[Dining room] Event #7 “Matchmaker, matchmaker!”

[Kim Anderson]

"So many people," the ginger girl's eyes scanned the main monitor. At the current moment, it was broadcasting the dimly lit dining room with at least a dozen people sleeping. A few men were sitting at the table tied up to their seats and a few more bodies were laying down on the floor, each had a spot of soft pulsating glow around their left ankle.

Kim felt as the cold shiver ran down her spine. Fear. Fear of what was coming. Fear rushed through her veins and took over her body. Why? Why did she bring in so many? Alas, she knew this was going to happen. This woman won't stop. Not until she "proves her".

"Who is she?" Kim wondered at times when she has chained alone in the kitchen. Right now however her mind was numb. Her heart was racing. She has to play her part. For Jess. For Sawyer. For-

"Aoi?" her eyes widened as whispered with her dry lips the name... one of the... No. What was she doing there? No. No, no, no! This isn't right! NO! Aoi! However, before Kim could even dare to make another sound the girl received a slap at the back of her head, making her let out a small yelp of pain.

"Shut your mouth!" she heard the madame scream at her from behind. The fat woman took one step forward standing now beside her in front of the monitors, glaring at them one by one with a satisfied smile. "Makes you look dumb. And straighten your back!" Kim followed the order and forced herself to sit straight, holding the script and the pen in both of her hands as if her life depended on it even though today was the first day in forever she got properly fed, changed and lost her shackles.

How... How could she?
She promised. This isn't fair.

Her aqua eyes darted up to take a short glance at the monster beside her. She is so close. Unarmed. Unaware. Maybe if she just... If only she could... Kim squeezed the pen with her fragile trembling fingers till they went pale white. Just one swift motion. Just-

"I know what you are thinking," the woman put her hand on the remote controller, her fingers running through the buttons pressing them one by one... And the girl jerked in place when she heard the screams. Female screams.

"You are a stubborn one," the woman's voice boomed inside her ears as her eyes followed the motion on the main monitor. The bodies on the floor... those were women. And they were convulsing in pain from the electric shock. Kim instinctively tried to close her eyes and look away but the woman slapped her with her free hand.

"Don't you dare!" the madame took the girl by her chin and turned her head to face the monitor, "Look! This is all your fault!"

"I don't- I-" the girl tried to mutter something but the words could not come out. She felt as the tears formed in her eyes, panic freezing her body in place. She is going to kill them! Aoi. No. Please. Please. Please! STOP!

So the movement stopped.

"And don't you dare to think of anything dumb!" the woman hissed inside the girl's ear and finally let go of her face. "Or she is going to be next," she pointed on the top left screen, making Kim look up through her blurred vision.

Sawyer. No. I- I will obey. Please. I won't- I didn't- I-

"And if the Asian dies tonight this will be nobody's but your fault," the voice concluded making the girl's heart sank to the bottom of her feet. She knew she wasn't faithful. The madwoman knew. She knew all along she tried to deceive her. "No. How could she.. I- I," Kim sobbed, gulping down the fear and nausea. She can't win unless... Unless she'll truly play by the rules.

"Yes, madame," the girl whispered tears silently falling down her cheeks.

"Good. Now... We are going to start soon," the madwoman smiled and patted the girl on her back, "Take a deep breath. I want you to give them your best performance!"

***

Round Zero starts now! The girls were woken up by experiencing a mild electric shock - it lasted for about 10-15 seconds, making their bodies shake and convulse on the floor uncontrollably, the pain wasn't unberable but it was still there and a bit way too sudden for a sleeping body to take in; the men were woken up by the screams and/or moans of the women. All men are sitting at the table in a row - Daniel, Dean, Dorian, Mathias, Nicholas, Russel - both their legs and arms are tied up to a chair, hands behind their backs. In front of each of the men stands a cup or a chalice filled with a beverage of some sort:

Daniel - a flute glass filled with white wine;
Dean - a margarita glass filled with tequila;
Dorian - a tulip glass filled with whiskey;
Mathias - a goblet glass filled with red wine;
Nicholas - a ceramic white cup filled with herbal tea;
Russel - a ceramic red mug filled with black coffee.

