*ding dong, bing bong*

"Rise and shine, ursine!" The Monokubs shouted on the TV below me, jolting me awake.

"This is an announcement from the Ultimate Campgrounds... Wake up, bastards, it's 8am," Monosuke smirked.

"Ooh, is today the day someone's gonna get murdered?" asked Monotaro. "My heart is pounding with excitement!"

"Don't worry... even if they end up in hell, at least that unlucky camper can be proud that they didn't do the killing game," Monophanie offered.

"Man, and I thought I was the one who was ruthless!" yelled Monokid. "Ah, well..."

"So long! Bear well!" They shouted in unison before the TV shut itself off. Groaning loudly, I stretched my limbs and got out of bed, shivering as I changed from warm pajamas to cold clothes.

Hmm... judging from the sulfur, the water must be geothermally heated... maybe if I just leave the shower on all night, it'd heat my cottage?

I decided I'd try it out tonight... it might make the cottage a bit steamy, but it'd definitely be nice if the place was warm in the morning. It's not like there's any rule against it, anyway.

I walked to the Dining Hall for breakfast. The same large bounty of foods, drinks and condiments were laid out on the long, counter-like shelf along the back wall. I gathered together some food and sat down at the main table beside Sunset and Flash.

"Yep... although at this rate, I'm not sure what there's left to search," sighed Flash. "We've been all over this campsite at least eight times. I'm about to start knocking on trees until a random door pops open in one of them."

"There has to be something we've missed," Sunset scowled. "We were all brought here somehow... I highly doubt whoever brought us here dragged our unconscious bodies through the woods for miles and miles."

"Maybe we were airlifted here?" Flash suggested. "Then they... I dunno, dumped us all out on the ground to wake up?"

"I haven't seen any signs of a helicopter landing around here... and if they did land here, it'd be an awfully tight fit. There's not that much clear space around the buildings and forest," agreed Sunset.

"Ha! Did someone say 'tight fit'?!" Indigo laughed obnoxiously as she walked past us on the way to the food.

"That's what she said!" Ocean shouted from the far end of the main table. The three of us shared a sigh.

"It also doesn't really seem like some of the others are that keen on escaping," Flash grumbled.

"Not really... maybe they're all in denial?" Sunset frowned. "Maybe they still think someone's gonna come and rescue us."

"I mean... we're not really in any real danger," I stared at my meal in thought. "...Not yet, anyway. So long as nobody decides to murder someone else."

"I really don't think that's gonna happen," Flash waved his hand dismissively. "That's just such a stupid, terrible thing to do."

"Besides, it seems like everyone's becoming friends," Sunset smiled hopefully. Flash nodded quietly in agreement.

I have to agree... as long as we're all friends here, then I don't think we really have anything to worry about...

We went our separate ways after breakfast. First I walked inside the camp store, wondering if there was anything useful hidden among the shelves of goods. I wasn't alone, however... Sonata was there as well, thumbing through some of the souvenir T-shirts.

"Hey, Sonata," I waved once in return. "Just looking around. Find anything good?"

"Not yet... these shirts are kind of tacky," she grimaced as she pinched the fabric of one of the shirts. I examined the image on the back of the shirt - it was Monokuma peeking out from behind a tree in the forest, wearing a plastic hockey mask and wielding a chainsaw. Bright, bloody pink was splattered all over him and dripping from the chainsaw, forming letter-shaped pools of blood that spelled out "I Survived the Ultimate Campgrounds Killing Game!" on the ground beneath him.

"That's... one way to put it," I pursed my lips, disgusted by the graphic... graphic.

"Well, there's gotta be something awesome in here... we can look together if you want!" she offered.

~~~

I hung out with Sonata for a while.

~~~

"Yup!" Sonata nodded her head quickly. I really wanted to know more about her; ponies back home hardly ever heard about the Sirens or what they were like. I couldn't just come out and ask her that, though, what with secretly being a pony among humans and all.

