come out of hiding, i'm right here beside you

[barehands]

[A while after the execution has ended, everyone will find a simple note slipped under their door.]

If you don't want to be alone after everything that's happening, some of us will be in the dining room. Even if you decide not to come, please remember that you aren't alone here.

[The note isn't signed, but the handwriting is feminine and neat.

For anyone who decides to come, there's a good array of food laid out on the table. There are some small and simple cakes, cookies, and pastries, a healthy amount of okonomiyaki, okayu, and other Japanese dishes (with a focus on rice and eggs), along with curry. In addition, there are pancakes, and a large pot of soup. It looks like a few people collaborated to make enough food for everyone here.

Just like the meal they shared together earlier in the week, the candles from the storage room lend a more peaceful light than the fluorescent lights above.]

Comments

[heritrix]

[She'll take that compliment for what it is, pleased someone like-minded understands.]

Right now, I'm more concerned about that future. I'm trying to decide where we should go from here.

[armamenta]

Doesn't seem like we have many options. I'm curious to hear your take on it, though.

[Rin's determination and dedication to securing all the knives was interesting, so he'd like to see where this goes too.]

[heritrix]

We've learned today that there are secret room we don't know about. Some rooms also have vulnerabilities we haven't tested...

[She rests her fingers over the lid of her thermos, feeling the warmth seep between the cracks there.]

I want to focus on escape. I think that's something we haven't tried enough to work on, as a group with the same objective. But for reasons that have nothing to do with Rule 7, after today I realize that's even more dangerous than I originally thought.

[armamenta]

[He nods as Rin speaks; she's definitely been paying attention.]

What makes you say that?

[heritrix]

Arietta's execution.

[armamenta]

Yeah. That's what we have to look forward to if anyone else tries to pursue rule seven. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the punishment for breaking rules too.

[heritrix]

[Rin nods.]

We don't know if it's trapped to this building either. If we get out, they might send it after us.

[armamenta]

That's a good point.

[And one he hadn't given much thought to, hmm.]

We'll have to be careful with how we proceed if we do find an escape.

[heritrix]

The best plan would be one that doesn't get us caught. Preparing for the event we can't manage that, we should look into insulators, but finding enough materials to manage that with what we have here is going to be next to impossible.

[armamenta]

We certainly wouldn't be able to cover everyone given what little we have to work with. Splitting our group up is hardly ideal either.

[heritrix]

[She groans.]

Putting us back to square one.

[armamenta]

Exactly. They've clearly given a lot of thought to preventing us from escaping.

[heritrix]

Yeah. Every instinct in my body is telling me now's not the right timing because of that, but I don't like it.

I'm used to making opportunities, not waiting for them.

[armamenta]

Same here. I've never liked waiting around but it seems like there's nothing else we can do. If we could at least find an exit we'd have an option.

[heritrix]

One will come up eventually, same as the door to the trial room did.