Everybody can post at least once to wake up but surely you can post more if you want to. The rules are the same as they were for events with a big amount of people - wait for 2 more posts to appear before we post again - Niina and I will give you a signal when Kim will announce the rules of the game and the girls can complete their task.

---

RULES:
1. The boys are given a chalice to drink from for their future spouse. One drink is poisoned so one out of five spouses can possibly die.

2. The girls get to pick the boys they want to “raise their glass” for and, of course, marry. All girls are given a chance to tell a little speech and to spend some time with their future spouse - even the one who got the taste of the poison. The results of the game will be announced by the host when everybody gets to pick their future groom and drinks out of their glass. The groom doesn't have to drink with his future bride from the same glass BUT it's not forbidden if he wants to do it.

3. Potentially this event can end up with ZERO deaths but only of course if luck is in your favor. Sadly all drinks are randomized and there is only one chance given to ONLY one out of six boys to sniff his drink and guess if he has the poison or not. Even if he does find his drink "suspicious" the player can NOT let other players directly know about whatever information they get from the host of the game and can only subtly hint at the results of his "sniff".

4. We will decide privately between the guests of the event by the force of the dice or by the power of the compromise who out of the six boys will try to sniff their drink. To get the definite feeling that something wrong with his drink the player will have to roll a 9 or a 10.

5. Of course, as always, before we start "picking" anything - the characters get some time to talk to one another aka "the zero round" like we did before.

PARTICIPANTS:
- Aoi, Emer, Katherine, Keiari, Maya

GUESTS:
- Daniel, Dean, Dorian, Mathias, Nicholas, Russel

DATES:
- August 6th

[Katherine Sallow]

Katherine woke up to her body shaking and convulsing, but the pain still caused her to scream just a little. Although Katherine had felt the pain of being shocked before it wasn’t as bad as what she had just felt. The shock lasted longer than those she experienced before. When it stopped Katherine didn’t want to sit up too quickly but slowly she sat up only to look around at the sight of other girls who had got the same treatment as her and then noticed a table with people sitting at it, 6 men but one man caught her attention. Dorian. It seemed quite ironic how she just confessed her feelings for him and here they both were in an event. What this event was she had no idea but she didn’t like the fact that there were 6 men and only 5 of girls. This was only going to end badly and Katherine hated it.
She felt a sense of guilt fall over her, why was it whenever she said or did anything it would come back around and bite her. Katherine felt a tear fall down her cheek but quickly wiped it away and slowly stood up not making eye contact with the men. She looked down at her left ankle and shook her head. "And here I thought I would see the last of this bracelet." She sighed, Katherine wanted to look at Dorian but how could she? It was awkward for her now but she wanted to show their captor that she wasn't afraid, wasn't intimidated. This after all was not her first time in an event but there were so many conflicting feelings this time. What do I do? What do I do?! Katherine was panicking. She was scared, nervous because this could be the time where she dies. Katherine looked up and noticed the chalices that were in front of them.Those were there for a reason but what that reason was yet to be revealed. Katherine only thought of one thing and it was “I don't think I'll be able to keep my promise this time Dorian...I'm so sorry.”

[Daniel Summer]

Daniel woke to screams, his head snapping up quickly, his body moving to get up and help-- only he couldn't move. Not again... Opening his eyes, he looked down to see him tied to a chair, his hands behind his back.

"Fuck," he tried to say, forgetting for a moment that his tongue was gone, so only a 'fuuu' came out. Clearing his throat, he tried to shake off the panic that was starting to come over him again at the waking once more with no tongue.

Looking around the room, he saw the glass in front of him first, before seeing the men next to him, then finally, seeing the women on the ground, the ones who had screamed.

His blue eyes scanned them before landing on Keiari, his heart stopping for a moment. Tugging on his bindings, sounds left him as he wanted to go to her.