"Well!" she huffed happily. "So a Siren's whole thing is singing, right? So my sisters and I sing to lots of people! We do concerts, make videos and put them online... Believe it or not, we can't actually sing all that well these days, but nobody cares as long as you're totes adorbs! ...Heh, humans are kinda shallow like that," she smirked, twirling some of her hair around a finger.

"Oh, yea, Sunset told me a little about that... back in high school, huh?" I grimaced lightly, not sure if it was still a sore spot in her memory. She did say she was over it...

"Yea... that was Dagi's idea," Sonata sighed. "It was around the time Equestrian magic started leaking into this world."

"Duh! We're from Equestria!" she threw her hands in the air, then started... sniffing the air around her? It wasn't long before she edged closer and sniffed at me, making me lean backwards in an attempt to get away. "...Matter of fact, you are too, arent'cha?"

"Yup yup yup! I can smell pony all over you!" she grinned almost lecherously. "...Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Oh... well, alright, good. I'd rather not have to explain everything to everyone, you know..."

"No, I totally get it," Sonata waved a hand, shaking her head in understanding. "It was literal months until everyone left my sisters and I alone after that concert... eh, what was I talking about again?"

"Right! So, Dagi, Ari and I walked right into Sunset's school - kinda surprising there wasn't any security around - ...They were putting on some kind of talent show, but my sisters and I wanted to get our hands on as much magic as possible, so Dagi came up with the idea of turning the talent show into a Battle of the Bands. So we sang, and let me tell you, the rush of magic we felt was incredible! I felt almost like my old self again! ...And then Sunset and her friends came along, sang a counterspell to our magic, and sucked it all out and broke our pendants," she frowned as she held up the wrist with a pendant hanging from it. "This one's just glass, but that's what it looked like. Since that night, we can't really sing anymore... we're all... screechy and tone-deaf."

"Oh, I see..." I pursed my lips together. In a sense, I could sympathize with Sonata over losing her magic ability... I didn't have very much magic as long as I was here. But knowing that it was gone forever? The thought of never having magic again made me shiver uncontrollably.

"Buuuuut that's where the human magic of autotune comes in! It makes us sound kinda like ourselves again, so we can still attract lots of followers and decent crowds at our concerts. With our pendants gone, though, we can't absorb all that much emotional power. Our music doesn't even get people angry anymore... well, not in the good sense, anyway. Or is it the bad sense? Hmm... anyway, they get mad at us for sucking in real life, and then they leave. That doesn't empower us at all."

"Yup... but Sirens can absorb other emotions, too... negative ones are just what Dagi and Ari like the most," Sonata looked away, as if reminiscing. But before I could ask her what she was thinking about, she whipped her head around to face me again. "Ooh! You're from Equestria, yea? Have you heard anything about the Sirens there?"

I thought for a few moments. "...I'd have to think about it. Sirens are pretty rare these days... they generally keep to themselves deep in the South Luna Ocean. An emissary is sent from the Royal Palace every hundred years to meet up with them... but we're still a couple decades away from that."

"Thought so," Sonata giggled softly before trailing off. "...I wonder if they still remember us..."

"Why wouldn't they?" I asked automatically before remembering that she and her sisters had been here for at least ten years. "Oh... I guess it's been a while, huh?"

"Do you know what they were like?" I asked gently. "I'd love to learn more about your people... er, race."

"I..." Sonata chewed on her lip for a moment before adopting a cheerful smile. "In a bit, okay? I'd like to think about it first... we're very secretive, after all... for good reason."

"Thanks. I'll tell you, though, don't worry." Her eyes closed as she grinned happily, seemingly without a care in the world. I couldn't help but think she was rather sweet, innocent, even endearing for a former villain that Sunset defeated.

A few hours later, we went our separate ways. I wandered around the campground, wondering if there was any spot left that I hadn't searched thoroughly.

Eventually I wandered into the Laundry Room, where I found Kotenage loading his robes and some towels into a washing machine. He was wearing his bathrobe, which looked almost exactly like his usual robes except fluffier.

