We did learn quite a bit during our meeting in the cafeteria, but there were also some areas where I felt like we took a few steps back. There was some hostility between us, and some frightening realizations, but we also learned a lot about our living situations about the one advantage that we did have here in this hell, which was our numbers. There are four times as many of us than them, so if we can manage to turn the tide somehow, we might just have a chance. We were now much better organized all thanks to our new knowledge of this place and its rules. In conclusion, the main advantage we truly have is trust in one another. And while there are some people like Cyrus and Louis who don’t seem to be the most cooperative, they don’t seem to be actively working against us in a hostile way. Especially since Louis seems too traumatized to affect much of anything at the moment. Let’s just hope that trust doesn’t break in an irreparable way.
After we were all done eating, we split up into our pairs and started to go through our dorms looking for objects that could be easily used as weapons. Many pairs obviously didn’t seem too thrilled to be working together but that’s understandable being with a stranger who might have a slightly oppressive personality. Hopefully, that’s something that can be fixed with time.
“C’mon, Ryder!” Marin beckoned to me. “This’ll probably take a while, so let’s get started! Everyone is working together, so now we’ve gotta do our best.”
“Okay, I’m ready to go. It’s great to see everyone cooperating like this. It’s good for us as a group,” I said, looking over at the rest of the dorm pairs.
“Isn’t it great?” Marin said. “Although, if we find some baking supplies, I might have to fight to let us keep it. I promise not to kill you with a whisk if we find one!”
“Well, thank you,” I said with a smile. “Your pitch might need some work to convince Keon though.”
“Yeah, he definitely seems like someone who doesn’t make a lot of exceptions but being a master negotiator you gotta think he loves compromise.” We both looked towards Keon, who was talking to Carmen in front of their room.
Now would be a good time to make a mental note on who is with who in each room. You never know when that might be important, especially since the cafeteria guards are each pair going in a clockwise motion starting from Conrad and Emma’s room. Their room is the first dorm on the right side of the hallway looking towards the cafeteria, the next room is our own, which means Marin and I will be guards during the second night. The room after ours is Maya and Louis’ room. They definitely seem like the pair that will get along the least which worries me. Maya is slightly abrasive to everyone but her sister, and Louis is suffering from severe mental anguish right now. Hopefully that won’t affect guard duty. After them is Keon and Carmen who are the last room on the right side of the hallway. The next room which is the furthest away from the cafeteria on the left side of the hallway is Sabrina and Cyrus’. Talk about an odd pair. Cyrus is strange enough with his indifference to this horrible situation, and Sabrina is a very difficult person to get a read on. Every time I’m in the same room as her though I see her staring at me constantly, which is slightly off-putting considering she definitely could beat my ass black and blue if she wanted. I hope she’s not targeting me or something. The next room belongs to Atticus and Sienna. Another pair that might not get along too well. They definitely seem like polar opposites. In the penultimate room, we’ve got Mia and Miles. I just hope that Mia doesn’t get harassed by him. Miles doesn’t seem like a bad guy per se, but he’s definitely got a bit of a one-track mind. The last room on the left side, and the last room responsible for guard duty, belonged to Amber and Robbie. I hope I can get closer to Amber. She definitely seems like one of the more normal people here and I need all the friends I can get in this place. Robbie on the other hand…I could probably go without getting too close to him. After memorizing all the pairs and guard orders, I walked into the dorm room ready to turn it upside down.
Our dorm wasn’t too large, so this probably won’t take too terribly long. I got to look around a little bit when I first woke up here, but I didn’t get a great feel for everything here because I was in a bit of a daze. There was a bunk bed, two bean bag chairs, a nightstand, and a bathroom that was in a separate room connected to the room we were in by a door. That was all exactly how I remembered it, so the chances of there being baking tools here was probably slim considering that storage space was minimal and there was no kitchen in our rooms.
“Hmmmm…” Marin hummed while looking through the drawer of the nightstand with a disappointed look on her face.
“What’s wrong? Find a weapon?” I asked.
“No, it’s not that. There just aren’t a whole lot of places to house baking supplies, so my hopes and dreams are dying a bit.”
I let out a small laugh.
“That seems a little dramatic. I’m sure there are plenty in the cafeteria if there are none in here.”
“Yeah, but if they see me smuggling out cooking utensils, I’m definitely gonna be put under house arrest by Keon. And I definitely don’t want to cook while Alex is in there either.”
