The door to their room clicked shut, the familiar click feeling unnervingly final. He stood there for a moment, processing the disappearance of their teacher, the unsettling shift of the rooms... nothing seemed to make sense.
William, standing by the bed, looked over at him, a frown deepening on his face. "So, what now? Do we just... pretend this isn't happening?" His voice was laced with frustration, though he tried to keep it controlled.
"Look, William," Ren said, his tone flat and almost detached. "We don't have time to dwell on what's already gone wrong. We need to focus on completing the trial. That's the only way out of here."
William clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. "And you just want to move on like nothing happened?" His voice wavered slightly, the edge of his frustration hard to ignore. He glanced away quickly, as if trying to hide the tension building in his chest.
Ren raised an eyebrow. "What do you want me to do, then? We're stuck in this mess, and the only way out is to move forward." He stepped closer to William, his words sharp but purposeful.
William shifted uncomfortably, his usual sharpness lost behind a veil of confusion and anger. He folded his arms, his eyes flitting away from Ren's. "It's just..." His voice lowered, almost to a whisper. "How can you be so calm? Our teacher's gone—vanished—and you're just telling me to carry on like it's nothing."
Ren's gaze narrowed. He could feel the shift in the air—something was off with Williams, but he couldn't quite place it. There was an unease in the way William carried himself now, a subtle tension that hadn't been there before.
Before Ren could respond, a soft voice cut through the thick silence.
"Um, are you two okay?" Marcy's voice was almost hesitant, as she stood at the doorway, looking between them.
Ren glanced up, momentarily distracted. "Marcy?" He's still not sure as to why she was there, especially with them. She wasn't one of the guys, after all.
"Um shouldn't you be with the other girls," Ren continued, brow furrowing.
Williams, still visibly uncomfortable, let out a short laugh, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, why is she here anyway?" His voice held a touch of sarcasm, but it was clear there was something more behind it.
Marcy hesitated before answering. "Ethan said he wanted me with you guys... something about it being safer that way."
Ren frowned, his mind racing. Ethan had said that? But why would he ask Marcy to be in a room with guys? Why not stay with one of the other girls? The question lingered in his mind, but before he could probe further, Williams' behavior caught his attention again.
"Are you sure everything's alright, Williams?" Ren asked, sensing something more beneath his roommate's clipped tone.
William stiffened but didn't respond right away, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor. The silence was thick and uncomfortable, as if he were struggling to hold himself together.
Ren sits on the bed, arms crossed and frustration evident on his face. "Seriously, we have to find a way to beat this trial and get out of this place. It's not the time to be worrying about the dead or what's not there." His tone was sharp, but there was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. "It's not that I don't care about our teacher or anything. It's just that…"
He paused, glancing at William, who sat stiffly on the bed next to him, avoiding eye contact. Ren sighed and continued, softer this time, "I think we should focus more on the trial rather than what isn't there. The teacher herself wouldn't want us wasting time worrying about her when there's something this big going on. She'd want us to move forward."
William looked up briefly, his expression unreadable, then back down at his hands.
Ren's voice grew firmer, almost pleading. "You know her. You know how she is. She'd tell us to figure this out instead of sitting around. It's not that I don't care about the classmate we've lost or about her, but… I'm trying to make sure the rest of us survive. And the best way to do that is to beat this trial as quickly as possible. The longer we stay, the more chances there are for something worse to happen."
Silence stretched between them.
William's hands trembled slightly before he clenched them into fists. "It's not that I don't understand what you're saying," he began, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's just that… um, um, like, um—"
Before he could finish, Marcy's voice cut through the tension. "Seriously, I've never seen William act this way before. What's going on?" She leaned against the doorframe, one eyebrow raised.
William's head snapped up, his face flushing slightly. "Marcy! Calm down!" His voice was louder than intended. "I-I don't swing that way, okay? Seriously, I'm not that kind of guy!"
Marcy smirked but said nothing more, leaving William to stew in his own awkwardness.
---
Meanwhile, in another room, Sebastian paced back and forth, his brow furrowed as he tried to piece together his jumbled thoughts. "Seriously, Harrison, my memories of everything before we got here are all fuzzy. I can't even remember why we're here in the first place. What about you? What do you remember?"
Harrison, reclining on his bed with one leg crossed over the other, glanced up lazily. "Wait, Sebastian… You don't remember?" His lips curled into a sly grin, but there was an edge to his voice. "Aren't we here on a school trip?"
Sebastian froze mid-step, turning to stare at him. "What? What do you mean?"
Harrison, lying on the bed, arms folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling. His tone was as indifferent as his posture. "What do you mean, what do I mean? I can even still remember it clearly. We were in class when the teacher entered. She asked where we wanted to go for our next trip, and everybody was indecisive. So, I kinda spoke up. I recommended this place. I told you how this place was and what people have been saying about it online, and everybody agreed. And now we're here. That's what happened. That's what I can remember, at least."