"HAI. BEING A RIKISHI, I GO THROUGH EXERCISE TOWELS LIKE CRAZY... AND MY ROBES WERE A BIT RIPE, SO IT'S TIME TO WASH THEM. I WISH I HAD MORE THAN JUST THE ONE WITH ME HERE... IT'S GONNA GET ALL WORN OUT!"

"I see," I nodded as I realized that I only really had the clothes on my back as well. The drawers in my cottage only contained pajamas, a bathrobe and underwear. "...Geez, that's a problem. What if you get a big hole in it?"

"THERE'S A SEWING KIT ON THE SHELF," Kotenage pointed behind him to the shelves of detergents, irons and other supplies. "IT'S WELL-STOCKED, BUT THERE WAS ALSO AN AWFUL LITTLE DIAGRAM OF WHERE YOU CAN POKE A NEEDLE INTO SOMEBODY TO KILL THEM."

"BUT THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT, I RIPPED IT APART AND THREW IT OUT," he brushed his hands off against each other and gestured towards the nearby trash can. "SO, ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? I COULD USE THE COMPANY WHILE I WAIT FOR THE WASHING MACHINE TO FINISH."

~~~

Kotenage and I chatted while we waited for his laundry to get done.

~~~

"I... gotta admit, I don't know what that is or what you do," I frowned. "Other than the wrestling part, I guess."

"AH! THEN LET ME TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT!" Kotenage grinned widely, sitting down with a ground-jolting thud on a bench. "SUMO IS A FULL-CONTACT SPORT WHERE TWO RIKISHI - ME," he jabbed his thumb into his chest, "...FIGHT EACH OTHER UNTIL ONE FORCES THE OTHER OUT OF THE DOHYO OR MAKES THE OTHER TOUCH THE GROUND WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE SOLES OF HIS FEET. ANYTHING GOES IN THE DOHYO, EXCEPT FOR MOVES THAT ARE KINJITE, OR FORBIDDEN. NO PUNCHING, KICKING, GRABBING THE HAIR, AIMING FOR THE CROTCH, THAT SORT OF THING."

"SOU SOU. IT HAS A HISTORY OVER A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, STEEPED IN TRADITION AND RELIGIOUS RITUALS. WRESTLERS ALL LIVE IN A HEYA, OR STABLE, IN YOUR LANGUAGE... A COMMUNAL BUILDING WHERE WE LIVE AND TRAIN TOGETHER. WE REMAIN THERE UNTIL THE DAY WE RETIRE, OR IF WE SO HAPPEN TO GET MARRIED. IT IS THERE WE HONE OUR SKILLS AND LEARN ALL OF THE RITUALS... SERIOUSLY, THERE ARE SO. MANY. RITUALS. I STILL GET NERVOUS I'LL SCREW ONE UP ON NATIONAL TV SOMEDAY," he paused, grimacing.

"Interesting," I nodded. "I'm sure you'll do just fine performing those rituals, though!"

"So, uh... what exactly do you do for training?" I asked, remembering waking up to him repeatedly slamming into a tree, but struggling to imagine this absolute unit running miles on a treadmill or something.

"THE LOWER RANKS GET UP AT 5AM AND TRAIN UNTIL AT LEAST 7AM, WHEN I AND OTHER SEKITORI- UH, THE TWO HIGHEST DIVISIONS - GET UP FOR TRAINING. THERE ARE STRETCHES AND EXERCISES FOR IMPROVING OUR FORM, THEN WE TAKE TURNS WRESTLING EACH OTHER ONE AFTER ANOTHER WITHOUT STOPPING. THEN THE LOWER RANKS TAKE TURNS TRYING TO SHOVE THE SEKITORI OUT OF THE RING, NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP FOR THE DAY WITHOUT SUCCEEDING. THOSE LOWER RIKISHI ALSO HAVE TO DO ALL THE GRUNT WORK AROUND THE HEYA... HELP COOK LUNCH, DO CHORES, RUN OUR BATHS, HOLDING OUR TOWELS AND WIPING THE SWEAT FROM OUR BODIES AS WE TRAIN..."