“Yeah, I can understand that.”
“Maybe I can convince everyone to let me bake for them sometime if I give them my ultimate puppy dog eyes and promise that I won’t poison anyone…”
“I guess it’s worth a shot. If all else fails, you can bake for me, and I’ll try it for you.”
“REALLY!?” Marin screamed as she thrust herself into my personal space.
Marin was close enough to me that I could smell her flowery perfume. I also picked up a slight hint of frosting. The way she looked and the way she smelled definitely matched one another.
“O-oh yeah, totally! I’ve got a pretty big, sweet tooth,” I said, taking a step back.
“That’s great! I want to make sure to keep honing my skills. Who knows how long we’ll be here for.” Marin gave me a huge smile. Her teeth were perfectly straight and a very bright white.
I’m glad I’m having an easy time making conversation with Marin. It’s really weird for me to get comfortable with someone in such a short amount of time. It might be because nothing coming from her seems fake. She seems genuine, honest and obviously very passionate about baking. I’ve had good relationships with people in the past, but it usually starts with me being pretty awkward at the start of our interactions. If people choose to stick around long enough for me to get comfortable then usually, I can finally open up to them and show them who I truly am, but with Marin this all seems to be going at an accelerated pace. I just feel like she’s someone I can count on.
“You okay?” Marin asked, looking slightly worried. I snapped back to reality.
“Y-yeah! Just spacing out. Sorry.”
“That’s okay! I’m just really happy you’ll help me with my baking. I feel like I don’t get any better unless someone else is tasting it too. When we get out of here, I’ll owe you one.” Marin gave me another blinding smile.
“You don’t have to go that far. Tasting the work of the Ultimate Baker is reward enough trust me.”
Marin blushed.
“Thank you, but I will find a way to repay the favor, I promise.”
It felt like we were talking about something a lot more serious than just me tasting her baking, but when it comes to something someone cares so deeply about, it makes sense that she’d feel the need to show her gratitude.
“So, anything interesting in there?” I asked while peering over her shoulder into the nightstand drawer.
“Just a notebook, three pens, two pencils, and a pencil sharpener,” Marin said, sifting through the contents.
“Maybe we can use a pen and that notebook to write down all the things we find,” I said.
“Good idea!” Marin said, picking up both of the objects mentioned.
“Let’s write down what we have so far,” Marin said while lightly tapping the pen on her forehead. “One notebook, three pens, two pencils, and a sharpener…there we go.”
We didn’t feel the need to log the beanbag chairs or the bunk bed into the log, but we did write down the pillows and blankets that were on the bed because those are definitely objects you could suffocate someone with. Especially if your roommate is someone much stronger than you.
“I hope they don’t make us get rid of our blankets and pillows. I can’t sleep without being totally wrapped up like a burrito,” Marin said while holding the bottom bunk pillow in front of her face.
“Yeah, I have enough trouble sleeping as it is and considering the situation we’re in, it’s probably not going to get much better,” I said.
“Do you have insomnia?” Marin asked, looking slightly concerned.
“I’m not sure.” I really wasn’t. “I thought about going to do a sleep study, but I ended up being too nervous to go through with it.”
“I can understand that. I can’t sleep in an uncomfortable situation, so I probably wouldn’t be able to go through with it either.” Marin was now holding the pillow to her chest. “I think we’ll be in the same boat struggling to sleep here. Maybe if we both can’t sleep, we can just stay up and tell ghost stories!”
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
I laughed.
“That sounds like it would make our sleep worse. We are living in a real-life horror movie though so maybe it wouldn’t affect much.”
“Exactly!” Marin said, standing up from the bed and pointing her finger straight up. “I’ll try to think of some good ones so we can have material for our probably nightly slumber parties.”
“I’ll do the same then.”
“Now, before we keep ransacking our own room, there is a really important question I have to ask you…” Marin said, the look on her face was deadly serious. I was a bit nervous.
“What’s that?”
“Are you a top or bottom type?” she asked, staring straight into my eyes.
“W-what? W-why are you asking something like that?” I was astonished she’d ask something so strange after we’ve only known each other for less than a day.
“Huh?” Marin seemed confused. “Do you have some un-worked out bunk bed trauma?” She said pointing towards the bed.
“O-oh! Bunk bed! Yes!” I said while looking very anxious. I just totally made an ass out of myself. “You go ahead and choose; I really don’t mind either way.” I was looking away from her now.
