The team looked at each other. They had already disregarded the newbies and just sat in a circle to discuss a game plan.
"Alright, if we have to investigate then the darkness should probably give some hints, all we need to do now is scout the darkness and live from it" Jonah
"We need a few volunteers, but the unknown is the most dangerous, what should we do" Abigail brought up.
Smitt raised his hand to go but no one else.
"We could hire the newbies, if they come back alive then we can guarantee them a spot in our team" Jack suggested and Jonah thought long and hard.
"I don't trust a few of them, backstabbers, some of them are" Jonah said and he finally gave in. "But if we can clear this mission and go home with their help then might as well make the most of them"
Jonah got up and turned to the 14 newbies that were standing in front of him.
"Alright, listen up. To join our team you just have to help the team out. In this team we help each other even if it costs our lives, its better to help each other instead."
The guy from before scoffed and left the room, a few people boldly walked after him and some nervously followed.
The amount of newbies that stayed were a total of 5.
"I see you wish to believe us, introductions first, you guys are up" Jonah said and they introduced themselves.
Mariah: 16 years old, pale blond hair that fell to her mid back with pale skin, had a sickly demeanor her eyes were dark as the night and droopy with dark circles. About 4'4" Despite this she had a dangerous aura according to Jonah.
Luke: 17 years old, deeply tanned had a white smile and stormy grey eyes. sun-bleached cropped hair. his lean muscles were visible in the tight surfer's jumpsuit. He was dazzling. He appeared to be physically fit.
Orianna : 22 years old librarian, knowledgable on many subjects. black hair, physically weak. She has a small and slender frame, making her short for her age. She is jumpy and often tries to hide.
Manny- A Hispanic 25 year old with a crazy smile, Occupation is a lawnmower, hair is all over the place, he was also very unkempt. His eyes a sickly green, always flitting from place to place as if looking for something.
Correy- 23 Year old African American guy with a lean build, unemployed but has a hobby in robotics, is knowledgeable in wiring and programming. His hair was brown with streaks of blond, in cornrows. an unkempt beard and glasses covered his roan eyes.
They all had gathered in front of the board and introduced themselves as such.
Jonah smiled as he assessed the skills.
"Good, Good, as this is a 20-man mission we can expect many hardships to come, on another note, this series has never been heard of before, we do not know if this is a single book, an entire series spanning multiple releases, or a movie. So we are going in blind.
"I know it going to be hard to face these hardships, but I know that if we work together we can do it, so who is with me" Jonah exclaimed and we all cheered.
Jack smiled as inspiration filled me. My confidence was restored and I was ready to take on whatever came at me. This was quickly shattered when a scream echoed from the hallway.
Jack rushes out of the classroom to see what the commotion was about and turns to see that down the hallway the group that had stormed out from before were crowded and cluttered, some frozen in place, others vomiting and rushing backwards while others just back away slowly.
Since the group was cluttered together Jack had to inch in closer to see what was going on. Jack pushed past everyone to get a better view and when he put his hands on one of the people he noticed it was the guy who kept saying everything was a hoax, The guy looked baffled, and in complete shock.
His sanity must be crumbling Jack said to himself and turn to the scene of the crime but all he saw was darkness.
"What happened here?" Jack asked one of the people and they jumped in surprise before answering in a stutter. "Th.....The doo.....door. It sna..sna... snapped open....."
I was baffled but his explanation but as I turned away he continued. "its....its....its just that ...... that .do...door..... It was closed an....an...and when a person tried to force it open the swung open with great momentum, crushing a person to death and trapping another, and it was as if it was an invitation the darkness expanded itself until it engulfed that person....... We heard her screams but when the darkness covers the entire area so we can't see whats there."
"Did you not take the warning's seriously?" Jack exclaimed, face palming his own face at their stupidity.
"Like that guy said, this is all a hoax, why should we listen to your rules, or warnings, but.....but.... I'm starting to think differently."
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"Yah think?" Jack scoffed and he tried to use his abilities to look for the hints on what happened to the person but alas, his vector ability only worked on moving objects, He released his spirit essence to probe the surroundings and an image flashed in his mind.
Jack flew back in panic, breathing heavily and spooked out of his wits.
"She is dead..... I felt it moments before" a person spoke softly and Jack turned to find Mariah.
"Dangerous things in the darkness, They even give me the chills" Jonah murmured. "Since we know the darkness is dangerous then we have to avoid it, I need a group of people to search for the supply crates, Correy, I need you with me, any volunteers?.
The people talked amongst themselves and Luke walked forward, followed by Smitt and 2 people from the group who tried to leave us before.
"Smitt you're in charge of this scouting group, I know this is out of your comfort zone but lead them well" Jonah ordered and Smitt saluted him. "Alright......................................... Lets just go in that direction" Smitt whispered and he started to walk.
After a few minutes Jonah turned to Akatsuki. "Tail them, make sure the two don't betray us, I give you full permission to maim and leave them for dead"
Akatsuki nods her head and her body becomes purple light and disappears.
Jonah sighs and turns to the rest of the group.
"Now to take your roles, we need bodyguards, people to protect this place in the event of an attack, this classroom will eventually be covered in darkness so we need to be able to protect it.
Another scouting group will be needed to search for the classrooms and other safe areas, We want those points so get out there and get them.
My buddy Jack here will give assign you as he sees fit
Correy you come with me for a second. I got a special mission for you"
Jack grew nervous that he was entrusted in assigning groups. He knew that Danny would make a perfect bodyguard, and Emily could scout, speaking of the duo, where did they go? Jack vaguely remembered Emily bolting out of the classroom at the start of the mission and Danny went after her.
They left before they heard the......... announcement with the warnings......
Jack grew frantic and bolted toward Jonah in an attempt to remedy his worry.
"Jonah, Jonah I got a problem...... Where did Emily and Danny go?"
Jonah turns toward Jack when he hears those words and he pauses.
Jonah closes his eyes and start to think before he claps Jack on the shoulder and says. "Don't worry to much, trust your team a little, now go assign those groups like I asked you to"
Jack was a little downtrodden that Jonah appears to not take the disappearance of the duo seriously but he couldn't complain much.
Jack had a full 9 people to work with since two were dead, four were scouting, two were missing, and two were busy talking about a special mission.
"Okay, Mariah, Orianna, I want you to stay in the defense team with three of the other group, Abigail I am trusting you in this scouting team of four to find the other areas, Your two beasts can also help so summon them out."
After everyone was situated and prepared to go, I gave the signal and Abigail took off at a run, her Silver-Scale Serpent coiled around her waist looking for danger, likewise her Rock-Shell Centipede was on her shoulder.
Mariah's presence spooked everyone because she was deathly quiet and always seemed to appear out of nowhere, but Orianna had some great ideas to help barricade the room.
Jack prepped himself to help with the defense team and he checked his watch.
[window]
Difficulty: 20-man Mission
Movie: School that is an Eternal Labyrinth
Survivors left: Cast: 17/20 Players, 174/200 Students.
[window]
Jack knew that two people had died from the door and shadow, but another person had died, maybe someone from the scouting teams like the randoms or was it Luke?... Abigail?.... Smitt?....Danny? or was it...... Emily.........
If only this watch could tell who died then Jack would be relieved, Jack instantly regretted his thoughts and looked at the watch and it ticked down another player.
"Please oh please do not be people from our team" Jack prayed and he went back to work.
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Sorry guys, I had intended to release this ages ago but exams caught up to me..... then winter break came....... When Christmas finally came around I was like, Hey I need to release this chapter its been sitting here for quite a while now..... And now here it is.... Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year