"YEA, I DON'T MISS THOSE DAYS AT ALL. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THEY CAN'T EVEN WEAR OVERCOATS OVER THEIR YUKATA, EVEN IN WINTER, AND THEY HAVE TO WEAR THOSE UNCOMFORTABLE GETA WHEN THEY GO OUT. THE DAY I HIT JURYO, I WENT OUT AND BOUGHT MYSELF THE FINEST SILK ROBE I COULD AFFORD," Kotenage tugged on his bathrobe to emphasize. "ALSO, THEY HAVE TO SLEEP IN A COMMUNAL DORMITORY, WHILE SEKITORI GET THEIR OWN ROOMS... OH, AND THEY DON'T GET TO LEAVE THE STABLE IN THE AFTERNOON, UNLESS THEY AGREE TO BE A SEKITORI'S TSUKEBITO."

"AH... YOU CAN'T ANYWAY, UNFORTUNATELY," Kotenage looked away as if thinking about something. "WOMEN ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE DOHYO, EVEN THOUGH THEY CAN CERTAINLY BE FORMIDABLE FIGHTERS... THAT'S TRADITION FOR YA." The very notion seemed to bother him greatly, as his face screwed up into a grumpy scowl.

"...ANYWAY, I HOPE I GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE THE NEXT TOURNAMENT... I'LL FINALLY BE MAKING MY MAKUNOUCHI DEBUT. I'LL BE MAEGASHIRA #9 OF THE EAST!" he sighed. "I'VE ADVANCED IN THE RANKS SO FAST I DON'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH HAIR FOR THE TRADITIONAL TOPKNOT! ...KIND OF GLAD, TO BE HONEST. I'VE SEEN THE OTHERS HAVE THEIR HAIR DONE UP... LOOKS LIKE IT REALLY HURTS." He ran his fingers through his fuzzy black hair. "THE TOKOYAMA REALLY PULL AND YANK ON IT TO GET IT THAT WAY."

I couldn't help but be amazed... and feel a little sorry for Kotenage. Though he was thrilled to be where he was, some of the traditions definitely sounded like they could use some modernization. The thought of a male-only sport was completely foreign to me as well - mares tended to outnumber the stallions back home, yet all of our sports I could think of were unisex.

I listened to Kotenage explain more about his daily life in the stable for a while longer... I found it extremely ironic that he was allowed his own parking spot at the Sumo Association Headquarters once he earned the rank of Ozeki, but all sumo wrestlers were forbidden from driving.

Having taken on the responsibility of cooking dinner for us, Kotenage excused himself with a polite bow and made his way to the Dining Hall. It was already pretty dark out so I followed him in, sitting down at the main table with Sunset and Flash while he disappeared into the Kitchen. A few of the others - Button, Indigo and Ocean - were also sitting around at another table, each of them pulling out various small plastic bags of something greenish from their pockets and grinning as they compared them.

"Too bad I didn't put my phone in that pocket," Indigo shrugged. "They didn't find my stash, whoever nabbed us."

"Probably didn't even bother with all'a mine," Ocean agreed, most of the pockets on his fishing vest open.

"Glad you guys have some... I'm almost out. I only had the two baggies in my hood," Button nodded.

"Hell yea! I don't think I've ever tried the Poison Joke strain before," Indigo pumped her fist. Pretty soon their conversation became a blur of strain names and other jargon I was unfamiliar with, so I stopped listening and paid more attention to Sunset and Flash. We exchanged simple small talk until the rest of the others arrived, ready for dinner. Judging by the smell, we were going to have rice and chankonabe again... but with a different meaty ingredient other than chicken. Something smelled faintly fresh and aquatic.

"Soup again?" asked Mountain. "I like soup, it's good on a cold night... but there are other things to eat."