“Okay, then I’ll take the top bunk! I was hoping you’d let me have it.” She seemed happy.
“Sounds good! Bottom bunk for me it is.”
Thank goodness she didn’t seem to catch what I thought she meant. I’ve been on the internet way too much. It’s definitely scrambling my brain and making me into a deviant. I’ve got to get my mind out of the gutter, especially now that I’m roommates with a girl. She seems to trust me and there’s no way I can take advantage of that. Never. Not every girl is there to be a romance option. This isn’t some dumb video game. That shouldn’t even be something I think about in a dire situation like this. Get a grip, Ryder. I slapped my cheeks and followed Marin into the bathroom.
“Okay let’s see what we’ve got in here,” Marin said. Her blonde hair was swaying as her head darted around the room.
I didn’t get a look at the bathroom at all during my first visit here, so this is all pretty new to me. There was a sink, vanity, medicine cabinet, toilet, and a walk-in shower. It looked pretty nice all things considered.
“Not too bad,” Marin said. “Seems like it’s got everything we’ll need for our possibly extended stay.”
Marin opened the medicine cabinet first. Inside were several bottles of medicine, gauze, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, tweezers, scissors, cotton swabs, toothpaste, two hairbrushes, two toothbrushes, and a bag of cough drops.
“Definitely some potential weapons in here,” Marin mumbled while putting on a deeper voice, seemingly trying to imitate a gruff detective.
“Yeah, I doubt the scissors and tweezers will remain for long once Keon finds out they’re here,” I said, picking up the long, black-handled scissors.
“It’s probably for the best. Not that I don’t trust you, but there are some pairings that seem like they might be a little hostile towards each other.”
“Yeah, I agree,” I said while closing the cabinet.
Reading the labels on the bottles of medicine we have ibuprofen, antacids, laxatives, cold medicine, and fever reducers.
“There’s some useful stuff in here,” Marin said, staring at the bottle of ibuprofen.
“It’s almost like they don’t want us to die,” I said. Marin giggled.
“Yeah, it’s hard to see what they actually want. It seems like they just don’t want us to die by anything other than each other,” she said, staring into the mirror on the half open medicine cabinet.
“I’m leaning towards the same conclusion.”
Next, we opened the vanity that was under the sink. Inside we found three packages of paper towels, six rolls of toilet paper, a bottle of blue dish soap, a plunger, toilet bowl cleaner, disposable sanitary gloves, four bath towels, two bars of soap, some cups, and a bottle of lotion.
“Wow, they really stocked us up,” I said.
“It definitely seems that we won’t be without anything…except freedom of course,” Marin said.
“Yeah, here's hoping it’s right around the corner.”
We walked over to the toilet. It was porcelain and very clean. It looked brand new. There was also a bidet attachment installed onto the toilet.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Marin said, staring into the toilet. “I can’t live without a bidet personally.”
“I feel the same way. Growing up in the states, you usually don’t see them around too often, but ever since my parents installed one, I don’t think I can live any other way.”
“Hard agree. It amazes me that it hasn’t been widely adopted back home yet. Bunch of dirty-assed people walking around this country,” she said, squinting her eyes. I laughed.
“Yeah, let’s just hope everyone sees the light someday,” I said. Marin sure speaks her mind.
I opened the shower door and saw that there were two loofahs, one pink and one blue, shaving cream, two straight razors, another bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner all sitting on the shelf within the shower.
“It’s always nice to have some loofahs. Good to see some conditioner too,” Marin said while picking up the pink loofah. “And while it is exactly what society wants me to do…I will take the pink one.”
“No arguments here.”
After closing the shower door, we left the bathroom and finished up the list of what we found in our rooms.
“Okay. That should about do it,” Marin said as she finished writing.
“That didn’t take very long at all,” I said. “I wonder how everyone else is progressing.”
“Let’s go out and check.”
We made our way out of our dorm and saw that some people were grouped up right around Keon and Carmen’s room. They seemed to be having a discussion but as we got closer, it sounded more like an argument.
“There’s no way you can take away our pillows! I need my damn beauty sleep and I’m gonna need a fucking pillow to do that, dickcheese!”
Just from hearing the way they were talking, I could tell it was Sienna yelling at Keon. Getting closer, I was proven right. I saw Keon, Carmen, Sienna, Atticus, Amber, and Robbie standing in a group talking, with Sienna doing most of it.
“This is for the safety of everyone. There is no wiggle room on this,” Keon said coldly.
