In a dark, dusty room the consciousness of four individuals is regained. Each of them confused and perhaps scared. They are unable to move their limbs and find themselves bound to a metal chair around a matching table. The air smells sterile, not unlike a hospital.
The strangers look around frantically forcing their eyes to recognize anything of familiarity but to no avail. The room was too dark to make out, and the spotlight overhead the few didn't make any of the faces less foreign. The cold metal pressed against their wrists only unnerved them more as old paint chips and rust dug ever so slightly in their skin.
After the longest, and tensest minute of these stranger's lives took place they could hear the humm of a speaker come to life. At first, all that was heard was a whining static. The sound made the strangers want to cover their ears on instinct however, they were clearly unable to do this. Eventually, through the scratchy, irritating noise a deep, and automated voice was soon heard through the speaker.
"Ah! It's so lovely to finally have guests again! Well, I presume 'guests' is not an especially agreeable term, well not for you, I suppose it will have to do." The voice over the speaker started, rather enthusiastically.
"It has been a rather long time, hasn't it? Considering what happened with the last batch, poor sods..." The voice trailed off briefly though quickly returning with another burst of excitement.
"You folks have had a rough past few hours, whether you remember it or not, you must be tired so allow me to aid you on your new quest. I'm sure one of the first things you will notice about your new settings is that you are surrounded by some folk you don't recognize. There's no precise reason for this other than I thought it'd be entertaining to watch people so different struggle to work together." The voice seemed to mock its guests.
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One of the strangers, a tough man appearing to be in his 40's, growled out of frustration at the mocking tone. Since they had awoken the others in the group seemed to recognize this man's frustration. He was quite large and was struggling against his restraints this entire time. A petite, blond woman who was also being held captive was almost convinced that he'd break free at any moment.
"Mr. Ruth if you are done seething I'd really appreciate silence while I'm speaking." The voice continued.
"When guests come to my home they are typically required to play a game. In this game four lovely people are tasked with the simple mission to leave my house. They can use any method they see fit. You may destroy walls if you very well choose however, this game isn't without its rules. Rule number 1; if one of you were to perish before exiting this home, then you all perish. 2; you must all leave together if you wish to return to your regular lives. This means that if three of you were to find the exit then the three would return home, but the last of you would remain here forever. I'm sure there are a few more I'm just not quite sure what they are currently." The voice added that last point a bit more nonchalantly than the guests would have liked.