~ZANDER~
...
"Now that everyone has calmed down," said Ethan, "Let's do this alphabetically. Alex, you go first," he pointed to the girl with the short messy hair. "Tell us your name and a bit about yourself."
Alex nodded and stood up with her hands clasped in front of her. She smiled and we waited for her to speak.
She smiled and we waited for her to speak [https://img.wattpad.com/61eaee92ffb1ca4774afe29b6c47a7eb9fb2069f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5644486e4a7a51375057325a32513d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663838643933303737613063393735353737323339383033372e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
...
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She tilted her head and kept smiling.
"Oh yeah, she can't talk," Ethan said, signaling her to sit down with his hands.
Alex sat down and did a little silent giggle.
"I'll just say what we know of her. She's mute, and she told us her name by placing sticks on the ground. She might not talk, but she's really lively," Ethan pointed his finger at the next person, "Brynn, your turn."
Brynn rolled her eyes and reluctantly stood up. She crossed her arms and just stared at him without saying anything. He playfully grinned at her and said, "Go on."
She smiled back at him-obviously fake-and sighed [https://img.wattpad.com/b27289d762630c4f1a01afcd41a0a8246a707340/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6141637a5a3948303841584743673d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663838646461346365316165613638393930343730363530312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
She smiled back at him-obviously fake-and sighed. "I'm Brynn Schörling, and I hate your guts, Ethan," she sat back down.
"Thank you for the compliment," Ethan replied. "Chris, you're up."
The blond guy stood up [https://img.wattpad.com/84d069edf06eccabff30d1371f33c3c6d4546171/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7567756d6a5732517344696f4e673d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663838653162663662343335373730353533373131363637392e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
The blond guy stood up. "I'm Chris Schörling. The person before me is my sister. She's always grumpy, so it's best to get used to it. Don't worry about dogpiling her. I won't mind."
"Hey. You're supposed to be on my side here, jerk," said Brynn.
"I'm tired of always protecting you and tolerating you acting like a princess. I think this situation is the best place for you to change yourself."
"I-" she cut herself off and glared at him.
"Okay, who's next?" Chris sat down.
"That's me," Ethan said in a jolly way [https://img.wattpad.com/555e551140a7e3bf898acc24c2b101166f4f0509/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f50534b4b363171586c314f5f61673d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663838653532663164666338383937373334343035313935392e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"That's me," Ethan said in a jolly way. "You guys already know me. I'm Ethan Anderson, and I am known as the super childish guy, right Brynn?" he looked at her.
"Fuck you," she replied in a monotone voice.
"Anyway, I'm pretty average actually. I'm not super smart like Sandra, talented in gaming like Jin, or as cool as Brynn," he pointed to her.
"Again, fuck you," she said apathetically.
"Ethan, ya really like teasing her, huh?" Fey smirked.
"Don't worry, I don't dislike her. I just really enjoy her responses," said Ethan.
Brynn sighed, "For the third time, fuck you," she said, almost void of emotion.
"That's not what I meant, idiot," Fey continued to smirk,"So, whose turn is it?"
"It's your turn," said Isabel.
"It's your turn," said Isabel [https://img.wattpad.com/7bca1698e8a09d914ed104464e8dc8c876fcc039/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f38497a64514a686f6442394d6d413d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663838656261656633376437333330363132303734393134382e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"Oh, um. Ahem," Fey stood up, "Okay, so... I'm Fey Griffin. I know, cool name. I used to play baseball, but I stopped. I like classical music-don't judge me-and I hate tomatoes in my burgers," she sat down.
I like classical music-don't judge me-and I hate tomatoes in my burgers," she sat down [https://img.wattpad.com/71b07b8c4d2d72026d1a9eabf5ae2e5172c403c5/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5f6f7673363254797649794b75413d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663839303031663765386638653834343833383538303431372e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Sandra stood up right away, "My name is Sandra O'Sullivan." I am of Irish descent. I was born on April 12, and I am 16 years old as of now. I read books as a hobby, and my favorite food is crêpes," she sat down, "That is all for me. Ozzy-"
"HELLO HELLO HELLO, EVERYONE~!" Ozzy jumped up, not even letting Sandra finish her sentence, "This beautiful girl's name is Ozzy Alcantara [https://img.wattpad.com/3fb7fd13a983349bcd8c0cd49b5fd22b8e142f8d/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f426a68776f7036333958465651413d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663838663531343362363662363634333135333431343837342e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"HELLO HELLO HELLO, EVERYONE~!" Ozzy jumped up, not even letting Sandra finish her sentence, "This beautiful girl's name is Ozzy Alcantara. I hope that we can all be friends and have fun together. And of course, not get us killed~ Don't think that I forgot what situation we're in," she quickly glanced at Brynn. She noticed it and has an expression that screams "you too?!"
Ozzy continued her blabbering, "I'm 17 years old. I was born on January 16. I love music, I love kdrama, I love history, I love reading and writing stuff, I love stalking my favorite kpop idols online, I love reading BL fanfics on wattpad and watching people argue in the comment section, I love-"
"Okay, okay, okay," Ethan interrupted her, "I think we need to give other people a chance to talk about themselves too, alright?"
"Oh, oops. Sorry," she giggled and sat down.
"I believe it's my turn to introduce myself," Isabel stood up.
"Can you imagine if someone new just walked into the courtyard and we had to do this all over again?" Jin spoke.
"I'm down for it. This time we'll at least need three minutes to talk about ourselves," Ethan replied.