[Russel Jefferson]

Russel felt dizzy and was able to fall asleep once again until he heard some screams and yelling coming from females. That, made him jolt and he opened up his eyes right away. He was seeing some other females that didn’t look familiar to him but, he saw that there were other males that looked like they were in the same games as him, well, three of them. He felt something something tight on his wrists and his legs. “Shit. Not again!” He thought to himself as he was struggling out of the chair. Not even sweat can get the ropes this time. First getting his outer ears chopped off and now this?

Russel opened his eyes and looked at the glass of women to see if Andrina was there to rescue her but, nope. Not there. Damn it. Maybe that Asian lady killed her? Russel saw the ladies and as he heard their screams, he was hearing some familiar voices, as they sounded like they were from the basement when he was guiding them originally. He was honestly frustrated at this point. Like what the hell was going on? At this point, he just wanted to get down to business and get some questions being answered as to why she was letting everyone in this hell hole. “Don’t you worry.... We’ll be reunited soon Tia...” He murmured to himself softly, while thinking about his wife and kids. He was thinking about David’s positivity while they were in the room together, having hopes to have everyone be together soon. He just had to go through this one test and hopefully this will be the final showdown between everyone and that evil Asian bitch.

[Aoi Hawakura]

She felt a sharp pain cursing through her body, barley making out that the source was her ankle. She stiffled the startled moan. It was rather more out of surprise than actual real pain. It was not really as painful as she had felt before.

Breathing slowly she listened to her suroundings without opening her eyes. She knew immediatly that something was not right, the sounds were not fitting the usual rooms after a change.

A cold shiver ran through her. She remembered the things Geoff had told her... the... events. Was this something like it? One of those... events?

In the blink of an eye she opend her eyes and sat up - maybe a bit to fast since she got dizzy. She lifted a hand to her head.

After a few moments her head stopped spinning and she sighed quietly.

She opened her eyes and looked around. There were other women around her. When she saw Maya she felt a pang of sadness. No... not her... her view went further and Keiari came into view, then Katherine and someone she couldn't exactly identify. She felt the emotions come up. Had they all been in these events before? Or did they go through this for the first time like her?
She looked to her other side. There was a table with several men. She was sure to recognize Daniel and Mathias, the ones from the basement with Keiari and Mathias. She felt her head go into a whirl. Why? Did it have to go like this?

In front of each man there was a cup or chalice.... What was it that was planned here?

How am I going to go through this any further if I see them suffer?

[Dorian F. Blund]

Dorian woke up with his heart in his throat at the sound of loud horrified screams. His heart was already beating much faster than it ever should before his groggy eyes were open, trying to discern through the waves of drug and sleep what was happening around him.

Vaguely, despite his confusion, he had the time to remind himself dryly that he shouldn’t be surprised by whatever was going on; he’d had it too good for a full four weeks in a row; no torture, no deaths, nothing, and a love confession to boot. He should have known.

The thought was quickly washed away by the scene playing out in front of him. A group of women was laid on the floor and shouting in agony; then, after a few dreadful seconds during which he barely had the time to react, they all stopped moving at once and breathed out in simultaneous relief. Only then, as he felt that shared respite spread through him, did he get a chance to give these women a good look, and recognize only one of the five, but the one he least wished to see here: Katherine Sallow.

“Shit.” The word left his lips in a hushed whispered. Dorian didn’t usually swear, not out-loud at least, but much worse curses were now running through his mind. She shouldn’t be there. Of all people, she definitely shouldn’t be there. Had she not suffered enough? Kidnapped, her wrist broken, her face cut, her dear friend and past lover dead, thrown in a room alone for god knew how long, and the man she now loved not reciprocating her feelings…

Was that why she was here? Because she’d confessed to someone the crazy match-maker had not chosen for her? Was it to punish him, perhaps? Or even just because she’d gotten rid of the red dress she’d thought she might get in trouble for if she didn’t keep wearing it? Honestly, at this point… who was to say. He wasn’t sure anything even still made sense.

