Roll The Dice

Chapter 02| Something Amiss

Day Eight | Chapter 02: Frothing Despair | To Survive Daily Life

Amber wasn't really sure when she realized she was awake. She only figured out that she had woken up when she opened her eyes to the dark unwelcome sight of her room.

After a couple minutes of laying in bed in an unsuccessful attempt to fall back asleep, Amber found the strength to sit up and turn on the bedside lamp so she could properly see.

The light burned at her eyes the moment it appeared and she flinched back, squeezing her eyes shut so tightly she saw red.

After a couple seconds, she reopened her eyes and let them adjust to the light before she threw her legs over the side of the bed and standing up.

She cast her gaze to the clock near her door to see it was almost time for the morning announcement.

Might as well get ready..

She made her way over to the dresser and pulled out some casual clothes and changed into them.

She was about to go about with the rest of her morning routine when several knocks at her door caught her attention.

Wait.. Isn't it still night-time?

Suspicion sunk into Amber's mind and she cautiously approached her door as the knocking continued. She grabbed her key off the table and slowly unlocked the door, preparing herself for whatever situation she could possibly come up with in the few moments it took to open the door.

Outside the door was Jasmine, who was still dressed in her pajamas, with a slightly nervous expression on her face.

"Hey, Amber, sorry if I woke you-"

"No, I was already awake. But.. Why are you out here this late?" Amber's gaze flicked to Jasmine's hands which were empty.

"Well.. I went to check in on Maya and she usually wakes up a few minutes before the morning announcement but.. She's not in her room."

"What? Are you sure she isn't.." Amber trailed off as Jasmine turned and pointed to the door with Maya's portrait. The door was wide open and Amber could see that there was nothing in there, since the ceiling lights were turned on.

"When I went to check on her, the door was unlocked. I looked everywhere in her room, but she isn't there.. I tried to wake up Sub but she didn't answer her door." Amber was starting to understand why Jasmine was looking so nervous, but she still had her suspicions.

"Why didn't you go look for her elsewhere by yourself?"

"Because, it wouldn't be smart of me to wander around at night." Amber wasn't sure Jasmine was referring to how suspicious she would be if found wandering alone or if she referring to the possibility of a killer roaming around.

Either one seemed plausible in this place.

"Fine. Go and try to wake Sub up again. I'll check around and see if she's nearby." Jasmine nodded and ran over to Sub's door, knocking with enough force for the sound to echo down the hall. Of course, no one but Sub would be able to hear it as long as they stayed in their rooms.

Amber walked down the hall and she slowly opened the door, hesitantly looking around without walking over the door threshold. However, all she could see was the empty hall. It's lights had been dulled down considerably, likely to give the impression of night-time.

Amber heard a door open and groggy mumbles reached her ears as Sub finally opened her door in response to Jasmine's knocking.

Feeling considerably more secure, Amber turned to watch as the two slowly walked over to Amber.

"Why'd you have to wake me up?" Sub grumbled, rubbing at one of her eyes.

"We needed you to come help us look around for Maya. I can't find her." Jasmine answered as Amber walked past the door and into the considerably wider hallway that led to the rest of the Castle.

"What do you mean you can't find her?" Sub asked, likely still struggling to fully process the situation with her sleepy brain as Amber walked down the hall, stopping in front of the Mess Hall.

She held out a hand and gave the door handles a good shake and the doors shook and rattled in response.

"Locked.." She turned to Sub and Jasmine who were several feet away, Jasmine seeming to be explaining the situation to Sub who was finally starting to fully wake up.

"Good Morning, everyone! It is now 7 AM and Night-Time is officially over! Let's give it our best to have fun today, alright!?"

Amber jolted in surprise, as did Sub and Jasmine. Amber noticed the lights gradually increase in brightness until it was the same as it usually was when Amber was awake.

However, the lights leading to the Entrance Hall didn't turn up and Amber turned around to see why.

The Entrance Hall was dark, all Amber could see was shadows that enclosed everything the light couldn't reach.

Then, without warning, the small chandelier light suddenly turned on, chasing away the shadows.

However, something that Amber had thought was shadows did not move away from the light.

All it did was spread a golden glow over it.

Amber sucked in a breath, eyes wide as she tried to process the sight before her.

No..

"Amber?" Jasmine called as Amber took a shaky step backwards. Before Sub could even form a sentence, Jasmine bolted over to Amber's side.

No...

"Amber, what is-" Jasmine followed Amber's gaze and all the color drained from her face and her one visible eye shot wide in horror.

"No..." Jasmine's response echoed Amber's own mental thoughts as Sub ran over to them. However, before she could reach the two, the all too familiar announcement filled their ears.

"BING BONG! A body has been discovered! A limited amount of time will be allowed for investigation before a Castle Trial takes place!"

"No-No! PLEASE GOD NO!" Jasmine's screams wrenched themselves out of her throat as her hand tightened around Amber's arm. "NO! NO PLEASE! NO!"

There before them was another one of their friends, all signs of life drained from their limp body.

It was a morbid sight but not just because of the fact it was a dead body, but also because of who it was and how they were set up...