"What was that about?" Tommie gaped as Evan turned off the television.

"I guess there was meant to be ten of us," Evan responded. "I wonder what happened..."

She watched as he turned back towards the desk and began to fish through a drawer full of files.

"What are you..." she started, pausing when he pulled out one of the folders at the bottom of the stack.

Evan opened the file and skimmed it before handing it to her. "The name matches up.  That's the kid we saw in the tape."

"But why?" she asked as she glanced down at the small stack of papers.

Her question, thankfully, was answered on the third page.

Status: Declined

"Declined," she read aloud. "Declined what?"

Evan thought for a minute. "All I can think of is that they must've declined some sort of offer..." His dark blue eyes lit up as he realized, "Do you think they declined the invitation to attend Hope's Peak?"

"...And then as a punishment, Ace killed them for not cooperating," Tommie finished, horrified as she looked down at the file again. "There really is no escape from any of this."

"We're gonna die here," Evan whispered, running a hand through his dark hair. "Either we're gonna be stuck here forever or we die.  There's no way out."

"We both know there is," Tommie mumbled, looking down in shame.

As much as she hated considering it, the option of murder somehow still lingered in the back of her mind.  If it really was her only shot at escaping and getting home, she might as well not trash the idea completely.  She stuck the file back in the drawer where she'd found it and turned to leave.

"Hey, want to hit the music hall with me?" Evan asked in a valiant attempt to change the subject.

"I'm not much of a singer," Tommie informed him.

"Doesn't matter to me.  We can't all be the Ultimate Actor." He shrugged before grabbing her wrist and dragging her back down the hallway.

The two of them stumbled into the large room together, and Evan flipped the light switch on before running and jumping onto the stage next to the grand piano.

"It would be so much better if we could actually figure out how to get music in here," he commented.

As if on cue, the loudspeakers crackled to life with an upbeat pop melody.  Evan laughed before extending a hand towards Tommie, still in the back of the room.  She thought for a moment before removing her camera from around her neck, setting it on one of the benches in the audience, and then climbing up onto the stage much less gracefully than Evan had.

"You get used to it when your entire life's up here," he said, as if able to read her thoughts.

"Yeah, whatever.  So what now-" Tommie cut herself off with a yelp as Evan took her by the hand and spun her playfully.

She felt her face heating up before she could even process why.  And then she giggled like an idiot as he spun her again.  Next thing she knew, she was dancing.  The lights, clearly a result of Ace being in on this, began to flash and change colors with the music.

"Having fun yet?" Evan asked her as he helped her through a few dance sequences.

"Um, I think so," she mumbled, too flustered to manage anything else.  Without warning, Evan lifted her up, and she shrieked, both terrified and surprised at the same time.

At the same time, though- even if she didn't really want to admit it- she was having the best moment of her life since arriving at this hell of a school.

She was having so much fun, in fact, that she didn't even notice anything off until she looked up to see Stratus watching them from the doorway.  Startled, she jumped backwards, nearly falling into the curtain.  Evan, puzzled, looked around wildly before seeing the newcomer.  Stratus himself held a large box in his hands, and an amused expression on his face.

"All I wanted was some chemistry equipment for my room," he commented. "But whatever this is might be a bonus."

"It's nothing!  We're just having fun!" Tommie insisted, practically jumping off the stage and sprinting over to grab her camera. "And I just remembered that I wanted to go to the art room and do some watercoloring.  Bye!"

She sped past Stratus and down the hall, still confused as to what the hell had just happened.  Once she hit the bottom of the stairwell and stepped out onto the third floor, she took a moment to catch her breath.  She wanted to be away from Evan for a few minutes, because she had no idea how she was feeling about... that... and she didn't know how she was feeling about him.  Was being stuck in a murder school getting to her?  Ugh.

"You know, romance ain't my thing, but you want some advice, kid?" Ace's voice echoed from the loudspeaker closest to Tommie.

"From you?  Hell no," she hissed through gritted teeth. 

"Suit yourself!  I'm practically an open book!  ...on a good day, that is."

An idea blossomed in Tommie's head. "Hey, can I ask something?"

"First the therapist, now you?  What do you people think I am, a Q&A panel?" Ace grunted.

"It's about the tenth student.  The Ultimate Gamer."

"Hm?  That useless nobody?  I regret ever inviting them!  I should've remembered that gamers never willingly touch grass.  They rejected the invite, and so I rejected their will to live."

Had she not understood that the headmaster was serious, Tommie would have laughed.  Instead, she looked directly into the nearest security camera. "What the hell is wrong with you?!  Is this funny to you??"

"Oh, absolutely!  It's all just one big game, and I'm just here to make sure everyone plays by the rules," Ace snickered.

"You're disgusting," Tommie snarled.

"My dear photographer, I already know that!  And the Ultimate Gamer sure did too.  Trust me, you don't wanna end up like them."

A chill ran down her spine at the words, and before she could say anything else, Ace continued.

"I nearly forgot!  It is that time, isn't it?" Their voice grew louder as it began to come from every loudspeaker. "Report to the gym, students!  I've got something I think you'll love."

Tommie glared into the depths of the security camera, but didn't make any more remarks as she spun on her heel and strode down the hall towards the staircase.  What could that stupid dragon possibly have to say now?  If you don't kill someone, I'll kill everyone!  Everyone cut off a finger or die.  Wait, wrong killing game.  Spin a wheel to see if you get to live or not.  Oops.  Still the wrong killing game.

She arrived in the gym before Evan did, and didn't even glance in his direction once he was there.  But she could feel his gaze bearing into her.  What did he want?  An apology?  A second chance?  He could go f*ck himself right now, because she needed some space.  

"Look at you five!  So cute and helpless," Ace taunted as they once more appeared behind the podium. "The Ultimate Actor, the Ultimate Psychologist, the Ultimate Scientist, the Ultimate Dog Trainer, and the Ultimate Photographer.  What an unlikely group!  It's such a shame that another one's gotta go."

"No," Jax spoke up, softly at first.  Tommie thought she was imagining it until he raised his voice for the first time. "We are not doing this again."

"What makes you think you have a choice?" the headmaster replied calmly. "But yes, I know that you all don't want to participate.  And that's fine... unless you want to leave.  Remember, your only way out is to kill and get away with it.  I'll even throw in another incentive- your loved ones will get ten million dollars!"

To her horror, Tommie thought about it.  But a glance to her sides told her that everyone else was, too.  She definitely wasn't the only one who would kill to see her mom and dad again.  Were they okay?  If so, were they worried about her?  She thought back to her video on the first day, with her parents talking about how much they'd loved her.  And then the living room in shreds after that.  Were they even still alive?

"Oh, so conflicted?  How about one more thing," Ace said. "We'll bring back the blackmail envelopes.  Is that enough of a motive to kill?"

***

(1384 words)

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