Academy Murder Party

~:Chapter 12:~

Yuki watched as Elle stepped forward with a beaming smile, a sense of joy and excitement behind her eyes as she placed her hand on the wheel and gave it a heavy tug, sending it spinning round and round with a loud clicking noise. The audience watched eagerly in silence, waiting for the wheel to stop at its final destination as it slowed. Yuki, along with the others, could only watch in sheer anticipation as it finally stopped.

"This year's game is..." Elle announced. "Ultimate Battle Royale!" She cheered, clapping to herself. Instead, the audience fell silent. A few hushed murmurs amongst the crowd were enough to break the silence, yet, Yuki couldn't help but feel confused.

"Battle Royale?" She whispered to Scott, who didn't respond. Instead, he stared straight ahead, trembling. Not even reacting to Yuki as she placed her hand on his trembling arm to comfort him. Everything felt weird like something was wrong. She could feel it deep in her gut, which only got stronger as Elle continued to speak.

"The rules are simple. Eliminate other players and survive until the fifth day." She explained. Yuki raised her eyebrow as she listened to the vague explanation. Eliminate? What Did She mean by that? How was she supposed to eliminate players? It felt vaguely like there was some detail buried beneath. "Good news is, each day will have a one-hour grace period where no eliminations will be allowed. However, the bad news is, Only ten players can win."

Immediately, the audience went into an uproar. Yuki looked around as members of the audience screamed and shouted as if they went into a fearful frenzy. Many of them began to argue with each other, for which Yuki was afraid was going to get physical.

"N-no way!"  Someone screamed.

"This isn't fair!" Another screamed.

"Last year, half of us won! Why is it so low?!"

As the numerous complaints came in, Elle stood and looked out towards the crowd with a broad smile. This time, however, seemed a bit eerier compared to her previous one.

Yuki looked around the room. She vividly remembered what Ms. Owens told her. There were a hundred players this year, meaning that only one would win out of every ten people. Immediately, she recognized the low odds, which made her feel less confident in her ability. Even though she had carefully listened to all of the rules, she still felt like she didn't understand most of the game.

She needed to take the game seriously and fast. While everyone was panicking, she decided to strategize. She knew she couldn't act foolishly; everything she had mattered on this point: her grades, her status at Winchester, and her relationship with her father. Hell, losing this could even ruin her life. 

First things first, she needed allies. If this was a free for all type game, which she was assuming, it was essential to find people who'd be behind her back at all times. He looked back at her, a look radiating pure despair. Enough to make Yuki's hairs on her neck stand up. She immediately went to speak up amongst the crowd's frenzy but fell short when Elle tapped on the microphone, looking towards her.

"Start the countdown!" Elle shouted out into the crowd, all while smiling wildly. Immediately, the frenzy stopped. It was like an off switch had turned off the chaos, causing the group to fall silent. Instead, they began running.

"Sixty... fifty-nine.... fifty-eight," A voice boomed over the announcements.

It was like a stampede. People pushed and shoved, all while making a break for the opening in the cafeteria. All of them seemed determined yet a bit scared at the same time. A bigger guy shoved passed Yuki, nearly knocking her over, as she was grabbed by someone and shoved back up to her feet.