Sebastian paced back and forth across the room, his footsteps heavy with frustration. He stopped abruptly, turning to Harrison with a sharp look. "Seriously, Harrison? My memories of what's happened before here are fuzzy, but it doesn't align with what you just said. I mean, who in their right mind would choose this place as a place for a school trip? Isn't a school trip supposed to be fun?"
His voice rose as he threw his arms up. "Nobody in their right mind would choose to go on a school trip to some random place! Just until a few days ago, this place didn't even exist. There was no island here, no mansion. It was just a few days ago that this island appeared, and there was the mansion on it, and people started talking about it online. Isn't that what you said? And we all just agreed to come to a place like this on a school trip? Seriously? This place is in the middle of nowhere!"
Harrison tilted his head slightly, his expression still calm. "Seriously, thinking about the small stuff isn't going to help us through the trial. You heard what the guy said. We have to find a way to beat the trial because we can't think outside the box. So, breathing about some meaningless details isn't going to help us."
Sebastian's eyes widened, and his voice turned sharp. "Meaningless details? Seriously, Harrison? You think what I'm thinking about is meaningless?"
Harrison sat up a little, propping himself on one elbow, and sighed. "Well, just stay calm and relax, just like I'm doing."
Sebastian's face flushed with irritation as he pointed a finger at Harrison. "Seriously, Harrison? You were nearly accused of Lyra's murder, and now you're just calm and collected? I know, it's good to be calm and collected, but it's not always the best way. Some problems aren't solved by calm and collectiveness. You know, you can be calm, but it won't help us solve the trial, you know?"
Harrison lay sprawled on the bed, one hand lazily propped behind his head. Sebastian paced back and forth across the room, his movements restless and agitated.
"Harrison, sometimes I don't understand you at all," Sebastian said, his voice tense. "You do some things that just don't make sense to me. Like, seriously, look at all the crazy shit that's happened to us since we got here. I mean, we've only been here for what like—five hours or so? And already it's insane!"
Harrison pushed himself up slightly, leaning on his elbows. His expression was calm, but there was a faint shadow of concern in his eyes.
"Wait, Sebastian, what do you mean by 'a few hours ago'? We've been here nearly three days, and you're saying it's only been a few hours?"
Sebastian froze mid-step and turned to face him. "What do you mean, three days? What are you talking about? We've only just arrived here a few hours ago, and now you're telling me it's been three days? Wait… are saying you've been here for three days?"
Harrison sat up fully now, his brows furrowing. "Yeah, nearly three days. That's why I don't get why you think it's been so short. Maybe your sense of time is different."
Sebastian rubbed his temples, muttering to himself before speaking up again. "So our sense of time here is different… If you've been here for three days, and I've only been here for a few hours, even though we're in the same room… Imagine what it's like for the others. Imagine if some of us experience time differently, some people might have been here for weeks—or even months!"
He resumed pacing, his steps quickening as his thoughts spiraled. "Stuff like that could drive someone insane, Harrison. Imagine if you didn't even remember why you were somewhere, and suddenly you realized you'd been stuck there for over a month. Wouldn't that make you lose your mind? This place could break us before the trial even ends!"
Harrison sighed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling as if searching for answers. "You're probably right. But panicking about it won't help us figure this out. Maybe we should check with the others and see if they're experiencing the same thing. If everyone's time is out of sync, we're going to need to adjust how we approach this trial."
Sebastian stopped pacing and looked at Harrison, his face a mixture of worry and determination. "Yeah, we need to consult the others. Otherwise, we'll end up cracking under the pressure of all this. Forget the trial—we'll go crazy before we even get close to beating it."
Harrison leaned back on his bed again, both his hands behind his head as he spoke.
"If my parents notice I've been gone for so long, they might even come here to do a vlog about this place. You know who my parents are, right? If they realize their son is gone for too long, they might come here for me. So, yeah, I'm not that worried."
Sebastian paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"Seriously, Harrison, you're very naive. Very, very naive. You think just because your parents are vloggers, they'll come here? What did the media say about this place? Didn't they say whoever gets here is never heard of again?"
Harrison cut in, sitting up slightly. "Well, yeah, according to the media, many people came here, but none of them ever returned. Nobody even remembers who they were, how they got here, or anything else. Nobody remembers them at all. Except for one guy. He's the only one who returned, but after he came back, nobody actually knew who he was. It's like he never existed."
Sebastian turned around, a serious look on his face. "Now, you see? And you're expecting to be rescued from here? Seriously, Harrison, you're very naive. I mean, according to what you just said, this island can only be one thing: it erases the existence of anyone who steps foot on it. Or maybe the mansion itself does. And maybe the moment we stepped foot on this island, or even the mansion, our existence was erased from the world. Nobody remembers us, which means we wouldn't get any rescuers, because nobody even remembers we exist."
Harrison shot up from the bed, eyes wide with disbelief. "Wait, are you serious? We're really getting no rescuers?"
Sebastian gave him a look, his voice firm. "Well, yeah."
Harrison, his voice breaks the silence, casual but laced with an undercurrent of tension.
