I frowned.
Aron and I had appeared in this world as roommates. The initial four of the piercing trio had also been grouped together in sets of two.
That had left the two other newcomers to room together.
Mason had mentioned they'd had to knock one of them out for the night, because he'd been frightened out of his mind and kicking up a fuss in the room next to theirs.
'You said you hadn't seen him. The dead guy, I mean. Was he already not in his room last night?' I asked.
Mason turned to look at me, his gaze sharp.
'He wasn't,' he said.
'Which means he'd already left his roommates and gone exploring last night. To look for help, or an explanation, maybe.'
I paused to take a bite from my lunch.
Even though I didn't have much of an appetite, I understood that running out of energy if and when I needed it would be far worse than any cafeteria slop could ever dream of being.
'Whatever it was, he clearly didn't find it,' John commented. 'What're you getting at, newbie?'
'The guy you were supposed to help ended up dying in the communal bathroom,' I said. 'So, we guessed that being alone is against one of the survival rules in this world. After all, the NPC roommates called it 'suicidal', and he was killed just down the corridor from the room he left.'
'But this other guy…'
'He was found in the music room!' Sheila's eyes widened. 'In a whole other building!'
'Mm-hmm. If whatever this curse is attacks someone solely for being alone, there's no way this newbie would've been able to get that far,' I said.
'Another thing to consider; why there? Why was he in the music room at all?' Aron mused.
'You'd think someone looking for help would seek out an authority figure, or maybe even try to leave the premises through the gates. So, what was he doing all the way in the extracurriculars building?'
My mind was racing.
I tried to put myself in the shoes of that guy.
His phone screen had turned red, and within moments, he'd somehow ended up in an entirely different world.
He was suddenly in a shared room. One of his three roommates was panicking and going crazy from the stress of it all. The other two were of no help.
He hadn't been fortunate enough to have an experienced player like Aron promise him an explanation and offer him advice.
Lost and disoriented, he'd decided to leave the room and go exploring by himself.
He'd… probably encountered something.
And then, he'd been…
…
'…Running,' I mumbled. Then, louder, 'He was running away from something.'
Turning to face Sheila, I added, 'You said you found his corpse at the back of the woodwind section. Doesn't that sound like he was –'
'Hiding!' she exclaimed.
'And your guy, too,' I continued. 'He was in the last stall. He was trying to hide from something.'
'But, newbie,' John interjected. 'Every single NPC here also refuses to go anywhere alone. So the survival condition can't be something different.'
'Sure,' I nodded. 'There's almost certainly a curse that acts when you're alone. My point is, you can probably outrun it.'
'Well, no, not entirely outrun it,' I corrected myself after a moment. 'But so long as you keep moving, keep escaping from it, you have a chance. This guy made it outside the dorm building, across the campus, and to a different building all by himself.'
'So what you're saying is that the monster or event triggered by being alone, is something that you can potentially get away from,' Mason said.
'Exactly.'
'But hiding from it won't work,' Aron added.
'Mm-hmm.'
'Good to know, if we ever somehow end up in a situation where we're forced to be alone here,' John said, giving me a nod of appreciation.
'Ah, but…' Sheila said.
'What is it?' Mason asked immediately.
'They were both killed in completely different ways. One was eaten by several small creatures, and the other, by something large and strong,' she said. 'Even though they were both alone, and hiding, they ultimately weren't attacked by the same thing.'
As my mind whirred, I heard cutlery clink next to me.
Aron had finished his bowl, and was leaning back relaxed in his chair.
'I think you're right about the being-alone condition,' he said. 'But I think it only got that newbie player killed. The thing that killed your charge was probably a different condition.'
'How are you so sure it's not the other way around?' I asked.
'Because that guy was eaten by several small creatures, from the head down,' he said, then repeated, 'Head. Down.'
'Like from something coming out of the showerhead that he was standing underneath,' Mason said.
'Bingo.'
'Then, just to be safe, let's avoid the last shower stall irrespective of the time of day,' Mason sighed. 'Anyway, good job, newbie. If you could just share some of that fortitude with the other newbie, the six of us might yet all make it out of this instance alive.'
'Where is he anyway?' I asked.
'Refused to get out of bed. Sheila slipped one of his NPC roommates a sleeping draught, so he won't have to be there alone for his first day. We informed him about these worlds, and the rules, but we're not gonna babysit someone who won't contribute beyond that,' Mason said.
'Fair enough.'
I honestly thought they'd done more than they needed to, with that sleeping draught.
'She probably works in some kind of medical or pharmaceutical field,' Aron said, looking searchingly at Sheila. 'Oh. Maybe forensics?'
'What my teammate is or isn't outside of these worlds is none of your concern, Aron,' Mason said firmly. 'Drop it.'
Aron held up his hands placatingly, and did indeed drop it.
Meanwhile, I was once again struck by the fact that none of the fresh-faced boys before me were actual teenagers.
I cleared my throat.
'Anyway, the two of us have information. We raided the staff quarters before lunch,' I said. 'Trade?'
Mason paused.
'Yes, but after the afternoon classes,' he said at last. 'There's still something else I'd like to confirm.'
Sheila nodded, and John said, 'We can meet up in the common room at the dorms. You won't see any NPCs in there, but I know there isn't a survival rule attached to it.'
He didn't say how he knew that to be the case.
Aron and I exchanged a look, then nodded.
…
When the bell dinged to signal the start of the afternoon classes, I dumped my bag at my desk, but didn't sit.
'Whoa, what's the plan, newbie?' Aron asked in a low voice.
'We should really take a look at the Director's office,' I said.
'That's a no-go. He's probably in there right now,' Aron said.
'How'd you know?'
'I've seen the way Mason works. That's probably the first place they tried to check out. Didn't look like they had any success, though,' he shrugged. 'You saw the look on their faces at lunch, hmm?'
'Then, what?' I asked. 'Go at night, after he's left for the day?'
'I guess, yeah.'
'But nighttime's the most dangerous in these kinds of worlds.'
'That's what I told you, yeah.'
'Hmm.'
I thought for a moment, then bent down to tighten my shoelaces.
'What're you planning?' Aron asked.
'With more danger, there's a high chance we get separated and end up alone while exploring at night,' I muttered, folding up the hems of my trousers until the excess fabric was snug around my calves.
'That's very possible.'
I turned to see Aron looking at me curiously.
'So, what's the plan?' he repeated.
I bounced in place slightly, testing the soles and fit of my shoes.
Good enough.
'I figure that daytimes the best for confirming whether we're correct about the being-alone condition,' I said.
'So, I'm gonna go try outrunning death.'