"Please don't," Brynn said, shaking her head.
Isabel continued and said, "I am Isabel Taylor [https://img.wattpad.com/df04d6b1f2d53db4e169dcd59ca199f2394d65b0/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4d72676d745564697836323068513d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663839303465396162343639383734393031313237373731332e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Isabel continued and said, "I am Isabel Taylor. I volunteered to be the leader of the group, so we can find a way to get out of this place and get back to our homes and families. I hope that everyone will be cooperative and help with tasks like finding supplies and such. Always remember that your safety and well-being is top priority, so please never do anything dangerous if your life doesn't depend on it. So let's do our best to work together," she did a little bow and sat down.
So let's do our best to work together," she did a little bow and sat down [https://img.wattpad.com/5ec7ced1c6268ac156eff587f8479f6ae53927a1/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f416765486d6d504a527078304c413d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663839303835313464663565383337323039303039313330322e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Jin jumped up, "YO, YO, YO! WHAT IS UP, MY GUYS?"
"Hey! Don't copy my introduction style!" Ozzy shouted.
"My name is Yeon-Jin Lee. You can call me Jin. I'm 17 years old. I'm a streamer. I play games and stuff," he quickly sat down. "That's everyone, right?"
"Zander hasn't introduced himself yet," Sandra pointed out. "Actually, he's been a bit quiet for a while."
"Dude, are you feeling alright?" Fey asked.
... I don't know why, but I feel strange for some reason. I looked at them and they seemed worried that I was spacing out the entire time.
"Ah, sorry." I stood up. I feel dizzy.
"My name is Zander [https://img.wattpad.com/603fb7f08a8637ca915152df5cd98c81a17aa8fd/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7171756b544c2d4653545a6c70773d3d2d313232353831313731372e313666663839306462353335373734303930343338313634333338392e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
"My name is Zander... and..." I trailed off.
"And?" Isabel asked.
"I don't remember who I am, I don't remember where I'm from, I don't know a single thing about me. All I know was a word-Zander-nothing else."
"Do you know why you were in that room?"
"No... All I know is that I was walking for a long time there."
...
We were all quiet for a while and didn't know what to say.
"Okay!" Ethan broke the silence. "Let's talk about what we found from our little expeditions earlier. We'll go first. Because of that bloodclaw, we didn't get the chance to check many rooms earlier. We found Zander though."
"We found some seeds," Ozzy said, pulling out a handful of small brown seeds from her pocket. "We need to prepare for the worst. We don't know how long we'll be stuck here. Other than that, nothing else."
"That's dumb," said Brynn. "The police will rescue us by the time that sprouts. Our families couldn't just let us go missing forever."
"Maybe the demons will kill a lot of them and say it's too dangerous to continue," Jin shrugged. "There's already one running around in there. Maybe we won't last long."
"Can I see that?" Sandra walked towards her. She squinted at the seeds and said, "I think those are radish seeds."
"How long do they take to grow?" Isabel asked.
"Um... around three to five weeks. We already have soil and water here. I don't know about sunlight though."
"Better to plant them than just leave them to waste."
"By the way," said Ethan, "Let's go back in there and find more food and supplies again. We're running low on food. Hopefully, we can find a way out too," he walked off the paved part of the court yard and picked up something from the ground, "We can use this as a weapon." It's a fist-size rock.
"Isn't there something else?" Fey asked. "I know it's better than nothing, but that bloodclaw would bite your hand if you tried that on her."
"Who said I'm going to use it?" he tossed the rock to her.
She caught it and said, "Huh? Hey! What do you think I am? I'm not some sort of killing machine!"
"You're the one with the best throwing skills. No one's more qualified than you."
"I'm a batter, not a pitcher."
"I'll carry the rocks for you."
"Deal."
Ethan grabbed a few rocks on the ground and had enough to fill his pockets.
"Who's going to stay here with me and Sandra?" Isabel asked. "We'll clear out a spot for these seeds to grow, and plant them."
"I'll stay and help," Brynn said, raising her hand.
"Okay, anyone else? Alex?" She asked her. She responded by shaking her head.
"I think I'll help with the farming too," Jin also raised his hand and said, "You guys might not know, I am a natural farmer, with a legndary green thumb."
"Coward," said Brynn. "You're just too afraid to go, aren't you?"
Jin didn't reply.
"He can stay," said Isabel. "He'll clear out a spot for the seeds. Ozzy, can you put them in that basket?"
"Sure thing!" Ozzy poured handfuls of radish seeds into the basket. There was more than we expected. It looked like her pockets were full of them.
"Where did you find those anyway?" I said something after a long while.
"I found a jar full of them in one of the rooms." She answered.
"Why not just bring the jar?"
She stopped putting the seeds in for a moment and froze. She continued to put them in the basket as if she hadn't heard anything.
"Okay," Ethan spoke, "So the ones going to look for supplies are me, Zander, Chris, Alex, Fey, and Ozzy. The ones who're gonna stay here are Jin, Brynn, Sandra, and Isabel. Let's go deeper into the mansion since there're more of us now. Is everyone ready to go?" he grabbed the oil lamp from the floor.
"I'm ready," I replied.
"I want to beat that lady to a pulp again," then Fey.
"Yeah," Chris.
"LEZZGOOO~!" Ozzy.
And Alex, who started hopping, smiling, and nodding.
Ethan grinned and walked towards the arc leading inside. We followed his lead, and the four left behind waved and wished us luck. Luck for returning back into the dark depths of this wrecthed mansion.
[To Be Continued...]