“Kath.” He called softly, simply. Saying anything more, at this point, seemed it would only put a bigger target on their backs. The woman was avoiding his gaze, and he couldn’t really blame her, so he simply sent a gentle encouraging smile her way. He hated that this was happening right after they’d sworn to try to make it through this together and survive… but that was only more reason for him to try to reassure her. They needed to stay strong, and stay calm.

Finally, he took the time to look around the room. The other four women he did not recognize, but he did his best to take note of their appearances in case he needed to relay any of what would happen here. What really was a punch to the guts, however, were the other men sitting around him at the table: all of them the fellow victims from the last game he’d been in, the same one where Huxley had lost his life. As expected, they were showing the deformities announced by their cards, and Dorian could only shudder at the sight of them. Mrs Baker had said that they all disgusted her, but that their punishment was to give them a second chance; yet here they were, about to be tortured again. Truly, her word had no value.

That is when it hit him that one of them here did not belong. By all logic, the only one missing was the man who’s received the heart card, yet he was nowhere to be seen, and not for the first time, he found himself wondering if he’d been right to assume that his card truly would provide him a wedding and not… something else. There had been no woman in the boiling room for him to win. You should have known better.

Dorian shook his head; he couldn’t worry about the fate of a stranger right now, when his life and the life of a woman he loved were once again at risk. He needed to stay focused and wary of it all, and so he simply glanced at the new dark-haired man, wondering who it may be. Another new soul to replace another wave of deaths, perhaps. For now, he did not care, and he settled his eyes on Katherine again, hoping she was fine, and awaited further instructions. Not much he could do still tied up; at least that way she wouldn’t have to see what was left of his hands. In a strange way, he was serene: he’d done this dance before, he knew the steps; all he needed was to carry his partner through this cruel ball until it was done and over with.

[misery]

Enough interaction. It was time for the choosing to begin. She cast a sharp look at her new protege that told her to be ready with her script. Also it warned her not to screw it up or else. She then leaned her heavy body forwards to press the button that activated the microphone on the intercom system. The poor unfortunate players could hear a loud screech as it turned on and a long pause as the woman leaned in and had her lips mere inches away from the mic. ”Attention you worthless worms!” She bellowed into the microphone not sparing anyone’s eardrums in the process. ”Pay attention to the following rules!!” She continued with the same unhinged conductor voice as she began. Then turning away from the mic and to her protege. Narrowing her eyes at the girl, giving her only a fraction of a second to step forward until she impatiently grabbed the chain and tugged on it hardly. She sent the girl stumbling forward barely holding onto the script as she did so. The terrified players could only hear a thud as if something hit the microphone as Kim nearly collided into it. Madge rolled her chair to make room for Kim to read what was in the paper, crossing her arms at first over her chest in a disapproving manner, her eyes narrowed into slits and her mouth formed into a scowl. The girl in front of her was really driving her patience with hesitating so much. Madge shot a quick glance towards her controls and in a slow fluid motion reached her hand out to the remote she had played with only moments ago to give a little zap to the players. She had her finger impatiently tap on the button without pressing it and then begin to circle the button like a vulture would a carcass. The way she was looking at Kim probably made her nervous and self conscious but a good wife should be able to handle pressure.

[Maya Dawson]

While waking up in a new room every other day or week – who even knew time at this point anymore – had already seemed not always the best. However being awoken by an electric shock, greeted with screams of both herself and other females around her definitely just had reached the top position of worst wake ups. Groaning both still a bit in pain but mainly in anger, Maya sat up and took a look around. This was neither the first room they all had been in together nor one of the many rooms she had spent most of the time in so far but instead it looked like a bigger, maybe more simple room? Looking to her side, what strucked her first was seeing both Aoi and Keiari with her. This better not be one of those deadly events. She had quite enough already done to piss off others and probably especially their captor. But them? They were two of the sweetest people she had ever met and was glad to have them in her life. Crouching over to Aoi, she rested her hand on her shoulder, trying to check if she was alright. „Everything okay?“ Next up, she moved over to Keiari, hugging her tight after they haven´t seen each other in so long before asking her the same question.