"Well, we have to tell the others what we've realized, you know? "
His words hang in the air, and for a moment, Sebastian glances at him, his gaze sharp.
Sebastian, his tone dry, laced with a hint of sarcasm.
"Yeah, sure. You're right. A meeting sounds like the best plan. If we're lucky, maybe we'll get out of here before we end up as part of the mansion's history." He mutters to himself, not looking at Harrison.
Harrison chuckles, clearly trying to mask the growing sense of unease that's starting to take root in his chest.
Harrison, grinning lightly, trying to reassure himself.
"Maybe we should call it a 'strategy meeting' then, huh? If we tell everyone everything we've figured out, it might be enough to get us out of this hellhole before it's too late."
The conversation shifts as the scene transitions to Kaida's room—the room where Anna now stays. Kaida lies on her bed, looking over at Anna, who's standing beside the bed. Her roommate, on the other hand, is sprawled out across her bed, completely oblivious to the world around her, snoring lightly.
Kaida leans back her eyes narrowing as she watches her roommate sleep, a sigh escaping her lips.
Kaida, her voice is low, almost a whisper as she glances back at Anna.
"Look at her. Since we got here, all she's done is sleep. Didn't even care about the trial. She just sleeps. It's like she doesn't even realize we're in a place where the rules don't apply anymore."
Anna stares slightly.
Kaida, turning toward her, she asks, her voice soft but filled with genuine curiosity.
"So, Anna… What do you remember about this place? How did you get here?"
Anna's eyes dart away, as if searching for the words to explain the confusion she feels inside. The answer seems to be stuck in her throat, but after a long pause, she finally speaks, her voice hesitant but steady.
Anna, her voice barely a whisper, but it's the first time she's spoken so openly.
"I... I don't really remember how I ended up here. I woke up here a few days ago, and I knew my name was Anna. That's all I remembered—just my name. I don't even know who brought me here, or... who the master of the mansion is. I just... I just knew what I was supposed to do... my duties and... Well, that's all
Kaida, nods thoughtfully, trying to process what Anna just said "That's strange. So, you really don't remember anything before you woke up here?"
Anna: Shakes her head slowly "No... Nothing. It's like my memories just... stopped, and the only thing I can remember is this place and what I'm supposed to do. And then, when you all arrived, that was the first time I'd seen anyone else here."
Kaida looks at her sympathetically, then gives a small, reassuring smile.
"It's okay. You're not alone in this. Even though this whole thing isn't part of our trial, I'll help you figure out who you are and how you ended up here. We'll get to the bottom of this, Anna. Don't worry."
Anna's eyes meet hers, a faint, uncertain smile tugging at her lips. The relief that Kaida is offering her feels like a lifeline in this world of confusion.
Anna, her voice a little stronger now, as she nods.
"Thank you, Kaida. I just... I don't understand any of this."
Before Kaida can respond, a groan from her roommate interrupts the moment. The roommate shifts in bed, rubbing her eyes as she slowly becomes aware of her surroundings. She sits up slowly, disoriented.
Roommate, her voice is groggy, still half-asleep as she blinks at the room, looking confused.
"Wait, what's going on? Is something happening? Why are you two awake? What's... what's going on?"
Fast forward. Lucas and Ethan's room
Lucas slouched against the edge of the bed, his arms crossed, staring at the ceiling with a slightly amused expression.
"Seriously, honestly, seriously," he muttered to himself, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "This trial is actually something. I mean, if we can't think outside the box, does it mean our minds are already inside the box? So how can we even think outside the box? I mean, it's a bit of a puzzle, isn't it?"
Ethan glanced over, his face set with frustration. "Seriously, Lucas, this is not the time for your jokes.
Lucas shrugged, unbothered. "No, no, calm down, Ethan. You're overreacting. All we need to do is figure out where the library is and—boom! We're done. Find some info, beat the trial. How difficult can it be? It's just a library. We walk in, grab what we need, and leave. I mean, it'll take us like what, five minutes?"
Ethan's brows furrowed. He took a step toward Lucas, his voice more intense now. "Lucas, you really don't get it. It's not that simple. You think everything is a joke, but this is serious. You'll know it's serious when something terrible happens, and it's too late to fix it."
Lucas chuckled lightly, tapping his fingers on his knee. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. But you're stressing too much. We'll be fine. We always figure things out, right?"
Before Ethan could respond, there was a knock at the door. Both of them turned toward the sound.
"Who is it?" Ethan called, his voice still tense.
"Hey, it's us," came Sebastian's voice from the other side. "We think it's time to hold the meeting. We have something important to tell you."
Ethan stood up immediately, his eyes narrowing. "Alright. You can come in. But make sure to call the others, too. We'll need everyone downstairs for this. The meeting will be at the dining table."
"Got it," Harrison replied, and the sound of footsteps faded as they went off to gather the others.
Lucas turned back to Ethan, raising an eyebrow. "Now that's more like it. Time to get serious, huh?" He grinned mischievously.
CHAPTER ENDS.