“Fat chance! I’m not letting you run my entire life here, prick!” Sienna said furiously. “I’ve already got enough fucking problems without you making shit worse. It’s just a fucking pillow!”
She sure could curse up a storm.
“I knew the pillows were gonna be an issue,” Marin whispered to me.
“Keon, c’mon. I know there is a small possibility that someone could suffocate somebody with a pillow, but don’t you think morale will take a hit if we get rid of them?” Carmen said.
“Even if there is a small chance, we cannot let there be a chance at all,” Keon said, not budging.
“Look kid, if someone is suffocated with a pillow don’t you think we would be able to immediately find out who did it?” Robbie said.
“What do you mean?” Amber said.
“It’s simple, doll face. It would have to be someone much stronger than the person who was killed, and it would have to be someone who could get into the room of the person who was murdered. It would be the simplest case ever solved. The rapscallion would be found out within a minute! Because of that, there’s no way someone would risk going through with a plan like that.”
While it is true that Robbie stinks and is very peculiar, he definitely seems to be pretty smart in situations like this. Probably because he’s a criminal.
“Fine. Pillows can stay.” Keon said with a sigh.
“Oh, joy! Thank you for the backup, Robert. I’d still prefer you stay more than six feet away from me though,” Sienna said, taking a few steps back.
“Oh, hey guys!” Amber said, turning towards us. “Inventory go well?”
“Yeah, totally! Ryder and I flipped that place upside down for the cause,” Marin said with a salute.
“Great! You should talk to Keon then. He’s going over what every team finds individually to see if anything doesn’t overlap.”
Keon then turned towards us.
“Hey, Marin. Ryder. Let’s see what you found.”
Marin handed Keon the list.
“A nice and neat list. This sure makes my job easier. Thank you.”
“It was Ryder’s idea. It made sense seeing as how it would be difficult to remember that much stuff,” Marin said.
“I had no need,” Atticus said, turning to us with his usual smirk. “My memory is perfect.”
“How did we get here then?” Marin asked in a stark tone with her hands on her hips.
“Now that’s not fair. We were all knocked out. I’m not superhuman, just highly above average.”
“Right…Anyway how’s the list hold up to what you’ve been told, Keon?” Marin asked.
“Pretty similar, but a lot more concise. Is it okay if I keep this list? I want to use this to reference what the others tell me when they’re finished.”
“Of course!” Marin said.
“Good. I’ll let you know the items that we are not keeping so far that you have listed.”
“Alright, hit me with the bad news. I can take it,” Marin said, closing her eyes while holding her arms out, bracing for impact. Keon smiled.
“Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. We’re getting rid of the scissors, tweezers, pens, pencils, and razors. Any objections to those?”
“Not really, but what if we want to shave?” Marin asked.
“Some items that are still useful will be kept at a neutral location that is to be determined. You can check them out and use them under supervision,” Keon said.
“Yeesh, this is all going to be such a pain to manage…” Amber said, rubbing her temples.
“As long as everyone cooperates, we should not have any issues.” Keon said. “Now, moving on. The rest of the items that will not be kept in our dorms are hydrogen peroxide, ibuprofen, cold medicine, fever reducer, toilet bowl cleaner, laxatives, and the plunger.”
“You really consider a plunger a murder weapon?” Sienna said.
“Of course. They have enough weight to them to cause real damage if used by someone skilled enough,” Keon answered.
“There are some things that you just can’t not have in a bathroom. Especially when my roommate looks like someone who will make that place a nuclear blast zone,” Sienna said, pointing her finger at Atticus.
“You’re talking like you’re not a human being like the rest of us,” Atticus retorted. “You’re just as culpable as me if that plunger becomes needed.”
“Shut the fuck up, you sicko! I would never!” Sienna yelled.
“Regardless, it’s just too dangerous to keep. Someone could sharpen the wooden end and create a makeshift spear easily. If you end up needing one, you may check one out once we figure out how we are going to go about doing that.”
“This is bullshit,” Sienna said while storming off.
“Any objections from you two?” Keon said, turning towards us.
“As long as we will still have access in the future, even if it is restricted, I won’t object.” Marin said. I nodded.
“Good. That’s all we are removing from the dorms at this time. Please be so kind as to gather them all up and bring them to the cafeteria so we can think about what to do next.”
“You can count on us,” Marin said. “C’mon, Ryder!”
“I’m with you,” I said while following behind her.