As she took a closer look around however, her jaw dropped wide open before her hands turned into fists and she yelled into the unknown. „Oh bloody hell you gotta be kidding me!“ Having a few of her friends her was bad enough. But now having her husband with them as well was the tip of the iceberg. Standing up, she straightened her back and walked right over to her man. As she got closer though she could see neither Mathias nor any of the other men seemed to be able to move. This definitely wasn´t good. What confused her even more though were the cups and glasses in front of them. „What the hell is going on here?“ Murmuring to herself. Staying close to her love, ready to fight of anyone that would want to harm him or take him away from her, her gaze wandered further along the table. After all those time, eventually she even got to see Daniel and he looked miserable. Who could blame him though? His gaze pointed back to the other women, assumingly directly to Keiari. Poor souls but at least they had each other as Maya had Mathias. Turning back to her man, she let out a sad smile. „Well at least we are together.“

Before she could do anything more however, a voice was heard, speaking to them. So there were rules they had to follow? Just great. While she had already been on edge since she woke up in this mess, having to act according to someones rules almost made her freak out. She was after all far from being known for following them. Instead she was more the type of breaking them and making her very own.

[Mathias Berg]

The awakenings were usually quiet, so quiet that it made him think he was already dead. This was different, somewhat. The young man woke up as the women were moaning in pain and shock. Mathias immediately felt the familiar shackles that held him in his place. He looked around him, testifying that he was not the only man in the room. Soon Mathias realized that the gentlemen next to him were victims of the last "game" just like him.

As expected, not all victims had survived. Huxley, identified by Hannah, was certainly no longer with them. Mathias shifted his gaze to the other side of the room. This time they had been accompanied by a female beauty whom he recognized most of: Aoi, Keiari, and his beloved wife Maya. Mathias had not heard of his "coffee buddy" after they had been kidnapped. He was angry to see them, for at the moment the greater chance of surviving was to be locked in a small bedroom.

Maya seemed to check the situation of her friends, and after that she turned her attention to Mathias. He mostly agreed with her words, but of course the man hoped his loved one would be in much safer place. On the other hand, if this were Mathias' last time seeing Maya - he would be able to be happy somehow. He tried to smile at his loved one best he could.

[Kim Anderson]

Please stay safe. Please let it be over soon. Please. With trembling hands Kim brought the paper closer to her eyes and began reading.

"This is it," she declared after letting out a small cough. The woman tried to sound as confident as possible but her voice was still a bit too raspy and shaky from the pressure of the situation. "This is your final chance to find your future husband. The best of the worst sit before you," for a split second Kim rose her gaze again and looked at a row of contestants... "Maya. Keiari. Aoi. I- I am so sorry, I-"

"This is all your fault!" the words echoed inside her mind making the girl's heart skip a beat so instead of focusing on her inner fears she just continue reading.

"First pick a drink that stands in front of your spouse, then make a toast for your bright future and finally..." she took a small pause before finishing the sentence, "Take a sip. When all the women make their choices we shall start our preparations for your ceremonies..."

And that was it. The girls felt the urge to vomit but swallowed it back down her throat. No. She looked up. Be a good girl. She looked only at one particular monitor. Dad was peacefully sleeping on the floor along... with her. "Jess," she felt another shiver run down her spine. No. Stop. Just... Do it. You do it for him. And you would do it again. You do it for her, that is to say. You'll do it for them.

---

P.S. Those who know Kim or heard her voice before can surely recognize her.

[Katherine Sallow]

“Kath.” Katherine looked up and saw Dorian giving her a gentle, encouraging smile and gave a slight smile back, trying not to show fear but it was hard in this situation but soon she would be somewhat distracted when she heard a familiar voice "This is it," Katherine eyes widened. “That’s Kim...but what is she doing with her?” "This is your final chance to find your future husband. The best of the worst sit before you," She slowly shook her head in disbelief. Not too long ago she had said to Dorian that she would’ve married him to keep him safe and one could guess fate decided to make that happen sooner than expected. As Katherine continued to listen so many questions were going through her head. Why only now was their captor letting them choose whom they get to marry? Was this another event where one of them could die? Well Katherine wouldn’t be too surprised if this was another death event. She sighed.

