After a short time spent in disarray, in which Alesha attempted to relieve others' fears regarding her strange reaction (she explained that she was suffering a "role violation penalty"), the circle of introductions continued.
The remaining members introduced themselves as: Shelby (17 years old, the bossy pink-haired one), Hallie (19 years old, tan with a black bob, diamond-shaped slanted eyes and a quiet personality), Jasper (23 years old, a boisterous, super tan female bodybuilder a whole head taller than CJ), and Westley (24 years old, the tallest of everyone, thin with glasses and chin-length wavy brown hair).
"Alright," CJ said, clapping his hands together. "Now that introductions are finished and we've learned some things about the Game and each other, let's talk about how to proceed. Does everyone agree that this Game appears to be a mix of Werewolf and Island Survival?"
Murmurs and nods of affirmation rippled through the circle.
"Okay then! Since that is the case, then no matter what your secondary role is, wouldn't it be in your best interest to work with the Villagers to create a camp to survive the next 7 days?"
Another round of agreement followed.
As the group began dividing roles with survival in mind, Alesha pondered on what CJ had said. In a classic game of Werewolf, there were two teams: the Werewolves, and the Villagers. Each team could only win by killing off the other side entirely. The Werewolves could work together to kill one person each night, and the Villagers could vote on who they thought was a Werewolf during the day -- then, the person they voted on would be killed, whether or not they were actually a Werewolf.
Her secondary role, however, clearly did not fit this "normal" version of the game Werewolf. Instead of her goal being "eliminate all the Villagers," it was to "turn 3 others into Werewolves before 7 days pass." Maybe this game wasn't about killing the other side, but instead, recruiting them to yours?
She continued to ponder while she searched the island for a clean water source. The lack of a mandatory "kill order" wasn't the only thing that made this Werewolf game atypical. Shelby's claim to be a Vampire Hunter and Tristen's plea both hinted at a third team: the Vampires, which didn't exist at all in the normal version. More worrisome, however, was the implication carried in the existence of the Vampire Hunter. If there was a role assigned to kill Vampires specifically, did that mean there was also a role specifically designed to hunt Werewolves? Alesha guessed that it was more than likely.
As she continued to trek the island, trying to keep track of where she was, she never stopped thinking. If she were to recruit other werewolves to her side, that would throw the theoretical Werewolf Hunter off her trail. That would only be the case if whoever she recruited didn't give her away, however. Who could she trust enough to turn? Who wouldn't give her away?
The only people she knew for sure weren't Werewolf Hunters were Shelby, who Alesha was disinclined to trust, and Tristen, who would probably attach himself to her like a leech if she helped him. That would give her away, so he probably wasn't a good choice.
Wait.
He already had a reason to stick to her! He'd been very interested when she said she was related to dragons, and as a mere 11-year-old kid, it wouldn't be that far-fetched to write off any lingering attachment as a result of that interest. The sooner she turned him into a Werewolf, the easier it would be to excuse his behavior.
How could she find him, though?
Thinking back, she berated herself for not paying better attention to the assignments of the other participants. She'd been too distracted with processing the game as a whole.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to continue planning her next steps while she roamed the island in search of clean water. There was no point bemoaning things she could do nothing about.
----
Elsewhere on the Island
A participant was chewing their nails nervously, fighting impulses they had never had before. What were these sensations? What were they driving them to do? The participant felt restless, unsettled, like there was some sort of itch they absolutely had to scratch but didn't know how. The participant wanted to…
They wanted to... what, exactly, was it that they wanted to do?
Did it have something to do with their assigned role?
Feeling dread as they gnawed on their fingers, the participant pulled up the still-unfamiliar, bright red display screen. They hoped it said something different from when they had first checked it.
It did not.
"Damn, damn, damn!" The participant cursed, wringing their hands and pulling their hair. "Why?! Why did I have to get this role?!"
These impulses, these needs, were definitely a result of the role they were given. The participant wasn't sure whether to feel grateful or angry towards Alesha, who had revealed Zorhellian's ability to "transform" participants to better match their role. The participant sure wasn't grateful towards Zorehllian, though. This was hell.
Because of this particular "transformation," a transformation of the mind, the participant was experiencing horrifying impulses that they had never dreamed in their worst nightmares would belong to them.
They had never understood, before, what people like their role had felt like.
They had never wanted to.
But now, because of this damn assigned role, this Story they were being forced to roleplay in, this participant was experiencing hell.
And if they didn't play out their role… it would, apparently, become permanent.
*****
ASSIGNED ROLES: Marooned Student, ∎∎∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎∎∎
ASSIGNED GOAL: Survive a week marooned on the island, ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎ (∎) before 7 days pass (Special: ∎∎∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎∎∎ instincts/impulses applied to aid in the pursuit of the goal! Special penalty: permanently inherit ∎∎∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎∎∎ instincts/impulses if you fail!)
ROLE-RELATED ITEM: ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎'∎ ∎∎∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎∎
NOTE: Everyone has a secret role and goal. For your safety, you are advised NOT to use your role-related item where others can see, and to keep it in your Inventory at all times!
*****