A Flicker of Lights

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Adrian

I paced up and down the room. Should I trust Isabella? A hour had passed and she still hasn't woken up from her deep slumber. Weird for somebody who knows that they are probably going to die within sixteen days.

Lauren was also really sketchy. I glanced at her at the other end of the room. She looked like someone who was more interested in glaring at people than focusing on how to preserve her life.

I was still calculating the other people's responses when a alarm on the main wall started beeping. We all turned around just in time to see the large screen below the alarm flicker to life. The alarm soon switched off and on the screen appeared a hooded man. His face was covered by his black hood, which prevented us from seeing his features.

"Welcome to the game. As you may know (and I may remind you again) that you have 16 days to find the murderer and every night one person dies." He started in his deep voice, "I am here to remind you that you are free to explore the rest of the compound, but you must make it back to the main room before nightfall. You are more likely to die if you play at this game alone, but beware, not everyone in this room is innocent."

"You will find food, medication and weapons within the compound which will appear in random locations." he continued, "Lastly you will be given a journal, which you can update at your will. Others cannot see your journal unless you die. There is a chance that others will see it if they find your journal after your death. The murderer will try to take the journal if it contains sensitive information. Remember, I am always watching you."

And with that, the screen flickered and turned black. Lauren started cursing and the others looked like they were going to faint. The table in the middle of the room started spinning into the floor, but swiftly came back up, but this time, it came back up with sixteen identical leather books with ink pens stuck to the edge of each one. 

We each took one. I observed the pages. They were just the ordinary notebooks that you would find in a stationary store. I held on to mine for now. I decided to leave the room first, wanting to get the best items before the others took them. 

I silently crept my way out of the room, not wanting any unnecessary attention. There was a great corridor that winded around the main room. There were several doors spaced evenly around the corridor. There were a flight of stairs that was directly in front of me. I left the staircase to wait, focusing mainly on getting resources. I took the nearest door and entered. 

There was a artificial window showing afternoon, a cupboard and a luxury sofa. I opened the cupboard, which contained a small backpack. I slung it over my shoulder. I decided to examine it later. I rummaged further and found a note which read:

'Remember, just because you have this backpack, doesn't mean that you are safe.'

I quickly turned around. There was nothing behind me. I took a deep breath and did some mental maths to calm down. I leaned closer to the artificial window. It seemed so real, there was even a slight breeze coming out of it. It showed a beach scene, calm and soothing. I snapped myself back to the game, I didn't want to spend too long in this room. 

I got up and ran back to the main room. Half of the people were gone, probably to search for items like me. I sat down on my bed and spilled the contents out of my backpack and onto the bed.

A torch, a water bottle, two sandwiches, an apple, a chocolate bar, some bandages and a knife. I put all of them back into my backpack, except for the knife, which I strapped onto my belt. 

I concluded to write in my journal just in case I would die tonight. I wrote the date and started writing.

'I am innocent.' I started. I tried to carry on, but my mind went blank. There was really nothing else to say. I closed the notebook and lay down on the bed. I was too scared to sleep yet, so I just lay there wondering about who the murderer could be.

Then the lights flickered...

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Author's note

A flicker of lights: A death. Did I just give away the next chapter? Oops sorry.

W.Kells (QQbunny)😘