“Take a sip. When all the women make their choices we shall start our preparations for your ceremonies..." Then it went quiet and Katherine clenched her fists, trying to put a brave face on. “You can do it. Just go out there and show them who’s boss” Her father’s voice echoed in her head and she smiled a little. Katherine looked at her options but it was clear to her who she would go for, still didn’t hurt to look at her options. Katherine then looked at the girls before walking up to Dorian. Trying not to show any fear she looked Dorian in the eye and smiled before looking at the goblet infront of him. Slowly she picked it up and looked at the drink before raising it,she bit her lip, be brave, be brave. “ I won’t lie...I don’t trust this whatsoever. I feel as though I don’t need to say much as I’ve already said everything that was on my mind so…” Katherine turned to face Dorian and putting on her brave face, she smiled at him and said “A toast to the future, whatever it may be and I’m sorry Dorian that at this very moment in time...I cannot keep my promise.” Katherine quickly turned around to face the other side of the room before raising the goblet and saying “And a toast to you Kim...I don’t know where you stand with all of this but I hope that you are satisfied with the choices you have made”Then slowly she brought the goblet to her lip, already smelling the whiskey, a drink she didn’t like but it had to be done. Katherine then drank the whiskey, all of it. If something were to happen to her, she wanted to be the only one who would face those consequences. If her life was to end here then so be it, Katherine wasn’t afraid anymore.

[Russel Jefferson]

He was hearing directions about something regarding a wedding ceremony or anything to do with marriage. "What the living hell is this all about? That bitch be making me cheat on my wife.." He thought to himself with a bit of rage with sweat down his throat. Like, what the hell....; Alright. Fine, as long as Tia doesn't find out. He did promise at his wedding back then when he promised her through the eyes or religion on not to cause adultery. As long as the lady wouldn't let him make love to some other lady besides Tia.

He then felt his worries go down a bit. "Alright... just me dealing with a drink? Better than getting a sexual task.." Russel thought to himself as he saw some coffee in front of him. He wasn't sure that the Asian lady was going to make him dance or have him express his "love" toward her, whoever the lady was. He sniffed the drink and felt his nose twitch. It smelled like a regular cup of coffee in the morning, but, he wasn't sure that the lady poisoned it. Might as well not take a chance. He looked up at the other ladies and raised his eyebrows. They may be nice looking, but, not as lovely as his sweetheart, Tia. He felt angry dealing with him being in another marriage. "Better not tell Tia this..." He thought as his fearful face went to determination. Just this one challenge and he should be out... hopefully.

[Aoi Hawakura]

Aoi was so in her thoughts that she got quiet the shock when she suddenly felt a warm hand on her shoulder. It belonged to Maya and when she saw her mixed feelings flashed through her again. Gratitude, happiness, luck, but also sadness and pain. She was afraid of what was going to happen and afraid of maybe having to lose a friend. She looked at her with big eyes.
Too late did she realise she had been asked a question.
“Oh, shoot. I… I will be okay… most probably, I hope. But what about everyone else?” Her most inner thoughts were that if this was one of those games she had heard about, she truly wanted everyone to be safe, even if that meant it was her turn…
After a while – it couldn’t have been too long but Aoi never went to talk to anyone else and didn’t look around that much either, she heard a voice over... speakers?
She was speechless by the words… this could not be real… it just… was not possible. She just couldn’t. How could she just go up there and… decide? It was not really something she was… made for. Not her… She felt her head spin. No way.
Something about this whole thing irked her though. First of: didn’t she know that voice? Wasn’t it someone she’d known for a while? So how come she couldn’t grasp it and how come they had spoken it? Why was her head a mess?
And secondly: hadn’t he told her those could end deadly? But this seemed… harmless? In a way matter of living and surviving. She scrunched up her eyebrows.
She looked up in surprise when Kathrine went sure footed towards a man sitting on the table. Someone Aoi did not know. She stared in awe as she took the chalice and gulped down whatever liquid was inside.
The thing going through her head was ‘what a strong woman indeed’. She watched her and wished she’d just had the same strength here on the spot, but she just couldn’t. It wasn’t that there was something… strange or disgusting or to say no about any of them… but they were just not… someone she could easily go with. It was her anxious heart, her past grasping over. She felt suppressed, helpless, hopeless.
So she stayed seated and watched what the others did instead of standing up herself. She didn’t want to force herself upon someone, so she would wait until everyone had taken their match. Maybe that would help them. She buried her face in her hands. Why were they doing this to all of them? What was the sense behind this?

