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]

And what plans do you have, Wesker? So far as you're willing to discuss.

[They all have plans in their back pockets that can't be trusted with anyone but themselves, of course. And if anyone professes they don't, Rin would call them a liar or an idiot.]

[enhancements]

Survival by any means necessary.

[Well, there you go.]

I don't think we have the power to resolve this. Not for the time being. And I doubt we'll obtain that power in any meaningful way unless she hands it to us, which she simply won't do unless she's some kind of idiot.

However, survival is something I'm capable of, and it's what I intend to do until I can find another option.

[heritrix]

[Keeping it simple, huh. She can tell he already has his heels dug in. But his point about the Transmitter handing them information raises a new question.]

Strangely, I don't think she's discouraging that. I wonder if that's what she means by investigation...

[Actually, speaking that out loud, she wonders if she's on to something here and her head bobs in surprise.]

Wait, is it that kind of a test? Murder someone and you can leave, but you don't "win" unless you play her game; find the puzzle pieces that when put together reveal that other option.

[enhancements]

...The thought has crossed my mind before. There are several reasons why I've been saying that it's stupid to move until we know more about what's happening here.

Murder is an option, clearly, but it's also the one with the highest likelihood of getting everyone killed. It seems likely that this is some sort of test of integrity, if nothing else.

[heritrix]

[She agrees with him, completely. It both relieves and frustrates her.

He's right, but some of us don't have time for that.]