Among us: the real game

Chapter 4: The First Victim

As Lyla and Jeena navigated the winding corridors, they focused intently on their tasks, exchanging quick whispers about strategy and the next steps. The atmosphere had shifted from playful to tense, but the two girls tried to keep their spirits high, laughing at small jokes and sharing silly stories from school.

Then, out of nowhere, a loud, piercing scream shattered the air, echoing through the warehouse like a gunshot. The joyful chatter was immediately replaced by confusion and fear.

“What was that?” Jeena exclaimed, her eyes wide with alarm.

Without waiting for an answer, the two girls bolted in the direction of the sound, their hearts pounding in their chests. They rounded a corner and came to a sudden halt at the sight before them.

In the middle of the dimly lit room, Sarah was crouched on the floor, her hands clutching her hair as she sobbed. The sight of her distress sent a jolt of panic through Lyla.

“What happened?” Lyla managed to ask, her voice trembling.

“Help! Someone help!” Sarah cried, her face pale and streaked with tears.

Ethan, who had arrived just behind them, moved closer, concern etched on his face. “What’s going on? Where’s Max?”

Sarah’s sobs escalated as she pointed toward a darkened area of the room. “He’s… he’s down! I don’t know what happened!”

The group quickly made their way to where Max lay on the floor, unconscious ,unresponsive and coveredin blood. A wave of dread washed over Lyla as she approached him cautiously, fear settling in the pit of her stomach.

“Max! Can you hear us?” Jeena called out, gently shaking his shoulders.

As they desperately tried to wake him, the reality of the situation began to sink in. Lyla felt her throat tighten. Something was wrong, and she could feel the weight of impending panic creeping in.

“Someone needs to call for help!” Jeena urged, glancing around the room as though expecting an answer to appear from the shadows.

“No! This has to be a joke!” Ethan insisted, his voice wavering. “He’s just playing around!”

“Ethan, this is serious! he is covered in blood.” Jess shot back, panic creeping into her tone.

As they gathered around Max, the uncertainty and fear were palpable. The atmosphere shifted from disbelief to a heavy tension that hung in the air.

“Should we… should we call for help?” Lyla asked, her voice trembling as she tried to process what was happening.

Ethan shook his head, the bravado fading from his expression. “No, we need to get him back on his feet first. He can’t be—”

Before he could finish, a tremor of realization passed through the group. The fear that had begun as a mere whisper escalated into a roar.

“Everyone, back to the common room!” Lyla called out, trying to steady her own racing heart. “We need to regroup and figure this out.”

Once gathered in the common room, the group settled into a grim silence. The weight of the moment pressed down on them, each of their faces a mix of confusion and fear.

“We can’t start accusing each other,” Lyla spoke up, her voice breaking the tense quiet. “We need to figure out what happened without turning on one another.”

“But we need to know who was where when this happened!” Ethan countered, frustration creeping into his voice. “Someone must have seen something!”

“Maybe we should skip the meeting and focus on getting out of here,” Lyla suggested, desperation lacing her words. “We can’t just sit here arguing. We need to find a way to call for help!”

“What if the Impostors are just waiting for us to turn on each other?” Jeena added, her brow furrowed in worry.

Lyla felt the urgency of the situation pressing on her chest. “If we work together, we can find a way out of here. We can’t let fear tear us apart. We need to stay focused.”

A moment of silence hung in the air as they absorbed her words.

“Fine,” Ethan finally said, looking pained but determined. “Let’s focus on finding an exit first. We can’t let fear keep us here. We’ll sort everything out later.”

With heavy hearts, the group nodded in agreement, knowing that the game had transformed into something far darker than any of them had anticipated.

As they began to search for a way out, Lyla felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the real danger was just beginning, and that trust among friends was more fragile than ever in this twisted game.