"I could go whip together a vegetable platter or something if you girls want," Soarin' offered. "Nothin' fancy, though."

"Well... does ramen and soup from a can count?" Soarin' grinned sheepishly. "No, I can make things like chicken pot pies and lasagna... if it involves the oven, I can cook it."

"Baking is a science, but cooking is an art," Memento remarked with a playful smirk. "Kind of impressive, actually."

"Ha, ha," Soarin' grumbled sarcastically, yet still smiling. Just as he was about to enter the kitchen, though, Kotenage poked his head out into the dining hall.

"HA, HA... BUT SERIOUSLY, THOUGH," he continued. "IT'D BE NICE TO HAVE TO FILET THIS FISH."

"I've been in there quite a bit," mentioned Soarin'. "I don't remember seeing any knives other than the ones on the magnetic rack."

"Yea... can't say I've ever specifically looked for other knives, but I've looked pretty thoroughly in there."

"I've got a spatula..." Sonata spoke as she held up a white silicone spatula. "...Dunno why, though."

"The only other bladed things I've found in the kitchen are pizza cutters and kitchen shears," said Button. "I don't think there are any more knives in there."

"HMM... ALRIGHT, THEN," Kotenage shrugged as he slipped back inside. "A GOOD OL' SANTOKU WILL DO JUST FINE." Soarin' began to walk inside, only to be handed a full, steaming-hot rice cooker. He quickly set it down on the main table before going back into the kitchen.

"...Nothing bad better happen because of this," Sugarcoat suddenly seethed at Sunset.

"Uh, why're you telling me...?" she asked as she scooted away from Sugarcoat's pointed finger.

"First the lost memories, now this? I'm on to you," she hissed. "Someone's planning a murder, I'm sure of it." As soon as the words left her mouth I felt my pulse quicken, my heart beginning to thunder in my ribcage. And just as quickly as it had started, I was intent on making it stop.

"Oh, stop it," I grunted, getting up from my seat and gesturing for Sugarcoat to follow. "Let's just put this to rest right now." We entered the kitchen and scootched past Kotenage as he busied himself with cutting up a large salmon, and examined the unusually-long magnetic knife rack. Sixteen steak knives and a single butter knife laid side by side on one end, while the other end held the cooking and butchering knives. There was a huge meat cleaver, an open space that belonged to the Santoku knife Kotenage was currently using, a 9-inch long chef's knife, another open space belonging to the vegetable knife Soarin' was using, a bread knife, a 5-inch long utility knife and a 3-inch long paring knife. The knives were all perfectly spaced out; there were no other blank spaces one could fit a knife into. "See? Nobody's stolen a knife."

"Hmm..." Sugarcoat eyed the knives as if selecting her own weapon. "...Fine. I suppose there aren't any knives missing."

"What?!" Sugarcoat threw her hands up. "Why is nobody else taking this seriously?! We're out in the middle of nowhere against our will, nobody's coming to find us, and we've been told no one's leaving until someone dies! Sooner or later, one of us is going to get absolutely sick of camping and want to leave."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Sugarcoat snapped. "Anyone can be talked into killing another person with the right motivation. Hundreds of scientific experiments have proven that! All it takes is one person deluding themselves that they're doing it for the greater good, or maybe they've decided they can't stand someone here and want to do the world a favor by getting rid of them, or maybe they're willing to sacrifice the rest of us to be able to see someone else again!"

"I... well, yea, I suppose so..." I looked away. Long-buried memories began rearing their ugly heads, and I clenched my eyes shut to keep them away.

"Exactly. So pay some fucking attention," she glowered. "Anyone. Can kill anyone. Even me, theoretically, though I hope it doesn't come down to that," she glanced away darkly before stomping out of the kitchen in a huff. A shiver ran down my spine as her words echoed in my ears.