[Dean Gray]

Dean awoke to the agonized sounds of women being electrocuted, himself jolting into motion, stopped by his limbs being stuck. Dazed, he looked around the room. Ah. Yes. He'd been here before. He half expected another bundle of cards to be in the center of the table, but was surprised to find six drinks neatly placed in front of six men. His drink was a bog standard margarita glass with a clearish liquid in it. Logic dictated it was tequila in the glass, and all he'd need now would be a lime and a salted rim, but none was to be seen. Not that he could drink any, with him being completely tied down.

"This is it," he heard from the speakers, and he found himself automatically turning towards the sound. "This is your final chance to find your future husband. The best of the worst sit before you," What? His thinking that he was completely tied down seemed to inadvertently be a metaphor for what was about to happen. Husband? "First pick a drink that stands in front of your spouse, then make a toast for your bright future and finally..." He cast a glance on the room, trying to see who was here. He recognized... nobody, except... Emer. "Take a sip. When all the women make their choices we shall start our preparations for your ceremonies..."

... The fuck.

[Emer Shallow]

Emer jolted, her entire body shaking like it had that time she accidentally touched an electified fence as a child. It was a rude awakening to say the least, and when the shock finally ended, she was gasping for breath and looking around the room in quite a panic. The first thing she noticed was a girl with green-gradient hair apparently having been through the same shock treatment. This wasn't how she was usually woken up after a room switch, what the-

Her frazzled, newly awoken brain was trying to make sense of the situation, but her thoughts were flying too fast for her to catch up with them and her head became a big tangled mess of half-thoughts and panic. Quickly she began realizing this wasn't a room switch. There were more people here. Too many people. And she recognized this room... Her panic deepened as she realized what this room meant to her - what memories it held. What was going on this time? What was-

There was a voice on the speaker. She hadn't been listening, but she just realized it was likely incredibly important. She scanned her memory, trying to piece together what was being said. When a second voice took over, she made sure to listen intently.

A part of her didn't believe this was really happening, but Geoff had talked about these forced marriages. She still firmly believed these weren't legal, and would never count once out of here, but somehow being in this situation it felt real. She knew it wasn't real, but it still scared her, to be forced to marry someone, probably someone she didn't even know. Thinking back to her last experience in this god-forsaken room she considered that maybe something didn't have to be real to majorly fuck with your head. New topic for a master thesis? Jesus, Emmy, focus.

She let her eyes fly across the room, forcing herself to pay attention. Did she know anyone here? Anyone at all? She was about to conclude that no, she didn't, when her eyes landed on Dean and her stomach dropped. She wasn't sure whether she'd rather be in a room full of strangers, or to see him like this, tied up and likely scared. Was she supposed to choose one of these men? Before she'd even finished that thought one of the other girls had already gotten up and found her cup, reminding Emmy about the task she'd been given. Didn't these guys have any say in all of this? It seemed so... wrong.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to look to Dean for guidance. What did he want her to do? She didn't want to choose him and force this on him if he really hated the idea. Maybe he knew someone else here that he'd developed feelings for, or maybe there were girls more his type here. What would they be forced to do after the "wedding"? This wasn't exactly the time and place to ask him if he wanted to go steady. But shit, she didn't know anyone else here. So what was she gonna do? How long did she have to make a decision? What would happen if she didn't? The stress and insecurity brought tears to her eyes as she kept scanning her options.

Can't someone just tell me what to do?