MICE AND MAZES ROOM TWO

[hereyouare]

[You wake up on a cold metal bed in a room that is unfamiliar to you.

How long have you been out for? Why does your head hurt? Why can't you remember how you got here?

Before you find the answer to these questions, you might want to check out that hand-written note. There's one in every room.

Dear [NAME],

Thank you for volunteering to participate in the experiment. With your help, this project should be quite successful. My name is Huey Laforet, and I am the one responsible for this experiment. I will be here observing and the point of my project will be revealed by the end.

Your goal today is to find the exit. To do so, you'll need three card keys. However, to activate them, you will need the item listed on the card to move forward. You might not be able to find everything by searching, but certainly, there are other ways to get what you need. I've left them scattered about,

If you fail to escape by the time the experiment is over, you will have to participate in further experiments with me. If you succeed, then you will be able to successfully leave the maze.

I wish you luck. Try to stay alive.

-Huey Laforet]

[contact|instructions]

Comments

[depicted]

[It's the best he can ask for. Sometimes, Dorian forgets that other people find this sort of thing troubling for more than about thirty seconds.] Then let's move. [So he's heading immediately for the ladder, yup.]

[stungun]

[ She's a bit more cautious, making sure to scan everywhere first before following him over to it. The drain is normal, but it reminds her of the swamp. ]

...Be careful.

[hereyouare]

[If you look closer, you can see that there is actually something moving under the drain.]

[hereyouare]

[The ladder is kind of slimy and rusty, but it looks like it'll hold your weight. Climb?]

[depicted]

I always am.

[This is a lie, but hey! Immortality makes you careless. So up he goes, not looking back to see if Shion is behind him. He just assumes if there's something murderous at the top, it'll kill him first and she can have that forewarning to prepare herself.]

[stungun]

[ She pauses, staring at the drain for another moment. ]

I'm just going to look... at something. And then I'll follow you, okay?

[ She doesn't approach the drain quickly, but rather edges towards it until she's about three feet away, staring at it with one hand on her modified taser. ]

[hereyouare]

[There's a glass lid covering the drain but it looks like you can flip it open rather easily.

If you look, you can see sea lampreys swimming about. There's something floating around them as well.]

[stungun]

[ OPENING AFTER A MOMENT.

And then staring. If she uses her taser on the water, it could kill them maybe. But she's not a biologist or anything, and doesn't really want to kill some fish. And then there might be something else in there that could get fried with the electrical circuits.

So she grits her teeth and plunges her hand in towards the item, trying to grab it. ]

[depicted]

[Well, he'll have fun investigating the upper area later, because when he hears Shion speak, he turns back around.]

Shion? What is it?

[Oh fuck she's sticking her hand in the drain that looks like a huge mistake]

Wait, don't!

[Too bad he's too far away to physically stop her]

[hereyouare]

[Yeah, IDK. Sea lampreys.]

[hereyouare]

[Well.

They're definitely going to latch on fast. It seems they haven't been fed in a while and it's not going to be pleasant. :') But at the very least, you'll find you can grab a card key.]

[stungun]

— Ughh... [ She doesn't scream. She must not scream. Not yet. ]

Ahh... sorry. Hold on.

[ She drags her bleeding arm up out of the drain with one keycard and ?????????? HOW MANY LAMPREYS. ]

[hereyouare]

[There might be like...three still stuck on the arm, but the others are stuck in the drain. You might want to get rid of those. I don't think they'd make cute pets...]

[depicted]

[Holy shit, Dorian jumps back into the pool (not the most graceful landing, oh well) and runs over to her.] Let me—

[He doesn't know anything about lamprey removal don't let him do anything.]

[stungun]

...Hah, thanks. But I think — [ Picking up her taser and setting it to the KILL FISH NOT PEOPLE setting (who knows it probably has that) and then dropping the card onto the pool bottom. ] This should be okay.

[ Even though it's kind of neat that a guy came to her rescue again. ZAP. ZAP. ZAP. ]

[hereyouare]

[UNSURE.

I mean, they sure did die...

Good going.

UNSURE.]

[depicted]

[Oh well that's... a thing....

Dorian is silent a moment at this girl who sticks her arm into lamprey-infested waters and then tasers the lampreys. Like, really. Not what he expected today.

Then, his conscience (what little there is) steps in.]

I'm . . . glad you have that. But please, let me take that kind of risk in the future. I [beat] heal. Quickly. From anything. [yup kind of awkward] So if one of us has to get their arm bitten up by the ocean's answer to demons, let it be the one whose wounds will close up a moment later.

[Now time to pick up that card and look at it?]

[stungun]

You... heal. Are you sure you're not just trying to sound tough?

[ YEP LOOKING AT THE CARD. And wiping her bloody arm. ]

[hereyouare]

[It is a picture of an ear :>]

[depicted]

[Well since Shion's checking that out, Dorian will just demonstrate by shoving his arm into the pit of lampreys. He winces and draws the arm out, and then he just yanks the lampreys off and tosses them back in.

While the blood stays, the injuries heal up immediately.]

Not just trying to sound tough.

[a beat]

Is that an ear?

[stungun]

[ ... So he was serious.

This does two things. Reassures her, while also feeds into her paranoia. But for now she just swallows it and and looks back at the card. ]

Yeah, it's definitely an ear. Does it mean anything to you? I don't know what it means.

[depicted]

[He shakes his head.] Perhaps that we should be 'keeping an ear out.' We can look around on the top level for more to work off of. Do you need to wrap up your arm?

[He is trying to hold back a frown, however. If this is just something in decay, then fine. But if they're here for a reason—and he can't think of how two strangers would end up in a place like this randomly without it being someone's design—then whatever it is, it can't be a pleasant one. You don't make people stick their hands into lamprey infested drains to get cards if you are a nice person.

This better not be some John Kramer shit.]

[stungun]

[ She studies the marks on her arm for a moment, then nods. ]

Yeah, just in case. I don't want to be dumb again. Especially if things get worse.

[depicted]

[Dorian looks down—oh, no, this is one of the shirts he really likes—but resigns himself. He tears off a sleeve and extends a hand to you.] Then you can have the best in field triaging the British army has to offer.

[His lip quirks a little, and he affects a stage whisper.] Maybe not the best, truthfully, but good enough to work, I promise.

[hereyouare]

[AND THEN YOU DIED.

No, just kidding. Actually, you climb up and you find yourself standing in...well, the top of the pool. The walls are crusty and breaking down and it's rather dark. There's something written on each wall, but you'll have to get up close to see what they say. The only light that's shining is the light coming from the south side of the room. You can see a door over there as well.

On the north side is the diving board as mentioned earlier and also a window of some sort. The right side has several lockers and two sets of benches. On the left, where you just climbed out of, there's actually a treasure chest.

There's also some things dangling from the ceiling but it's hard to see what exactly it is.]