"...SHE'S WRONG," Kotenage remarked suddenly, shaking his head as he slid chopped pieces of salmon into his massive pot of soup. "THERE'S NO JUSTIFIABLE REASON ANYONE HERE WOULD WANT TO KILL ANOTHER TO LEAVE. THAT PERSON WOULD BE HAUNTED BY THE BLOOD ON HIS HANDS FOR THE REST OF HIS DAYS... EVEN IN MY MOST DESPERATE OF HOURS, I REFUSE TO HARM ANOTHER TO SAVE MYSELF. IT'S DISHONORABLE!"

"Seriously," Soarin' pursed his lips as he returned the vegetable knife to the magnetic rack. "I mean, yea, I've got a successful career and money and all, but it's not worth killing for. Besides... that person'd probably go to jail for life after they escaped."

"You think so?" I asked. "No one knows we're here, and there wouldn't exactly be anything tying them to our deaths..."

"It's these cameras," Soarin' gestured to the two cameras watching our every move in the kitchen. "I've seen tons of them on the sidelines... they're so big and bulky, there's no way these aren't broadcasting to somebody. Normal security cameras are tiny, you know?"

"Yea... I suspect that if one of us did take the bait and try to escape that way... even if they got out, their life would be ruined."

"IF YOU ARE RIGHT, AND THAT IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE KILLER... THEN THIS IS TRULY A NO-WIN SITUATION WE'RE ALL TRAPPED IN," sighed Kotenage.

"Maybe we should tell the others about it," I suggested. "If anything, maybe it'll make someone think twice if they're really planning a... a murder."

"I was thinking about it," said Soarin'. "Alright." With a nod he picked up his platter of crudites and followed me out of the kitchen, with Kotenage right behind us as he hefted the pot of soup. He elected to stay silent until midway through dinner, when he relayed his suspicions to the others with our support.

"Hah, wouldn't that just suck? All that lying and scheming, ya think you're home scot free, and bam! Prison!" Memento barked.

"But then what would be the point in getting us to kill each other?" asked Sonata.

"Don't you see? It's like dangling a carrot in front of a horse's face," Sugarcoat groaned. "Except the horse doesn't know it's walking towards the glue factory."

"That's not cool..." Sunset muttered under her breath. It was hard to tell whether she was unnerved by the notion of such an underhanded plot to get us all to kill each other, or if she was offended by the equine stereotypes.

"Like what? What could possibly be worse than life in prison?!" Button recoiled.

"...Death penalty?" Memento suggested. Dr. Hooves hummed in thought for a few moments longer before shrugging and making a noncommittal noise.

"Would it even be life in prison? I mean, we're all under duress here," Indigo fidgeted. "That has to count for something."

"Look, the potential meanings of this are irrelevant," said Sunburst. "The fact of the matter is that in order to leave, one of us must kill someone else. That alone is a horrific consequence."

"You're living with the fact that you willingly took a life for the rest of your own," Mountain nodded solemnly. "It's not something to take lightly."

"At any rate, it gives us all even less incentive to try anything," said Flash. "And that's a good thing."

"Yea, but... how much longer are we all going to search for an escape?" frowned Silver. "It's been three days and we haven't found a single helpful thing."

"AS LONG AS IT TAKES," replied Kotenage, patting Silver's shoulder gently. "WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY... AND I'M CONFIDENT WE WILL FIND THAT WAY TOGETHER."

"Honestly, this is something we could go in circles over all night," said Sunset. "If there's a way for all of us to escape alive and well, then that's what I'm going to look for, even if it takes the rest of my life to do so."

"There isn't always a peaceful resolution to a problem... sometimes, for some people, violence is the answer," Sugarcoat warned. "You'd all do well to remember that."

But to my relief, everyone seemed to agree with Sunset's and I's sentiment. We were all on the same page - nobody wanted to commit a murder, no matter what.

