One of the worst things about being here was that we had no sense of time. I never knew if it was day or night, morning or evening. There were no windows, no clocks, no way to tell. The only thing to know time was still moving forward was our daily meal, always at noon, as Chou said.

The other thing that was driving me crazy was the complete lack of colour. All the floors and walls were just plain grey, and it was becoming painful to look at.

That's why I was currently staring into Nise's eyes, which I had just noticed had gold flecks over the brown. I hadn't noticed how gorgeous her eyes were before now, even though we'd become closer friends over the past few days.

"Um... I-Ikeda-chan..." Nise started, looking a little uncomfortable. "I-is there something on my face?"

I slowly shook my head, looking away. "No, I just realized how pretty your eyes are..."

Nise's cheeks turned pink and she looked downwards. "Th-thank you..." She muttered.

Before I had a chance to say any more, Yukiko burst into the dining room where we were sitting. She let out a small sigh before sitting down beside me.

"Do you mind if I hide here a bit? I like Kimiko and all and she's awesome, but she's being a little overbearing..." Yukiko said with a sheepish smile.

"Of course, we don't mind." I responded. It was quiet for a few moments until Yukiko spoke up again, playing with a strand of her strawberry blonde hair.

"Do either of you know how long we've been stuck in this dump?" Yukiko asked with a small frown.

Nise shook her head. "N-no... I-it feels like a long time though...."

"I just wanna get out already! This is terrible!" Yukiko whined, burying her face in her hands. "But I don't wanna leave without Kimi and Satchi... but I have to make sure my brother's okay!"

I slowly nodded. "Yeah, it's bad in here... but I'm sure Uyeda-kun will find a way out soon."

"Hmph, I don't think I trust him!" Yukiko exclaimed, crossing her arms. "Some escape artist, if he hasn't gotten anything done yet he's totally a fraud!"

I glared at her, but before I could respond a familiar voice played throughout the building.

"Your time is up~! Come on over to the main room and enjoy the show!" Chou exclaimed with a giggle, before everything went silent.

"This can't be good..." I said quietly before getting up. I hope she wasn't serious.

By the time we had all gathered in the main room, everyone looked nervous. Reiko had quickly approached me, looking both extremely concerned and terrified.

"Ikeda-chan, have you seen Daiki anywhere? He was taking a nap... I-I only looked away for a minute..." The pink haired woman spoke in a panicked tone.

I shook my head. "No... sorry, I haven't seen him...."

"I know where he is~!" Chou said in a teasing tone as the screen flickered on, revealing her.

"What did you do to him?!" Reiko demanded, looking completely terrified.

Chou just frowned. "I told you, you had a week to kill and no one killed. So, you gotta pay the price. It's simple logic." She shrugged, then walked off screen and quickly came back with the baby in her arms. He was crying, flailing about as Chou cradled him. "I'm just gonna set an example with this little boy~."

Reiko's eyes widened, and she immediately yelled at the platinum blonde. "Don't you dare hurt him! If you have to kill someone take me instead! Please! Take me! Daiki's only three months old!" Tears started running down the mother's face, and I felt terrible.

Chou laughed, before pulling a knife out of her pocket. "Yes! That's what I wanted to see! That beautiful expression of pure despair! Haha, I definitely made the best choice!" She held up the baby by his head, and his screams matched his mother's.

Chou repeatedly stabbed the child in the stomach and chest, blood splattering onto her as his crying faded into nothing. She couldn't stop laughing as Reiko collapsed onto the floor, wailing in grief.

16 left.