towards the crowd.

She hated this.