On the way back to my cottage, Ocean caught up to me and asked if I'd be willing to trade any food items I'd won from the MonoMono Machine for anything non-edible from his. I agreed and he accompanied me to my cottage, where I dug out the vast majority of the food items from the spare drawers. As soon as he saw what I had, he dashed over to his cottage and returned a few minutes later with an equivalent amount of the promised items. We traded, and he grinned as he thanked me and ran off.

I grabbed my swimsuit and a towel and made my way towards the Indoor Pool. As I walked, I saw that Button, Indigo, Mountain and Ocean had gathered around the fire pit. There was a large stack of wood beside the pit, with some of it arranged into a cone shape as Mountain dug out matches from one of her pockets and lit it for them. She then walked away towards her own cottage, waving as the other three thanked her before bringing out their combined pile of snacks and their little plastic bags. Button also took out a fresh apple, while Indigo got a crushed pop can from her backpack.

"Aw shit, you guys, I have an actual pipe," Ocean laughed as he withdrew a small glass object from his fishing vest.

"Oh thank god," Indigo wheezed, throwing her makeshift pop can pipe into the fire. "I feel like a crackhead smoking from that."

Laughter echoed into the evening breeze, a stick was fished out of the wood pile and designated for pipe lighting, and a very distinctive scent filled the air as I looked away and finally entered the indoor pool area.

It was a few minutes to Nighttime when I left for my cottage. I looked over to the fire pit, seeing Button, Indigo and Ocean happily chatting away. A little less than half of their firewood remained; at the moment they were trying out some of the food from the MonoMono Machine. Indigo bit down on a piece of chocolate chip jerky and declared it was actually pretty tasty, leading to incredulous jeers from the boys. They both tried a piece in unison, and also spit it out in unison, followed by lots of profanity as Indigo howled with laughter.

Smiling, I entered my cottage and walked straight into the bathroom. The Nighttime Announcement played as I showered, not bothering to turn the water off as I got out and dried myself. I then got into my pajamas and crawled into bed, ready for a good night's sleep.

But sleep wasn't easy to come by tonight. I couldn't help but think about home. How long has it really been since I left for my vacation? If it's been longer than a week, will anypony notice I'm missing? Will anypony come for me then?

Would Twilight come for me? Would she bring her friends through the portal, too? Would they know how to find me...?

I took in a deep breath of fresh, frigid night air. I had cracked open the left side of the window beside the bed, which allowed the sulfuric scent of the shower water to escape, making the air inside more bearable. Clammy wetness clung to my face and condensed in my hair. It only made it harder to fall asleep as I wiped my forehead with my sleeve.

Hmm, this is a problem... I should see if the Camp Store has a dehumidifier for sale.

Still, if it meant the cottage would be warm in the morning, then one humid night was bearable... even if it took me a couple hours to feel drowsy again...

An owl outside hooted once. My eyes snapped wide open at the noise, and I shivered unconsciously as I realized that I hadn't seen a single animal during my time here, as if they all had a natural instinct to stay far away from this place. I rolled over to face the window that overlooked the forest behind me; my eyes tried to scan the trees for the source of the noise, but saw nothing but darkness.

Wondering if I was beginning to hear things, I rolled back over and pulled the covers over my face, insisting to myself that it was time to go to sleep. I didn't want to be tired tomorrow...

I blinked as I realized that Silver was screaming in terror outside. In an instant I leapt out of bed and grabbed my bathrobe while cramming on my boots. I was out the door in seconds as I struggled to get my left arm through its sleeve, running full blast towards Silver's voice. She was standing by the side cabin, right outside the door to the indoor pool, dressed in flip flops and a jungle-green bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel.

"What's wrong?!" I gasped as I skidded to a halt. Incoherent babbles escaped her mouth as she shakily pointed to her left, her eyes never moving away. My own eyes followed to where she was pointing.

I screamed in horror, my own voice nearly eclipsing Silver's. Because lying behind one of the logs surrounding the fire pit, in a pool of blood, was the crumpled body of Dr. Hooves.

Danganronpa vG: Goodbye Magic

by witegrlninja

A Guide in the Darkness - Daily Life 3